DDR boards--mod or buy metal?

[kokopoko]

I'm looking to mod my dance pads or buy a metal pad as I tore my achilles tendon doing ddr barefoot on a regular pad with pretty much no padding in it.

What would be better padding wise/ankle wise modding my pad by stapling it to plywood or buying a redoctane metal pad? Does the metal pad have padding in it?

[abrannan]

I'd recommend stretching before playing. It's not all about the equipment. What you said happened is equivalent to saying that you want to carpet your entire house because you tore your Achille's Tendon running around the house barefoot.

Neither of the options you present have any padding in them. If you're still looking to play barefoot, get an ignition style pad, otherwise you can play in shoes with either of the options you presented.

[kokopoko]

I did stretch before playing. And stretched the tendon too.

[Laura Moncur]

Remember to warm up slowly. Do some songs that are slow and easy for you to start up your workout and finish it up. Format your workout like this:

Do some slow songs (about two or three)
Stretch carefully
Do your workout (20-30 minutes of intense songs)
Do about three or four of slow songs again.
Stretch

That will help protect your muscles from injury.

Oh yeah, don't forget to have fun!

[SSC]

That's basically what I do, except for I play for more than a half an hour. I usually play intensely for 1.5-2 hours.

[Pyrochaos]

metal pads are king

[MATS]

Pyrochaos said:

metal pads are king

Um, they are not. Homeplay is pretty dumb. When you play at the arcade you will acctually get better at ddr, and lose more weight.

[Laura Moncur]

I can't think of one reason why one would lose more weight playing at the arcade vs. at home. It all has to do with calories in and calories out.

If you play a lot at home, you should get the same benefits as playing at the arcade without having to shell out a buck a play.

Then again, if you tend to dance more vigorously when girls are watching, then arcade play may be more strenuous for you than homeplay. You could get the same effect at home by inviting girls over to play with you, you know...

[MATS]

Arcade pads are spaced differntly.
on a home pad I can AA psmo
and at arcade I can barley pass it.
the proof is in the pudding.

[Wadely]

MATS said:

Arcade pads are spaced differntly.
on a home pad I can AA psmo
and at arcade I can barley pass it.
the proof is in the pudding.

You're completely missing the point. It has to do with how many calories you burn. Getting AA on a song at home and a D on the same song at the arcade may still burn the same amount of calories (because it may be similar physical work, even if the timing makes the arcade harder to get Perfect steps). Home/arcade has nothing to do with burning calories.... how much you move does.

That's why workout modes generally count each footstep you take and not just the ones that are part of the song. Want to burn more calories on a light 2-4 footer? Take 2-3x as many steps as you need to. Then, if you aren't very good (like me) you can still burn the calories and have the gratification of a decent score.

Likewise, soft pads vs hard ones won't matter much when it comes to calories burned other than the fact that you don't have to worry as much about injury or the frustration of soft pads dying on you. I got my Cobalt Flux a week ago and I now play DDR at least twice (probably 3-4x) as much as I did before with my crappy soft pads because it's just more enjoyable when the pad stays put and always works the way it's supposed to. So, for me, going to a good hard pad made all the difference since I'm playing DDR more and, as a result of that, exercising more and burning more calories.


As for the OP: In your defense, sometimes it IS about the equipment. A torn achilles tendon is no minor injury! If you have had serious ankle/foot injuries, I would say that a metal pad is the way to go, then you can wear shoes with good ankle support in them. Being able to wear good shoes will go a long way towards protecting your feel/ankles. I play on my CF in socks, but my wife and our friends always wear shoes on it. When I get better and can handle more punishing songs, I'll probably have to migrate to shoes so I can play longer sessions without making my feet too sore.

Personally, I think that the Cobalt Flux pads are worth paying 50% more than a Red Octane metal pad. If you can afford $200 for a RO metal pad, you should be able to afford $100 more for a CF, even if you have to save up for a few more weeks. But that's just my opinion.

I hope your tendon has healed properly and gotten the medical attention it needed soon enough. I am familiar with torn achilles tendons first hand.

[SSC]

It's a lot harder to burn more cals. on a soft pad, because of all the sliding you can do, more specifically RO-2.0's, compared to CF's.

[kokopoko]

Wadely said:

I hope your tendon has healed properly and gotten the medical attention it needed soon enough. I am familiar with torn achilles tendons first hand.

Actually it hasn't healed well. It happened in March and there is a bump over where it ripped. It still hurts when I walk and I'm worried about it. How long did it take for yours to heal and what did you do? I didn't need surgery as it wasn't a complete tear. The doc didn't put me in a boot though I could barely walk.

[Wadely]

kokopoko said:

Actually it hasn't healed well. It happened in March and there is a bump over where it ripped. It still hurts when I walk and I'm worried about it. How long did it take for yours to heal and what did you do? I didn't need surgery as it wasn't a complete tear. The doc didn't put me in a boot though I could barely walk.

My mother's achilles tendon was severed completely in an on the job accident and, due to the first line of doctors being pricks that were owned by the insurance company, about all she got for several years was an aircast and pain killers (they did some spinal blocks to try to stop the pain, but nothing to repair the tendon). By the time they went in to repair it, she also needed knee surgery as a result of the severe limp she had been walking with. The tendon was nigh irreperable. It's reattached now, but it's several inches shorter than it's supposed to be, so he foot still doesn't work right and she has to use a cane for the rest of her life.

I suppose my saying 'first hand' implied that it was my injury, but it wasn't. I did, however, drive my mom to all her dr. appointments and surgeries and got to witness the pain first hand. If you haven't seen a sports medicine doctor, I would. Make sure you don't just settle for what your PCP says about something like this. Get at least one opinion from a specialist.

[abrannan]

MATS said:

Arcade pads are spaced differntly.
on a home pad I can AA psmo
and at arcade I can barley pass it.
the proof is in the pudding.

Funny, my home mats are 11"x11", and my arcade mats are 11"x11". However, the judge difficulty is set differently on various arcade machines in my area making it easier or harder to pass songs depending on what machine I play.

How's that for pudding?

[Pyrochaos]

MATS said:

Um, they are not. Homeplay is pretty dumb. When you play at the arcade you will acctually get better at ddr, and lose more weight.

As far as home versions go, I meant. Cobalt Flux is King.

[SSC]

Okay. This seems appropriate for what this thread is turning into.



Sorry if it offends.

[ryanddrfreak]

if u do buy a metal mat where shoes on the metal pad





im smart

[wanderingfido]

abrannan said:

Funny, my home mats are 11"x11", and my arcade mats are 11"x11". However, the judge difficulty is set differently on various arcade machines in my area making it easier or harder to pass songs depending on what machine I play.

How's that for pudding?

Scottish Barley Pudding

1 cup barley
1/3 cup currants
1/3 cup seedless raisins
4 1/2 cups water
1/8 teasthingy salt



1. Mix the barley and water in a heavy-based saucepan and bring slowly to the boil.
2. Reduce heat and simmer for one-and-a-half hours, stirring occasionally.
3. Add the currants, raisins and salt and simmer for another 15 minutes.


;D

[michelle9sd]

Since you do have an injury, I would recommend getting really good running shoes to prevent other injuries. I can recommend the ones I use. They are great: New Balance 765. I don't think it matters if you mod your softpads (with plywood) or buy a metal pad, as long as you can wear shoes.

[legend]

ryanddrfreak said:

if u do buy a metal mat where shoes on the metal pad





im smart

I don't even whare shoes at the arcade it throws me off