Reviews, Health, and Other Stuff: plyometrics

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.

Saturday, March 31, 2012

Knee or leg pain during plyometrics? It is probably the shoes

Hey everyone, I just wanted to do a quick post because I see all the time on the team beachbody message boards about people doing Insanity and experiencing a lot of knee and leg pain. If it goes beyond just muscle soreness in your legs, one of the main causes or contributors may be your shoes. A lot of people use running shoes for plyo because by nature they absorb impact, but they are actually not good. You need a shoe with good ankle and arch support, that also provides a lot of stability. It should also be able to absorb some shock. Running shoes generally do not have the support needed for the jumping and landing. A good pair of cross trainers is preferred. Depending on your situation you may also need to talk to your doctor about the possibility of orthotics. A good pair of shoes will make a world of difference.

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Why I love Plyometrics

I just finished doing my last #p90x plyo session for at least a while, and I wanted to do a short post on why I love plyo workouts. Simply put is they never get easy. Because plyo is a truly go at your own pace kind of workout, as you get in better shape you can go faster and jump higher, so you should always find it a challenge. Whether you are doing Insanity, P90x, P90x2, Turbo Fire, Chalean Extreme or any other program that incorporates Plyometrics you should always feel like you got your butt kicked at the end. Keep pushing and stay fit!