Archive for the ‘Hyper Vest COOL’ Category

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Monday Media Scoop: The minimalist’s alternative to barefoot running

September 26th, 2011
,,,,,, - Hyper Vest - Hyper Vest COOL - Hyper Vest PRO - HyperWear - Monday Morning Media

If you’ve run on Town Lake, walked around Whole Foods or paid attention to the footwear of passerby’s, then you have almost certainly seen the peculiarly designed barefoot style running shoes (i.e. Vibram FiveFingers) worn by an increasing amount of people. I for one was curious about where this trend started, if barefoot running really is safe and what are some alternatives to pounding the pavement sans shoes.

In her blog, “Run free? Barefoot running gets harnessed by minimalist shoes,” Erin Renzas dishes on the origins of the current barefoot running craze, and the shoes designed to cater to this running niche.

Barefoot running took off in 2009 after Christopher McDougall published his book, Born to Run. McDougall’s book details his struggle with frequent running injuries and journey to find a better way to run, which, you guessed it—resulted in his turn to barefoot running as the injury cure-all.

“Barefoot running, advocates say, allows the runner to feel the subtle changes in terrain and let the feet, legs and body adjust to better prepare itself for impact. This in turn, leads to more efficient running and less injury,” according to Renzas blog.

Now for some, running barefoot just isn’t a viable option, but the thinking that supports this style of running is an attractive option for those suffering from numerous injuries. Nike offers its Nike Free Run+2 shoe that’s manufactured to be much lighter and simplistic than the average running shoe, while still providing some stability and protection.

View Renzas’ blog to get the scoop on some other shoes that offer this middle ground between barefoot running and the traditional running shoe. And for those of you looking to amp up your running routine in a different way, visit our website to read about how the Hyper Vest PRO can add an additional challenge to any workout routine, or how the Hyper Vest COOL can improve your running by chilling you out!

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The Perfect Solution for Sad Muggles (following the end of the Harry Potter series…)

July 15th, 2011
,,,,,,,,,,,, - Cooling Vest - Harry Potter - Hyper Vest COOL - Hyper Vest PRO - Muggles - SandBell - SteelBell - WaterBell - exercise - fitness - sandbag - weight vest - wellness - workout

I did not see Harry Potter yesterday and I will not see it today.  In fact, I won’t see it this weekend.  I may not even see it this month.

Don’t get me wrong, I will see it, but the trouble is three-fold:

1.  I don’t want to sit amongst the throngs of die-hards that will attend this weekend.

2.  I didn’t see the last one (part one to this part two).  I know – horror of horrors!  But I hate the suspense!  I couldn’t bear seeing the first half and then having to wait for the second.  So, first I have to watch that one.  In fact, while I’m at it, I think I need to watch all of them again in a row so I remember the flow of the story…

3.  I don’t want to slip into the deep depression feared for many Muggles according to this article:

Grief counseling for Muggles mourning final ‘Harry Potter’ film

But have no fear!!  Hyper Wear has a solution!

Do you know what’s great for dealing with depression and grief?

Exercise!  That’s right!  It gets the endorphins flowing that give you happy feelings and it helps you look great so that when you look in the mirror you love what you see and when you get the one-eyebrow-raised-half-smile-with-the-head-nod at the gym, you know it was well-deserved.

We have a whole channel on You Tube with tons of videos with ideas for exercises to do!

So, for all you sad Muggles out there mourning the end of an era, chin up!  We’ve got just the thing!

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How the Hyper Vest COOL is making running fun again

July 12th, 2011
,,,,,, - Hot Topic Tuesday - Hyper Vest COOL - athlete training - endurance - endurance exercise - exercise - training - workout

For those of you who missed last Tuesday’s blog, it was all about the Hyper Vest PRO and how it can improve your training and fitness. So appropriately, today’s blog is going to provide you with a first-hand account of how incredibly amazing the Hyper Vest COOL is!

As one of Hyper Wear’s summer interns, part of my job has been to familiarize myself with all things Hyper Wear. Being an avid runner, this was much more of an exciting opportunity than a “job.” A couple weeks ago I was given a Hyper Vest COOL to test out during one of my runs. Put simply, words cannot describe how unbelievable running in the COOL vest was!! As soon as I started running I could tell a world of a difference; with each mile that passed by I found myself less fatigued, and running with better form. I didn’t feel sloppy, slow and heavy, it was like a hot weight had been lifted off of my body and replaced with a light, cold sleeve.

The day prior to running with the COOL vest, I went out for a 3 p.m. run and completed 8 miles around Town Lake in 66 minutes. For me personally, that time was nothing to be proud of and also much longer than it normally takes me when the temperature is anywhere below 90 degrees. Granted, running at three in the afternoon was probably not the smartest idea, but it was the only time I had that day.

The next day I ran in the COOL vest and completed the same run at the same time of day. There are not enough adjectives to describe how much better I felt, my energy and attitude were soaring and I was actually enjoying a summer run in this ridiculous Texas heat. Also not only did I feel better, but the time it took me to complete the 8 miles decreased by 6 minutes. I was shocked to say the least, especially considering I was just coasting and reveling in the glorious run I was having, if I had picked up the pace who knows how much time would have been shaved off!

Even if running isn’t your workout of choice, we can all appreciate how miserable it can be exercising when it’s 103 degrees outside. Well, I’m here to tell you that all your reservations about working out in the heat can be completely diminished by throwing on a COOL vest. We shouldn’t have to be punished by the sun for wanting to reclaim our afternoon workouts! Stick it to the man, or the sun in this case, and get a COOL vest of your own so you can reclaim the fun in your workouts this summer!

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Hyper Wear DVD Shoot – Elements of Training the Combat Athlete.

May 19th, 2011
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, - Cody Butler - DVD - Diane Vives - HEAT Bootcamp - Hyper Vest COOL - Hyper Vest PRO - Mixed Martial Arts - Octagon Fitness - Police Training Group - SandBell - Sayif Saud - SteelBell - Thankful Thursday - athlete training - functional fitness - personal trainer - sandbag - training - weight vest - workout

Wednesday, May 18th, Hyper Wear conducted its first of many shoots for DVD content.  It was an amazing day!  There are so many people to thank, it’s hard to know where to begin… So, in no particular order, let me give a few shout-outs to the folks that made this amazing day happen!

Our athletes / trainers for the shoot included Diane Vives, Hyper Wear’s Director of Training; Daryell Harmon, Avery Moore, and Joe Lopez of Police Training Group out of Dallas, TX; and Sayif Saud of Octagon Fitness, also out of Dallas, TX.  It was truly humbling to be in a room with so many amazing athletes from such varied backgrounds, but all with the desire to present SandBells and SteelBells to the combat athlete world.

Behind the cameras were Dennis Weaver and Timothy Chew.  Sound was run by John McDaniel (who had a lot of ambient noise to deal with from the ice machine in the warehouse behind us to the birds pecking on the roof to the police sirens at various points to large trucks rumbling by).  And Nikita Lance graced us with her wonderful slate abilities!

Cosmo, Diane, and Dennis put the whole shoot together and between the three of them did an amazing job of setting up shots, coaching the trainers for what would look best on camera, and handling wrenches that got thrown in at the last minute.

And there was of course the wonderful folks at H.E.A.T. Bootcamp who were so kind and accommodating to let us use their space!  Founder and creator, Cody Butler, met with some of our crew to show them around the space and help figure out logistics.  On Wednesday, he was around all day, always checking on us to make sure we had what we needed.  They even moved their sessions outside so we could have full use of the facility.  And Marshall Ryan Priest let us in to set up Tuesday evening and showed us the ropes.

Our fabulous interns, Jordan Pratt and Carol Martins, helped me do any odd jobs that needed doing.  Dirk Buikema stopped by with Video Release Forms and Joe Atocha and Ben Buikema held down the fort back here at the office.  And I shouldn’t leave out Denver Fredenburg who gave a big thumbs up to the whole deal!!  I even want to thank the kind and helpful folks at Rudy’s and Subway who took our food orders and carried the big boxes to the car for me (even when I was parked a block away!).

It was a lot of work, but we all agreed that it was well worth it!  We can’t wait to get the DVD done and out there – it’s gonna rock the Combat Athlete’s world!

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Bill Meyer of Meyer Fitness and Monday Morning Muscle Fame!

May 5th, 2011
,,,,,,, - Bill Meyer - Hyper Vest COOL - Hyper Vest PRO - Monday Morning Muscle - SandBell - SteelBell - Thankful Thursday - personal trainer - sandbag - weight vest

Today, our shout of “Thank You!” goes out to Bill Meyer.  Bill has been a supporter of Hyper Wear pretty much from the beginning.  He was one of the first guinea pigs to try out the current version of the Hyper Vest PRO and was a key tester for the SandBell in her many iterations.  He put himself through a grueling workout to prove the effectiveness of the Hyper Vest COOL and tried the myriad fabrics we looked at to make the SteelBells sturdier.

But that’s just on the product testing side!  You’ve seen him in almost every single one of the 100+ Monday Morning Muscles we’ve put out over the last couple of years.  You’ve met him at tradeshows and seen him do awesome presentations ranging from the basics of the SandBell to its supreme level of safety.  He’s posed for pictures.  He’s given up weekends.  He’s created some truly unique and dynamic workouts using only SandBells.

Bill recently moved with his lovely fiancee, Lauren Sparrow, to Virginia Beach, VA, where they will be wed this June.  He has continued to produce the Monday Morning Muscle and helps at tradeshows when possible.  In addition to planning a wedding, he just remodeled and opened his own workout facility – Meyer Fitness.  Yes, he really does have that much energy!!

We would not be where we are today if it were not for the hard work, dedication, and support of Bill Meyer.  We look forward to many more years of working with this amazing trainer and incredible human being!!  If you are ever in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia, drop in for a workout.  Tell him Hyper Wear sent you!

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Weekend Warrior – Bill Meyer with SteelBells and SandBells

April 30th, 2011
,,,,,,,,, - Bill Meyer - Cooling Vest - Hyper Vest COOL - Hyper Vest PRO - Monday Morning Muscle - SandBell - SteelBell - Weekend Warrior - fitness - kettlebell - kettlebell replacement - personal trainer - sandbag - training - weight loss - weight vest

You’ve all seen Bill Meyer, our Monday Morning Muscle guru, come up with hundreds of unique ways to use his Hyper Vest PRO, Hyper Vest COOL, SandBells, and SteelBells.  So, when I asked him to send me pics of anything out of the ordinary he uses them for, this is what I got:

Bill and his bride-to-be, Lauren Sparrow, are not only planning  a wedding, but they are also opening a new fitness facility in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia, called Meyer Fitness.  Their tag line is “Serious Fitness, Seriously Fun” and knowing those two it will be beyond fun!  They are both fitness FREAKS and are so passionate to get people active…it’s contagious!  In fact, I owe much of my fitness transformation to the encouragement and support of these two amazing folks!

So, the picture above came with the explanation that this weekend, they would be laying flooring at Meyer Fitness.  Looks to me like the SandBells and SteelBells would be holding flooring in place as they secured it…  If I know Bill and Sparrow, they did a few slams or lunges everytime they picked them up to move to a different area of the floor!

Thanks, Bill, for being a Weekend Warrior!

Now it’s your turn to show us how YOU are a Weekend Warrior!  Send pics and descriptions of how you use your Hyper Wear gear in different ways on the weekends to suzi (at) hyperwear (dot) com and you could be our next Weekend Warrior!

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Time for Change…

April 15th, 2011
,,,,,,,,,,, - Cooling Vest - Friday Fragments - Hyper Vest COOL - Hyper Vest PRO - SandBell - SteelBell - Tim Meyer - WaterBell - athlete training - dumbbell replacement - functional fitness - personal trainer - sandbag - weight vest - workout

If you’ve read our blog or watched our older Monday Morning Muscle videos, you know about the great relationship we have with the CATZ facility here in Austin, TX.  CATZ stands for Competitive Athlete Training Zone and they offer the best functional fitness classes I have ever seen.  They train athletes at all levels from kids ages 3-6 in a program teaching movement skills to adult fitness classes.  They hire top-notch coaches and product high-quality athletes.

Hyper Wear would not be where it is today if it were not for CATZ.  Their coaches have graciously and brutally tested our products every step along the way.  We’ll hand them a prototype and tell them to try to break it.  They’ll manhandle and workout with that piece of equipment until it busts or until they decide it is unbustable.  That’s why the Hyper Vest PRO, Hyper Vest COOL, SandBells, SteelBells, and WaterBells (coming soon!) are so amazingly durable – CATZ coaches put them through the ringer before they ever saw the light of day!

Hyper Wear LOVES CATZ!

On a more personal level, Cosmo and I  have had the awesome privilege of participating in CATZ classes since about 2006.  We began taking classes under the direction of Tim Meyer and our bodies have never been the same!  We can both honestly say we are in the best shape of our lives!

Today marks the end of an era – it is Tim’s last day as a trainer at CATZ.  He is moving on to some other great ventures that we know he’ll be awesome at, but CATZ just won’t be the same without him.  If you want to know more about Tim, you can check out his blog.  He promises to start up some outdoor bootcamps in the Cedar Park area, so look him up if you are in the mood for an awesome workout!

Love you Timmy!!  :)

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05dpVirpTLw[/youtube]

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Hyper Vest, SandBell, SteelBell, Cooling Vest, and WaterBell Photo Shoot!

April 8th, 2011
,,,,,,,,,,,, - Britny Fowler - Cooling Vest - Denver Fredenburg - Diane Vives - Friday Fragments - Hyper Vest - Hyper Vest COOL - Hyper Vest PRO - SandBell - fitness - sandbag

It was time for some new product pics here at Hyper Wear – especially considering we’ve added so many new products since our last official shoot! The first generation of photos was awesome with two of our favorite trainers, Lauren Sparrow and Blake Gould:

Since that time, we’ve have mini-shoots with each new product as it came along, but as more folks find out about our products, we need more good shots of the SandBells, SteelBells, Cooling Vest, and WaterBells in action.  You’ll start to see the results of our photo shoot from this week on the website and other places, but I wanted you, our faithful blog readers, to get a glimpse behind-the-scenes!  These were just some quick shots I took with my phone…

Britny executes a single arm row, split stance, with a WaterBell.

Britny teaches Denver how to do a pike on a stability ball.

Diane shows us a single arm fly with a SteelBell

At this point, Denver had never done this quick-hands drill.  He said to Britny, “Is that hard?  Why are you going so slow?”  So we let Denver give it a 30-second try…he was no longer picking on Britny about going slow…  If you’ve ever done this drill with us at a tradeshow or presentation, you know it is MUCH harder than it looks!

Cosmo instructs Britny and Denver on what exercise he wants to shoot next.

It was a fun afternoon and Cosmo got some excellent shots!  Thank you to our great models, Britny Fowler, Denver Fredenburg, and Diane Vives for your hard work and commitment.  We can’t wait to get these new pics out in the world!

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Hot Topic Tuesday : Spring Into Shape

April 5th, 2011
,,,,,,, - Bill Meyer - Cooling Vest - Hyper Vest COOL - SandBell - sandbag - workout

The weather is warming.  The flowers are blooming.  The birds are chirping.  The sun is shining.  Don’t you just love spring?

If you’re like me, you used the excuse of “It’s too cold!” to skip a few outdoor exercise sessions this winter.  Now, since that excuse is no longer valid and because spring is my favorite time of the year, I’m eager to get out and recommit to the wonderful activities I can participate in in the great outdoors!

I found this little video clip that offers some common-sense reminders of what we should all do as we prepare to be more active in the warmer months.  One note I would add is this: At around minute 1:08, they mention stretching before exercising.  Be sure to do dynamic stretching before activity, not static.  The pictures they show are all static stretches than can actually cause more harm than good if done pre-exercise.

Speaking of pre-exercise, now would be a great time to get a Hyper Vest COOL!  It is great to wear before activity to lower your body temperature so that you expend less energy in cooling while working out.  You can also wear it during activity to keep cool on those hot summer days – or hot spring days if you live in Texas!  And of course, cold after a workout can speed the recovery of taxed muscles and keep you pain-free and ready for the next round.  Now’s a great time to get yours so that you beat the rush!

If you want to see the Hyper Vest COOL in action, watch Bill Meyer put it to the ultimate test in the video below.  It’s long and is a really cool (brutal) workout, but if you don’t have ten minutes to watch it all, at least watch Bill’s closing comments around minute 8:35…

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6Y4hBazR7s&feature=related[/youtube]

What are your favorite spring-time, outdoor activities?

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Weekend Warriors

April 2nd, 2011
,,,,,, - Cooling Vest - Hyper Vest COOL - Hyper Vest PRO - Weekend Warrior - weight vest - workout

Weekend Warriors is a chance to share ideas about ways to use Hyper Wear Products over the weekend.  There just aren’t enough hours in the day during the week to get all the fun in, so what do you do with your Hyper Gear on the weekend?  Here’s an idea:

The view from the hill where we play Ultimate - Austin skyline!

Here in Texas, it’s already getting hot!  We’re in the upper 80’s this weekend, but the breeze is cool, the sky is blue, and the flowers are blooming, so we call it spring and head outside!

My plans for the weekend include a little Garage Sale shopping bright and early on Saturday morning.  The community garage sale is happening in our neighborhood, so I’m going to strap on my Hyper Vest PRO and walk around the neighborhood, hunting for some good deals.  I’ll take a couple of reusable bags with me so all my cheap loot is easier to carry!  I’ll burn a few extra calories per hour and won’t even notice thanks to the great design of the Hyper Vest PRO.  I plan to drag Cosmo along with me, so that means I’ll burn even more calories!!

Sunday afternoon is our day to play Ultimate Frisbee at Zilker Park down in Austin!  We gather with 10-15 friends and play games to seven for two or three hours.  If the temperature get as high as it has been by three in the afternoon, I’ll take my Hyper Vest COOL and slip it on between games.  It’s not really hot enough yet to wear it during the game, but it’ll cool that core down nicely during the five to ten minute breaks we take between games.

So those are my plans…what are yours?  How will you stay Hyper this weekend?

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