Advice -- Powerstrike on carpet?

TarHeelMom

TarHeelMom

Cathlete
I broke down after reading all the fabulous raves here and bought the Powerstrike Millenium series, my first non-Cathe video in two years. They came last week and I've done them twice -- and I must say, I just love them. And man, was my back sore from top to bottom after the first time (this is even after almost nine unbroken months of Cathe strength training!) I couldn't cough without it hurting the next day. What a workout!

But I have carpet in my workout area, and in my regular stepping shoes I find that it's tough to quickly change my foot alignment and/or keep my feet properly aligned for all the punches, the combos and especially the roundhouse and side kicks. My feet just don't glide on the floor the way they need to. And I'm worried about re-injuring my fragile knees with all that torquing around caused by my feet dragging.

Anybody else have this carpet problem? Solutions, y'all? Are there special smooth-soled kickbox shoes that would help?

Thanks everyone!

Kathy S.
 
[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON Apr-18-02 AT 01:57PM (Est)[/font][p]Hi Kathy! I'm trying to figure out a solution myself. I'm glad I'm not the only one who got toasted the first time trying a Powerstrike - after Millenium #1 I couldn't even take a deep breath the next day without feeling it in my ribs!

Anyway, I have the same problem - changing my alignment, especially for the kicks. All I can do so far is to stay really light on my toes, so I can pivot on them and swing the heel into position. I do notice it's a lot worse in running shoes than in aerobic shoes!

I might try them on the rubber play mats my kids have, but they might be too cushy. But I think my feet will slide better.

I hope someone else has some suggestions, I'm just here to commiserate!

Sophie
 
Kathy,
You're right to be worried about doing kickboxing on carpeting. I have a "geetchy" knee myself, and I know I wouldn't try it. Too much chance for bad "torque" action, if you know what I mean.
Maybe you could get a large square of thin wood (hmm..there's a name for this, but it's not coming to me!) from the lumber yard. I've seen pieces about 8 feet square, rather thin, they must be for building walls or flooring? (Years ago, the beginning of a CIA video had an advertisement for something similar--but fancier, and probably more expensive--that was basically a 4 foot or so square. You might be able to find something on the web by searching terms like "aerobic surface" or "aerobic platform". I can't really think of what it would be called, but use your imagination.)
Another suggestion would be to change your kickboxing technique. You would basically lift and replace your foot every time you need to pivot, rather than doing an actual pivot. It might require slowing down some moves, or omitting a kick here and there.

You could also contact the folks at Powerstrike and ask their advice. ([email protected]) I have a feeling they'd be helpful, or at least friendly about it.
 
Wow--I love that taping solution! I do my workouts on carpet and with troublesome knees too. I've found one pair of shoes so far that pivots pretty easily, they're made by K-Swiss (sorry, I don't know a model name) and were called a training shoe at my store. Basically I've just been going to stores and running my hand along the bottoms of all the shoes looking for ANYTHING smooth with cushioning. One shoe I saw was labeled as being "great for kickboxing" and listed as an advantage its great ability to grip the floor--and I thought, Are they nuts??? That's the last thing I would want. Anyway, I printed out that taping thread and will try it--even though I have one good pair of shoes, you know they won't last forever and when I go back to replace them, the model will be discontinued... --Karen
 
Robin,

Great suggestion! I will try it with my older pair of shoes and see how my knees fare. I'll also research mats and plywood, etc. and let you guys know what I find out.


Kathy S.
 
Hi,
I haven't bought Powerstrike yet but am getting close since it is so highly recommended by fellow Cathe fans (the only people I trust to tell me a workout is "hard enough"!). Anyway, is rolling up your carpet an option? I work out in the basement and we have a carpet there which is nice for step, hi/lo and weights, but I think I could roll it out of the way in about 2 minutes. If you have wall-to-wall I guess you can't do that and you have to consider what is under the carpet as well(we have tile which is slippery so I'm thinking that's good for pivoting) but I just thought I'd suggest it. Good luck. The shoe taping sounds like a good option too! I smell a new kind of athletic shoe coming out on the market soon!!! No pun intended.

Candice
 
Hi Candice!

Nah, it's wall-to-wall with subflooring and pad under it. It's a low-pile industrial carpet but still causes a lot of drag. I'm going to tape up an older pair of shoes tomorrow and give it a whirl!

Kathy S.
 
another option

Kathy, you already have great advice...love the tape on the shoe;-). But I'll also echo a temp floor replacement like the thin piece of wood. Another choice might be a one of those clear plastic carpet protectors you place under office chairs while working at a desk. You can find them fairly affordable at all the home office super stores.
I know they come in fairly large sizes and with minimal traveling that the Powerstike women do....I'm betting you'll have plenty of room on one to do a routine.

http://publish.hometown.aol.com/naconfer/images/cathechicksig.jpg
 
Nancy!!

Wow! That is a fabulous idea! I bought one recently at Office Depot for my son's room -- it was the smaller size and it was only about $25. I'm going to check it out this weekend to see how big they come. I think you're right -- 4x4 or 5x5 should do nicely for most of the moves. Meanwhile, I'm going to try the taped shoes tonight. Wish me luck!

Kathy S.
 
I second your concern about these shoes. A freind tore her ACL in kickboxing class because her shoe gripped the floor so well (the floor is a mat-type surface since it's in a taekwondo school). I plan to try the taping myself. I also look for shoes with smoother surfaces on the balls of the feet.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Our Newsletter

Get awesome content delivered straight to your inbox.

Top