If I Let You Use The Equipment, You'll Realize You Don't Need Me

 I came across this interesting article 10 Things Your Personal Trainer Won't Tell You.

Most of the points talks about the business side and interpersonal relationship of the personal training business. Some of these are indeed true of not-so-ethical trainers.

However, what caught my interest the most was this:

5. "If I let you use the equipment, you'll realize you don't need me."

Does your trainer steer you away from the abs machine, making you do crunches with a medicine ball instead? Trainers are sometimes told not to spend too much time teaching clients how to use the big equipment for fear that once they get comfortable, they'll want to go it alone. That's why trainers might emphasize coordination exercises and rely on smaller props like stability balls, resistance tubing or bands, and balance tools, the three types of gear most frequently used by trainers. This type of "functional training" helps prep clients for popular recreational activities like tennis and skiing, as well as basic movements like bending down during household chores. But larger equipment also has its benefits; it can bring speedy results in strength-building and help keep weight off.

"The best trainers serve clients by helping them become independent exercisers," Cotton says. He suggests asking prospective trainers how they'll help you get there. A spokesperson for the National Exercise Trainers Association says it encourages trainers to prove to clients there's more to working out than using big machines, in part because of the benefits of functional training.

Though i agree with the conclusion to help people "become independent exercisers", but the heading and reasoning given in para 1 is really disturbing.

Overall i find this article is missing the point of the real nature of exercise instruction. A gross misunderstanding on the nature of motor learning.

The article seems to suggest that:

1) You can do machines or functional movements in exclusion of the other.

I won't go through all that debate of machines vs free weights.

The article seems to suggest that functional training is not needed. Of course the use of the specific functional training equipment is not needed. I mean before people invented these equipment, people are already functional. But the idea of functional training needs to be there. Do you mean you don't train to improve your functions? What are you training for then?

The article compares the benefits of functional training against the benefits of machine training as strength-building and weight loss. Well, this is comparing apples to oranges.

Does that mean that functional training cannot give you strength and weight loss? The functional training exercises cited by the article, namely coordination exercises (only), without a strength and/or conditioning component of course can't give you strength and weight loss. You get what you train for.

I believe the author is not informed of CST's concept of motor sophistication, whereby you can and do strength & conditioning with complex movement. If you are the author of the article, i urge you to check out CST.

I won't go further into what sophistication is as i have mentioned it many times.

2) And that a personal trainer is not needed to give instructions on any of their use and assumes that the client CAN and KNOWS what to do if he be "let" to use them on his own.

Whether the equipment in question is machines or functional training equipment is not the point. The point is clients need to be taught the proper way to exercise. Exercising, or general human movement in the larger context, is not something that anybody can do properly, due to the largely sedentary nature of modern urban life. People have just forgotten how to move properly. This is evidenced by the sheer number of sedentary related conditions and injuries.

Every activity is an integration of breathing, structure and movement. Within each, there are more points to cover than what the average personal trainer care to know. Most of these are not even taught in the typical personal trainer school.

Do you really think clients know what to do? I doubt so.

Note that we are not trying to make things seem more complicated that what things already are. But there are really deeper levels to what the average personal trainer education teaches. And these are important for real lasting fitness, health and performance.

Conclusion

A personal trainer is there to guide clients on exercises (and more). He is not a dispensable person. Just like there are professionals in all other disciplines, we are professionals when it comes to exercise and fitness.

Can you repair your own car without a mechanic or engineer, with proper training, tools and experience? Even if you can, can you do a better job than a professional?

TACFIT Mass Assault Review

The Beginning

I was introduced into physical culture when i was in my teens. Starting with involvement my high school gymnastics team. I was a slow learner, maybe amongst the slowest in the team. The strength & conditioning given by the seniors in the team was too hard for me to keep up and it followed no proper system.

At some point in time i made the decision to take up bodybuilding to improve my sport. Naive you can say, but i had no other access to proper training literature or know of any at that time.

It was 1994-95.

So i made friends with dumbbells and barbells and proper body mechanics for the classic weight training lifts like the deadlift, squat and others.

Fast Forward a Few Years

Gone through many muscle mags and training literature from various sources. The exercises seem to revolve around the same few. The orthodox ones would recommend programs based on the big three of squat, deadlift and bench. Bodybuilders would add isolation movements like curls and extensions etc. The unorthodox (i mean pumpers, sculptors, toners et al.) would recommend mainly isolation movements with light color coded dumbbells and stability training on various unstable surfaces.

Then there was the functional training boom in the early 2000s with kettlebells, Crossfit etc. Learned of many "functional exercises" from the rehab world. A lot of which are being misused by "core stability" gurus to substitute for real heavy weight training. Still yet there are some coaches who showed me the place of these exercises in a proper SnC program.

But nobody, yes nobody, ever told me that there are other innovative ways to train with the dumbbell, until TACFIT Mass Assault (TFMA).

TACFIT Mass Assault requires only two dumbbells

TFMA contains new twists (literally) to traditional linear movements with the dumbbells plus other new movements you have never seen before.

This is not your typical squat, bench, deadlift program. Not even military press. There are six movements in the program designed to move your body in the 6 degrees of freedom.

Where conventional programs tell you to add weight and keep the movements the same, TFMA tells you to keep the weight the same, and increase the motor complexity of your movements. After reaching a certain level of difficulty, start over with a slightly heavier weight.

Why does this appeal to me? Simple because i am bored with the classic lifts of the hardcore weight training scene. Furthermore i am not the muscle type. I am a skinny ectomorph who thrive on bodyweight exercise and ballistic lifts and suck at grinding heavy weights.

Why You Should Buy This Program

1) You do not have to make investment in new equipment. Just one or two dumbbells will do. If you already train in a globogym, you don't need to migrate to a "hardcore" gym. You do not need very heavy dumbbells for this program, in fact, get ready to downgrade a couple of kilos lighter when you start.

2) You want to train for mass gain? A lot of people do. But a lot do not know the protocol to use i.e. reps, sets, exercises. This is a mass gain program. No more guessing. Just follow the program to the letter.

3) As what you would expect from CST, this is another program that gives you a sneak peak into CST's rabbit hole. Joint mobility warm up and cooldown are also included in the program to ensure your progress. I won't go any further on this point. The quality is top notch, just like all other CST  products.

4) You would get show and go muscle. While classic weight training movements are designed for the weight room. TACFIT is designed for the tactical responder. Only movements that enhance a tactical operator's movement skills are included. There is no need to make yourself muscle bound.

5) Lastly it was free. Where can you get such a quality product for free? I would pay the full price of a DVD to get it but it was made available for free. What more can you ask for. It was bundled with another product from another coach but if you don't like that product you don't have to use it. It was cheap anyway.

- Edit -

6) There are two complete programs (with warm ups and cool downs) included as bonuses: Drift and Accelerator. One uses bodyweight only, the other is optimized for medicine ball. These bonuses are BIG. These bonuses extend the lifespan of the full package to 4 months or more of solid muscle building program. Each bonus alone can cost the full price of the original Mass Assault.

Click on this pic to purchase TACFIT Mass Assault:

2nd Review of TACFIT Commando

So i have just completed Recruit Mission 1.

However i was not content just doing bodyweight only. Hence i added some extra weight onto my bodyweight to make the exercises harder and more realistic. In the military, we all dreaded walking with our combat gear on, even if it is just Skeletal Battle Order (boots + vest  + helmet). Just a few kilos of additional weight makes moving that much more difficult than in PT attire. I am determined to make myself feel comfortable moving with combat load.

So this is what i did:
Cycle 1: PT attire
Cycle 2: PT attire
Cycle 3: PT attire
Cycle 4: Boots
Cycle 5: Boots
Cycle 6: Boots + (vest with 4kg of water)
Cycle 7: Boots + (vest with 4kg of water) + hat*

*At first i wanted to use my helmet for Cycle 7 but my chin strap is the old version which is not the most secure, so i'll give it a miss this time. Would get the new chin strap next time and do with the helmet.

Cycle 1-3

Easy and simple. Light as per usual. Nothing to report, really.

Cycle 4-5

Immediate jump in difficulty. Number of reps per exercise immediately reduced by 1-2.

Didn't feel much added resistance when walking in boots, but doing complex movements like the Sit Thru Knee was much harder. Not only did the boots restricts the feet and ankle mobility, but they also add extra mass at the end of the limbs, much like a weighted club.

Cycle 6-7

Another immediate jump in difficulty and reduction in reps by 1-2.

The Vest is the killer. With 4kg of water sloshing around, stability requirement for each exercise is increased. For the first time in my life, Sit Thru Knee and Tripod Overhead gave me significant fatigue in the arms and legs, especially arms.

Push Ups were a different animal with the Vest compared to without. With loaded magazine pockets at the side of the waist, i can't pinch my ribs with my elbows as effectively as before.

If you are planning to wear a vest in your training like me, please wear a long sleeved shirt. I learned it the hard way when i had abrasions on my arms from rubbing the elbows against the Vest.

Conclusion

I now have a better appreciation of the difficulty of moving with combat load. I wonder why they did not train us like this when we were in the military. PT was always in PT attire. No wonder we felt so sluggish in combat load as we have never trained with it.

Looking forward to my next reservist with renewed interest.

Why Do You Need to Lower the Heart Rate?

I was asked this question in a FlowfitⓇ class i conducted recently at a local organization.

Now, let's just assume that you are just an average trainee who exercise regularly but are not hardcore (which most people are). And you know that the goal in (fat loss) exercise is to increase the heart rate. So it would seem counterintuitive to try to lower the heart rate between rounds through Recovery Breathing and the techniques associated with it.

Why decrease the heart rate between rounds when the goal of each round is to raise the heart rate as much as you can?

Actually the goal of each round is not exactly to raise the heart rate as much as you can, but to do as much work as you can;
i) with as high skill as you can and
ii) with as little distress as possible.

Let's compare two people, doing the same task, say walking at 6km/h for 10 minutes. At the end of the task, person A has a heart rate of 80 bpm, person B has a heart rate of 90 bpm. Which person is "fitter"?

Assuming both start at the same heart rate, the answer is obviously A.

Take note that fine motor skills degrade as heart rate raises. At Maximum Heart Rate (MHR) the degradation of skills can be so severe that you would not be able to access any of your trained skills at all.

Let's say you are involved in a particular sport (or a fight), because of the adrenaline released, your heart rate increases. If the heart rate raises so high that you can't access your skills, then you are dead. I have never been in a real fight before, but those of you who have can attest to this.

The person who can keep his heart rate lower while maintaining the accessibility to his skills is a better athlete.

So now there are two goals you are training for:
1) To keep heart rate as low as possible while maintaining a high rate of work.
2) To maintain the accessibility of your skills while your heart rate is high.

For goal 1), this is done by conditioning, to improve work capacity. Many systems out there excel in this.  As your body gets accustomed to increasing work capacity, there is less distress every time you go through the same work output.

Say you did a Moderate Intensity workout today. You do a High Intensity workout tomorrow, you should be able to do more work tomorrow than today.

For goal 2), this is done by increasing the motor complexity (called sophistication in CST), while maintaining a high Effort (RPE) level.

So instead of just increasing work capacity for the same movements over and over, we seek to increase the motor complexity while maintaining the same work capacity.

Anybody maintain a high Effort level, pedalling wildly on a stationary cycle is an example.

But not everybody can maintain high skills in a high Effort level, like pedalling wildly on a racing bike, being chased by a pack of guard dogs, weaving through rush hour traffic, on a road full of pot holes.

Numerically speaking, Technique (RPT) decreases as Effort (RPE) and Discomfort (RPD) increases.

That is why when you are practicing* a certain movement, it feels easy until you start to do reps. At some work output level, your technique would degrade and the movement would feel difficult.

How to improve your ability to perform complex movements in a high stress situation? The general rule is to only increase the sophistication in when you maintain:
i) Technique at 8 or higher,
ii) Discomfort at 3 or below,
iii) Effort drops to 6 and below.
These three criteria must be met before increasing the sophistication in your training**.

How to increase sophistication? That's a topic that i would cover next time. For now, just compare the different levels in FlowfitⓇ to have an idea.

Stay tuned.

*Practice is defined as technique work aimed to increase proficiency of certain skills.
**Training is defined as strength & conditioning work to increase strength, endurance, cardiovascular endurance or any combination of these.

TACFIT Commando Review

Dear Readers,

Can i assume that by now you already know what is Circular Strength Training (CST)? If not, head over to the website and at least have glimpse of what it is now.

As a trainer who has certifications in various systems/schools, including conventional strength & conditioning and physiotherapy, CST by far is the most advanced and deep of all of them. Please note that i am not saying that these other certs are bad. But CST has surpassed them in breadth and depth.

If by looking at the movements in CST programs, you think that it is unorthodox, think again. It is more than orthodox. CST is the expression of human movement in its finest. It is the personification of kinesiology. Where the academic discipline of kinesiology is the science of human movement, CST is the art of human movement. What is defined in theory in kinesiology is expressed in CST. The best thing is, CST is not a sport. It applies to all movement. It cuts across disciplines. Two people could be doing seemingly opposite activities like weightlifting and yoga, yet both are doing CST. It is more of a philosophy than a school in the traditional sense of the word.

Ok, i think i have done enough introduction of CST. I'll cut it short and go straight to the point.

TACFIT Commando is a bodyweight only program designed for tactical responders: military, paramilitary, law enforcement officers etc. It contains many varied movements form the humble push up to single leg lunges and more. There are in total 54 variations of exercises arranged in three levels of increasing sophistication (movement complexity).

That is just the workout section. There is also the warm up section and cool down section, three of each.

Each program, which is meant to be done in the 4x7 programming, has six movements.

So it is a massive library of 3 programs x (warm up + 3 sophistications + cool down) x 6 movements = 90 exercises.

If you can grow out of the program, you can consider yourself the elite of the elite. No joke. Though the movements look quite easy (I can do all the movements with ease), it is the total programming that is the magic. Coupled with the Tabata protocol, simple movements can feel hard.

Now, the best thing about TACFIT Commando is everything has been laid out for you. What to do on what day, everything has been mapped out and you just have to follow it to the letter to get the most benefit out of it.

One of the most frequently asked questions on the Rmax Forums is how does one start with CST. And i think that TACFIT Commando fits the bill perfectly.

Here are my top five reasons why this program is the perfect program to start with:

1) Everything is already planned out for you. No more guessing. The 4x7 wave, Intu-Flow(R) warm up, Prasara cool down, all have been designed in conjunction with the workouts so that you can reap the most benefit from each of them.

2) Bodyweight only. No need for equipment. Anytime, anywhere.

3) It only takes 41 minutes (6 + 29 + 6) to complete from warm up to cool down. No more slogging for hours at the gym or treadmill.

4) Though this program was designed for the specific movement requirements of tactical operators, other beneficial side effects that you can expect from it from the fitness aspect are extreme fat loss, functional strength and muscle gain.

5) Anyone who has been exposed to CST for a while would know the breath and depth of the scope of it. And it can be quite overwhelming just to decipher all the information available. You could say that each program, each warm up and cool down section is a sneak peek into the rabbit hole of CST. This program is a distillation of all the possible variables and presents only what you need to know to achieve the said goals. When you are ready to go deeper, you can purchase the other programs to enhance your toolbox.

I used to tell people that if you can't train anything else, just do the deadlift. I would like to recant and say do TACFIT Commando. It is CST's program minimum and it won't disappoint you.

Can Pilates Help Me Lose Weight?

Well, Pilates is dead, he can't help you in any way.

Jokes aside, can Pilates (or insert any other kind of exercise here) help you lose weight?

I have been asked this type of questions many times from prospective students and friends.

So let's analyse the mechanics of fat loss. Allow me to get a bit technical here.

The basic premise that i am taking is that, your training programme must be high intensity to create an environment geared toward fat loss. As mentioned many times elsewhere, this would elevate your metabolic rate for many hours post-workout, giving you a better fat burning effect than conventional long-slow-distance (LSD) cardio.

What does affect intensity? It is the amount of work done in a certain amount of time. In simple physics this is called power.

1) Power = force x velocity = force x displacement / time

2) Power = 0.5 x mass x velocity^2

From these two equations, it is clear without a shadow of doubt that velocity is a component of power, and hence fat loss.

From the second equation, velocity has a factor of two, ie the speed of movement contributes to the power more than the resistance or mass moved.

If you look at a power curve of muscle, you would notice that the biggest area under the curve (ie power), occurs at a moderate level of resistance and velocity.

Image courtesy of http://www.unmc.edu/physiology/Mann/mann14.html

And notice that at maximum resistance and maximum velocity, the area under the curve is ZERO.

Therefore isn't it clear that slow movements or static poses (like in yoga) are not as effective in fat burning? No doubt that muscle contraction by itself requires energy, but mechanically speaking there is no energy consumption if there is no movement, no matter how much the resistance.

The trick is finding the right resistance, this relates to the weight in weight training, leverage or movement difficulty in bodyweight exercise, that allows you to produce the fastest speed of movement (i won't cover this here).

If the speed of movement is fixed, like in a push up, doing more repetitions in the same amount of time would be higher intensity.

Of course there are many other factors involved, but that's it for now.

I hope i have benefitted you from this article. Please post a comment if you have any questions.

What is the Right Way to Breathe In Specific Exercises?

This is a frequently asked question by people who are into weight training and/or physical training.

Let's analyse how to go about doing it.

Allow me to get a bit technical. Let's take a look at the Breath Mastery Scale™ from Prasara: Flow Beyond Thought ™:

1) Fear Level Breath: Passively inhale and hold on perceived effort.

2) Anger or Force Level Breath: Actively inhale and hold on perceived effort.

3) Discipline Level Breath: Actively exhale on perceived effort; passively inhale on cessation of effort.

4) Flow Level Breath: Passively exhale on compression; passively inhale on expansion.

5) Mastery Level Breath: Control pause after exhalation on activity.

6) The Level of Deepening Mastery: Passively extend pause after exhalation on activity.

So actually there are six levels of mastery of the breath. These are different breathing patterns that occur naturally depending on the perceived level of difficulty of an exercise/activity/movement. 

For the uninitiated, you can call this six variations. Though 1) and 2) are definitely not healthy.

So back to our question. How to breathe during specific exercises? Without going into the detailed explanations of the mechanics of breathing, you should always start with Discipline Level. As you get more proficient at the exercise, you go further into the levels going toward Mastery.

Let's take the example of the push up at Discipline Level. For ease of use, we'll divide the movement into four phases:

1) Downward movement: actively exhale as you encounter resistance and exert effort.

2) Bottom position: passively inhale as resistance ceases and effort ceases.

3) Upward movement: actively exhale and you encounter resistance and exert effort.

4) Top position: passively inhale as resistance cease and effort ceases.

This is quite different to the commonly prescribe breathing pattern of exhale on the way up, inhale on the way down. This method can be used provided you do not encounter resistance on the inhale. Inhaling on resistance (and hence effort) serves to increase your intra-thoracic and intra-abdominal pressure and is therefor not healthy. 

Exhaling on effort on the other hand, serves to activate the core muscles to stabilize the core and increase force production. The more force required, the more you need to exhale to activate the core muscles.

If you can't remember anything, just remember this: exhale on effort, inhale on cessation of effort. Once you get this right, getting better at your breathing comes subconciously as your proficiency in the exercise gets better.

Modifying Combat Boots for Better Movement

We know that combat boots make your movements sluggish. They have thick stiff soles that allow less mobility of the feet. Also high cut top that allows less movement from the ankles.

Compared to the old combat boots that i used to wear in my National Service Full Time (NSF) days, the new SAF combat boots (Gore Tex version) are a lot better in terms of performance. The soles have better grip and the fabric sides makes for better ankle mobility.

However, there still can be further improvements in performance with some simple reversible mods. If you are interested to find out more, read on.

Mod #1

The first that i did was to remove the insoles. The soles are already thick and allow less movement and sensation of the feet. Removing the insoles get your feet closer to the ground and allows your feet to feel the terrain better. Less shock absorption forces you to absorb shock with your movement.

Mod #2

The second mod i did was to modify the lacing pattern to allow more dorsiflexion of the ankles. With the conventional lacing pattern with all eyelets looped, in a full squat, the front of the ankles feel very tight, limiting range of motion. Sometimes the compression can feel painful on the ankles.

On the left is conventional lacing, on the right is my modified lacing. Skip the 4th and 5th eyelets (counting from the bottom).

With the modified lacing, the eyelets are able to separate horizontally in a full squat, allowing more ankle dorsiflexion.

Still, i believe there are better boots design out there that allows full ankle mobility, like this. If anybody know what make and model these boots are, do let me know. I am interested to get a pair for myself.

SAR21 Review

Finally after 8 long years of hiatus since my Operationally Ready Date (ORD) in 2002 my first In Camp Training (ICT) came. A lot of Army stuff has improved, catching up with technology. So here are some reviews of them. In this installment, we'll cover the SAR21, Singapore's assault rifle.

According to the instructors, the SAR21 is the most technologically advanced rifle in South East Asia.

My first impression of this rifle is that it is very cumbersome. It looks as if it has too many technological gadgets on it: the scope, the laser aiming device and the gas regulator.

Pros

Stripping and assembling is much simpler. There is no firing pin retainer that can get lost so easily. The firing pin is held in place by a lever that is attached to the bolt assembly.

The design is ergonomically better, especially the cocking handle is at a good position for pulling. Although it weighs heavier than the M16, the balance is better.

Assuming the scope is zeroed properly (as per the factory), it is very accurate and consistent. I got a poorly tuned rifle at first. But borrowed a well tuned one from my bunk mate. Although i still have to aim off the target, it shot the target everytime my technique is good.

Clear plastic magazine make it easy to count the number of rounds in the magazine.

Cons

As mentioned before, there are a lot of parts to this rifle. Like the cocking handle with could be rotated to the right or left. The bullpup design which puts the firing mechanism behind the trigger.

However the parts and build quality is very good. So as long as the parts don't fail, it is a very good rifle.

Triggering technique

The trigger stroke is softer and longer compared to the M16. Initially i found it irritating because i have to pull longer to shoot. However after a few shots and getting myself familiarized with the feel of the trigger, it actually made me pull more steadily.

There were a few shots which i stupidly missed because i wanted to pull faster. But after some tips from some comrades to pull slower, i hit the target every shot thereafter, even for the night shoot.

As for the breathing pattern, in my old unit during my active days, the Company Sergeant Major gave us a few options on when to pull:

1) After a full inhale

2) After a full exhale

3) After a partial inhale

4) After a partial exhale

But after a few years with Circular Strength Training (CST), now i pull on the control pause (the pause after a full exhale). It is really more consistent than the other breathing patterns.

I am still not sensitive enough to control the pull between heartbeats. And since it is the first time in eight years shooting, i probably am not conditioned enough to get my heart rate low during the shoot.

In summary, although had reservations about the new rifle. After trying it out first hand, i actually liked it better than the M16.

The ABCs of Success

I am going to share with you some simple tips that i learned from the business world, which also applies to fitness or other pursuits. Acronym ABC.

A - Associations

Who do you hang out with?

It is important to hang out with the right people. Most people have been brought up with negativities all around. They are taught that "you can't do this, you can't do that, that's impossible, you won't succeed" etc.

Don't hang out with these people. They would jeopardize your success. These are what we call dream stealers.

They already "know it all" because they have tried whatever you say and did not succeed. They are probably right. But, there are other people who have done it. Hang out with these people.

Yes, it is hard to find associations with people who are looking for success. That's why it is very important to search for them. Once you find them, learn as much as you can from them.

If you don't know such people in your circle of friends, one suggestion is to go online. There are many good fitness websites with lots of free articles and forums out there that you can learn from. Not any forums however, as there are a lot of nonsense being spread around in forums too.

Guess how i learned a lot of my physical training knowledge? Through forums, specifically the Rmax Forums.

B- Books

If you are like me, people around you probably do not have expertise in a certain subject you are interested in. So what do you do? Learning from them is the same as learning how to fly a plane from someone who have never flied a plane.

Read books. Yes, old fashioned books. Learn the struggles of successful people and how they overcame their obstacles through books. Learn in depth expositions of various subjects beyond what school teaches you. Books are an investment.

Not any books though. The market is saturated with nonsense books. Probably less than 10% of the fitness books in the library are worth reading.

Part of the fun in books is sifting through the nonsense and finding the gem amongst the crap.

Guess how i got into real physical culture? Again through learning from good books in the library.

Again, I recommend you read books from Rmax. These are very well written books comprehensible by the laymen, yet makes you learn beyond what is taught in school and tapping into the knowledge of the world class athletes:

Big Book of Clubbell Training

Free to Move

Prasara Yoga

C - CDs

If a picture speaks a thousand words, a video speaks ten thousand words or more. CDs are a great way to learn proper technique without having a coach teaching you live. After you have read the good books, you may forget how the movements or exercises looks like. And CDs would be a good reference, which may be even better than books.

With the rise of the internet age, it is becoming easier to get CDs imported from respected publishers that are not available in the local market. Websites like Amazon or Ebay makes it easier to search for particular products under one roof.

Guess how i learned a lot of exercises in my vocabulary? From CDs. With the popularity of the bodybuilding culture, conventional strength & conditioning (SnC) exercises are somewhat boring and unchallenging (in terms of skills, not resistance).

Through CDs, i learned unusual exercises that are fun and challenging. My experience in artistic gymnastics and capoeira tells me that complex movements can be used for SnC. CDs show me that these movements can be used for the general population given the right progressions.

With high speed broadband, physical CDs may not even be neccessary anymore. Eproducts can be downloaded instantly and saved in a convenient place. Eliminating the need for time and cost spending in shipping the product.

Here are some of my top picks for CDs (and eproducts):

Intu-Flow

Flowfit

Prasara Yoga Instructional

Clubbell Blackbook

Kettlebell Foundation

TACFIT Commando

Bodyweight Exercise Revolution