Make no mistake, I am not the fitness expert around G Style Magazine. While I understand the importance of staying healthy and generally good nutrition habits, my idea of a good run is a beer run. Sorry, that’s how I’m built. So when I got a chance to try out the BlazePod Reflex Training system I was a little hesitant but ready to make some positive changes. Here’s how it all went down.
First off, the BlazePod system is a set of ruggedized LED light-up pucks that are linked to the BlazePod app via your phone/tablet and a Bluetooth connection. They’re weather-proof which allows you to take them with you from the gym (or my living room as was the case) or to the park if that’s more your speed. Inside the box came 6 BlazePod pucks, a charging base, and suction cups/ties. Set up was straightforward and painless – download the app, link your pods, and done.
Where things got a little dicey was figuring out what comes next. The BlazePod app asks you a few questions about what your fitness goals and interests might be and then shows you a series of exercises that you can choose from. The only problem here is that if you’re like me you have an idea of what you want (core strengthening exercises) but no real clue where to go from there. After looking up how some other people were using the system (shout out to YouTube) at home, I was off and running.
The secret sauce of this system lies in its app. The BlazePod app is intuitive for setting things up and controlling the connected pods. If there were one improvement I’d like to see in future releases – better/more detailed descriptions of the exercises and how you should be performing them. For me personally, I’d be willing to pay a subscription fee if there was more instruction attached to the exercises.
If I’m being honest, there’s no way you can use the BlazePods and not look/feel a little silly. These glowing hockey pucks make it pretty evident that I’m no athlete or one of the beautiful people in their marketing. They will however add a level of variety and flat out fun that I haven’t had with any of my at-home-workouts. And that’s the beauty of this system, when I first got the review unit I wasn’t quite sure if this would make an impact on my poor fitness habits, but I was very pleasantly surprised to find that it not only made the workouts enjoyable, they helped me build more consistency around exercising.
From a purely monetary standpoint, the BlazePod system is overkill if you’re just trying to make your workouts a little more enjoyable. Now that gyms are opening back up and more people are flat out ignoring social distancing mandates (please don’t be like these people) there are cheaper alternatives. But for someone like me, that refuses to return to the gym and has no qualms with videoconferencing with friends, the BlazePod system is crucial to keeping my workouts engaging, varied, and most importantly – consistent. You can pick up the Standard Kit starting at $299 or the Trainer Kit (my review unit) for $399. Professional Trainers, gyms, and other fitness pros have a bundle just for them and priced accordingly.
