I have been asked several times to do a few product reviews that extend beyond what has been written on the website. We use a product review system that checks product quality and vendor service. We also enlist the help of many coaches, trainers, and lifters with this process. It seems I am constantly on the phone speaking to people about new products. Well, maybe not constantly but at certain times it seems to be all I do. This is also why you see new products in batches. About 4-5 times per year I search the internet, call coaches, trainers and lifters, speak with current vendors, and review as many magazines and catalogs as I can find. By using this process I can come up with hundreds of new items. The next step is to review the quality and vendor service. Without getting into vendor service we do review all items that we have questions about. If I had to tell you how much money we spend each year on crap, you would be shocked. Regardless of the process the job gets done and many items are what I would call “Must Have” items. This article contains a few of these must have items.
Books on my Desk
Frame Work by Nicholas A. DiNubile, M.D
A few weeks ago Alwyn Cosgrove sent me an email to check this book out. Since we already work with the publisher of this title I had our purchasing director order one for me to review. A few days later I had a copy of the book on my desk along with a copy of SCRAWNY TO BRAWNY by Michael Mejia and John Berardi. At first glance, I tossed both books in the corner of my office and thought to myself that I was going to be making another trip to the local library to make a couple of donations. Since Alwyn told me to look at Framework, I grabbed both books on my way out of the office and tossed them in my bag. Around 11:00 that night, I pulled them both out and began reading. My first impression was very wrong on both of these books. While I am not big on any written training programs, both of the programs in these books were well designed. This alone blew me away. More importantly than the program is what goes into the program. There were a few exercises I have either never seen or forgotten about (This automatically makes the book a winner in by book. If you find one new movement and that is the one that helps to break a PR then it is worth every cent). The warm up and mobility work in both books were also great. Framework goes into more detail with movements to help with rehab or prevention of common injuries (Great info here as well). Scrawny to Brawn has great information on meal planning. There are a couple of pages dedicated to meal planning, timing, and nutrient break down that is worth five times the price of the book. I need to repeat this part again. The meal planning break down is the best I have ever seen in a book. This alone is worth the price of the entire book.
This product is not for everyone and is best for those who are dealing with shoulder injuries. This product can be found in every physical therapy center (I am sure they have jacked up versions that cost hundreds of dollars). Here is how this works. You place it over the top of a door way and sit facing away from the door. Grab the handles and pull one arm down. This will cause the other arm to go up. If you are like me you have one or two arms that no longer extend all the way up. This is a form of active stretching though a full range of motion. This is also something you will need to do 4-5 times per week if you want to get better. I will be using mine a few times per day and with any luck should be able to get my range of motion back. Who knows? This may be what gets me back under a squat bar again. For $14.50 it is worth a shot.
What can I say about kettlebells that has not already been said? There is one thing with this product that kills me and that is how slow people are to try new things. We have had kettlebells on our web site for close to 4 years but have sold more kettlebells in the past 12 weeks than we have since first bringing them in. For some reason (Donnie Thompson, perhaps?) they are quickly becoming a hot tool for strength coaches and powerlifters. Please remember these are just tools, not a way of life! You still need to do hardcore strength work! With this in mind, I would like to go over many of the questions I have been getting about kettlebell products. First off the best DVD we have about kettlebells is Mike Mahler’s Kettlebell Solution for Size and Strength. The other videos are still very good but this one is the best of the bunch. Mike does a great job explaining in detail how to do the movements. If you are going to use kettlebells, then you may as well learn the correct way to do some of the movements.
The second question is what kettlebells to buy. For some reason everyone feels they have to buy a pair of each kettlebell. Hey, if this is what you want to do, then it’s okay by me. Unless you are running a gym, weight room, or personal training center then all you have to do is buy what you need and add to it as you grow. Get one or two light ones and one medium size bell. That all you need to get started.
Keys to the Inner Universe by Bill Pearl
This is one book I have been looking to add for a few years, but we have had a hard time tracking it down. I am not going to say much about this book, except that it has over 600 pages with most of them being exercises. Who cares what the content is when you have over 500 pages of movements. This one is a no brainier.
Summary
I am not too sure how this column is going to go over. The last thing I want to do is make this look like a huge sales pitch. You are the ones that ultimately determine the content on this web site. If you like, or dislike, this article, please let us know.
Copyright© 2005 Elite Fitness Systems. All rights reserved. You may reproduce this article by including this copyright and, if reproducing it electronically, including a link to www.Elitefts.com.