Bulletproof Labs Visit

We had the opportunity to visit Bulletproof Labs in Santa Monica last week. If you haven’t heard of Bulletproof, they’re the ones behind Bulletproof coffee. But they also have other food and drinks and supplements. Bulletproof’s mission is to help people perform better, think better, and live better (Source).

When we visited, we were given a tour of all the available equipment. We were just blown away by all of it. Bulletproof Labs helps with both physical and mental health. Not only do they help with injuries and recovery, but they also help with cellular health and mental health. The best way to describe Bulletproof Labs is that it doesn’t replace your gym, even though they have machines such as The Cheat Machine, which gives you a week’s worth of lifting in just 15-20 minutes, and Cold HIIT, where you work out for 21 minutes with cooling and compression so you recover faster.

While we wanted to try everything, we didn’t have enough time to try every single machine, so here’s a quick review of what we were able to try out.

Virtual Float Tank

Joanna: I’ve always wanted to try a virtual float tanks, but didn’t like the idea of getting in the water and getting wet. You guys have all seen my many different hair colors. That thing cannot be submerged in water for an hour. So when I saw that Bulletproof Labs had a virtual float tank and I didn’t need to submerge myself in water, I immediately knew that’s what I wanted to try. Also, most float tanks are sensory deprivation tanks, which means no sound or sight. The virtual float tank at Bulletproof Labs has music and light pulses, which drops your brain into a meditative theta-wave state so you’re able to relax more.

Benefits of a Virtual Float Tank:

• Enhance learning and memory
• Boost creativity
• Decrease stress
• Increase resilience
• Improve mental and physical energy
• Enhance meditation effectiveness

I definitely needed to decrease my stress levels so even though the thought of being in a closed tank freaked me out a little bit, I sucked it up and did it. I definitely panicked for about 30 seconds before getting used to the lights and spinning. The 20 minutes in the tank flew by and when it was over, I definitely felt more relaxed.

REDcharger

Grace: The REDcharger kind of reminded me of a tanning bed (Yes, we know they’re horrible for you. No, we don’t go into them anymore.), but ONLY because you lay down and close the bed around you. It doesn’t tan you. The REDcharger exposes your body to red and infrared light, which improves blood circulation, helps with recovery, decreases inflammation, and helps with collagen production (!!!). That basically means YOU GET PRETTIER. Jk, not really. But collagen does help with your skin, hair, and joints.

Benefits of the REDCharger:

• Improved blood circulation to brain and body
• Enhanced exercise recovery
• Improves immune system function
• Skin rejuvenation
• Decrease inflammation and swelling
• Detoxification

The more skin exposure, the better, so most people strip down and get into the bed. Don’t worry, they sanitize it after each person. You’re in the machine for 20 minutes. The lid does close around you. If you’re claustrophobic, you can leave it cracked open. It is smaller than a tanning bed. Also it does get hot. Towards the end of my session, I was getting really sweaty and warm. But the 20 minutes is definitely bearable.

Cold HIIT

Grace: With the Cold HIIT machine, you sit down on a machine that’s like recumbent bike at the gym. The seat is cooled, as are your feet in the foot holds. Also your thighs and biceps are wrapped with a cooling compression that feels like you’re getting your blood pressure measured. It’s only 21 minutes, but it’s HIIT! So you have short bursts of sprints that are actually really hard!

Benefits of Cold HIIT:

• Improve strength and endurance
• Improve mental focus
• Improve sleep quality
• Increase energy
• Decrease inflammation

When I was doing the Cold HIIT, I could feel my hands sweating, but that was the only part of me that sweated. I didn’t feel much fatigue because the cooling helped me recover much faster, so I could work harder. After the 21 minutes, I laid down on a cooling bed that helped with recovery. It was pretty cool (pun intended), and I would definitely want to do it again!

PEMF

Joanna: The PEMF is a mat that produces a pulsed electromagnetic field and charges your body’s cells with so you can reenergize, heal, recover, and perform better. It’s one of the more popular machines at Bulletproof Labs and I was only able to stay on for a short period of time since 2 other people had reserved it. Some clients come in every day to use this machine!

Benefits of PEMF:

• Stimulates electrical changes — around and within the cell
• Activates and promotes cell regeneration
• Can alleviate the symptoms of arthritis
• Improves circulation
• Can help relieve the symptoms of depression
• Promotes bone healing

I’ve been having a lot of problems with my left hip recently. It’s definitely from lack of stretching and foam rolling and anytime I do a high intensity workout, it gets really painful. The first few minutes, I focused on my whole body and the pulses weren’t too strong or painful. Since the main issue was on my left hip, we switched to a paddle to focus more on that area. I definitely felt the pulses during that time and had to scale back. It felt like cramps and it was more painful in my problematic area. I wish I could have used the PEMF for the full 20 minutes because my hip did feel a bit better after the short session.

Packages and Pricing

Bullet Packages

*Every machine uses 1-2 Bullets. The popular machines like the Virtual Float Tank and PEMF are 2 Bullets.

1 Bullet – $50
6 Bullets – $285
12 Bullets – $555
24 Bullets – $1,080

Monthly Memberships

Silver – $510 for 12 Bullets
Gold – $960 for 24 Bullets
Platinum – $1,440 for 36 Bullets

Honestly, it’s a bit pricey, but the machines you use are all so amazing and so beneficial to your health – mental, physical, and even cellular. We really wanted to try every single machine.

We both think the most “worth it” machine is the PEMF. Joanna said she felt her hip pain improve even after such a short time. We both know we have minor injuries / inflammation, which was confirmed after our body composition scan. So we would definitely do the PEMF to get rid of that inflammation and help our bodies heal.

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What would you be most interested in trying out? Let us know!

J&G