Gear Review: Armaid

I used the Armaid about twice a day at home for a couple weeks after buying. One 2 - 3 minute session in the morning, then one in the evening. I often did eccentric exercises with the green theraband flexbar just after massaging. Used the Bodo on trips and at work.

Eventually, I stopped the morning Armaid sessions and just used the Bodo at lunch and the Armaid in the evening after training sessions. This was during my experimentation with the Rock Prodigy program. But as soon as I hit the Power phase, I had to stop. Too much stress on the elbow. I felt like it was just getting worse. This was in mid-April.

I took about a month off from everything physical except legs, core, and cardio. And only occasionally massaged the forearms, maybe twice or three times a week. When I did get back on the rock it was just easier vertical routes. I stayed a full number grade below my max onsite level for about two months. No roofs. In July, I started getting a little more aggressive with training and started bouldering again. Since then I've been slowly ramping up intensity but keeping the duration of sessions pretty short.

Recently I don't use either the Armaid or the Bodo or the flexbar regularly. Only after an exceptionally brutal day on the rock or in the gym do I break the Armaid out of the gear box. The Bodo has stayed in my pack in case I need it while on a trip. I haven't really used it since April.

I'm definitely not back to 100% yet, but I'm much much better than I was when I decided to buy the Armaid. I'd say I'm still only about 70% back on a normal day, maybe 80 - 90% on a great day, but I still can't comfortably push it as hard as I used to last summer. And there's no way I'll get on a campus board anytime soon. Maybe never again.

There is still pain after a hard session, but it is now only a small fraction of what it was back in January.

So did the Armaid help all that much? Probably. But I imagine most of the recovery is from completely stopping inverted climbing and hard bouldering for three months along with the nine months of dialing the effort back quite substantially in general, and absolutely no campus boarding.

Did massage help? Yes. Absolutely. But it is turning out to be more of a time thing. As many others report, time is the biggest factor for recovery from an injury like this. That and taking care not to make things worse by over stressing it.

Could I get the same quality of self-massage without an Armaid? Probably not. At least not as easily. But as I said, I don't really use it much now a days. I've mostly just been using my thumb and knuckles.

Is it worth the cost? If you can afford the expense, yes. Otherwise, just get a Bodo, or just use your knuckles.

eli poss wrote:Did anyone else read this as Aramid or am I just stupid?

yes but i don't suffer from dyslexia. although, I suspect I suffer from one of the oculo-motive disorders, albeit I have never been tested for it because that shit is expensive.

Jon Zucco wrote:I used the Armaid about twice a day at home for a couple weeks after buying. One 2 - 3 minute session in the morning, then one in the evening. I often did eccentric exercises with the green theraband flexbar just after massaging. Used the Bodo on trips and at work. Eventually, I stopped the morning Armaid sessions and just used the Bodo at lunch and the Armaid in the evening after training sessions. This was during my experimentation with the Rock Prodigy program. But as soon as I hit the Power phase, I had to stop. Too much stress on the elbow. I felt like it was just getting worse. This was in mid-April. I took about a month off from everything physical except legs, core, and cardio. And only occasionally massaged the forearms, maybe twice or three times a week. When I did get back on the rock it was just easier vertical routes. I stayed a full number grade below my max onsite level for about two months. No roofs. In July, I started getting a little more aggressive with training and started bouldering again. Since then I've been slowly ramping up intensity but keeping the duration of sessions pretty short. Recently I don't use either the Armaid or the Bodo or the flexbar regularly. Only after an exceptionally brutal day on the rock or in the gym do I break the Armaid out of the gear box. The Bodo has stayed in my pack in case I need it while on a trip. I haven't really used it since April. I'm definitely not back to 100% yet, but I'm much much better than I was when I decided to buy the Armaid. I'd say I'm still only about 70% back on a normal day, maybe 80 - 90% on a great day, but I still can't comfortably push it as hard as I used to last summer. And there's no way I'll get on a campus board anytime soon. Maybe never again. There is still pain after a hard session, but it is now only a small fraction of what it was back in January. So did the Armaid help all that much? Probably. But I imagine most of the recovery is from completely stopping inverted climbing and hard bouldering for three months along with the nine months of dialing the effort back quite substantially in general, and absolutely no campus boarding. Did massage help? Yes. Absolutely. But it is turning out to be more of a time thing. As many others report, time is the biggest factor for recovery from an injury like this. That and taking care not to make things worse by over stressing it. Could I get the same quality of self-massage without an Armaid? Probably not. At least not as easily. But as I said, I don't really use it much now a days. I've mostly just been using my thumb and knuckles. Is it worth the cost? If you can afford the expense, yes. Otherwise, just get a Bodo, or just use your knuckles.

I am trying to find info on the Bodo and cant find anything. does anyone know where they can be purchased?

Charles LaBrie wrote:

I am trying to find info on the Bodo and cant find anything. does anyone know where they can be purchased?

http://www.bonnieprudden.com/store/self-care-tools/

thank you