Welcome

Welcome to my ever-evolving blog. It started out as a blog on Beachbody workouts and products, mainly when I was a Beachbody coach. I no longer coach, not because I don't believe in Beachbody's programs (I subscribe to Beachbody on Demand and use their workouts every day), I am just not a salesperson and hated that aspect of it. I am more than willing to answer questions about my experiences with their products and the various workouts, and I feel freer to do so without the appearance of giving a biased review of something.

I have also started adding reviews for various things I have purchased like movies, books, CDs, and other products. This was brought about by a fight with Amazon in which all of my reviews were removed over a completely bullshit allegation that I posted a review that violated their terms of service. After going back and forth with the morons in the community-reviews department (even after they admitted that my posts did not violate their guidelines) they restored my account (which took them six months to do), but I have been posting my reviews on my blog to have them preserved in case something like that happens again. And here, I will post uncensored reviews so I will swear from time to time and post reviews that may be longer than Amazon's character limit. Everything I post here on any topic or product is my personal opinion, and I take no compensation for any product reviews I post. I am a member of Amazon's vine program and because I get those products for free, I keep those reviews on Amazon only, but everything I have purchased with my own money, whether from Amazon or some other store/website/outlet, I will post here.  

I also plan to do some longer blog posts on various topics, such as how to learn physics, how to get through calculus, and longer reviews of workout programs as I do them. Basically, whatever strikes me as interesting at the time.  As you can see if you navigate around the blog, I had many years in between postings. During that time I was going back to school to get an engineering degree, and learning material that I avoided my first time through college was a different experience and one that gave me a lot of insight into how to do well in those classes, which I will try to impart here for those who are looking to get a science or engineering degree. 

Thursday, January 13, 2022

Product Review: Polar Aurora 4'x10'x2 Thick Folding Mat

 









This is a large, thick mat for higher-impact activities like plyometrics, martial arts, and probably even some gymnastics moves. For yoga, it is suitable for some moves (like frog, camel, etc.) but not great for others (mostly balance moves, because you can sink down into the mat a bit, which can throw your balance off). Basically, any yoga move for which it is helpful to pad your knees or shoulders, this mat is terrific. Any moves that require you to be on one leg for an extended period of time, using this mat may cause you to lose your balance too much. For people who do the BODI workouts, it is excellent for most P90X workouts, all Insanity workouts, and any other workouts that require a lot of jumping.

The only drawback I have noticed is that the seams tend to split after a while. Nothing so bad that a strip of duct tape does not cure it, but given that it is not an inexpensive mat, that could be a deal-breaker for some. They fold up and can be stored easily against a wall. They also have Velcro on the underside for joining multiple mats. Ultimately, if you do not mind having to tape it together if the seams split (which they likely will at some point), it is a decent mat. 

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