CD Review: Wanted Soundtrack

 

I mainly purchased this to get the song, "The Little Things" but was very pleased by the rest of the material. All of the other songs are instrumental, and make up the score of the movie. Personally, I did not really realize how good the score was while watching the movie, but the soundtrack really makes you appreciate how well it was done. I definitely recommend this.

Product Review: Bowflex SelectTech 552 Adjustable Dumbbells

 

These are, unlike some Bowflex products, mostly good. However, there are a couple of things you need to keep in mind. First, and probably most importantly, they do have plastic parts, so you definitely do not want to drop them, especially on a hard floor. If you have relatively thick mats, like tumbling mats, it is possible they could be dropped safely, but most definitely not on concrete or some kind of hard flooring. I would be hesitant to even drop them on a carpeted surface. The inner mechanism could easily break in that situation, then you basically have a very heavy paperweight. Also, these are much bulkier than traditional free-weight dumbbells, which can be an issue if you have low ceilings and are doing shoulder-press type exercises standing up. I work out in my basement, which has seven-foot ceilings, and even though I am not extremely tall, I am tall enough that if I do standing shoulder presses with these I will easily hit the ceiling and put a nice gash in it. Finally, when you dial in a weight selection the locking mechanism does not always totally engage the plates so you may have to slightly turn the dial and/or jiggle the weights to get them out of the stack. The first two things are major, the other is relatively minor.

Overall, the ability to get 50lbs of dumbbell weight in a compact space is very nice. And for a lot of people, that is probably all the dumbbell weight they will ever need. The handle grip is much better than most dumbbells and they do not get slippery in your hands. I would highly suggest getting the stand that can hold them because constantly bending down to pick them up and put them back may be hard on some people's backs. They are also a lot cheaper than getting 50lbs of regular dumbbells, which is nice. I personally use these in conjunction with regular dumbbells, and for exercises where I am concerned about dropping them if I use max weight I use the regular dumbbells I use those, and for those, I am not concerned about it, I use these.

Overall, these are a pretty good option, but you do kind of have to treat them with kid gloves. Much more than you would ever have to with regular iron dumbbells. I have had these for years and never had an issue with them and do recommend them as long as you keep the things I mentioned in mind.

Workout Update: P90X Day 79

Day 79 was the last Plyo-X workout for this round. It was, at least for the beginning of the workout, the best I have been able to do. I was able to keep up with everyone and get much deeper into the squat moves than I had before. That resulted in my being pretty gassed by the end of the workout so I was having to modify a lot for the last couple of rounds of exercises, but overall, it was my best Plyo session. And, my legs are very sore today from all the squats, which is ultimately a good thing. 

Product Review: Bowflex SelectTech 552 / 1090 Dumbbell Stand

 

This is the stand made to hold the Bowflex SelectTech dumbbell sets. I have the SelectTech 552 set (that goes up to 52.5 lbs, but this will also hold the 1090 set that goes up to 90 lbs. The stand is easy to put together and is very sturdy. It fits easily into a corner so it can be a bit out of the way in whatever room you have it in. Having the dumbbells up off the floor makes dialing in the resistance a lot easier, and saves you back not having to bend over to pick them up. I definitely recommend this if you have or are thinking of purchasing the SelectTech dumbbells.

Workout Update: P90X Day 78

Day 78 was my last Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps workout for this round of P90X. As I have said before, this is probably my least favorite of the resistance workouts. That said, I think that I had my best workout for this one last night. I was able to do better on some of the push-up moves, and I was able to hit the 10 rep max on a couple of the moves that used weights. So overall, I think it went pretty well, but I am still a long way from keeping up with either Dave or Phil.