I had been working out for about five months, when I was sent a video of Kris Letang working out on Core Stix. Having turned myself into quite the gym rat, I saw this video and thought—now that looks like something interesting. After a quick Google search, I had learned a lot about the product and that luckily, one of the co-founders just happens to live in my fair city. I reached out to Mike Kadar in August with my marketing mind in overdrive, thinking that perhaps there might be a good match potentially here for us, I sent him a email—not knowing if he would respond or not, but it was worth a try! Mike did indeed respond and we set up a time to see the product in person.
It was love at first sight with Core Stix. It felt a little bit like Christmas morning as he was demonstrating the product. I could not wait to jump on board and give it a try. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely had fallen in love with weight training, but there are so many annoyances with lifting in a gym that had me frustrated—Core Stix seemed like it would make these frustrations a thing of the past. Mike was generous with his time and demonstration. Jennifer Hoffman, who was my personal trainer, came with me to see the demonstration. She too was enamored with the product. Mike was kind enough to allow Jen to borrow the system to give it a try. And try we did!
My initial impression was that Core Stix would work! It was not physically difficult to set up, use or figure out but the challenge immediately presented was form and function. The design of Core Stix forces you to use correct form and technique which is awesome because that translates to gains. It did take a few workouts to get comfortable with trusting the Stix, getting a feel for how they both challenge and support movements. Like any good relationship, it takes a little while to build trust! But once I got the feel for them, it was off to the races.
Mike, Jen and I spoke at length a few weeks later about how much we loved the product and that we would like to put together a 12 week challenge where we take a group of folks and put them through a regimen to get tangible results on Core Stix. The Core Stix/ Black n Gold Girl Challenge began on December 8, 2012 with eight participants. Today, we are 9 weeks into the challenge and are so excited to begin sharing results with you all! Core Stix has had a significant impact on all of us in the challenge. Not just in our work outs but in our lives in general.
Let’s talk squats for a moment—Doing squats (and squat variations) on Core Stix… you THINK you have done squats but you do not know squats until you perform them on Core Stix. From the full body balance, and posture necessary throughout the entire movement, to the Olympic depth you are able to achieve, Core Stix raises the squatting bar to a whole new level. Even though I had been performing this exercise for months, I can honestly say that I first saw the strength and cosmetic benefits AFTER I started performing the move on the Stix. Sure, I wasn’t able to go up or down stairs for a few days after the first workout, but I am happy to report that I believe my quad foundation is now built because of Core Stix. I can easily go through a 100 rep session now without any residual or lingering soreness. And I have transitioned from using White (light) Stix (and barely getting through) to now using Blue (heavy) Stix.
By Cassandra Buncie