ValSlide
A friend told me about a training product that he saw in "Mens Health" magazine. The product was called the Valslide. I got in contact with the creater, Celeb fitness Trainer Valerie Waters, to find out more about it. Valerie was kind enough to send me her travel kit to test them out for myself. Now anyone who has read my reviews knows that already is a plus in my book because people who make junk products, don't offer them up for a free review. It shows Val doesn't mind backing up the claim that its a great product. Oddly enough after a few workouts, I have to agree. Athletes know the saying "KISS or Keep-It-Simple-Stupid" and the valslide keeps is simple yet very effective. A simplified version of a high priced slide board, the ValSlide has alot of perks. Think of it as if a slideboard and a beach sandal had a baby. It has all the training ability of a $300 slideboard, its easy to transport and the workouts are quick and get a good pump in circuit training fashion. Possibly the most imporant part is once you get the hang of it you can get really creative with your workouts. I was kind of doubtful at first seeing as how simple it looked and knowing my training backround but the Valslide gets the job done. I only saw two minor issues and that was more to do with experience than the product itself. First, the platforms can come off your foot if your not putting enough force down. Secondly if your not in decent shape or not used to how the sliding resistance works, you can get stuck in positions, like say...a side lunge (as my mom found out) and go past your comfortable range of motion. But again, once you get the hang of it or by holding onto something, these both become easily fixed. Will the Valslide help the average soccer mom get in shape? yes. Will the Valslide alone get you a college scholarship? Probably not but you can easily swap it into your current workout OR do one of the workouts she gives you in her booklet on your off days for the extra muscle burn if you want to be really badass.
RESULTS: For women: A Must Have. For Men,could be too easy but add a weight vest or dumbbells and your in for a real workout. Also a must have. And if your a Hockey player? buy a pair and train in any weather.
Evidence Based Apperal
Posture Shirt
$99+ Shipping
I spend most of my mornings before clients get here scouring the net for athletic equipment and new things to add to my training collection. Recently I came across a site called Evidence Based Apparel. Now EBA makes posture apparel to, well....help with your posture. They claim their posture shirts and S3 will improve posture, reduce:neck, back, and shoulder pain, increase shoulder function, improve range of motion and increase strength. Now this all sounds fine and great but rule number one ESPECIALLY in fitness and sports, anything that seems too good to be true usually is. So I searched left and right for some super small "results are not typical and may vary" hidden escape clause that pretty much means you just wasted money on their product but couldn't find one. I reached out to one of their representatives about trying one out and she responded the next day saying sure. Now anyone who has read my other reviews here or on other sites knows, when a company allows someone to review their product for free its usually a HUGE THUMBS UP because it means their confident in their product. No ones going to let you review something for free if they know with explode the second you open the box, well unless your a super hero but i digress. So after a few short days I get the box in the mail and now look to answer the ultimate question....does it work?
EBA makes a lot of claims on their site. What stood out most to me is their claims on shoulder stability and support. Anyone who knows me knows after college level basketball, Slamball, Semi Pro Football, working with the New Jersey Nets, 7 years of personal trainer/weight lifting yadda yadda, my shoulder is pretty much made out of wet chalk. So anything that offers to help with the pain or injuries coming along with that is a isn't gold find.
Straight out the box I noticed the the design of the shirt. Is a made of polyester similar to under armor but with a lil more spandex so it has give. I tried it on and ran into my first little snag. The shirt sizes go by measurements, not your usual S,M,L,XL. So in most shirts I'm a XL but I measure out at 47 which is the top of the XL size and the bottom of the XXL size. So I kind of struggled getting the XL on at first which could of been my own caveman type issue lol.
Once I got it on, I instantly felt the supports built into the shirt pulling my shoulder blades back into natural position. It was almost like someone telling me to sit up straight without even thinking about it. So posture correction? Check! I wore it to the gym for a bench press day with is usually rough on my shoulder but to test the shirt even hopped on the incline to see how it went. Perfectly fine for 5 sets of heavy bench although my triceps were on fire which is rare although I assume was from the shirt making them step in to help my shoulder. So shoulder stability? Check! Range of Motion? Check! Now I won't be able to tell if it helps my strength for a few more weeks but to get obvious results on 3 of the 4 main claims right away is usually a good sign. Plus logic says if my shoulder doesn't hurt then I will lift more so you can probably check that one too.
IN SUMMARY:
The EBA Posture Shirt takes the cake. While its a little pricey for some at $99 plus shipping, its well worth it and much cheaper than surgery and helped me right away. I plan on getting more and would recommend them to anyone not even just athletes but anyone with back and shoulder pains from lifting or just hunching over at a desk job all day. Go to EBA and get your own and tell them I sent ya. Its a MUST BUY, but if your a guy, get the crew cut because they sent me the V neck and I have that man blouse look lol.
Remember Trainer Harder and Smarter
