Five Fingers Shoes

Our guest reviewer, Rede Frisby, has been trialling the new five fingers shoes and here are his thoughts. Thanks Rede!

Not quite sure what to expect, I tentatively ordered my first pair of the KSO (Keep Stuff Out) Vibram Five Finger (VFF) ‘shoe'. Im not quite sure whether it was the concept of going back to something more simple (as nature had intended); or wanting to reduce the occasional anterior compartment syndrome when running; or the increasing scientific evidence of reverting back to barefoot mechanics; or just the mental picture of Arnold and Co. squatting sans shoes....probably a combination of all of the above.

Musashi Special

Click More to find out more about Musashi's re-activate, elevator and re-generator systems

Balance N.O Blast Review

N.O Blast is the New Pre Workout Formula from Balance which has been designed to give you energy and focus to get you through any gruelling game or workout. Available with or without caffeine.

"I've had the N.O Blast before a few of my weight sessions now and enjoying it. First I must say it tasted great and not too sweet at all. Its got a nice tropical/orangey flavour like the Ultimate Recovery Stack. Since its not too sweet, its a flavour I can drink alot of frequenly without getting sick of it.

I took the caffeined NO Blast about 30mins before training usually. About 15mins into my workouts I feel a nice tingle in my muscles. With other pre workout drinks that I've had I get that 'hyped' feeling in my head, you know the caffeine kick! but with this I don't which is probably a good thing as usually with the caffeine I get a bit of energy crash in the mid afternoon. Whereas with the Blast I feel I still have the energy without the 'down' phase.

So back to the workouts. I feel I do have the energy towards the end of my workouts whereas I usually just fade. On days where I have busy afternoons with clients I'll take shot of the Caffeine Free N.O Blast to keep my energy up if I have more rigorous sessions in store, so its good to have it without the caffeine otherwise it would keep me awake into the night. I'm glad Balance have finally brought out a pre workout formula as now my supplement regime is complete!"
Lisa Go Figure
18 May 10

"Wow, that N.O Blast delivered!! I had to instruct a Spin class last night, and at 5pm realised I hadn't had any carbs at lunch time after having done a leg workout that morning. Thought I'd give the Blast a go - had nothing to lose. Really liked the flavour, not too sweet or artificial tasting. Did a wicked hour of hills and heavy riding and had energy to burn - felt awesome during and after taking the class. SOLD!! Thanks for the chance to try it - wouldn't have considered it normally"
Kirsty, 18 May

When mixed there was no lumpy residue left on the bottom. As a tropical flavour I expected the taste to be sweet, but it wasnn't, drinking N.O. Blast it gave me a light feeling, very smooth a bit of an up-lift, weird but a good weird. It had only been 15minutes in taking the drink and I felt alert and I was listening to the sounds of Enigma. So I headed for the gym, had a quick warm-up, its like this burst of energy and I couldn't wait to pump some iron. Wow! This stuff is good what a thrill.
Jane, 20 May

"I think the NO Blast tastes beautiful and its easy on the stomach. I've been using it before my workouts and feel that it gives me really good energy while training. Afterwards I take the Ultimate Recovery Stack to help my muscles repair and recover"

Tony Ligaliga
20 May

" Have had some really good sessions lately with N.O Blast. I work out at 6am and it was really good to have something to get the blood going, i found N.O Blast to be great tasting and produced a good pump without any "jitters". I found the best response came from drinking it on an empty stomach with ice cold water which helped it move quickly into the working muscle, also it lasted the entire session and then on into the day which is really good.
Great tasting and does what you need from a pre work out supp"
cheers again
Scotty, 25 May

‘I've been trying the new Balance NO Blast and has been great. Like the tropical taste, not to sweet and mixes up quick and easily as I rush to get to the gym. Gives me a noticeable boost in energy during my sessions and through the day and have increased both weight and reps which I certainly feel the next day, think my training partner is feeling it as well! Thanks to Lisa and Go Figure for the sample so I could try it out.'
Ben, 25 May

I have trialed the caffeine and caffeine free versions for the last 2 weeks. I took it 30mins before my workouts (5.30am) and on an empty stomach. I've had noticeably better workouts since taking it. I didn't notice the difference between the two, both tasted the same (nice) and gave the same results- whatever muscle I was training felt huge! It is definitely a product I'd continue to train with. Thanks for the opportunity to try this product.
Kat, 2 June

Had my first taste of NO Blast (with caffeine) on Friday, it tasted great and I could feel the difference in my workout. I was feeling a little tired beforehand but found I was just the 'energizer bunny' all day. I would use this again!
Jillian, 2 June

It was a rough start to the day after a night of coughing children keeping me awake. Was also carrying a knee injury so wasn't too enthused to train today. So this made it the perfect time to trial the NO Blast. It was easy to mix and tasted good - i don't handle sweet stuff too well but this was very tasty. The bits at the bottom weren't so hot though! I had this about 30 minutes before hitting the gym. After my warm up run, the legs were pumped, my energy levels were up and was feeling pretty darn good to make the most of my chest workout.

This sample kept me going throughout the whole workout, was able to up weights/reps as well as sustainable energy for the whole workout. Was enjoying the results of the training when i hit my last set of cable flys in front of the mirror, nicely ripped! Still buzzing an hour after training and it certainly helped get past the fatigue i felt this morning. Would I add this to my supplement plan - yes.
Veronica, 3 June

N.O Blast winners

Sue Bettridge, Wendy Sole, Melissa Hedley, Mose Petaia, Georgina Waitaki, Brent Corin, Scott Mayhew, Phillip Lusby, Maeve O'Dwyer, Jane Matua, Veronica O'Grady, Karen Nippress, Rochelle Vincent, Janette McKeown, Wendy Apaapa, Kat Hall, Donovan Bickford, Kristy Hartley, Rochelle Allsopp-Smith

NB: Sample shot receivers will be required to give us feedback on the product.

Click Pics to learn more about the N.O Blast!

Morph Megadrive Review

Morph Megadrive is a new pre training formula from isatori designed to give you focus and long lasting energy during your workouts.

Winners!!! the winner of the Morph Megadrive pack is Ness Lawgun. And the distributors would also like to give Andrew Barrett an 'Assault' pre workout formula as a consolation prize.

All the other entries will get sample tablets of the Morph GXR-3 tablets.

The first time I tried Morph Megadrive I thought 'wow that's sweet!', so if you like sweet then you're going to love this one. Its an aniseed flavour which is fine but the added sweetness was abit too much for me so at my next workout I added more water which made it much better.

I took the Morph Megadrive for a week and found that it gave me a good overall energy and strength but not the 'mental kick' like some other pre workout formulas. Might be a good thing as you're not hyped up so you're not all anxious for your training session. I would say I'd need to take it on a longer term to see how it would increase my strength and overall muscle mass.

Hopefully our Morph Megadrive winner Ness will give us a better idea after she's used all her container.

Lisa, Go Figure
27 April 10

PureFit Granola Crunch Bars Reviews

PureFit have launched their NEW Granola Crunch Flavour

You can find out more about PureFit bars here

Read our reviews!

This isn't your classic protein bar that's all chocolate coated and is all chewy in your mouth. As the bar doesn't contain all the fillers that many other bars have, this bar is best described like a crunchy doughy and you probably need a glass of protein shake with it to help you wash the bar down. Some people don't like that type of texture but I'm actually ok with it. The bar contains lots of ground up almonds and nutty in taste. Its not overly sweet and is quite satisfying without getting the sugar high of some bars. Since the bar is wheat, gluten and dairy free, I didn't experience any adverse affects from it as I am lactose intolerant ie puffy eyes, running nose etc.
Lisa, 7 Apr 10

One advantage to the Purefit bars is that they don't melt in your bag, although it did take a mouthful or two to get over the fact that this was a protein bar without chocolate! I liked the taste and the texture; my husband and I both agreed it tasted like raw biscuit dough, got to be a plus. A drink would help it go down more easily and they reminded me of a type bar you would take on a ong bike ride as they wouldn't break up and it wouldn't matter if they got squashed in the back of your cycling gear. I would buy these bars to use as a snack.
Jill, 10 Apr

Loved it! Stoked there's now a gluten free protein bar and will definately look to purchase these. Loved the taste and texture. It was creamy with crunchy bits in it, like cookies and cream. Very satisfying at 200 Cal and excellent protein value at 18g.
Cheers, Julie 10 Apr

Thanks for the opportunity to try the new granola crunch purefit bar. I really enjoyed it, I thought it was not too sweet or chewy as some of the bars are. It left a pleasant taste in my mouth and I would definitely buy again.
Liz 10 Apr

Thoroughly enjoyed the bar. I have to admit tho, the first couple of bites took me by surprise (just used to other bars!) but I actually enjoyed it! It was very fulling - felt very satisfied and was looking forward to the next one. Great to see a tasty protein bar that is available to those that are gluten & lactose intolerent! Excellent!
Karen Mc, 10 Apr

The bar was quite nice, I had to divide it up into 3 to snack on with my mid-morning meal as I was a little paranoid of the sugars this far out from a comp. It has a good taste and not that taste you usually get from protein bars, probably a bit sweet for me however. It tastes like a nice muesli bar but with the added bonus of 18g of protein. Good for those people who are after a mid morning meal replacement and don't usually enjoy the taste of usual protein bars. I wasn't effected by the usual "sugar alcohol" bloat I often get as I don't think they use much of that stuff. Great bar for most.
Greg, 12 Apr

The designer protein bar! They are sweetened with Algave Nectar, which is a natural low GI sweetener, this means they are won't spike your sugar levels like glucose and also don't contain artificial sweeteners. The ingredients are vegan and do not contain wheat, dairy or gluten which means no digestive disruptions! This flavour tastes yummy also, reminded me of cookie dough!
Anne, 12 Apr

Finally.........................a chance to sit down with a coffee, some silence and time to savour the Purefit bar that has been rattling around in my bag waiting for this opportune moment!! Ummmmmm, have to say I'm a chocolate/sweet/gooey kinda bar snacker. I tried to REALLY like it but apart from the fact I could pretend I was eating uncooked home baking (yummmmm), I struggled a little with it. Certainly not unpleasant or artificial tasting as a lot of bars can be but not my kinda flavour!
Kirsty, 12 Apr

Purefit bar was deeeeelish!! Loved the oatyness of it!!("Fkn fantastic" I said to myself at the time as I was driving up the coast!!)
Mandi, 12 Apr

Verdict! Magnetic Bands

Some of you may have seen some of your gym buddies wearing bands around their wrists and wondered what they are.

Tony Ligaliga was wearing a very colourful red one at the gym the other day and he said it was a magnetic band which helped him with recovery and strength.

And I thought 'yeah right'! I'm such a cynic.

Then in a coincedence I had a friend bringme a gift from a trip to the Phillipines last week, and it was a magnetic band. Go Figure! They also brought me a band that goes around the neck which I'll pass on to a client to use and see if it makes any difference.

The magnetic bands have been around a few months but I never really took much notice of them, afterall how can a band help to promote recovery and increase strength.

Just on the radio today, happen to listen to Murray Deaker's talkback and he loves biomag, anyway the lady advertising the biomag blanket is also giving away a magnetic band to put on the wrist. They say thousands of people have felt better and their back aches have gone from sleeping on the blanket, so maybe a wristband will help in daily life. Who knows?

So, I'm going to be wearing this band for a week and see how I feel. At the moment I'm feeling very achy and have sore joints, probably from all my weight training and cardioing, so going to see the band helps me recover.

Will keep you posted!
Lisa
7 March 2010

22 March Verdict: Well I've had the band on my wrist for about 2 weeks now and my verdict is - its all hype! infact its made my elbow joints feel more sore and achy. Maybe others have had better expeirences with it on but since taking it off my elbows feel so much better. Some of these bands cost upwards of $80 so its pretty expensive for a gimmick, lucky I didn't pay for mine other wise its would've been a big waste.