Maintaining Strength After 2 Month Off From Doing Squats and Deadlifts

As many of you are aware that follow what I do here on GetFitOver40.com, I suffered a really bad calf tear about 2 months while ago while doing a 400 meter sprint and had to shut down some of my leg work in order to take care of the calf tear and let it heal up.

So for the most part to keep my leg gains, I have been doing Leg Extensions, Leg Curls, some Machine Leg Press and DB Straight Leg Deadlifts. For calves, just everyday walking around till it heals :(

I am happy to say that over the last few days I have started incorporating Squats and Deadlifts back into my workouts and feel pretty much as strong as before the calf injury. My last Deadlift workout I even managed 8 reps at 395 pounds even though the last couple reps where real grinders. Today I even PR'd a 3 rep 275 pound Front Squat so perhaps those leg extensions did me some good!

In terms of my calf rehab, my left calf is feeling really good but I do not want to ask too much too quickly so I have just started to reintroduce some calf work by doing single leg body weight calf raises to get my flexibility and range of motion back. So far so good and I'm surprised to find that my injured calf is actually keeping up fairly well with my good one so I am well on my way to a full recovery :)

Dr Plankenstein's 5 Minute Dip Challenge - Get Fit Over 40 Entry

Another YouTube Video Submission Challenge... I had my camera all setup from doing my Barney St Anton Strict Press Challenge so I rested for about half an hour while I setup my makeshift Dip Bars and drank my Tim Horton's single single with a chocolate Dip donut for extra energy.

The challenge was pretty simple. Do as many full motion dips as you can within 5 minutes! Full extension at the top and elbows must hit 90 degrees at the bottom.

I probably should have done my Dr Plankenstein's 5 Minute Dip Challenge on a different day because the overhead press really took a lot out of my triceps but I really wanted to get this video in and it's more about supporting Herbie Sherman and his "HOPE FOR JUSTICE" charity.

I was shooting for 100 reps and I got it, just barely but I'll take it. I think on a day when I was fresh I perhaps could have got another 10 or so but I am happy with my results considering I did this back to back with my Barney St Anton Strict Press Challenge.

Barney St Anton Strict Press Challenge - Get Fit Over 40 Entry

I saw some of the other Fitness folks here on YouTube getting in on the Barney St Anton Strict Press Challenge and so I thought I would give it a go, the cutoff is today I think so trying to get ti in on the wire...

The challenge is pretty simple and there is nothing to be gained other than bragging rights but these challenges are all in good fun and help to unite the Online Fitness Community and introduce everyone to other new people they may never have run into.

Here are the basic rules:

• Weight yourself and use half your body weight as your overhead press weight.
• Do a full shoulder press, touching the top of your chest a the bottom and a full lockout on the top preferably with a pause.
• No more than 5 seconds between reps.
• No use of legs to gain drive, so no push.
• See how many reps you can do before failure :)

I did 23 reps (was trying for 25), not bad for an old guy! Thanks Barney St Anton for putting on this Strict Press Challenge and a big shout out to everyone that got their entry videos in!

Americas Versus UK - Old Man Versus Young Man Bench-Off Challenge Winner

So after a few days of deliberation, I have come up with a winner for the Americas region for the Americas Versus UK - Old Man Versus Young Man Bench-Off Challenge.

Mark Macqueen will be announcing the UK winner and sending out a prize to that person.

The reason it took me a few days to decide on the Americas winner was because I was kind of torn between two video entries. One had a very clean 25 reps with no disputing the form, while the second entry had more reps, 27 in total, but it was hard to make out if his butt was coming off the bench based on the angle being used to video the challenge. After all I wanted to be true to the contest rules. After much thought I decided that since there was no way to determine if his butt came off the bench, then I have to give him the benefit of the doubt so the Americas prize goes to Brian from Silverback Fitness. Brian will be receiving a pair of Kinivo BTH240 Bluetooth Headphones!

As a consolation prize for the runner up with 25 very clean reps, Tim Kistner will be getting a pair of compact Kinivo Bluetooth Speakers that I will be receiving shortly for review, he can have them when I finish my review of course ;)

As a side note, I wanted to help promote another challenge that Dr Plankenstein's Fitness Training is hosting for a worthy charity, this challenge is a maximum dips you can do within 5 minutes so check that one out. I will be submitting a video entry for this one.

Again I want to thank Mark Macqueen for co-hosting this challenge with me and also to everyone who submitted a bodyweight bench press challenge video and helping to make fitness on YouTube fun and exciting!

Kinivo M2 Bluetooth Stereo Speaker System Review

Many of you may also have a home gym setup of some sort, small or large, either way it's nice to have some sort of a sound system you can connect your music too so you can have the beats playing while you do your workout. We all know that having some motivational tunes playing helps us get in and stay in the mood while working out.

I already did a review on my Kinivo BTH240 Bluetooth Stereo Headphones which I really enjoy for when I need to keep my music to myself like when I am at my local gym or working out later at night and need to keep the volume down a bit. Make sure to checkout that review if your in the market for a pair of great sounding inexpensive Bluetooth Headphones.

Since I was so happy with my first experience using Kinivo audio gear, I decided to hit up Kinivo once again about getting a pair of their M2 Bluetooth Stereo Speakers and they sped me off a pair ASAP. I've been playing around with them for about a week now, positioning them around areas of my home, both inside and out, in small closed in rooms and even large wide open areas and I can definitely say the Kinivo M2's have lots of volume and more than enough bass to be used for most purposes. Even on my outside deck that opens up to a large pool area, I can clearly hear the Kinivo M2 Bluetooth Stereo Speakers, the bass remains strong and the mids and highs cut through no problem. Even when I was making a bunch of noise working on getting my pool ready for this summer.

Volume is one thing, the overall sound quality is good, the M2's are not as smooth as the Kinivo BTH240 Bluetooth Stereo Headphones I reviewed but this is pretty normal for a box and satellite system since they tend to have a bit less midrange then a pair of stand alone bookshelf styled speakers. Don't get me wrong, I played all kinds of styles of music and the mixes through the Kinivo M2's and  everything sounded great. You are just going to get a bit more of that high and low end from the M2's.

The Kinivo M2 Bluetooth Stereo Speakers are not marketed as a "portable" system but they are compact and light enough to be easily moved around so you could use them in your gym one day, bring them down to your deck for an outside party, plug them into your computer system for some gaming and then connect them to your home entertainment system for a movie and some popcorn.

In the box you will receive the Kinivo main 6.5 inch watt sub cabinet that houses the 56 watt internal amplifier along with base, treble, source and Bluetooth controls. You also get a pair of 14 watt each 2.5 inch satellite speakers, an RCA to 3.5mm mini stereo jack cable and the Kinivo M2 manual.

For $69 at the time of this review, you really can not go too wrong, that's a lot of quality sound for a small amount of cash :)

Here are some of the specifications for those of you who like the techie stuff:

Product Description

The Kinivo M2 Bluetooth speaker is a top of the line stereo speaker system featuring a powerful subwoofer for a rich, deep bass experience and an auxiliary input cable to connect non-Bluetooth devices via the 3.5mm headphone jack. Features bass and treble dials and a large volume control for easy volume adjustment. The M2 supports NFC for quick and easy Bluetooth pairing with NFC capable devices.

Key Features
- Powerful subwoofer for deep, rich bass audio
- 56W of premium sound for home and open areas
- Play audio from 3.5mm audio source or wirelessly from Bluetooth capable devices 
- Source button to switch between Bluetooth and auxiliary input
- Large lighted volume dial
- Bass and treble dials for adjustment
- NFC for quick and easy Bluetooth pairing with NFC capable devices such as the Samsung Galaxy S4 and Google Nexus 7 

Device Compatibility
- All Bluetooth (A2DP) capable devices 
- All 3.5mm audio output capable devices 
- Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8 computers with a Bluetooth adapter
- Macbook Pro, Macbook Air, iMac, Mac Mini, etc.
- Tablets - Windows, Apple, Android, Kindle
- Smartphones - Android, Blackberry, Windows, iPhone 
- All MP3 players, CD players, laptops, tablets and other music devices with a 3.5mm audio socket 

What's in the Box
- Subwoofer 
- 2 Satellite Speakers
- RCA to 3.5mm Stereo Audio Cable
- User Manual

Warranty
The Kinivo M2 is backed by a 1 year warranty. Please contact us if you have any questions.

Product Details

• Brand: Kinivo
• Model: M2
• Dimensions: 16.00" h x 10.00" w x 11.00" l,

Features

• 2.1 speaker system is designed for computers, laptops, tablets, smartphones, iPod, iPhone, iPad and Android devices
• Easy to wirelessly pair and connect Bluetooth enabled devices with NFC. Satellite speakers are wired to the subwoofer, but you can wirelessly connect the smartphone / tablet / pc via Bluetooth
• Rich and powerful 56W speaker system enhances your audio experience for music, gaming, movies, and other entertainment
• Front facing volume control and adjustable bass and treble dials in rear of subwoofer system
• Play audio from a 3.5mm audio port or seamlessly stream audio from any Bluetooth (A2DP) capable media player