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!

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© 2009 – 2010, By FitJerk. FitJerk.com is a division of Flawless Fitness Media – All Rights Reserved – No part of this post is to be republished without author consent under any forms of media (including print, internet, video or audio transcription). Doing so is a violation against copyright law and should be punishable by a punch to the face. All images are copyright of their respective owners.

Only LOSERS have nothing to say or discuss. Put your thoughts, comments or general rants in the comment section below. FJ does not use censorship but obvious racial slurs and over-the-top stupidity will be deleted.

Product Name: Power Wheel
Company: Lifeline USA
MSRP: $59.99 Click For Lowest Prices On The Power Wheel
In The Box: Power Wheel, Dvd Rom, Instructional Manual, Product Catalog

Fitness gadgets are mostly useless, un-necessary, waste of money and more often than not, LESS effective than simple body weight exercises or free weight exercises. So why in the world did I bother to spend a good 1.5 weeks with the so called Power Wheel by Lifeline USA? Because as far as ab “machines” or “gadgets” go, this one has been talked about the most — and is being used by players in the NHL and NFL.

So I figured hey, football and hockey players are one thing, let’s see if it can keep up with a gymnastics and martial arts workout. For those of you who are totally clueless… Watch the movie Stick It, it will give you a whole new perspective on gymnastics training (and that shit’s not fake, I can personally vouch for the legitimacy of what the movie portrays).

So back to the product in question– The PowerWheel. At first glance this thing seems like nothing new, there are PLENTY of ab wheels out there that claim to effectively help you train your abs, but this is where all the similarities end.  Let’s take a closer look at the wheel itself and what you get in the box.

First Impressions:

Right off the bat, the VERY first thing you’ll notice is the size of the wheel, it’s actually pretty big… Much bigger than I thought. It’s more like a black rim (Look mom, my abs are ridin’ twelves!). At first I was a bit unsure about this, but after a fair bit of use I not only got used to it, but started to enjoy it and started applying it in funky situations by thinking “outside the box”. Well, more like outside the house… The big wheel works perfectly on less than ideal surfaces such as wooden decks, concrete floors and most importantly, GRASS! On a nice day you can take your sturdy Power Wheel outside and do up a kick ass workout because it’s a joy to use.

Speaking of sturdy, this thing is built quite well. The spokesperson told me that 200+lbs athletes use this on the regular… So the wheel must surely get its fair share of punishment. However, there is one minor quirk that worries me. When you receive the Power Wheel, there is obviously some assembly that’s required. Which is fine… because all you have to do is slip the wheel onto a metal rod then attach a foot pedal to it by tightening the hex screw, cool.

powerwheel2

The only problem is that the  hinges which attach the foot pedals to the metal rod are plastic… so while trying to screw them down as tightly as possible (assuming that’s the right thing to do since I don’t feel like falling on my face if a foot pedal goes flying off) the plastic started to show signs of minor crackage. See the picture for more detail.

This is a bit baffling since the rest of the wheel is superbly constructed and I don’t see why the hinges were chosen to be plastic… Making them out of metal would make more sense. This quirk might end up becoming the Achilles heel of the Power Wheel, but in all fairness the little crack (or whatever you want to call it) remained constant throughout the testing and did not get worse. Nor did it hinder the experience or break down, and let me tell you, I put it through some serious punishment.

Next is the smoothness of the wheel when everything is assembled. Give it a lil flick and the wheel will keep spinning without any stutter… All without ball bearings. Impressive. I’m glad Lifeline USA nailed this because a clunky wheel will give you a shitty workout, it’s just that simple.

The DVD has some really good exercises that you can do which range in difficulty from beginner, intermediate and advanced. Everything is explained nicely… The only thing that let me down is the production quality — it could have been SO much better. Celebrity sex tapes have nicer visual quality. It seems out of balance to have such a well built product with a slightly amateur looking DVD, makes it seem like it was either rushed or was an afterthought which makes you feel like it wasn’t meant to be a part of the bundle from the beginning. Other than that it’s all functional so I can’t complain too much.

powerwheel4

The instruction manual explains most of the workouts that are shown in the DVD along with assembly instructions… Pfft! Usually I’d never bother to look at instructions (just like any other guy around the freaking world) but for the sake of the review I had a peek. Looked alright to me… There is a diagram, arrows pointing to shit and sentences in English. The only thing that worried me was the lack of Warranty info. I contacted Lifeline USA about this and they got back to me and said they will fix this little error. If I’m not mistaken, the Power Wheel has a lifetime warranty(?). Don’t quote me on this though.

Product Claims:

The Lifeline® Power Wheel dynamically improves core strength, power and balance. Designed to fit hands or feet, the Power Wheel forces your core to adapt and stabilize with each dynamic move for the strongest back and abs ever!

The Lifeline® Power Wheel was determined to be “The Best Core Trainer in the World” by an independent research study done at the University of California Berkeley.

Real World Results:

powerwheel3

I’ve used plenty of ab wheels in the past, so the first thing I wanted to do was slip my feet into the foot pedals and test drive the unique angle the Power Wheel has over ALL the other ab trainers. Since I was at home, I figured what the hell… Let’s go bare feet… Well that turned out to be a stupid idea. It’s wayyy to uncomfortable and the rubber straps just don’t get a good enough stretch to hold your feet sturdy, It’s all wonky and lame. Fortunately things start to turn around as soon as you put on a pair of running shoes… It fits perfectly without a hitch. I guess you can’t have the best of both worlds but it would have been nice if the pedals were designed to accommodate both bare feet and shoes. I demand perfection!

With my feet firmly attached, I tried out all of the different exercises that were shown on the DVD. These include: push ups, pike ups, walking (think human wheelbarrow), alligator walk & inch worms. I also noticed that since the wheel is so damn big, it creates its own gravity… Which means you get a KILLER workout when you do leg raises. Love it.

After going through that narly little routine (and noticing the sweat dripping down my head), I decided to step it up a notch and do inch worms to handstand. Rinse and repeat. Holy shit was I dying. Good stuff.

Then it was time to detach my feet and use the Power Wheel like the traditional ab wheels and do roll outs. All aces here. The wheel itself is extremely smooth as I had stated above… This means that your abs will have to do ALL of the work and cheating is pretty much eliminated.

powerwheel_tread

Another surprising thing I found was that even though the treads on the wheel are FLAT, I had no trouble tilting it and rolling it from side to side for destroying my obliques. Good shit. For those of you who want a real challenge, do a rollout followed by a push up on the wheel… Just make sure you don’t need to use your triceps the next day or you’ll be hurtin’

Conclusion:

No point in beating around the bush here… I like the Power Wheel. It’s well built, effective, functional and challenging. At $59.99 it might be a tad bit steep, specially in this economy, but as a core trainer it could turn out to be a worth while investment. In the end it boils down to one simple question… Should YOU buy it?

Well here’s what you should consider. If you cannot perform at least a minimum of 10 sit ups and crunches then the wheel will be too advanced for you. Even the beginner exercises that you can perform with this thing need some degree of muscle control… And if you have none, be prepared to flop on your face.

But if you’ve worked out your abs before using the most basic of ab exercises such as crunches, sit ups and leg raises… Then the Power Wheel will help you get from a beginner/intermediate stage to relatively advanced. The best part is that I don’t think you could ever “out grow” the wheel. Roll outs can always go deeper, push ups and can always go lower and pike ups can always get snappier… So once you own the wheel, you’ll be using it for life. No question.

To Being Fit & Sexy 4 Life

- Fit Jerk

[UPDATE: Well that was mighty quick of them... Lifeline USA read the review and are taking proactive measures to correct the minor hiccups that I've mentioned. They will be updating the DVD's for their products and will start rolling out new pamphlets to go along with them. The plastic hinges issue is also being taken into consideration from the R&D department. As most of you have read, these issues are particularly minor but it's good to see that they are being resolved. It won't surprise me if Lifeline USA stays in business for a long, long time to come.]

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© 2009 – 2010, By FitJerk. FitJerk.com is a division of Flawless Fitness Media – All Rights Reserved – No part of this post is to be republished without author consent under any forms of media (including print, internet, video or audio transcription). Doing so is a violation against copyright law and should be punishable by a punch to the face. All images are copyright of their respective owners.

Only LOSERS have nothing to say or discuss. Put your thoughts, comments or general rants in the comment section below. FJ does not use censorship but obvious racial slurs and over-the-top stupidity will be deleted.