Some Tips on the Nexersys iPower Trainer

Disclaimer:  I'm not a professional writer so my thoughts may end up all over the place.  Nothing I'm suggesting has been approved by anyone at Nexersys.  These are just recommendations based on my personal experience so far and may change with time.  I don't work for Nexersys, I don't know anyone personally at Nexersys, and I bought my Nexersys iPower Trainer with no discount of any kind other than the first customers special offered at the UFC Fan Expo.

OK, now that I have that out of the way, let me get into my experience so far with the Nexersys iPower trainer.

First tip:

• For assembly, one person can do it, but I highly recommend having a friend help you.  The extra pair of hands really helps.

As of this afternoon I've been through three 5 round sessions of the Nexersys beginner workouts.  They don't take very long, but the intensity is very high.  This is especially true if you're coming in out of shape.  Here's what I've learned:

• When you power on your Nexersys with the switch on the side you also have to make sure the monitor is powered on.  The button for this is located at the bottom left of the computer.  When you complete your workout, you do NOT have to turn the switch on the side off.  The iPower Trainer consumes little power.  All you have to do is press the power button on bottom just like you're turning off your PC monitor and leaving the computer on.  Contrary to the disclaimer, this information has been confirmed by the people at Nexersys.  It might be in the instructions too, but I didn't see it on my first skim through.

• You CAN punch the pads too hard.  This is emphasized in the instructions, but I thought I might provide some insight into when this happens most.  This usually happens for me when I get tired.  I either start to get too close or I put too much into the punch because my technique get sloppy.

• This is for the overweight and/or out of shape.  The beginner workout may be called beginner, but it's still hard.  I watched the videos on the Nexersys site, so I knew what I was getting into.  The problem rounds for us are the cardio and core rounds.  In particular, high knees are pretty rough.  I can do them, but not at the speed and length of time suggested by the equipment.  For things like this, do the best that you can.  Always try what you're being asked to do.  You would be surprised at the type of movements your body can perform that you don't think are possible for you.

• Don't be discouraged by they people in the videos.  They had to work to perform the exercises as well as they do.  They're there to show you proper form.  I watch them when I'm unsure of how I should be doing something.

• Have fun!  It's hard but it makes you feel really good.  It doesn't take very long for your abs to start screaming at you.  Just remember, they're saying "we do exist!  If you make us work like this, you better have plans to show us off!"

That's all I can think of right now.  I'm sure I'll think of more as I progress through my journey towards a healthy body.

A Little Background

Let me introduce myself.  My name is Cole Andress.  I'm 27, 5'10", 230 lbs.  My growth spurts through childhood followed the pattern of being fat and then growing taller and leaner.  Unfortunately, when I stopped growing the coin landed on the fat side.

I've been dieting on and off for a few years now.  I got to my heaviest when I was working at a job I grew to hate.  I topped out at about 285 lbs.  I felt like crap all the time.  It was during this time that I started a fat loss system by Will Brink.  I eventually got my weight down to 265 lbs.  Then hurricane Ike hit.  Sticking to a diet after a hurricane is pretty much impossible.  I never got back on after things got back to normal.

Later, I started working out with my Dad like it was a part time job.  We would use the Bowflex for resistance training and walk around the neighborhood for a cool down.  When we combined this with the first part of the 17 day diet we had a lot of success.  I got down to around 225 lbs.

A few months ago I got a job I love that requires some traveling.  The heaviest traveling was at the beginning when I had to go out of state for over a month of training.  Ever since then I've slacked on the workouts.  I was still doing them sometimes, but not with the same consistency as before.  I also let my eating habits move closer to what they were before the 17 day diet.  I've been maintaining a weight of 230 lbs. ever since.

On October 7th I was inspired to make a change.  I went to the UFC Fan Expo on October 7th and 8th.  I'm a late comer to the MMA fan train, but I'm completely addicted.  I started watching when The Ultimate Fighter premiered.  I watched the whole first season and was blown away by the finale.

I caught my first glimpse of the Nexersys iPower Trainer at the expo.  It's a machine that pretty much duplicates having a striking trainer.  It has a monitor where a person's face would be along with two face level pads, three midsection pads, and two leg pads.  It provides real time feedback on the accuracy of your strikes.  Also, the trainer on the monitor constantly tells you how to perform the strikes.  This is really helpful.  Like with anything new, having a trainer tell you all the small things you need to do while performing the actions keeps you conscious of proper form until it becomes automatic.  The Nexersys iPower Trainer also includes some gaming aspects like avatar sparring and it keeps track of your results.

Needless to say, as a gamer, gadget geek, and someone who has always wanted to learn striking, I had to have the Nexersys.  For a few days, I mulled over how I would pay for it and then I took the plunge.

I just got it yesterday.  I've assembled it and did a session last night and one this morning.  It was awesome.  I'll have some first impressions on it later.  I want to play with it a few more times.

Moving

I decided to move my personal blog off my personal domain onto a blogger account.  I don't feel like fidgeting with all the different options.  Right now I just want a place to record my thoughts.