FJ's Verdict:

Product Name: Big Stick
Company: TheStick USA Site (Canadian Site)
MSRP: $21.50 – $53.95 (Depends on the size)
Availability: Medium Click To Check For Local Availability

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the review of FJ’s Big Stick. And no, not that stick you sick face… this stick:

This is a very unique piece of equipment that I’ve been playing around with and testing for the past little while, and now it’s regularly seen on my bed the day after an intense workout. I seriously need to stop leaving it there, people are starting to ask questions. Fuck it, let’s move on. So what’s this for? Well The Big Stick (TBS) is a piece of equipment that’s currently being used by Olympic athletes and regular users to relieve muscle soreness after an intensive training session.

It’s important to note that I’ve got the BIGGER version of their stick which is 30 inches (as I rightfully should) but there are also smaller and medium versions which you can get based on your particular needs. Actually, below is a list of all the different sizes and types available. There’s a stick for every toolbag, how convenient!

Stick Pro System
Stick Fitness System
Big Stick
Power Stick
Flex Stick
Stiff Stick
Original Body Stick
Computer Stick
Sprinter Stick
Travel Stick
Marathon Stick
FootWheel
TriggerWheel
Little Stick
Instructional DVD
Posture Curve
Pet Stick

Let’s hear the official word so you can get to know my big friend…

Product Claims:

The Stick is a revolutionary device used to segmentally compress and stretch muscle. It is highly effective in the treatment of muscle pain and trigger points.

The Stick provides the following benefits:

• Prevent & Predict Muscle Injuries
• Dramatically improve strength, flexibility and endurance
• Rapidly prepare muscles for physical activity
• Disperse the effects of lactic acid following activity
• Accelerate muscle recovery

What is the Stick Made of, how long will it last?
Stick products are made of a space-age plastic that allow necessary flexibility of the tool and provide maximum compression of the muscles (the Stick contains no rubber or wood). The center rod of the Stick is surrounded by spindles which roll independently over the muscle. The handles provide maximum comfort in the grip. The Stick comes with a 90-day satisfaction guarantee, and a 1 year manufacturer’s warranty against defects. With proper use, The Stick should last a lifetime.

First Impressions:

You hear that? My big stick will last me for a LIFETIME, how can you not get excited (I’m holding you guys to this btw). But joking aside, it honestly is truly well made. It’s only got a few quirks that need fixing which are keeping it from being perfect, which we’ll get to in a bit.

The stick arrived in this cardboard tube, so packaging is done very nicely and keeps the product safe. It comes with a brochure where they talk about all their bragging shit such as the magazines that they’ve been in, and history, etc. They also have a little slogan for it, they call this the “toothbrush for muscles”. LOL… I don’t know if the tooth brush is an effective noun when it comes to a product related to muscle soreness.

I don’t know about you, but to me toothbrushes give me the illusion of “cleaning”. Maybe it’s so ridiculous that it’s memorable, in which case… their marketing department are full of geniuses.

And it also comes with an instructional sheet, showing you how to use it along with a 90 day guarantee. Though I don’t see why it can’t all be compiled into one little booklet/brochure thing, I’m sure it’ll save them some paper. Anyways, what is this… I’m not some fucking tree hugger.

Now, if you really want to know how it works, you can watch the video below, but in simple terms, it’s like a deep tissue massage. It relieves the knots and increases blood flow, and since blood carries oxygen and muscles are capable of using oxygen as fuel… you recover faster. Without further ado, here’s the deeper explanation…

Real World Results:

Ok, so it’s a stick and it’s big, but does it actually do what it’s supposed to? Well yes and no. The reason i say this is because if you don’t follow the instructions and perform the rolling motions correctly then the benefits are minute. I’ve had this for just about 2 months now and at first I couldn’t really notice a huge difference. The reason being was that I wasn’t focusing TBS over the muscle insertion points. I was just going over the entire thing.

Then I’m like… “duh”… weight training will cause stress near the joints where muscle meets tendon, and when I started focusing on these areas with really DEEP passes… it was almost magical. No longer was I walking like a fucking duck the day after an intense squat sessions. I was actually able to turn the wheel of my car after blasting my chest the night before. It all clicked.

Now, few things to be aware of: Not all of you will benefit from focusing on the muscle insertion points, some of you may have knots dead smack in the middle of your quads for example. So be it. The point is that you need to find out how to beneficially use this thing and that will take a few days… so don’t be in some instantaneous hurry. Chill the fuck out you know? You’ll eventually get it.

I’ve also gotten pretty comfortable at contorting my body and finding little tricks to hit every most muscle groups when I’m using this by myself (In case you haven’t figured it out by now, giving your big stick to a cutie and asking her to take over is the way to go). So here’s my list of the muscles that can be effectively treated by the stick and ones that are hopeless.

Places That You Can Hit Easily Or With Minimal Practice:

• Legs (Quads, Hammies, Calves)
• Lower, Middle & Upper back (Traps)
• Chest
• I Guess Abs, but I never bothered with this one
• Neck (Damn, this one feels SO good)
• Biceps
• Feet (ladies, after a long ass day of shopping, this is gona feel very, VERY good)
• Skull (“whaa?” TBS can knock someone the F**K out. No joke. Doubles as a weapon)

Places That Are Hard/Impossible To Hit:

• Shoulders (Unless  you can anchor it somewhere)
• Triceps
• Forearms (Just get someone to do it for you instead… seriously)

As for the build quality, like I said, it’s exceptional. But here’s one quirk… the rollers are clearly made from 2 pieces, which is cool… I got no problem with that, but near the top, some of the rollers aren’t perfectly aligned, so they end up with sharp edges. Now I don’t want you to get all up in arms because it’s not something that’s gona cut you up but running your fingers over it definitely feels slightly abrasive. Spending 30 seconds to grind it down wasn’t a huge task but still… it shouldn’t be necessary.

Other than that, it’s some tough shit. The grip handles are great, the weight feels just right and it’s made to bend as you put pressure on it. I rested it on my chair and put some serious weight on it with my foot and it didn’t even flinch. Went right back to it’s original shape. This is awesome and comforting to know because some muscles groups are going to require some DEEP passes.

For those about to ask the inevitable pussy question such as “wouldn’t that hurt?”. YES it will hurt, it’s a knot in the muscle that you’re trying to roll out… it’s supposed to hurt.

Conclusion:

So, should you get it? I mean it’s no different than a dough roller right? ERR wrong… I actually tried the dough rollers but here’s the problem with those… they are inflexible. So when you apply shit-tonne of pressure, guess what happens? They stay flat and flatten out your muscles and this can cause un-necessary pain.

The Stick on the other hand is flexible so even if you really giver’ it will contort and bend according to the shape of the muscle and the body part. It’s also great at concentrating the pressure with more precision where as a dough roller will just spread everything out.

So my answer is that if you work with weights at all, or if your workouts get  you sore on some level and you need to function the next day, then for sure, you gota grab one. BUT not the one I have.

“NO?”

Nah.. this big stick is like the hardcore version. I’d honestly only recommend this to bodybuilders, or elite athletes. And at $54 it’s a little steep, specially when people have less expendable income. However… their sweet spot seems to be their Original Body Stick. It’s about $42 and 24 inches long… more than enough length to reach almost every body part. If I were to buy one of their products with my own cash, it would be this one. Hands down.

And so, for their valiant efforts at creating an excellent product, I’m awarding the guys over at The Stick with my OWN stick. Naw I’m playing, I’m actually awarding them 4 stars and with this…

[UPDATE: Patrick, the guy from TheStick who made this review happen, got in touch with me to resolve the issues I was having where certain muscle groups couldn't be reached. Here's the solution...

"While it’s not apparent, here’s how you can use the Stick for these areas:
Triceps:
Put one end of the Big Stick into the pants, on the side of your hip – lean your upper body forward and hold the Stick with the opposite hand ( of the hip you input it) and you can easily roll out the tri and biceps.

Forearms:
Put one end of The Big Stick on the table and you’ll figure it out J ( see instructions)
Or, if no table is there … this looks really strange, but personally speaking I don’t care what it looks like as long as it helps me, … stand, input the Stick between your thighs, then secure it better by crossing your legs – which then serves as an anchor of The Stick and hold the other end w/ the opposite hand of the one you want to roll out."]

Right on… that’s just where the big stick belongs anyways right? So big ups to them for the quick response. Another reason why this thing gets a good rating, their customer response and back-end support is the way it SHOULD be.

To being envied by the masses…

- FitJerk

P.S- So, whatcha think about my big stick?