Day 86: Shoulders and Arms

"Did you see what Erik just said? He said he'll do his best." -Tony Horton- PlyoX

I don't think I'll use a backpack for today's workout. Shoulders and Arms just doesn't jive with added weight on my back, unlike many of the other workouts, this one is not body-weight dependent. So looks like this afternoon's workout will be pretty standard fare.

Let's review some more equipment that I have been using: Bands.
http://www.amazon.com/Resistance-Workout-Exercise-Including-Physical/dp/B002L6WO5U/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&s=sporting-goods&qid=1275999819&sr=8-8

I'm using "B.M.P. Set of Five Resistance Bands". BMP Stands for Black Mountain Products, what that has to do with fitness, I don't know. But the bands were cheap and I got them for $32.53 (free shipping, but had to pay tax). The bands come in 5 distinct weight ranges 2-5 yellow, 5-10 green, 10-15 blue, 15-20 black, 20-30 red. They are fully formed handle + band, so there is no clips, handles, stoppers, or anything that you have to remove and re-attach. To date, I've primarily used the black and red bands. There are a few shoulder exercises that are too difficult to do with the heavier ones, but I have found no use for the lower-weight bands. Even when I "double up" and hold two in one hand, I stick with green/red or blue/red.

I find the grips are very nice, but I think they are just made out of thin plastic. So if you strain too much they might snap in the middle (some of the bands at my gym have snapped and the handles are terrible to work with - they really dig into your palms).

A nice bonus - the bands come with a small door-clip. This allows you to place the clip at the top of a doorframe (that has a door) and you can feed the band through it so you can perform band-pullups. It's a nice bonus. Again, I haven't used this feature, but it's there.

after almost 86 days of using them, I haven't had any indication of significant ware, tearing, or signs of degrading. They seem to hold up pretty well. And for $30, how can you say no?

My only complaint is that they don't have a 40-50lb band. I'm finding that red is not enough for some of the bicep workouts where you crouch down. Even making a double-loop around my feet.

Weighed- 149 this morning. Plyo was tough with a backpack, but do-able. Only ones I had problems with were: Twist Combo, Rockstar Hops, and Jump Knee Tuck... because the backpack has a mind of its own.