So let’s say you want to get in shape, but weights scare you. The mere though of lifting a heavy piece of iron gives you the rattles. No problem, I’m a huge fan of bodyweight exercises and believe that you can see great results by effectively implementing your own fat ass. Or not so fat ass… either one.

If you take this route, you will eventually have to perform some kind of pushup. They are important… but what happens when you master them? I can bang out 50 pushups while taking a morning dump. Do you switch to weights? Blasphemy! You make your pushups more challenging by investing in pushup bars or something equally similar. Fortunately, I’ve found a VERY unique solution to your problems. It’s called the BodiRocker…

Product Name: BodiRocker
Company: BodiRocker (AsSeenOnTvNetwork)
MSRP: 2 Payments $24.95
Availability: Medium-Low (Online Stores Only As Far As I Know)
Risk Reversal: 30 Day No Questions Asked Guarantee

And today, (after weeks of delays and weeks of use!) I’ll be throwing up a full out review on it. I want to give a little shout out to Anthony who hooked me up with this review unit. The guy has been anxiously awaiting this review… and rightfully so. You’ve all seen what I do when products suck. Lets dig deeper.

Product Claims:

The revolutionary design of the BodiRocker delivers a 2-in-1 workout that will simultaneously train your upper body and core. As you strength train your shoulders, back, chest and arms, your core stabilizer muscles automatically engage to control the rocking motion of the BodiRocker. Plus, multiple grip positions let you zero in on the muscles you want to target, while the cushioned handles provide additional support and comfort.

10 Minute Workouts for every Fitness Level The BodiRocker System includes a free set of workout DVDs that feature beginner to advanced workouts that you can do in just 10 minutes.

• You get:
• 10 Minute Abs & Core
• 10 Minute Chest & Arms
• Plus 10 Minute Yoga & Pilates
• Plus, you’ll get a bonus set of convenient, portable 10 Minute Workout Cards.

Beginners can start out with fun, easy and effective exercises like the Rocking Plank. Athletes and advanced users will never plateau on the BodiRocker with muscle-shredding advanced exercises like the Rocking Single Arm Press. The BodiBalance Meter and PowerRoller The BodiRocker has a built-in balance meter which helps guide your balance during each rep so that you engage your core even more by maintaining proper form.

Plus, when you order through our call center you can add the adjustable PowerRoller, a pivot located underneath the BodiRocker that increases the rocking motion of the BodiRocker in all directions. With the PowerRoller engaged, exercises become more challenging because your core muscles activate at an even higher rate to stay balanced. Results may vary.

First Impressions:

I try not to presume and assume (or fantasize) about products before I lay my hands on them. But I’d be lying outta my ass if I said I wasn’t genuinely excited to try out the BodiRocker. I like multiple pushup variations and wanted to try them all on the device. Needless to say, when I opened the gynormous box that arrived, I wasn’t disappointed.

Construction – It’s all plastic, but it’s SOLID. Seems really well engineered and you can throw your weight around on this device and it will just eat up the abuse. One good thing about solid plastic is that it will never rust. Also, the contact points have polyurethane strips so it won’t scratch or leave marks on your surfaces. Nice.

It comes with a built in Balance Meter which is a really ingenious addition. It allows you to perform a really wide gripped pushup and fight to keep the entire thing balanced in one position. The only compliant is the white, colorless fluid used. It makes the bubble slightly harder to see. I think a slightly colored fluid would work better.

The next thing you’ll see is the Power Roller. You flip this little “nub” under the BodiRocker and all of a sudden, balancing becomes a real challenge. Doing pushups with this feature engaged is something you just need to try for yourself. Love it.

Presentation – As good as any other “As Seen On Tv” product, if not slightly better. You the the BodiRocker, a DVD (details in a minute) and a workout card printed in color where everything is clearly illustrated and legible. No complaints here.

Value – It’s 50 bucks and originally I believe there were a few components you had to get separately. But as of right now, you get the BodiRocker along with all the goodies such as the Balance Meter, Power Roller and DVD in one sweet ass bundle. I don’t feel anyone would be over-paying or under-paying. I think this price point is “just right”… something I rarely ever say.

Real World Results:

Let me just say right off the bat that doing the “10 minutes a day” workouts that are claimed by BodiRocker is a guaranteed way to slow progress. So let’s start with that DVD. The production values of the DVD is great. The models they used for demonstration are great and show the exercise clearly. The narrator also has a clear voice and the workouts themselves aren’t too bad at all. But 10 minutes a day? Let’s get real folks. You can use the workout in that DVD, but plan on throwing together your own routine and spend at least 40 mins a day blasting your entire body to see beneficial results.

Using the BodiRocker is a joy. You can do over 70 different pushup variations ranging from off gripped to ones where you engage the Power Roller… where you will be shaking to keep that thing balanced. Even my workout buddy who is an ex-National Gymnast had quite the challenge doing pushups on the BodiRocker with the Power Roller engaged. Good stuff.

So does it have faults? Yeah. One problem is the gripped handles. I’m PISSED that they only covered half of the handles. From the top, they used cushioned rubber but at the bottom, there are these hideous plastic endings that end up digging into your fingers after extended use. It’s nothing to go crying to your mommy about (just use workout gloves) but it’s a little nuisance I’d like to see addressed in the future.

Another cool thing is how they padded the area where the Balance Meter goes. This allows you to sit on the BodiRocker and perform leg extensions, leg raises, reverse crunches etc. You can also perform some challenging planks. It’s not the best core machine you’ll ever use and those aren’t the best core exercises that you can do, but having the option to do so is a plus.

You can perform stretches with the BodiRocker, but they weren’t anything special in my opinion. The only real valuable one was the hamstring stretch where you can use the device to pull yourself down and really get a nice stretch. Otherwise, you can perform other stretches on your own. For those who are ridiculously inflexible… there might be some value for you here.

Hmm what else… oh right. It’s fucking awesome for handstand pushups! Those that have read my shit, you guys know that I believe the handstand pushup is one of the best shoulder exercises that you can do… and because of the wide base of the BodiRocker, you can go at it. The added balancing element has improved my standard pushup to a great degree. I’m happy as hell.

Working The Back/Biceps:

One problem with doing just body-weighted movements is that you need a bar of some sort to pull yourself if you want to develop a nice back along with ripped biceps. So what to do if you own a BodiRocker? Simple, you can wedge it in between to parallel supports and now have a pullup device. You can perform wide or narrow grip pullups. It’s not the most elegant solution, but it works. I have a deck and it has these massive support beams that go across, I just hang my BodiRocker there and off I go.

I think I’d be cool if they made some kinda attachment/add-on where you can turn the BodiRocker into a pullup device for a standard door frame. How would it work? Well don’t look at me, I’m not gona bother engineering that.

Conclusion:

If you are having trouble with standard pushups, it should be common sense that adding a balancing element to your pushups is idiotic. This is NOT for absolute beginners, but for everyone else (yeah even those that like weights)… I believe you can get some great use out of the BodiRocker. I really wanted to say that it’s not for the “advanced” athlete but with that PowerRoller? Trust me, it will kick your ass. Let’s wrap it up.

Pros:

• Solid construction even though it’s plastic
• Plenty of useful features (Balance Meter & Power Roller). DvD is useful too (for once!)
• You can do plenty of grip variations so every workout can be different (me likes)
• Padded area for the ass is surprisingly comfy
• Price point is just right. It’s not a bargain, but it doesn’t feel like a rip-off either

Cons:

• The grips aren’t padded all the way around
• At 5 lbs and approx 2.6 feet in length it’s not exactly portable
• Transforming someone in 10 Minutes a day is a little “optimistic”
• Full plastic construction of the Power Roller makes me slightly nervous

I really couldn’t fault this thing in any other way. I tried my hardest to find little cracks in it’s armour, but its really fun to use. For the past few weeks I’ve incorporated it with my chest days and the results have been as good as ever. Should you pick one up? I don’t see why  not.

I am going to give the BodiRocker a 4.5/5, and for it’s unique design and innovation it will also get my…

- FitJerk

Discuss: So what did you think of this big black banana?

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