Changing your fitness program regularly is a great way to keep your body stimulated. If you constantly do the same exercises over and over again without changing the moves, your body will eventually adapt to the external stimulus resulting in a bored you and bored body.
Rewind back to 9 weeks ago when I was physically able to participate in any form of exercise until my sudden massive knee injury. The injury that left me unable to walk for over a week and forced me to slow down physically. The injury that made me start back at the basics, like moving my limb on its own and in correlation with the rest of my body as in walking and just simply bearing weight on both feet.
Gaining strength in the large muscles was a challenge but the greatest challenge was learning how to recruit the smaller more intricate muscles and structures that are most often forgotten in many training programs. Fast forward to now and I’m thrilled to say I’m walking without a cane or limp but still very cautious with each step.
When I was contacted to review the ActivMotion bar I was excited to test out this new piece of equipment, especially the higher more advanced moves. However, during the shipping period my accident occurred.
Understanding and knowing when my body needed to move onto the next phase of rehab/training was imperative to the success I’ve gained within these last few weeks. Trusting my level of physical health and feeling the fundamentals were established I began testing out the ActivMotion Bar. Note, I am a certified health care practitioner. Please consult with your health care provider before beginning any form of exercise.
Here are a few of the beginner moves that helped increase my stability…oh and give me great arms.
There I am, finally able to stand on my injured side while balancing the ActivMotion Bar….yay.
ABOUT THE COMPANY: Derek Mikulski, the ActivMotion Bar Inventor and certified personal trainer with a B.S. in health education and promotion traveled his own road to healthy a lifestyle. Having lost a total of 80lbs Derek wanted to continue inspiring others on their road to fitness. He developed the Disruptive Training™ system the ActivMotion Bar training utilizes to challenge the body with the unstable and dynamic stimulus of the bar.
There are 3 phases to this system.
- DISRUPT: Primarily floor exercises that will teach you how to stabilize the bar. Small intricate muscles that aren’t typically activated will turn on in order to keep the bar stable during the suggested exercise. Learning how to keep your body still, wake-up your smaller intricate muscles and keep your mind focused and connected with your body is the goal for this phase.
- DISCOVER: A step up from the first phase, you will get up off the floor and feel the integration of your core and extremities during each movement pattern and sequence.
- DEFINE: Momentum, velocity and resistance within each of the dynamic movements help shape and define your body.
My verdict: I received the 10lb bar which is 5’ long and 1.5” in diameter. I’ve worked with various types of equipment over my 13 years in the fitness industry and nothing like the ActiMotion Bar. What I found unique about the bar is that it is filled with internal rolling weights that roll in the direction of the bar’s movement thus creating more work for the stabilizers
After carefully addressing my weaknesses and ensuring it was okay to begin an exercise program I began with the Foundation Builder (video 1) . EUREKA….finally an exercise video that targets the smaller intricate musculature as opposed to “let’s kick your butt”. It was exactly what this momma needed at that stage of my rehab/training.
The Progressive Movement (video 2) was the appropriate next level training circuit. It addressed the stabilizer muscles explained in video 1 while stepping it up up a few notches. A good mix of on the floor and off the floor exercises that moved the body in all 3 planes of movement. Sadly, there were a couple movements that I am still unable to execute 100% but know I will in a couple of weeks. Look out Dynamic Performance (video 3) I’m coming for ya. Bonus for this momma are the 30 minute workouts in the comfort of my home. The company does offer shorter workout videos, like 10 and 20 minutes.
Attention any golfer’s out there. Check out how this bar can rev up your program.
For those looking to spice up your program with the continuous demands the ActivMotion Bar creates…this is for you.
If you want more info on this product, go check them out at any of their social media platforms.
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