K2 Fitness Solutions Inc Happenings, Q&A

SST

2010-03-07T14:46:00.002-05:00

If you are serious about strength & performance gains as well as maximizing your training time, then you owe it to yourself to get an SST. We introduced our SST (Suspension Strength Trainer) in May, 2009 at the CSCCA (Collegiate Strength & Conditioning Association) National Convention in Nashville, TN. It has been a RESOUNDING sucess!

Every strength coach that visted our booth loved not only how effectively training on the SST recruits so many more stablizing muscles and how hard it worked the core, but also the ease of set-up and use, versatility and durabilty. Some were already using competitors products, such as the TRX, but even those coaches agreed that K2's SST was superior. Not only in terms of cost, but also in the ergonmics of it's design and in some injury prevention aspects.

Individuals who want the best training tools have also discovered our SST and we are having a tough time in keeping up with demand. But, that's not such a bad problem to have from our standpoint. Click the SST links in this article to visit our website and check out the SST for yourself.

K2 Fitness Solutions Inc

Killer Circuit Training

2009-10-20T23:09:00.003-04:00

We've had some fantastic results with this conditioning circuit.
Try adding it into your workouts 2-3 days per week for 6-8 weeks to see the results for yourself. Be sure to scale the weights on the implements according to your abilities.

BodyBag Zercher Squats
10 x 120 lbs

BodyBag Clean and Press
10 x 120 lbs

1 Arm Kettelbell Snatch
1 x 10 L/R x 32kg

Turkish Get-Up
1 x 5 L/R x 32kg

Move through each exercise as rapidly as possible, once you've completed all 4 exercises, rest (for 90 seconds in week 1, then 60 seconds in each subsequent week) and complete remaining rounds.
In the first week, do three rounds of the circuit, second week week 4 rounds, third week and beyond, 5 rounds. When you're in the five round weeks, try to reduce the time to complete each each workout.

My Review of Tribulus Fuel, 100 Capsules

2009-06-02T22:20:00.003-04:00

A1Supplements.com

Enhances Sex Drive, Natural Testosterone Production, and Strength Gains!

Tribulus Terrestris greatly enhances sex drive, natural testosterone production, and strength gains. Many athletes and strength champions choose Tribulus! Twinlab Tribulus Fuel is the high...

Best I've Used

HG Athelte TN 6/2/2009

Pros: Improves Performance, Good Value, Increases Intensity

Best Uses: Daily Use

Describe Yourself: Regular User

I've used other brands of Trib over the years but, keep coming back to TwinLabs. It works, it's a great value, only downside or difference, they recommend 1 capsule per day, I take 2 in the morning and two at night.

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Keep up now !

2009-05-28T23:19:00.004-04:00

Become a fan of K2FSI on Facebook !!

Need Money?

2009-05-28T17:41:00.004-04:00

If you already own/operate or are otherwise involved with a health or fitness related website, sign up for our affiliate program to earn more money.

Our products, services, and customer service are recognized as the best in the industry by people who matter the most...
If you would like to earn money by aligning yourself or business with a respected organiztion, check out and sign up for K2's affilaite program.

Go to URL below, I would post it as a link but, blogspot doesn't seem to think it's a "legal" URL.

http://k2fitness.org/Shop/affiliate_affiliate.php

Sales and Special Deals

2009-03-03T13:14:00.004-05:00

We have added a "Sales and Special Deals" section to our store. Items will be placed in this area intermittently and for a limited time only. Be sure to check it often!
http://k2fitness.org/Shop/index.php

AFR

2009-03-01T14:37:00.007-05:00

Augmented Fibrotic Release....
Sounds pretty technical, complex, state-of-the-art and expensive. Truth is, it's none of the above. At least not in how it relates to the following.

As an aging athlete (still competing) my knees aren't what they once were. Infact, they're a lot more! A lot more stiff, a lot more achey, a lot more problematic. When I had my Orthopaedic doc take a look at them, of course an X-ray was in order. His diagnosis was not a torn meniscus as he somewhat expected. Rather it was much simplier, and much more dire. Dire in the fact that there wasn't much that could be done other than NSAIDs. He said I had early arthritis. While the NSAIDs helped, I had this feeling that there was something I was missing, or something he was missing or simply something more that could be done.

I had begun a physical therapy exercise program on my on. Exercise that I had researched that might provide some help. Exercises like; "closed chain Terminal Knee Extensions" and some others. I spoke with a physical therapist friend and asked her what her take on this was. She replied that she wasn't that up on knee stuff and suggested I contact another PT who was supposed to be "the knee-guy."

A few months went by, but I finally did make an appointment for a consultation and evaluation with him. He said he didn't find much to indicate any arthritis, but that I had ALOT of .... can't really remember his term exactly, but "Calcified Synovium" is close enough. "So, what does THAT mean," I asked. "Well, it means there's alot of synovial fluid that has built up around the patella, and has hardened. Grannulomas. It also means there's alot we can do to help you" he said.

OK !!! That the kind of answer I like to hear. "Let's get on with it then, what do we do?" He said, "we'll start you on a therapy protocal of Ultra-sound, AFR, prescribed exercises, and a stretching routine." Sounds benign enough, although protracted, but I was ready for almost anything to hopefully get back a feeling of younger knees.

He started by examining my walk, that's right, my walk. He said that was a big issue in itself. I already had prescribed orthodics in my shoes, but he said that my gait was severly uh...."messed up." I stepped "hard" and with little knee flexion. He said that if that wasn't changed, I would have a lot more problems down the road. So, he spent about an hour adjusting my orthodics, watching me walk. Giving me tips, pointers and suggestions on how to walk. "Walk with an attitude," he would say, think about really flexing your knee when your foot strikes, and when you push off."
We went through all that for a number of sessions and also with me working on it on my own.

We also started the AFR in the first session. It was preceeded by about 15 minutes of "ultra-sound" therapy to help break up the calcification.
But the real fun started with the AFR.
OMG...that was THE most painful thing I have ever experienced in my life!
I've had a number of broken bones, smashed fingers, tatoos, objects to the head requiring up to 100 stitches, etc., etc.
But, never AFR !
He started by having me lie on a table, pushing my knee-cap around and drawing
little lines on my knee. Then, he had my lie back, and said "this might be a bit uncomfortable," (understatement of the day) and proceeded to drive the blunt edge of a pair of hospital scissors into the places on my knee that he had makred.
Drive and push....
Grind and move....
Over, and over, and over....
All told it seemed like the AFR lasted about 15-20 minutes.
15-20 minutes of "hell on earth."
After that, my knees were iced for about 20 minutes, then I was instructed on a stretching protocal specifically for the knees.I spent about 20 minutes being instructed on and performing some specific exercises and those I was to continue on my own 3-4 times a week.

I thought about what I had just experienced on the drive home.
NOT PLEASANT !!
But, I was also wondering what the end result would be.
I looked at my poor knees. Red marks all over...slightly swollen.
Still hurting...although not as bad.
I was more than happy to tell everyone the rest of that day about the hell I had just gone through and I was having SERIOUS doubts that anything positive was going to come of it all.
I mean, I AM a believer in some non-traditional medical practices, holistic medicine and body-manipulation. Trouble with those are (not that a licensed PT falls into the catagory)one never knows what they are really getting. Some are good and knowledgable, some are not.
At any rate, the pain of the experience slowly went away as the day progressed.
Early in the evening, I had to go upstairs at my home for something and when I started down our staircase (the point where I usually had the most pain and made the most compensatory movements for my knee pain)
Something was CLEARLY wrong !!!!
I took another step down.....
"Yep, there it isn't again ! "
"This is WEIRD !!!"
I was descending down a flight of stairs, the activity that usually had the greatest manifestation of my knee pain, yet, as I took another step down, it became more clear...."This sh#@ is REALLY working!"
I was going down a flight of stairs with NO knee pain!!

I continued with the AFR and all the other aspects of the regimine for about 6-7 weeks. It did wonders for me. I did discover on one visit though that it definatley DOES make a difference WHO performs the AFR on you.
An assistant did it one time and while it wasn't NEARLY as painful....I also gained NOTHING from the visit. She just wasn't aggressive enough with it, and/or wasn't nearly as good as the therapist at identifying the spots that needed it.

It's been about 3 months since my last sessions with the AFR. I can tell by my knee pain I need to go back. I also need to do the stretching routine more regularly. Trouble is I am now re-habbing from 2 shoulder surgeries which has made tending to my knees basically impossible. Competition season is approaching and I have A LOT of work to do, once I'm fully able, to get back the strength and performance I've lost during recovery from the shoulders.

It's a vicious cycle and a staunch reminder that we really do get older and our bodies don't perfrom as they once did.
I for one however, intend to fight it and prove that the human body can indeed continue to perform at a fairly high level even as we age.

As for you, the reader, if you have any of the knee symptoms I described here, find yourself a GOOD practitioner of AFR, you'll hate AND love every minute of it.

Goals

2008-10-25T11:15:00.000-04:00

Goals

Having been a competitive athlete and successful professional for a number of years, goal setting and goal achievement is nothing new to me. However, this year I had found myself somewhat wandering in my goals and accomplishments.
Why did this happen? Could it happen to you? How can it be prevented?

I’ll try to keep this topic on the focus of health, fitness, and athletics since that’s what K2 Fitness Solutions Inc is about.

I think we all reach a “comfort level.” A level of performance where we are very good at something but, know in the back of our mind we could be better. What’s stopping us? Perhaps it’s the lack of drive, or maybe the dread we picture knowing that as we continue to reach higher levels, each level beyond that will require MUCH more work with smaller and smaller gains; the law of diminishing return. Yet as we reach closer and closer to that level, we can have comfort in the fact that we are approaching the very best level of performance we can possibly reach.

Each year I ALWAYS have some general goals; such as “I want to be even stronger and faster this year,” or “I want to throw farther.” These are not really goals but, desires. Now laying out goals of; “I will have a Power Clean of 385 by X date,” or “my max raw squat this year will be 710,” or I will throw the 56# 40 feet by Oct.” Those are all examples of specific goals,

What makes the difference? A goal involves establishing specific, measurable and time targeted objectives. In fact there are 6 areas that must be addressed to have an effective goal.
1) It must be written.
2) It must be challenging.
3) It must be believable
4) It must be specific
5) It must be measurable
6) It must have a specific deadline.

It is also worth mentioning that, especially in the filed of athletics or strength & conditioning, we need to have focus in our goals. By this I mean that it isn’t practical to set a goal of say gaining 15 pounds of muscle in one year, while simultaneously losing 35 pounds of fat, particularly in an already well-trained individual. Or to “take my max squat from 530 to 680 in 8 months AND lower my 40 time from a 4.9 to a 4.5.
If we are setting multiple goals those goals need to be complimentary, or make one a short-term goal (6 months to 1 year) while the other is a long-term goal (2 years or more)

When we are establishing goals, make sure that the goal(s) are something important to you and your endeavourers. A goal HAS to be something meaningful to you, done for you. If not, you will not be able to maintain the required focus and your goal will fail.

Don’t allow yourself to become discouraged if your progress isn’t where you’d like it to be. Be sure to break down your goals into smaller pieces, evaluate on a regular basis and make adjustments as necessary.

K2 and MMA

2008-08-02T15:41:00.002-04:00

Although K2 Fitness kettlebells have already been an integral part of many MMA fighters' regime, we are now entering into direct sponsership with some.

We are sponsering Lyle Sansoucie of Team DNA. He will be fighting in the NAAFS in his upcoming bout Aug 23 at The 2nd Annual Dan Bobish Classic in Cleveland, OH. Lyle is an awesome up and coming 145 lb' er, his record is 3-0 and he won his last two fight by TKO in less than 30 seconds each! Look for Lyle to be a top Pro very soon.

We are very pleased to be assisting Lyle in his pursuit of MMA glory and look forward to a long relationship with Lyle and Team DNA

Social Networking

2008-08-01T21:36:00.003-04:00

Social networking has long been an important aspect of life, healthy relationships and business.
Recent advents in technology has brought social networking to a point where we don't even have to get out of the house nor actually "meet" anyone to "social network." Through sites like MySpace, Facebook, etc., we can "network" with people all over the world and never actually meet them.

Is this a good thing or bad thing? I think the answer to that question depends upon who we are individually and who are we trying to "social network" with and why.
If a person is too lazy or introverted to get out and actually meet people, then the "online social networking"is a bad thing. On the other hand, if someone is very outgoing and simply wants to multiply their efforts in getting to know people and business contacts, then it seems that online networking is good.

That brings me to the main point of this post. A friend of mine has created a specialized "social networking" site called: GymClik
As the name implies, it's a site for folks with a penchant for health, exercise, atheltics, nutrition, etc. It's in the early stages at the moment, Beta test to be exact. But go ahead and visit and sign up. I'm sure it will become very popular in the next few months.

http://www.gymclik.com/

Be sure to check out my profile while there, just look for user k2fitness

Greg

Workout Music

2008-08-01T21:00:00.005-04:00

OK, so I'm behind the times a bit when it comes to workout music. I've had an MP3 player for years but, never used it when working out. It was too bulky, no good way to attatch it to my belt or arm, etc., etc. I work out in my garage gym when I'm home and have a radio there but, am forced to use commercial gyms AND their stupid music when I'm on the road.

NO MORE !!!!!

I received an IPod for Fathers' Day and man, do I LOVE IT ! About half the size of my ancient MP3 player and holds 8 gig of music. (I had to swap memory cards in my old one.)

One problem though that hasn't changed from the old player;
Do I just have REALLY big ear holes, or are almost all the earbuds crap? I had never been able to find any that would stay put.
UNTIL...... One day on a "mission" to find some decent earbuds, a gal at BestBuy recommended either the "Skull Candy - Smokin' Bud Ear Bud Headphones" or the "JVC - Marshmellow Stereo Ear Bud Headphones."
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8720057&type=product&id=1200702768236
I looked both of them over very closely. The Skull Candy ones were almost ten bucks more and had a narrower frequency response range. The JVC Marshmellow; well, great price, great frequency response range, but "just look at those fruity-tooty pastel colors.!"
Well, I am a man of functionality and since I really didn't expect them to meet my needs anyway (staying in my ears) I bought the JVCs.

I'll have to say I have been very surprised! They stay in great, they sound terrific, and no one (yet) has given me any crap about the fruity color (I got the blue ones).
And having one's own music really does make a difference in the quality of a workout.

I'd highly recommend these ear buds to anyone, and recommend to JVC.......make some in some NORMAL colors please, like black and white.

Greg

Gym Rant

2008-07-22T02:31:00.003-04:00

Gym rant, not to be confused with gym rat.

We all have our own reasons for working out/lifting weights. And all of us have different needs.
That being said, I realize that when I'm traveling and have to go to a commercial gym, I am the odd-man-out in that I NEVER see anyone else doing Olympic lifts or modified Oly lifts.
However, being a Highland Games Athlete (thrower), Oly or modified Oly lifts are
I N D I S P E N S A B L E !

I was in a gym last week called Well-Worx in Memphis. In there they had only "IRON-GRIP" rubber coated, 12 sided Olympic weights. Now 12 sides to prevent rolling.....not a bad thing. UNLESS one is doing floor based multi rep exercises like Olympic lifts or dead-lifts.
Those stupid 12 sided plates will NEVER set down evenly. Making the bar at some goofy angle after every rep requiring a reset of the lifter's body, or the weight.

Gym owners, please take note. If you're going to buy these pieces of crap, at least have a good number of normal ROUND weights in house too!

Greg

Welcome

2008-07-18T16:06:00.005-04:00

Hi and welome to K2 Fitness Solutions Inc blog site!

We have added this blog as part of our update and expansion of our website. We were planning a message board but, those can get unruly and WAY off topic. So instead, we decided to create a blog. We look forward to your participation not only by your reading but, foremost in your active participation through your comments and questions.

On the K2 Fitness Solutions blog you will find:

News and updates about our products and services.
Current happenings with our staff, such as competitions/events,.
Casual observations from our staff ranging from anything to do with health/fitness/sports to off topic political and social rants. (as long as it's entertaining :)
Links to relevant articles which may or may not have been written by one of us.
Last but, not least, posts from you asking us questions about our products and services or your comments. To ask a question or leave a comment simply click on the comment link at the bottom of a post.

Bear with us as we learn the ins and outs of getting this thing up and running and making the functionality suit your and our needs.

Greg