Get Fit Over 40 April 2016 Update Video - Contests - Promixx 2.0 - Apple Watch - iHealth

It's been while since I made an Update Video so I have a few things to share with everyone...

First off I have officially started my cutting for my upcoming Men's Physique Fitness contest in early July. I will be competing in both the Masters and the Open categories of the BC Championships - Vancouver PRO AM and Expo, if all goes well I may even be able to compete in the Nationals a month later :)

I am basically three months out and feeling like I am in a good position, my weight is good, not too much fat on me and I feel I have a good amount of muscle but will be adding more while I cut. I plan to only lose around a half pound or so per week of fat and then see how things are going.

My next few items in this update are product review related. The first review you will see later on this week is for the Promixx 2.0 Vortex Mixer and since I will be covering it in a few days I will not get iinto it too much right now. I do talk a bit about it in this video but again a lot more coming later this week! (Promixx.ca) (Promixx.com)

When the Apple Watch first came out I was super interested but then found out the price and that it was perhaps not the best Fitness watch for me. After all working out with a $600 watch on your wrist is not for the faint of heart. Recently the price has come down a bit on the Apple Watch and I managed to get a pretty good deal on a brand new Black Sport 42mm Apple Watch so I took the plunge. I know it should do everything I am looking for in terms of a Smart Watch but I am also hoping that it will prove to be a decent fitness watch especially when paired with a Heart Rate Strap and introducing a few third party Apps. Once I have had some time with my new Apple Watch I will be sure to give you my feedback on it even if it is not a full on review.

Lastly I needed to get a new WiFi Smart Scale since my Fitbit Aria decided to act up on me, it is actually my second Fitbit Aria WiFi scale as my first one was also defective. Anyway, I purchased an iHealth Vista WiFi Scale that like my Fitbit Aria not only gives me my weight but also my body fat percentage. I even picked up an iHealth Blood Pressure Monitor that pairs with my iPhone over Bluetooth and send that data over to the iHealth cloud based service where all my iHealth data will be. iHealth is also MyFitnessPal friendly which is awesome and will update my weight to all my other linked fitness Apps.

That's it for this Update Video, stay posted for some upcoming reviews on some of these new items I will be using to aid me in my Health and Fitness.

Getting Real Series - SMP Scalp Micropigmentation Sessions 3

If you have been following me along with my SMP (Scalp Micropigmetnation) procedure I have been having then this post may interest you. I do get a lot of questions on this topic from guys going through what I am going through and wondering  how I like it: What I think so far? Would I do it again? Would I recommend it to others? There have been a lot of questions on this subject and I plan do make an entire video going over many of the repeat questions so stay tuned for that video...

Overall I am very happy with the SMP so far, it sure beats looking like I'm balding and I really don't mind keeping my head shaved. Since I have some hair on top I can go with that close cut look and I only really have to trim my hair every 2-3 days to keep it looking in line with the SMP.

Anyway getting back to this third session, I call it session three but really it's session two since my first session was split into two days to make the first total head covering portion less lengthy each day and easier on the technician Kyle and myself. This latest session was to fill in areas that the SMP did not take hold so well since after about a month, some of the pigment will fade and some will even "fall out" which is what Kyle my SMP tech refers to when some of the SMP dots simply do not take hold at all. After the first go around of SMP (Scalp Micropigmentation), you can expect to have a rather uneven looking result which is magnified by the SMP dots that do not fad and can even expand a bit and look out of place or blotchy.

 

Now that I have had my second fill in SMP the results are looking way better and the unevenness between the faded areas and the dark areas including the larger dots is  for the most part undetectable unless you really get close in to my scalp. I went with a darker overall SMP coloring since my plan is not to shave my hair right down to the scalp, but rather trim the hair using a no guard electro trimmer and keep it buzzed short. If I had less hair on top I would of most likely gone with a lighter SMP (Scalp Micropigmentation) to match a closer shaved head look. You may ask what am I going to do when I lose more hair on top over time. The kind of good thing is that SMP does fade a bit over time and so if I do lose more hair on top and decide to shave my head right down then the lighter more aged SMP will match a fully shaved scalp better. If my hair decides to hang around for a while then I can simply get an SMP touch up later on if the SMP fades more than I would like it to.

I will most likely be getting a 4th session of SMP in about another months time to again fill in any area that may fade between now and then and just even out a few spots like my temple area where it still seems to be a little lighter.

If you like the work I received from Kyle over at Studio Sashiko and you live in the Lower Mainland area of Canada BC then make an appointment with Kyle and see if SMP (Scalp Micropigmentation) is right for you. Make sure to tell him Mike form GetFitOver40 sent you :)

Gym Hero Pro iOS Workout Tracker App Review

First off Gym Hero Pro is only for iOS, there is a similarly named App for Android but it is not the same App. There is a free version of Gym Hero but access to statistics and the sharing aspects of workout data is limited. For the $4 or so it costs to upgrade to the Pro version it is totally worth it!

I have been using Gym Hero Pro now personally for almost three months and find it super useful no only for myself but I also recommend it to my clients as a work out aid and way for them to share their training info with me.

In a nutshell, Gym Hero Pro is an Application for your iPhone that allows you to track your weight training workouts in real time so you have a record of your progress. You can then review this info to aid you with future weight training workouts and also share data with others.

Main Features of Gym Hero Pro I Find Useful:

• Easily track and record my workout exercises, sets and reps.
• Estimation of calories burned during your workout that for the most part is fairly accurate.
• Auto Fills in previous complete same workout data along with individual previous exercise data for super easy auto-fill repeat workout sessions.
• Within a workout you can enter muscle groups worked for each exercise and make useful notes.
• Easily rearrange Exercise order after the fact.
• Access to useful statistical info: Total exercises, Total exercises per muscle group, Total workouts, Total workouts poor muscle group, Total weight lifted, Total weight lifted per muscle group, Total reps, Total reps per muscle group, Total sets, Total sets per muscle group.
• Workout data syncs to fitty.co website for easy online access and backup of your data.
• Easily share workouts with other people via several options: HTML links, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram.
• In App workout plans availbel for purchase.

How I find Gym Hero Pro Helps Me With My Weight Training Sessions: 

• Having access to my previous workout data alongside my current workout entries really pushes and motivates me to at least get the same or more workload in each new workout.
• I also use a Garmin VivoActive to record my workouts for additional heart rate and calorie burn info, previously I had to input details manually about my workout within my Garmin Activity notes section, but this took additional time. Now I simply copy and paste the fitty.co workout link into my Garmin Activity session  to have easy access to all my workout details.
• I have several of my clients using Gym Hero Pro to help motivate them and also to share access to workout data.

Without a plan in place there is no point of reference and no direction. You not only need to know where you want to ultimately end up, but also where you have come from and what direction you are heading in or you can easily get lost along the way and never achieve your goals. Gym Hero Pro serves as an excellent workout road map to help you plan, navigate and arrive at your workout goals.

Getting Real Series - My Wife Had No Idea - SMP Scalp Micropigmentation

It's been almost two weeks since I had my initial first two session of Scalp Micropigmentation (SMP) and so far I have not told my wife anything about my decision to get Scalp Micropigmentation. I kind of wanted it to be a surprise and to be honest, I had a feeling she would not notice. To be fair to her I have been shaving my head and keeping it really short lately and the fact that I still have some hair density left means the before and after contrast is not as noticeable as it would be for someone who is mostly bald on top.

I will often shave my beard and it can take my wife several days before she notices I shave it off, I guess that's how couples kind of get once we've been marled for a while. We only really notice the big stuff ;)

Anyway I wanted to let my Wife Nicole know about the SMP and see if she had noticed so I cornered her and made this video to capture my "confessional" so to speak.

Work Hard Athletics VYPER HYPERSPHERE HYPERICE COMPRESSION Products Review.

First off make sure to also checkout my Preview video where I go into a bit more detail about the specifics about the Work Hard Athletics line of products.

In this Review video for the Work Hard Athletics VYPER HYPERSPHERE HYPERICE COMPRESSION Products I focus more on my personal experience using the Work Hard Athletics line of products, specifically how they are helping me through my recent injury to my hamstring while I was doing some deadlifts.

Here is a quick summary of what you can expect from Work Hard Athletics VYPER HYPERSPHERE HYPERICE COMPRESSION Products:

• Design to help athletes improve their performance by accelerating recovery time, prevent injury and enhance mobility.
• Many top Athletes around the world use Work Hard Athletics Products.
• Work Hard Athletics Products are not cheap in terms of price or in quality!
• Work Hard Athletics products are really well made and the performance is outstanding, much better than I had expected!

Let's go over each of the Work Hard Athletics products I tested personally on myself.

HYPERICE ICE COMPRESSION WRAPS: 

• Cryotherapy to reduce inflammation and pain.
• Portable and simple to use.
• 2 Part System - Ice Cell with Air Release Technology and Compression Wrap.
• Air Release Valve Technology.
• Delivers optimal cryotherapy to any part of the body for superior recovery.
• Available in: Knee, Utility, Back, Shoulder & Extended Shoulder versions.

I feel the HYPERICE ICE COMPRESSION Knee Sleeve and Utility Wraps made a huge difference in my Ham String Recovery. Being able to keep the ice right on the injured area and also have some light compression really kept the swelling down and sped up recovery.

I was able to use the Knee Ice Compression wrap up on my leg and found it stayed in place really well, I was even able to get up and walk around without it moving around on me.

I wore the HYPERICE ICE COMPRESSION WRAPS over and under my clothing depending on how cold I wanted the area to get.

Tip: When removing air from the COMPRESSION WRAPS after wearing them for a while, I would recommend placing a towel over the air vent as some water can also escape.

VYPER Vibrating Roller:

• High Intensity Vibrating Roller.
• 16.8 volt Lithium Ion battery.
• 3 Vibration Speeds.
• German Engineered Roller.
• Used to increase range of motion, flexibility and circulation

Again, I found the Viper to be another great tool in my recovery for my hamstring injury. I was not able to use it right away since the area was super tender but after a couple of weeks I would roll my Hamstring out most nights and the vibration effect helped a lot to lesson discomfort you normally experience when rolling out a tight area on your body.

I really like the size of the VYPER, it’s no to large so you can get it into some areas that larger units may be difficult with but it is still are enough to cover a decent area and distribute the force evenly.

The vibration from the VYPER is incredible, usually level one or two is more then enough for me.

I never had any problems with the battery running out and I would use it several times before even thinking about exchanging it.

HYPERSPHERE Vibrating Ball:

• Localized Vibration Therapy Increases range of motion and flexibility + increases circulation.
• High-intensity vibrating core transfers maximum vibration to the body.
• 3 vibration speed settings.
• Compact and portable.
• Textured rubber exterior.
• Rechargeable lithium ion batteries give over 2 hours of use per charge.

I found the HYPERSPHERE to be a great message tool for my wife, she has been having a lot of hip, shoulder and elbow issues and often asked me to give her messages in these area which can be really tiring on my hands… Well not any more!

The HYPERSPHERE is great at getting into knots and really tight spots. It distributes enough even pressure not to hurt the area but also allows for more pinpoint localization so I can really get into an area that needs more focussed attention. 

Again the HYPERSPHERE has a crazy strong motor and battery and I was able to use it over and over again before having to recharge it.

Since the outer HYPERSPHERE shell is a hard plastic you will need to be careful not to drop this unit on hard surfaces or you could damage the internal mounting system.

So overall after having the opportunity to test out the Work Hard Athletics VYPER HYPERSPHERE HYPERICE COMPRESSION Products on myself and use them exactly at a time in my life when I needed them most. I can say it was almost a Godsend to have them at my disposal, sure Work Hard Athletics products are not just for when you injure yourself, they are for keeping injuries away and when used diligently they will certainly do so.

If you have one of those nagging areas in your body that requires a little more attention, some rolling and perhaps icing after workouts then the Work Hard Athletics VYPER HYPERSPHERE HYPERICE COMPRESSION Product line is ideal for this.

Yes this is a top end product line so you are going to pay for it but you will get a super quality product that performs exactly as it promises to. After all aren't you worth it!

If you are interested in purchaing a product from Work Hard Athletics, make sure to use Promo Code "Getfitover40" to save an additional 5%.