Who is this guy?
I am John Izzo and I am the founder of
www.standAPARTfitness.com - one of the most easily distinguished fitness websites on the Internet because of its integrity, mission, and awesome content. The last 10 years I spent as a personal trainer and fitness director for facilities such as Gold's Gym, World Gym, and the YMCA”
What is this product and what it claim?
“EYE of the TRAINER is a DVD that addresses key deviations that hinder results, cause poor exercise form, and put you at high risk of injury. Doesn't matter if you are an athlete, personal trainer, weekend warrior, or just a fitness enthusiast interested in staying healthy, EYE of the TRAINER teaches you how to assess your own exercise form and make the corrections without spending hundreds of dollars on a training session”
Where can I get it and how much does it cost?
$30.00
Review:
Video\Sound Quality
Video quality is excellent. It’s a shame that this is really even a category but anyone that’s purchased a fitness related DVD knows that about half of the time video quality sucks. No need to be concerned with this one. A super clean picture the whole way through.
Sound is adequate. The header\footer speeches are nice. You could tell that John put some effort in it into rehearsing it a couple times. There isn’t a great deal of sound during the actual video portion. There is an occasional high\low during a transition or some especially slow speech (I’m assuming in an effort to be clear) at times, but nothing horrid enough to actually lose points for.
Content Usability
Here’s where it gets a little tricky. The “critic” portion in me demands for a little more depth. The “realist” portion in me says “fuck it, more depth really isn't needed”.
The DVD is a drag race of information. “This is what crap form looks like”. “This is how you fix it”. It goes through the entire series quickly which I liked, there aren't any sections when you're reaching for the remote to fast forward through ANOTHER auto paused menu screen. You get a quick view of good form (small and awkward camera angle at times), a view of crap form, and shown how to fix it by prehab\mobility\strength methods.
The “bad” form is pretty self explanatory for the most part. Anyone that’s ever lifted a weight or been to a gym…ever…has seen some bad form and when John does the examples it’s kind of funny. The only real negative is that there aren't enough explanations of “why” there’s something wrong or “why” what you’re doing is going to fix it. Sometimes you're shown or told why, sometimes not. There doesn't seem to be a whole lot of obvious reasoning as to why some items got explanations and others didn't.
One thing that takes some sting out of the "lack of why" is an included handout that briefly lists the chief causes of the problems\solutions and lists everything that’s on the DVD on a very portable\readable medium. This is something that other trainers really need to pay attention to. Having these handouts and supplements included really does make a difference.
Does it do what it says\Review
Yep. That’s really about as exciting as it gets. Similar to Alan’s book, you’re promised something pretty specific and you get it. It’s not fancy or gimmicky or going to “blow your mind” with super secret ninja powers…it shows you common form mistakes and methods to fix it.
Novice:
As a learning tool, you’ll probably be disappointed. As noted above the explanation side of the house is pretty weak. On the other hand, you’re form is shit (admit it) and explanations probably aren’t going to benefit you nearly as much as being shown how to “just fix it”.
So here’s it’s up to you. Why are you buying it and are you willing to pay 6x as much for comparable products that have the explanations.
Enthusiastic Amateur:
You’re probably going to get a lot out of it. If you can get a general idea of the “why” on your own, you can use this DVD to use a HUGE assortment of corrective “stuff”. It could easily help you fix problems on you and your clients\friends\spouse.
Final Thoughts\Value:
When I first seen this I was thinking “Starting Strength (the book) in DVD Format”!! I got a little hard to be honest with you. It’s not to “Starting Strength” level.
Here’s where personal values\goals are really going to determine if you think it’s worth it “for you” or not. My personal view is that every time I have a training session I want to see progression in some way, that’s #1 for me. #2 is I don’t want to get fucked up doing #1. I don’t look at the DVD as a way to do exercises correctly. I look at it from the perspective of “If I CAN’T do it correctly then there’s something bad wrong with me and I need to fix it”.
If you think you might have problems and want to actively find a solution for those problems (Meaning that you’ll actually do the prescribed maneuvers) then it’s a reasonable price. $30 is a pizza and a 12-pack. That lasts what 3 hours?
Gobbla's Guides-Eye of the Trainer-John Izzo
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