Lifeline Power wheel II Review

The Lifeline Power wheel II is an exercise device for strengthening the core and toning abdominal muscles. The newer Power Wheel design is a variation on the classic ab wheel featuring some additions and changes and a higher price tag. Is the quality of the power wheel worthy of the extra cost or is this just a ploy to over-charge people for an ab Wheel? Here’s a rundown of what you get:

What is the Power Wheel II?

If you’re not familiar with ab wheels (you should be; they’re great core tools) they consist of a wheel or often two with handles on the sides. You push the wheel across the floor away from you forcing you to support yourself on an unstable object using your core strength. If you understand that description, good. If you don’t, it’s one of these:

These devices are one of the best ways to work the core. What the power wheel II does is it uses a design with a much taller and thinner wheel that causes the user to support themselves higher off of the ground on a less stable surface. This means that you have to work harder to stabilize yourself, thus getting a harder workout. The most notable addition to the Power Wheel II is that along with the tradition handles there are foot holds so that you can strap your feet in to the wheel to do motions using more of your lower abs like pikes and other exercises from a plank position or even from a laying down position. This was the main selling point for me because of the variety, however, the foot strap method is also the one I've used the least with the Power Wheel II.  

The Good and the Bad

As you can see in the above picture, the Power Wheel II looks a lot different from traditional ab wheels. the price is a lot different too. wheels like the one in the first picture can be found for as little as $10 while the Power wheel II runs about $50. If you're just starting out getting an ab wheel, it might be best to get a basic cheaper one. a simple wheel will give you a great exercise. If you don't mind spending the extra, however, the Power Wheel is a very solid product. The foot straps are a great innovation, but they're annoying to put on and use, so many people probably won't utilize them much. The handles are very comfortable and a definite improvement on the cheap plastic handles of some wheels. It should also be noted that the Power Wheel earns points for having a sturdy design. When using something that is meant to support your body weight, it's important that it is durable and not going to fall apart. Also, the smoothness with which it rolls is rather impressive and makes for a good experience with your workout. 

Overall / Final Rating

The $50 price tag may seem a little steep for an ab wheel, but Lifeline's Power Wheel is not the only one in this price range and it is a really solid product. The hand grips are great, the foot straps could probably be designed better, the functionality is superb. Overall I have to give the Power Wheel II a 9 out of 10.

   

See Also: Abdominator review

Muscle Pharm Combat Powder review

Muscle Pharm Combat Powder is a protein supplement that claims to “feed muscle up to 8 hours” but is it worth buying? To properly review Combat Powder we first have to understand what it is. This supplement is a protein blend rather than a simple whey protein powder. These types of supplements are not intended for a post-workout shake, but rather they slowly release protein over time to continually feed muscle over a period of hours.

Combat powder uses a combination of whey proteins and casein protein to continuously feed muscle. Casein is a very slow digesting protein that slowly releases over a period of about eight hours. Whey is a fast absorbing protein that is commonly used after workouts. Combat Powder contains whey protein isolate (which is a highly concentrated form of whey) as well as partially hydrogenated whey protein, and whey protein concentrate. This whey complex along with caseins and egg albumen sound like an excellent combination for good protein absorption, unfortunately the ingredients are hidden within a “proprietary blend” so there’s no way to tell how much of the specific ingredients you’re actually getting. 

Quality/effectiveness

The protein blend is great for anti-catabolic purposes and features 24g of protein in one scoop. Using one scoop, combat powder provides approximately 52 servings which is significantly better than many protein powders.

Mixability

Combat powder mixes surprisingly well. Using a blender bottle the powder mixed very well in a short amount of time. The powder does not mix perfectly; there are small clumps that remain during mixing, but this is commonplace with protein powders in general. Combat powder mixes better than most, but not equal to the best out there. It is important to note, however, that while there may be some clumping, there is not the heavy grainy residue left by the cheap powders indicating that Combat Powder is light on filler.   

Taste

Based on the “Triple Berry” flavor I would say that this is not the best tasting protein powder, but it is far from the worst. Some protein shakes are very difficult to swallow like some unpleasant medicine while others are actually quite delicious. Combat Powder Triple Berry is okay tasting but gets old pretty fast.  The flavor is not Combat Powder’s strongest selling point, but for the quality of ingredients, it’s hard to complain.

Overall

There is no denying that Muscle Pharm has a solid product in Combat Powder considering the positives of: 1) a great blend of multiple protein sources 2) a good amount of protein per serving and 3) a large number of servings per container. On the negative side, there are products out there that mix better, and taste better. Many of the other products in this category, however, cost significantly more, and many of the powders out there that cost less than Combat Powder don’t have near the quality. Overall, if money isn’t an issue, you can probably find a better powder, but for a high quality protein at a more affordable price, Muscle Pharm provides a good value with Combat Powder.