FJ's Verdict:

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Product Name: Portable Power Jumper
Company: Lifeline USA
MSRP: $49.95
Availability: Medium (Online & Maybe Some Stores)

Plyometrics… the type of workout which can kick the living snot out of anyone from the average dingleberry to the highly advanced pro athlete. It is one of the quickest ways to burn a massive amount of calories in record time, while simultaneously boosting your vertical jump and overall “speediness”. For this reason, I am SUPER excited to review the Portable Power Jumper from Lifeline USA… The same great folks that brought us the all awesome PowerWheel. Let’s hope that they can keep things rolling because I have seriously high hopes for this product. Yes, the damn pun was intended!

If you’ve read my previous articles then you know that I have two awesome Plyometrics Routines available on this blog and they both involve tried and true exercises and techniques that give you some serious results. So you might be wondering “Why the hell do we need this?”. Well, that’s a good questions, and one that I intend to find an answer to. First let’s find out what LifeLine has to say about it’s Portable Power Jumper.

Product Claims:

“An increased vertical jump means more blocks, rebounds, catches and saves. Jump training is a key part of competitive sports training. The Lifeline® Portable Power Jumper works your core and back at the same time and is the fastest way to stack on a lot of inches to your vertical leap. It works great with all levels of athletes-from beginners to experts. Just ask World Champion Dunker Jamillian Mormon. The Portable Power Jumper helped him add an incredible 13 inches to his vertical jump!

Use it with a jump rope and your cardio, strength training and jump training can all happen at the same time.

Key feature: Unlike platform or weight based jump trainers, the Portable Power Jumper does not accelerate your impact with the ground which saves your knees!”

First Impressions:

So there we have it, the prime reason you might want to consider the Portable Power Jumper [PPJ] over traditional plyometrics routines… Minimize impact! I cannot deny the fact that while you perform a normal plyo routine (specially with weights if you’re used to some resistance like me) then the impact of landing can/might do some damage to the knees. Usually you should be ok… But what if you have knee problems to BEGIN with, yet you still feel motivated as fuck to reach astronomical levels of height through jumping? This is when the bands in the PPJ can come save your ass.

Let’s get down to business. Upon embracing the whole unit at first, I was excited and slightly confused. All the bands and stuff just lying there make it look so complicated, but it’s really not. The build quality was exceptional (something I’m just expecting from Lifeline from now on) and the fact that they threw in an extra pair of heavier resistance bands made me get all giddy in my pants (usually the extra pair of heavier-resistance bands is $19.95 with included foam straps). One of the details that LifeLine USA seems to have missed is the “Portable” part. If you wind up the bands and squish the ankle pads together, you still end up with a package that is a foot long and 7 inches wide, and this is without the extra bands. If you want to carry the whole package, forget it. You could use this as the “Bagable Power Jumper”, but don’t expect to carry anything else in there.

It came with their usual brochure that mentions all of their other products like the PowerWheel etc. And also an instructional manual that gives a brief description of the unit along with plenty of exercises to fancy your pantsy. But I did have a few problems with this “manual”

1. It doesn’t clearly state in which position the leg attachment should go on. Here’s the quote from the manual: “…with padded cable over the back of your neck and handles on your feet.” Now OBVIOUSLY this isn’t that hard to understand but let me tell you LifeLine… There is a race going on between companies trying to make idiot proof products and the world producing more idiots. Right now the world is winning by a mile.

They need to put in diagrams that show you how to securely fasten this shit down. The main problem, like I mentioned was that I didn’t know which way the pad should face, front or back? After trial and error I found it much better to have the pad resting up on the calves instead of on the shins. Your experience will obviously differ.

2. The great thing about the PPJ is the interchange able bands so you can get the PERFECT amount of resistance that’s just right for you. But they never show you how to change these bands at all. The danger here is that I can just see someone trying to “stuff” the bigger, redder tube into the tiny crevasse and fucking it all up. What you need to do is pull about 6 inches of the band as much as you can, this way it’s width decreases. Then you slip it in and slowly release it back into it’s original shape. Pull into the position so the stopper is at the tip and viola! Now, most of you who read my shit are quite bright individuals (thank god), but I’ve met some real rubber mallets in my time, and I wouldn’t count on them figuring anything out.

3. Then there’s the… Uh…  shit. I actually got nothing else.

Let’s get more in depth with the bangin’ build quality I was touting on about. The bands (or as Lifeline like to call them, cables) are superior to anything else on the market and if you can outstretch these then you need to stay the fuck away from me. You beast you. On top of that, every band comes with a built in padded strap that makes it easier for it to rest on the back of your neck/trapezius area.

Then there’s the construction of the ankle strap. It was built with tough material and the stitching is top notch. I yanked, pulled, bit and tried to tear it with my manly hands… But to no avail. These pads can withstand some serious abuse and should last you for quite a while. If they don’t however, Lifeline backs the PPJ up with a lifetime warranty. Doesn’t get much better than that.

Real World Results:

Now comes the $49.95 question – Does this thing actually work? Well in short… hell yeah. It’s sensational! The PPJ can be used bare foot or with shoes. Let’s talk about the resistance. It’s not what you think it is, it’s kinda different but in a pleasant way. Kind of like being spanked by a random cute girl. At first you’re sorta taken off-guard and it stings, but then you really like it. That’s exactly how it is with the PPJ, minus the sting. It forces your whole body to compress into a tiny fetus. When you walk around with the PPJ on, the resistance from the bands make you look like a poor fob who took a massive diarrhetic shit in his pants.

I made my buddy (Josh) wear it inside, this way he’d have to walk out onto the grass and put it through it’s paces. Let’s say the initial impression that he projected was nothing short of hilarious. (Not hard feelings bro… It was for the greater good).

The exercises that you do are pretty standard, they can easily be performed with ankle weights or with dumbbells in your hands but there are a few places where the PPJ shines. One is when you hit the floor – Once you’re airborne, the bands want to re-contract from top to bottom, this means when you land, you can be in the optimal position to absorb the impact. It also forces you to bend your knees which I believe will be a lifesaver for most people.

The second aspect where the PPJ shines is the fact that you can wear the bands around your waist and hook up the ankle hoops to a stationary object. You can now do some sprinting and jumping drills that can get quite sport-specific. This type of variability is invaluable. If you’re a runner or sprinter, I have no doubts that using the PPJ can help shave off a second or more off your final time. Hands down!

So what about me personally? Most of you already know that my plyo is pretty awesome, did the PPJ help? Yup, it gave me an extra 3 inches! This is a SIGNIFICANT  improvement for someone who’s vertical jumping is usually at it’s peak. What I had to do to achieve this was incorporate the PPJ into my normal plyo routines… And I had to use one red and one maroon band for some extra jump juice.

I have some reservations about the insane 13 inch improvement Jamillian Mormon got from the PPJ, specially considering he’s a pro athlete. But I have no doubts that folks who have a weak vertical due to lack of training plyometrics should see an average increase of somewhere around 10 inches hands down… like no problem what-so-ever.

While testing, I did come across another slight problem with the PPJ… Young adolescents and midgets cannot effectively use it. They are too short for the bands, so there is no resistive feedback to provide a proper plyometric workout. But the good thing is that young adolescents will eventually grow, so it’s the midgets that are missing out. Oh well… Sorry. You little people can stick to my plyo routine, its height proof!

Conclusion:

The bottom line is that I can breathe out a sigh of relief. I try not to pre-judge products when I review but the Portable Power Jumper just seemed “gimmicky”  to me. One of those cool gadgets that would have no real merit, but thank god I was wrong. I’m not even gona lie, this thing kicked my ass… straight up. Everyone I gave it to loved the PPJ also, even if it made them look outlandishly awkward at first.

BONUS TIP FROM FJ

Here’s something kick-ass that I came up with. After finishing one of my plyo routines with the PPJ, I looked at my plan and had biceps scheduled in as the next muscle group. Instead of busting  out my normal Aylio resistance bands, I had a light bulb moment. I realized that you can step through the ankle loops of the PPJ, and grab the foam neck strap thing on each end, allowing you to perform standing barbell curls! How awesome is that!? Yes I’m a genius I know.

So let’s wrap this up along with a final score.

PPJ PROS:

• Works as advertised
• Resistance is adjustable for individual needs
• Can be used anywhere
• Excellent build quality – can withstand abuse
• Lifetime warranty!
• Well designed with vertical and horizontal uses
• Can use it to do standing barbell curls!

PPJ CONS:

• Manual needs to be revised with better instructions
• Young adolescents and midgets cannot use it effectively
• Not really convinced about it’s “portability”

…And now we get down to the FINAL aspect of the PPJ – The PRICE. Is it worth paying $49.95 for, specially when you do have cheaper alternatives available and the economy is a bit tight? Well I thought long and hard about this and I came to a conclusion. YES, as long as it’s needed.

See if I ever train anyone, I ALWAYS incorporate a plyometrics routine because like I stated at the start of this review, its an awesome calorie burner. On top of that it gives you FUNCTIONAL gains in leg strength, speed and endurance. If you play ANY type of sport, this piece of equipment should come in VERY handy because you’ll be doing plyo anyways… And the PPJ will give you fool proof protection from shitty landings. I’d also be surprised if you cannot find alternate uses for the excellent quality bands. Then there’s the LIFETIME warranty. This is the icing on the cake which made me say hell yes.

So because of its great design, awesome back-end support from LifeLine USA and super effectiveness across the board, the Portable Power Jumper gets 4/5 stars, but it’s also going to receive:

To Being Fit & Sexy 4 Life!

-FitJerk

Flawless Fitness Book

P.S – Have you tried my plyometrics routine? Have you done plyometrics at all? Let’s hear your thoughts on the science of jump training. Post some comments below and let me know you have an opinion!