Ginseng Up Natural Energy Review

The tagline for Ginseng Up is "The Root of All Power." Obviously, this plays to two markets, hitting both the energy drink fans out there and those seeking all natural products attracted to the natural root aspect. Firstly we have to look at Ginseng itself. Ginseng is a very popular supplement which is found in many energy drinks and sports supplements because of its energy production. Also, Ginseng is believed to have many overall health benefits. As a supplement, it can be found in pill forms, drink mixes and teas.
The product we're looking at today is more like a natural Ginseng soda which makes it a lot different from other products on the market. It is sold in 12 oz glass bottles and comes in 13 flavors including Original, Grape, Pineapple, Cola and others. As far as taste, I can only testify to Original and grape, as they are the only one's I've tried. The taste however, is very good in both. The drinks are sweetened with natural cane sugar; there's no high fructose corn syrup here. I also like that the Grape version has 28 percent real grape juice. That's significantly more than some "Grape juice Cocktails" commercially sold.

In terms of nutrition facts, Ginseng Up is comparable to other sodas in that it has a lot of sugar and calories. This is not a low-carb, low-cal health drink, but it does have good things in it while leaving out some of the preservatives in other beverages. The grape variety provides 30 percent daily value of vitamin C, 37 grams of sugar, and 150 calories. Original flavor is about the same but ten calories less, fewer carbs and more Vitamin C. Now, for effectiveness, I give Ginseng Up a high score! In my experience, The energy production seems to be stronger for me than with energy drinks while not making me jittery or anxious. It seems to be a clean good feeling energy. This of course could be the result of my body not being used to real sugar, or even an example of a placebo effect. All I can say for sure is it seems to work well for me.
The price at my local Health Food Store is $1.99 a bottle which is about the same as many energy drinks, and a lot less than a few of them. The ingredients are great, and the energy boost is notable. Overall, I have to say Ginseng Up is a really great product!\

Beachbody TurboFire Review

TurboFire is an exercise program from Beachbody, the same company behind Insanity and P90X. This program utilizes some of the same strategies featured in both of those programs while taking a slightly different approach. Is TurboFire worth buying or is it just a repeat of Beachbody's previous offerings? Let's review.

What is TurboFire?
Much like Insanity, This is an intensive cardio workout. These workouts are aimed primarily at burning calories and shedding weight. One distinction between TurboFire and Insanity is that this is a 90 day program as opposed to Insanity's 60 day. Additionally, this one is clearly marketed more toward women. For those women trying to lose weight and feeling like Shaun T doesn't represent their goals, Charlene Johnson is easier to identify with. Furthermore, where Insanity and P90X use more of a military drill style to their presentation, TurboFire uses more upbeat music and energy.

What's included with TurboFire?
The program includes 5 DVDs featuring different cardio workouts at different levels. One positive point is that the workouts range from 10 minutes to 55 minutes. There are four cardio disks containing multiple workouts including low impact and max intervals, and one stretch disk for post-workout. Of course it's Beachbody, so you can also get bonus items at check out to enhance the experience.

How much does TurboFire cost?
The price is around $80 for the DVD set itself, but after shipping, the total price is around $100. More if you opt for extras.

Claims VS. Reality: Is TurboFire worth it?
Beachbody claims that TurboFire is "the best workout" with "the best music." They also claim that TurboFire burns "more fat in half the time." The fact is that the science is there and the exercises here will burn calories, but there are other things to consider. The system TurboFire uses is high intensity interval training. This kind of training is excellent for burning calories, but it is not exclusive to these DVD workouts. The key is maintaining a high heart rate while exercising at max for one minute intervals. This is the same system used by other workout programs or by independent training. It is a good workout, but you don't have to have the DVDs to do interval training. The main selling point is the music. This really is a big factor, because motivation is key, and it's hard to stay motivated doing these exercises without something to keep you going. The upbeat music definitely keeps things moving. In the end, TurboFire has a lot good to offer, but really depends on the customer. If you can do the high intensity intervals on your own without getting burned out, that's great, but for most of us who need a little more motivation, TurboFire is a great tool to achieve our fitness goals.


Related Reviews:
Bowflex Uppercut Review
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Rocket Fitness Push Up Pump Review

Push Up Pump is a new exercise device you may have seen on the shelves of your local stores. It has a similar design to the UpperCut from Bowflex. Of course this is not a coincidence, as every new fitness device that comes out has a cheaper alternative in stores. Sometimes these are a good deal over the expensive items sold on TV, while others are sad knockoffs that don't live up to the claims. Does the Push Up Pump hold up? Let's review.

What is Push Up Pump?
Push ups are one of the best exercises for upper body strength and overall fitness. Companies have capitalized on this by releasing products that provide a greater range of possibilities and/or increase intensity to the basic pushup. Products like the perfect pushup, or standard pushup bars have found there way into homes around the world, and Push Up Pump is the latest product hoping for the same success. The device works as kind of a backwards bench press with your chest resting on a cushioned plank with hand grips extending from side arms. As you push down on the machines arms it moves the plank up as though you are bench pressing yourself. You have the option of three resistance cables which will add up to 65 pounds of resistance. In addition to the resistance, Push Up Pump provides options for different push up position. The arms have three hand grips for standard width, close, or wide.

What's good abut Push Up Pump?
The different handgrips allow for targeted workouts to focus more on triceps, shoulders, back, etc. The structure of the device positions the user in a way different than a traditional pushup creating a different kind of workout. The added resistance is nice and works well to target the arms.

What's bad about Push Up Pump?
First off, while it is sturdy and stable, some parts of the construction seam cheap and may not hold up so well over time. Also the design does not allow for very deep push ups. The fact that you can only move about halfway compared to a regular pushup almost cancels out the positives of the added resistance and makes the Push Up Pump a decent arm workout, but a poor tool for chest workouts. Furthermore, the $100 it goes for in stores is a little high for what you get.

Overall
The Push Up Pump has some good ideas and some good designs but it also has its flaws. The good aspects are simply not enough to justify the price. This would be a great product at $19.95 or pretty good if it was $30-$50, but for $100 you could definitely find something better. In the end, it's just not worth it.

Bowflex Uppercut Review

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The Bowflex Uppercut is the latest exercise device to appear all over late night TV infomercials. Bowflex has a long history of success in the marketing and sales of Exercise equipment. Uppercut is their newest product, but is it worth the price?

What is Uppercut?
Bowflex markets this device as an all around workout. It's used to perform exercises such as flys, pikes and pushups. The product features two handles connected to a base buy moving arms and resistance bands with three adjustable resistance levels. The design adds resistance to pushup type exercises and allows for you to perform lower body and ab exercises against the same resistance.

What Does Uppercut Do?
Many exercises can be performed with the Bowflex Uppercut. The movements of the Uppercut allow you to work out with hands on the device for upper body exercises like resistance pushups and chest flys, or feet on performing abdominal workouts such as pikes, jackknifes and ab rollouts.

What are The Claims?
Bowflex claims that with the Uppercut, you will be doing "the toughest exercises on the planet" which will "activate 30% more muscles." This is typical sales jargon used to move products, nothing more. Don't buy the hype when a company tells you "Our product will build 50% more muscle…increase strength 40% faster…etc." notice that they don't say "than." That is to say that they don't tell you 30% more muscle than…what? There's a reason for this. It's just marketing hype that sounds good to people who aren't paying attention.

How Much does Uppercut Really Cost?
The infomercials and Bowflex website both say $14.95. This is, however, for a trial, and the total cost is significantly more. First let's take a look at the shipping. A 30 day trial is $14.95 , but the shipping is $19.95. Shipping is more than the cost of the trial. Also consider that after the trial ends you will be billed for the remaining cost of the product bringing your total to around $120 depending on options at checkout.

Is it Worth it?
Is the Bowflex Uppercut worth buying? The best answer I can give is maybe. It kind of depends on your priorities. One issue that I have with this piece of equipment is that, while it does have a somewhat unique design, the exercises it offers are not unique to it and many of them can be performed with alternate and often cheaper means. For example many of the ab exercises can be performed with a $10 stability ball or an Ab Wheel. Personally, I like the Power Wheel II from Lifeline for these kind of exercises. But, the Power Wheel sells for around $50 and cannot perform near all of the exercises the Uppercut offers.
As far as chest workouts go, the Uppercut is pretty great, but again, there are other options. For flys and highly challenging pushups, I like Health Mark's "Torso Cross" and the "Ultimate Body Press" with Push up rings. However, Torso Cross runs about $40 while Ultimate Body Press sells for over $100. So what it comes down to is that there are better devices out there, but the Uppercut doesn't sound like too bad a deal when you look at the cost of these other pieces of equipment. Additionally convenience is a big selling point with the ability to perform different exercises with one relatively small piece of equipment. Whether or not this latest offering from Bowflex is a good purchase depends on your needs, finances and desire for convenience.

Overall
Overall, I have to say this is a good one, not amazing or revolutionary, but good. The price is a little high for what you're getting, but it's not near as high as many exercise products advertised on late night TV. In the end I have to give the Bowflex Uppercut a grade of B-.



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Body By Jake Tower 200 Review
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Ab Carver Pro Review

Ab Carver Pro is the latest offering from the company behind Perfect Pushup and Perfect Pull Up. The commercials on late night TV present this device as a revolutionary new tool to give you ripped abs. Of course every company trying to sell something says it's the best new thing. Is Ab Carver worth the price?

Overview
When first seeing the ads for Ab Carver, I thought it was an overpriced ab wheel. The design is very similar to many ab wheels out there and is utilized in the same way. There are a few important distinctions, however. The main thing that sets this one apart is that normal ab wheels rely entirely on body weight and balance while the Ab Carver contains an internal coil system to create added resistance. Essentially when you roll out you are working against a spring. Additionally the handle design is different from most wheels in that the grips are angled in a way to put less pressure on the back and shoulders.

The Good
Ab Carver Pro has a lot good going for it. First of all, it is a variation on the ab wheel design, and ab wheels are really great tools for core training. The addition of resistance makes for a really good workout, and the internal spring not only adds resistance to the roll out but provides assistance on the way back up. The assistance on the pull back puts less pressure on your back so that you can perform more reps.

The Bad
While this product has some nice features, it is not really as great an ab workout as the company wants you to believe. It will give you a good abdominal exercise, but so will a $7 basic ab wheel. The resistance is a nice touch but is not that important for your ab workout. It is the core stabilizing actions when using a wheel that have the most effect. The resistance here is more likely to impact upper body strength. If they sold the Ab Carver as a core training/upper body strength device it would be more accurate, but it's a little misleading to indicate that this is an innovative new ab workout.

Overall
Ab Carver Pro is good product that you don't need. There are alternatives out there that are a better value and the product is kind of over hyped. Also, the $40 plus shipping price tag seems a little high, but after a while it will inevitably end up on store shelves for $19.95 and be a much better deal. In the end the Ab Carver may not be the absolute best investment but it is a pretty good product if you have an extra 40 bucks you want to throw around.


Other reviews you may be interested in:
Lifeline Power Wheel 2 Review 
Bowflex Uppercut Review
Iso7x Review
Tower 200 Review
Ultimate Body Press Review