Derek Mikulski is the founder and creator of ActivMotion Bar a dynamic at home workout for all fitness levels. After going through his own weight loss journey Derek wanted to create a program that could help others achieve weight loss goals.
Tell me a little bit about your weight-loss journey, when did you make the first step to living a healthier lifestyle?
My weight loss journey began in December of 2004 at the age of 19. By late 2005, I had lost 80 pounds, which motivated me to pursue a career in fitness. They say a journey of a thousand miles begins with one step, and my journey to lose 80 pounds literally started with the first step onto my scale. I looked down and saw 260 lbs! My body was and is not meant to carry 260 lbs. I looked and felt awful. Then and there, I decided to make a change. As a trainer today, going through my own personal journey really helps me understand the struggles my clients face.
What was hardest challenge you faced in the beginning of your journey?
The hardest challenges I faced at the beginning of my weight loss journey were adhering to a fitness regimen and following a structured eating program that cut my food intake to half of what I was use to eating. And, I find lots of people share these same struggles. But, the reality is that the only way to do it is to do it. There are no magic shortcuts. There’s disciplined persistence.
How did you mentally change your outlook on fitness and food?
For me, seeing those first few pounds come off helped mentally change my outlook on fitness and food. In my mind, the early results of my efforts validated that what I was doing was actually working. From that moment on, the concept of appreciating the results pushed me to stick with it. I kept believing (and seeing) that results would come if I stayed motivated and disciplined.
There is nothing on the market like ActivMotion Bar, what made you want to create this fitness tool?
Originally, I created the ActivMotion Bar in response to America's growing population of active adults - the boomers. The ideas was that the unstable bar would help them improve balance, core strength and mind-muscle efficiency - all essential elements of fitness for older people to stay mentally sharp and independent. But, since the creation of the ActivMotion Bar, we have realized that its use can expand way outside of the active adult population and into sport–specific training (i.e. golf) and general fitness training for those who want to fire up their core and tone up their midsection.
What are people saying about ActivMotion Bar?
One thing my team is so excited about is that once people pick up and try the ActivMotion Bar, they have positive comments. So far, we have not gotten a single negative comment. People say that when they use it, they have to think more about the exercises they are doing because of the bar's unstable nature so it keeps them mentally in their workout, that it's fun and brings an exciting new element to their fitness program they didn’t have before … and, of course, that they can feel their core instantly activate the moment they pick it up.
What makes this workout unique?
The ActivMotion Bar and supplemental workouts are unique because there is no other fitness tool that uses a hollow bar with internal rolling steel weights. There are other instability tools but their movement is not like the ActivMotion Bar’s. The rolling steel weights glide in a elegant way. They help the user correct movements that are off – it’s like biofeedback. Water doesn’t do that, neither does sand or an unstable surface. The workouts can't be duplicated, period. Another unique thing about ActivMotion Bar is its programming – we developed the new Disruptive Training System demonstrated in our DVDs. This is completely new since we use the momentum generated by the weights inside the bar to lengthen and strengthen our core muscles.
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