I have had this workout a very long time. I have done it before, too, but oddly, I remembered very little about it. It has been that long since I did it. I probably purchased it as soon as it was released in 2009, did it a few times and for some reason moved on. I did get hit head on by a drunk driver mid-2009 and spent months in the hospital then didn’t walk for several more months, then rehab… maybe that’s why? Anyway, lately I have been having Jillian Michaels nostalgia and revisiting a lot of her workouts. And loving them as much as always. Someone recently asked me about this workout and I wondered why I never returned to it. It’s as if my eyes pass over it when perusing my Jillian workouts. So I finally pulled it out again!

No More Trouble Zones might be the only pure strength training workout Jillian Michaels has created. It is made up circuits that focus on specific muscle groups. Also unlike any other Jillian Michaels workout I am familiar with–it is chaptered! So you can do the whole workout or go in and select the circuit(s) you want to do. However–no premixes. Even though this workout does differ from most of her other workouts, it also has similarities. First, it is fast paced circuit work, so even though it contains none of her normal cardio bursts, your heart rate still gets up there. But, just like any other workout that uses weights, the intensity of the workout depends on your weight selection. This can be a fairly intense metabolic workout with some excellent total body strength training if you choose heavy enough weights. Just like all of Jillian’s other workouts, the weights used are absurd–especially for a straight strength training workout. Three pounds. That is what Jillian and her two exercisers used for every single exercise. WTF? She even comments on how light her weights are during the bicep circuit. She says she can curl 20 pound dumbbells but not for 5 minutes straight. Uhm… so that means your only recourse is to resort to 3 pound dumbbells? I used 12-20 pound dumbbells for the entire 5 minute biceps segment. So why couldn’t she challenge herself, thereby demonstrating for the home exerciser what it actually means to challenge yourself? This is a high rep/endurance level workout, but still–3 pounds?!?! For anyone doing this workout, listed below are the weights I actually used. I did every rep and didn’t pause the DVD once. If I could make through with no problems using heavier than 3 pound dumbbells for every single exercise (5-20 pound dumbbells)–then why couldn’t she? However, if you are a beginner–then 3 pound dumbbells is probably what you should use because with heavier dumbbells it does get pretty intense.

So another excellent Jillian Michaels workout–if you use heavy enough weights. And it is unique for Jillian. I am surprised I have not returned to this workout until now.

No More Trouble Zones is 55 minutes long; 5 minute warm up and 5 minute cool down (technically it is 57 minutes long but the last 2 minutes is Jillian talking and the credits).

Circuit #1 Shoulders & Legs:

1. Squat w/ overhead shoulder press, 15# DBs
2. Reverse lunge w/ straight arm lateral raise, 5# DBs
3. Chair squats w/ anterior raises (straight arm front raises), 5# DBs
4. Press outs (start w/ DBs at chest level, palms facing ceiling; press DBs straight out until arms are straight then bring DBs back to chest), 5# DBs
5. Repeat #1-4

Circuit #2 Chest & Abs:

1. Chest press w/ crunch, 20# DBs
2. Lay flat on back, legs straight and raised a few inches off floor, arms/DBs out wide in a “T” and head/neck raised; chest fly w/ straight leg raises, 20# DBs
3. Bicycle crunches
4. Squirms (lay on back, knees bent, feet on floor, arms are at side w/ palms facing opposing walls; reach one hand down between bottom and calf, tapping inside of ankle; alternate sides w/ reach)
5. Push ups
6. Repeat #1-5

Circuit #3 Biceps & Butt:

1. Deadlifts w/ hammer curls, 20# DBs
2. Static squat w/ concentration curls, one 17.5# DB
3. Front lunges w/ wide “W” curls, 12# DBs
4. Alternating side lunges w/ bicep curl, 12# DBs
5. Repeat #1-4

Circuit #4 Thighs & Triceps:

1. Tricep kickbacks in narrow squat, 10# DBs
2. Sumo squats w/ overhead tricep extensions, 10# DBs
3. Surrenders while holding DBs overhead, 8# DBs
4. Straight arm DB press backs while in crescent lunge, 8# DBs
5. Repeat #1-4

Circuit #5 Core:

1. Double crunch
2. Twisting plank (straight arm plank; bring knee under body to opposite elbow; alternate sides)
3. Toe taps in plank (straight arm plank; swing leg out to side and tap floor w/ toe then bring back in)
4. Windshield wipers (lay on back, arms held straight overhead in a V; raise straight legs toward one hand and lower, raise legs toward other hand and lower; keep alternating)
5. Repeat #1-4

Circuit #6 Upper Body & Core:

1. Renegade rows, 20# DBs
2. Supermans
3. Hollow man w/ scissor kicks
4. One leg pelvic thrusts (hip lifts w/ one leg crossed over other knee) (I also place a 20# DB on my hips)
5. Repeat #1-4

Circuit #7 Lower Body & Core: (I wore 2.5# ankle weights for all of these exercises)

1. Hip raises in elbow side plank
2. Laying on side, bring top leg out straight in front of you; raise and lower top leg
3. Inner thigh raises (still laying on side, bend top leg and place foot on floor in front of you; raise and lower straight bottom leg)
4. Repeat #1-3 on other side of body
5. Donkey kicks (get on hands and knees; bring one knee into chest then kick flexed foot out straight behind you)
6. Round kicks (still on hands and knees; raise leg w/ knee bent (hydrant) then kick leg out in this position, bend knee again and lower)

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Focus 15 contains 3 body weight workouts from Mark Lauren. The “15” in the title indicates the length of the workouts, but they are all longer than 15 minutes, even without the warm up and cool downs, and approx. 30 minutes with those. However, just like in his other workouts, Mark demonstrates every exercise you will be doing to show proper form and you get your cool anatomy graphics. So if you minus that from the workout time, then they probably are 15 minutes long. And after you’ve done the workouts a few times and feel comfortable with them, you can just skip the demonstrations. The workouts are chaptered–not a menu that you can select from but if you hit the skip forward button on your DVD remote, it skips over segments.

Prior to this collection, his workouts tended to be total body but with this set, each workout focuses on a body part: Upper, Lower and Core. The workouts themselves are different, but like all of his other collections, the warm up and cool down are the same for all 3 workouts. During the exercise demonstrations, Mark also shows modifications you can make if the actual move is too advanced for you.

Mark suggests doing one workout a day on back to back days then taking one day of recovery. The workouts are all structured the same. They started with timed circuits. You do two exercises for 40 seconds each then repeat 3 times. You do two different exercises the same way. Each workout ends with Ladders. For Ladders you do two exercises back to back, first for 1 rep, then for 2 reps, then for 3 reps, then for 4 reps, then go back down the ladder–3 reps, then 2 reps, then end with 1 rep. For the timed circuits there is a timer, but it appears and disappears at random–so don’t count on it being there when you want to check your time! Mark uses some clockwork graphics to separate sections which is kind of cool. Also, there is a woman on the front of the DVD cover with Mark, so I assumed that (unlike his other workouts) he would have someone working out with him. Nope. Just Mark. So… why is there a woman on the cover with him? Kind of weird.

I like these workouts a lot. They were what I have come to expect from Mark Lauren’s workouts. They worked me hard and effectively with zero equipment. His calm focus somehow motivates me and the fact he does the entire workout with you with perfect form always inspires me to work hard to do the same.

Warm Up is 5 minutes:

1. Hip rotations
2. Good Mornings (hands behind head, narrow stance)
3. Trunk rotations
4. Prisoner squats
5. Spiderman  Complex (start in straight arm plank; bring right foot up beside right hand, drop right forearm to ground, raise back up onto right hand while also straightening right knee, lower back to forearm while bending the knee, then straighten again; next, with right knee bent, raise right arm toward ceiling, rotating torso and looking up toward ceiling; come up to deep lunge w/ arms raised straight overhead, palms together; lower right hand and reach toward ground while reaching toward ceiling with left hand; repeat entire complex on other side of body)

Cool Down Stretch is 5:30 minutes. These stretches are the same as the cool down stretches used in EFX, but sequenced differently.

1. “Z” stretch: while still in position of last stretch, bring one heel in toward crotch, bend the other knee in the opposite direction so your other heel is near your bottom; reach arms overhead then reach arms forward, placing hands on floor, torso over front leg
2. Legs still in “Z” position, lean upper body back and to the side (same side as front leg) so you are on your elbow and twisting your body
3. Repeat 1 & 2 on other side of body
4. Lie on your stomach, stretch one arm out to side with elbow bent at 90 degree angle; bend opposite knee and lift, then push up with other hand, twisting body and raised foot toward bent elbow on floor
5. Sit on bottom with legs spread wide in a V and straight and raise arms overhead then reach arms forward, placing palms on ground; then reach toward each foot and hold; next, reach toward each foot again but this time reaching arm overhead so you are stretching side of body, too

Upper Body is 19:30 minutes. Like most of Mark’s workouts, this one is deceptive. When he demonstrates the exercises it doesn’t seem like it will be so hard. But by the end of many of the segments, whatever body part we were working was screaming in agony, wanting it to just end. And the stretch! I cannot tell you how good it felt to stretch out my aching arms and shoulders. So–consensus? Excellent upper body workout! I feel like I worked muscles that have been laying dormant! For the first two pairings, you do 2 exercises, each for 40 seconds and 3 times. The only break you get is between pairings when Mark is demonstrating the exercises. For the final pairing, you do ladders (described below). The arm swing really wasn’t a very hard exercise and felt like a nice relief each time I got to do it.

1. Wide Grip Push Up (push up w/ arms wide)
2. Prone Snow Angel (lay on stomach, feet on ground, arms/shoulders/chest raised as if in superman, palms facing the ground; swing straight arms around to sides of body, then sweep the back to superman position)

Do each exercise for 40 seconds; repeat 3x

1. Square Press & Reach (2 pike push ups then hold in pike and reach hand back to tap same side calf with each hand without moving hips)
2. Y Cuff (lay on stomach, feet on ground and arms/shoulder/chest raised as if in superman–except arms wider in a “Y” and this time palms are turned so thumbs are raised toward ceiling; slide arms down along the side of the body, keeping them close, turning hands so that when arms are straight behind you, thumbs are close to the body but pointing to the sky, reverse this motion to return arms to starting position)

Do each exercise for 40 seconds; repeat 3x

Ladders: alternate the two exercises below; first for 1 rep, then for 2 reps, then for 3 reps, then for 4 reps, then go back down the ladder–3 reps, then 2 reps, then 1 rep.

1. Stagger Hands Push Up (start in plank/straight arm push up position and place one hand in front of your shoulder and one hand behind your shoulder; do push ups in this position; Mark will tell you which hand to have in front each time you return to this exercise)
2. Arm Swings (get on knees, legs close together; swing straight arms up to side until palms touch overhead and hold them there; twist torso to left then twist torso to right)

Legs & Glutes is 22 minutes. Just like any of Mark’s workouts, if done with the perfect form he demonstrates, this is tough. My lower body was burning by the end and I suspect there will be DOMS. This workout is set up in pairings. For the first two pairings, you do 2 exercises, each for 40 seconds and 3 times. The only break you get is between pairings when Mark is demonstrating the exercises. For the final pairing, you do ladders (described below). Mark is working very hard in this workout, too–just like he does in all of his other videos. With perfect form, of course.

1. Crossover Lunge (forward curtsy lunge w/ hands behind head, knee taps the ground; alternate sides)
2. Trailing Leg Squat (single leg squat w/ arms held straight out in front of you; 2 reps each leg and keep alternating)

Do each exercise for 40 seconds; repeat 3x

1. Jumping Lunge (He calls these Iron Mikes in YAYOG; get into a lunge position with back knee on the ground; you will jump lunge from this position, lowering yourself back into a lunge with the back knee almost touching the ground)
2. Glute Bridges (lay on back, heels close to bottom; bring one knee into chest and raise hips 3x, change legs and repeat; keep alternating sides)

Do each exercise for 40 seconds; repeat 3x

Ladders: alternate the two exercises below; first for 1 rep, then for 2 reps, then for 3 reps, then for 4 reps, then go back down the ladder–3 reps, then 2 reps, then 1 rep.

1. Saxon Back Lunge (start standing with both arms straight overhead; reverse lunge w/ right leg back and drop left hand toward ground keeping right arm raised to ceiling; alternate sides)
2. Lateral Lunge (do a side lunge and hold, then draw the trailing leg in toward the lead leg; alternate sides)

Total Core is 22:30 minutes. Another deceptive workout. It is set up just like the other two workouts; for the first two pairings, you do 2 exercises, each for 40 seconds and 3 times. The only break you get is between pairings when Mark is demonstrating the exercises. For the final pairing, you do ladders (described below). The first pairing wasn’t terribly difficult. I did feel it where I was supposed to feel it, but it didn’t really tax me. Many times when you do long core workouts, your actual abdominals (front of body) are screaming in agony. So I wondered if the fact Mark was making sure to literally work your entire core–front, back, sides–that maybe it wouldn’t be excruciating. Enter pairing two… Ouch. That’s when I really started working hard and hitting failure. The Ladder pairings were a little easier, but I was still pushing through. And he does work your entire core–including hip flexors.

1. Up & Overs (lay flat on back with arms out to side in a “T” and legs straight in front of you with feet flexed; elevate left leg to ceiling, reach up with left hand and touch your foot, return arm to “T” then reach across your body with your left hand toward your right hand w/out moving your hips; alternate sides of body)
2. Double Hip Up (start in plank; rotate to side plank, drop hips to ground, raise hips back to side plank, drop hips to ground again, raise hips again, return to plank and rotate to other side; alternate sides)

Do each exercise for 40 seconds; repeat 3x

1. Streamline Scissor Kicks (lay on your back, head on ground, arms straight overhead on floor with palms together and legs straight with feet flexed; raise legs to a 45 degree angle and flutter kick your feet)
2. Planking Scissor Kick (get into straight arm plank with legs very wide; raise one leg and bring foot to meet other foot then return to start; alternate sides)

Do each exercise for 40 seconds; repeat 3x

Ladders: alternate the two exercises below; first for 1 rep, then for 2 reps, then for 3 reps, then for 4 reps, then go back down the ladder–3 reps, then 2 reps, then 1 rep.

1. Straddle Curl Up (sit on floor with legs in a wide “V”, lay on back with straight arms extended to ceiling, palms together; sit up, reaching arms overhead, reach your right arm past your you left foot then your left arm past your right foot and return to starting position)
2. Mountain Climber Variation (in straight arm plank bring knee to same side elbow then knee to opposite elbow; repeat on other side–this is one rep)

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I was pretty excited about Cathe‘s latest workout releases since she did similar Cathe Live workouts. At least, judging from the titles. And I love those particular Live workouts. On 6/30/16 she did a Live workout titled Total Body Giant Sets. Yep–the exact same title as this DVD. I adore the live Total Body Giant Sets. It is a very challenging workout. Though based on a similar concept, these two workouts are very different. That is not a bad thing. Though I love the Live version, there is a lot of repetition–some circuits you repeat 3 times. In the DVD version–there is no repetition of circuits. There is some exercise repetition in the lower body circuits but I am totally okay with that because they are great basic exercises that I want to do more than one set of. A giant set is a circuit of 4 or more exercises that hit the same muscle group with little rest between exercises. It is a great way to stimulate muscle growth while also doing intense fat burning circuit training. Cathe does use the “giant set” label a little loosely but it still works. A true giant set would focus on a specific muscle group for 4 or more exercises; Cathe focuses on upper or lower body for the giant set. There are 6 “giant sets”; 3 lower body and 3 upper body.

Total Body Giant Sets is part of the Strong & Sweaty Series. There is a free digital handbook associated with the series that has all kinds of information–including several rotations. I created my own workout cards prior to doing all of the Strong & Sweaty workouts (but Cathe even includes workout cards in the handbook that you can print out and use), so all I will be listing below are the weights Cathe uses. I chose my weights prior to doing the workout for the first time and I chose them well! I had no up or down arrows and I got an excellent workout. I am already feeling DOMS in my back and triceps. In many ways I feel this is a better workout than the Live version. It does a better job of delivering a total body strength workout. However, the Live workout is more intense and metabolic–much more of a calorie burner. Not that this workout didn’t torch some calories. It did, but it also did a better job of thoroughly working each muscle group. Now, this one does not have the core circuits like the Live version does. But again, that is okay because every single Strong & Sweaty workout also includes an excellent and intense abdominal bonus. Do the premix that adds that on to the end and you have a true total body workout. (See below for Bonus Ab breakdown.)

Total Body Giant Sets is 51 minutes long; 5 minute warm up and 3 minute stretch. Equipment needed: dumbbells, barbell, sliding disks, stability ball and fitness mat. Weights listed below are the weights Cathe used for the workout.

Round 1:

1. Squats (40# BB)
2. Rear Sliding Lunges (12# DBs + sliding disk)
3. Plie Squats (40# BB)
4. Side Slide Lunges (one 15# DB + sliding disk)
5. Deadlifts (25# DBs)

Round 2:

1. Shoulder Overhead Press (15# DBs)
2. Upright Rows (15# DBs)
3. Rear Delt Flies, 16 reps (12# DBs)
4. Incline Front Raise (8# DBs + stability ball)
5. Seated Lateral Raise (8# DBs + stability ball)

Round 3:

1. Wide Stance Deadlifts (55# BB)
2. Cross Back Slide Lunges (one 15# DB + sliding disk)
3. Diagonal Lunges (12# DBs)
4. Static Lunges (one 20# DB)
5. Warrior Lunges (sliding disk)

Round 4:

1. One Arm Row (one 25# DB + stability ball)
2. Pullovers (15# DBs + stability ball)
3. Chest Flys (20# DBs + stability ball)
4. Incline Chest Press (20# DBs + stability ball)
5. Push Ups

Round 5:

1. Squats (40# BB)
2. Deadlifts (25# DBs)
3. Plie Squats (40# BB)
4. Sweeper Lunges (sliding disks)
5. Side Slide Pick Ups (one 15# DB + sliding disk)

Round 6:

1. Seated Overhead Tricep Extensions (15# DBs + stability ball)
2. Close Grip Bench Press (15# DBs + stability ball)
3. Lying Tricep Extensions (12# DBs + stability ball)
4. Seated W Curls (15# DBs + stability ball)
5. Incline Hammer Curls (15# DB + stability ball)
6. Preacher Curls (12# DBs + stability ball)

Bonus Abs is 13 minutes long. This is a tough and unique little Ab bonus. Cathe used a lot of familiar core exercises but put a new spin on them, making this fresh and different from what she has done in the past. I haven’t even seen these moves in her live workouts! Equipment needed: 8 pound dumbbells and a fitness mat.

1. Roll Downs (as you roll down you pause at 3 different levels and hold to the count of 8 each time)
2. Reverse Crunch & Pilate Press (lay flat on back, head down, knees bent and raised; do reverse crunch into straight legs twice; then hold straight legs a few inches off floor and raise head/shoulders, arms straight at sides (but off ground); pump arms 8 times; repeat these two exercises)
3. Side Plank Elevated Toe Taps (straight arm side plank with feet staggered, bottom foot in front of top foot and back leg bent; raise and lower hips while lifting bottom leg and tapping toe with top hand)
4. Rope Climb (in C sit with feet elevated, do rope climbs)
5. L Position Leg Circles (lay on back with straight legs in “L” position; do small circles with leg that is raised to ceiling)
6. Weighted Sit Ups (holding one DB in both hands, do a full butterfly sit up, doing a pullover with DB at bottom and raising DB overhead at top)
7. Sit Up Twist (still holding one DB in both hands, do a full sit up and at the top, twist DB to side of body while same side leg raises and at bottom do a pullover; this changes to Russian Twists–these are done pulsing and slow singles)
8. L Position Pull Overs (lay on back holding both DBs straight to ceiling with straight legs also raised to ceiling; slowly scissor straight legs while also doing DB pullovers)
9. Plank Complex (start in straight arm plank; tap your lower back with same side arm (do both arms), then tap hand to opposite foot under the body (both sides), do a push up and raise into soldier plank (raising opposite hand and arm), do another push up and a soldier plank on other side of body)

Premixes:

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I was very excited about Ramped Up Upper Body (actually, I am excited about all of the Strong & Sweaty workouts for various reasons). When I do splits I prefer full splits–as in upper body and lower body. Cathe rarely does that on DVD. She does lots and lots of lower body workouts, but her upper body workouts are split by muscle group–biceps & triceps; back & chest; etc. Now, for Cathe Live she does the type of splits I like (total upper body rather than split by muscle group) but I was hoping for something even more comprehensive and heavy. Though I love the Live workouts, Cathe and class are constrained by the fact there are so many people–so limited dumbbells. Cathe rarely uses anything heavier than 15 pound dumbbells in Live workouts with the very rare appearance of 20 pound dumbbells. Now, I am well aware that I can lift whatever dumbbells work best for me–I am not forced to use the same dumbbells Cathe is using. And I do lift heavier than what she is lifting, but Cathe also obviously creates her Live workouts to make best use of what is available to her class, so they are usually endurance level workouts–higher rep so you can’t lift super heavy.

And that’s fine, but I want to lift heavier than that sometimes. Did I get that with this workout? Sort of. It’s still no STS level workout but I did lift heavier. But what I really love about this workout is how Cathe works every upper body muscle group thoroughly and from all angles–and she did it in less than an hour. This is what I was looking for. So thank you Cathe!

Ramped Up Upper Body is part of the Strong & Sweaty Series. There is a free digital handbook associated with the series that has all kinds of information–including several rotations. I created my own workout cards prior to doing all of the Strong & Sweaty workouts (but Cathe even includes workout cards in the handbook that you can print out and use), so all I am listing below are the weights Cathe uses. For this workout I matched Cathe’s weight the first time through and ended up with a few up arrows (or, if we did two sets of an exercise, I just increased my dumbbells for the second set). I got an excellent upper body workout. I especially like how well she works the back.

Just like all of the workouts in the Strong & Sweaty Series the Bonus Ab segment is included (breakdown below). There are lots or great premixes, too–so if you want to just work 2 muscle groups (rather than all 5), she does that, too–and doubles and triples the amount of work you do! She also gives you lots of extreme premixes.

Ramped Up Upper Body is 47 minutes long; 4 minute warm up and 4 minute stretch. Equipment needed: dumbbells, medium resistance band w/ handles, step @ 10 inches and fitness mat.

Back:

1. One Arm Row, 16 reps (Right) (one 30# DB)
2. One Arm Back Fly, 10 reps (Right) (one 10# DB)
3. Repeat 1 & 2 on Left
4. Repeat 1, 2 & 3
5. Pullovers, 2 sets (one 35# DB)
6. Rear Delt Flys, 4 sets of 10 reps (10# DBs)
7. T Band Pulls

Chest:

1. Chest Flys (20# DBs)
2. Push Ups (drop sets: 12 reps, 10 reps, 8 reps)
3. Repeat #1
4. Push ups (one to a 2/2 count then 2 singles)

Triceps:

1. Close Grip Bench Presses, 2 sets (20# DBs)
2. Dips
3. Lying Extensions, 3 sets (10# DBs)
4. Standing Overhead Extensions (12# DBs)
5. Band Kickbacks

Shoulders:

1. Overhead Presses (15# DBs)
2. Front Raises (one 15# DB)
3. Lateral Raises (5# DBs)
4. Repeat 1, 2 & 3
5. Lateral Band Circles
6. Band Kickbacks – Rear Delts (straight arm)

Biceps:

1. Hammer Curls (15# DBs)
2. Sweeping Curls (15# DBs)
3. Isolation Curls (12# DBs)
4. Standing Bicep Curls (15# DBs)
5. Crazy 8s, 2 sets (band)

Bonus Abs is 13 minutes long. This is a tough and unique little Ab bonus. Cathe used a lot of familiar core exercises but put a new spin on them, making this fresh and different from what she has done in the past. I haven’t even seen these moves in her live workouts! Equipment needed: 8 pound dumbbells and a fitness mat.

1. Roll Downs (as you roll down you pause at 3 different levels and hold to the count of 8 each time)
2. Reverse Crunch & Pilate Press (lay flat on back, head down, knees bent and raised; do reverse crunch into straight legs twice; then hold straight legs a few inches off floor and raise head/shoulders, arms straight at sides (but off ground); pump arms 8 times; repeat these two exercises)
3. Side Plank Elevated Toe Taps (straight arm side plank with feet staggered, bottom foot in front of top foot and back leg bent; raise and lower hips while lifting bottom leg and tapping toe with top hand)
4. Rope Climb (in C sit with feet elevated, do rope climbs)
5. L Position Leg Circles (lay on back with straight legs in “L” position; do small circles with leg that is raised to ceiling)
6. Weighted Sit Ups (holding one DB in both hands, do a full butterfly sit up, doing a pullover with DB at bottom and raising DB overhead at top)
7. Sit Up Twist (still holding one DB in both hands, do a full sit up and at the top, twist DB to side of body while same side leg raises and at bottom do a pullover; this changes to Russian Twists–these are done pulsing and slow singles)
8. L Position Pull Overs (lay on back holding both DBs straight to ceiling with straight legs also raised to ceiling; slowly scissor straight legs while also doing DB pullovers)
9. Plank Complex (start in straight arm plank; tap your lower back with same side arm (do both arms), then tap hand to opposite foot under the body (both sides), do a push up and raise into soldier plank (raising opposite hand and arm), do another push up and a soldier plank on other side of body)

Premixes:

Cardio Slam  is a pure cardio workout from Cathe and it is part of the Strong & Sweaty Series. I really enjoyed this workout. It is not a HIIT level workout, but it does have its moments of intensity. In fact, that is what I really like about it. It is a good length for a pure cardio workout (50 minutes including warm up and cool down) and the intensity varies; high impact moves alternated with low impact exercises. Most of the exercises are done for 2 sets. Cathe uses some equipment to increase intensity: light dumbbells, a fitness mat and the step topper (4 inches). If you want to increase intensity even more, use heavier dumbbells and raise your step to 6 inches–or even 8 inches. I might do that the next time I do this workout. I did use heavier dumbbells for a few of the exercises (8 and 10 pound dumbbells) and I might swap out 5 pound dumbbells for the exercises that use 3 pound dumbbells. There are other ways to increase the intensity. Compared to many of Cathe’s other workouts, this isn’t super high impact. There are a lot of moves that do not use any dumbbells that you could easily grab a set of 3 or 5 pound dumbbells and increase the intensity. You’ll figure out which ones after doing the workout once.

If this workout is too hard for you? Then Cathe has you covered there, too. She has a modified version of this workout. To see it you have to go to the premixes. I have not watched it so I have no clue what the modifications are, but they are there for you if you need them. Just like all of the workouts in the Strong & Sweaty Series, the Bonus Ab segment is included (breakdown below). There is a free digital handbook associated with the Strong & Sweaty Series that has all kinds of information–including several rotations.

One last note–the DVD case has the time for this workout listed incorrectly (40 minutes). It is a 50 minute workout.

Cardio Slam is 50 minutes; 5 minute warm up and 4:30 minute stretch. Equipment needed: 3 & 5 pound dumbbells (I also used an 8 and a 10 pound dumbbell), step platform and fitness mat.

Floor Cardio (16 minutes):

1. Power Scissor w/ one 5# DB (row w/ the DB as you jump lunge)
2. Drop Squat & Cross Jack
3. Double Unders (squat walking 2x to each side, staying low)
4. Scissor, Scissor, Wide Plie Jack
5. Low Loaded Squat w/ 3# DBs (staying low, squat, side lunge w/ punch, squat, side lunge w/ punch (other side)–jumping with each move)
6. Shuffle, Shuffle, Long Reach
7. 3 Lateral Skates / 2 High Knee Runs
8. Power Scissors w/ Lateral Arm Raise w/ 3# DBs
9. Low Impact Squat Butt Kicks w/ 3# DBs (like a butt kick run, but more of a step hop w/ hammer curl arms)
10. Front/Back Jack / Jack / Air Jack
11. Touch Down Jacks w/ one 5# DB (I used one 8# DB)
12. Front Swing Tree Pose w/ one 5# DB (I used one 10# DB)
13. Wide Squat Thrust Burpee w/ Criss Cross Jack
14. Explosive Butt Kicks (same as #9 but jump higher and no DBs)

Mat Cardio (16 minutes):

1. Slam Its (jump squat to corner of mat; alternate sides)
2. Traveling Power Scissor (8 scissors to side the length of mat, then 4 plyo jump lunges back in the other direction)
3. Power Hop Forward / Block Jack Back
4. Spiderman Mountain Climbers
5. Squat Thrust Jump Over Top (burpee and lateral jump over mat)
6. 2 Lateral Hops / Jump Front / Jump Back
7. Long Jump /  Straddle Jump (long jump 4x to side of mat, long jump wide 4x straddling mat; repeat on other side of mat)
8. Football Runs (straddling mat)
9. Lateral Skate Over / Jump Return
10. Speed Lateral Runs (out-out-in-in fast, using mat as marker)

Step Cardio (8:30 minutes):

1. Hopscotch (burpee back and when you jump in and up, jump on step w/ one leg; alternate legs)
2. Low Impact Sprinters (knee pulls w/ a hop)
3. Elevated Jacks (jacks on and off step w/ bicep curl arms)
4. Squat Thrust / 2 Plank Jacks
5. Straddle Taps
6. Swim Lunges (done slowly holding 3# DBs)

Bonus Abs is 13 minutes long. This is a tough and unique little Ab bonus. Cathe used a lot of familiar core exercises but put a new spin on them, making this fresh and different from what she has done in the past. I haven’t even seen these moves in her live workouts! Equipment needed: 8 pound dumbbells and a fitness mat.

1. Roll Downs (as you roll down you pause at 3 different levels and hold to the count of 8 each time)
2. Reverse Crunch & Pilate Press (lay flat on back, head down, knees bent and raised; do reverse crunch into straight legs twice; then hold straight legs a few inches off floor and raise head/shoulders, arms straight at sides (but off ground); pump arms 8 times; repeat these two exercises)
3. Side Plank Elevated Toe Taps (straight arm side plank with feet staggered, bottom foot in front of top foot and back leg bent; raise and lower hips while lifting bottom leg and tapping toe with top hand)
4. Rope Climb (in C sit with feet elevated, do rope climbs)
5. L Position Leg Circles (lay on back with straight legs in “L” position; do small circles with leg that is raised to ceiling)
6. Weighted Sit Ups (holding one DB in both hands, do a full butterfly sit up, doing a pullover with DB at bottom and raising DB overhead at top)
7. Sit Up Twist (still holding one DB in both hands, do a full sit up and at the top, twist DB to side of body while same side leg raises and at bottom do a pullover; this changes to Russian Twists–these are done pulsing and slow singles)
8. L Position Pull Overs (lay on back holding both DBs straight to ceiling with straight legs also raised to ceiling; slowly scissor straight legs while also doing DB pullovers)
9. Plank Complex (start in straight arm plank; tap your lower back with same side arm (do both arms), then tap hand to opposite foot under the body (both sides), do a push up and raise into soldier plank (raising opposite hand and arm), do another push up and a soldier plank on other side of body)

Premixes:

Another bootcamp workout from Cathe. I love bootcamp workouts so I was looking forward to this one. I love her Boot Camp Body Blast and her original Bootcamp workout, as well as her Cathe Live bootcamp workouts. The ICE Boot Camp Circuit workout was a bit of a disappointment for me because it was so easy and I’ve never returned to it, so I was hoping for something more intense. Cathe delivers with this one. Not the most intense bootcamp workout I’ve ever done, but it did give me a very good total body cardio + strength workout. I do have to add that still, nothing tops Cathe’s original Bootcamp workout. It is still the very best and most intense bootcamp workout out there. (I suddenly feel an intense need to do it again–pulling out rotation calendar and white out….)

The structure if this workout is 6 rounds; each rounds has 4 exercises; a cardio exercise, a lower body exercise, a compound exercise and an upper body exercise. Cathe shows a modified version of every cardio move. She has some different exercises in this workout than what I’ve seen in her other workouts. She has several dumbbell “toss” exercises. When she uses the word “toss,” she just means passing the dumbbell from hand to hand, not actually tossing it. This made it hard to use a sufficiently heavy weight for me. I was able to use 15 pounds for the Squat Toss, but for the Side-to-Side Toss Lunges I had to modify the move slightly to use a 15 pound dumbbell–instead of tossing, I shifted the dumbbell side to side. If I used lighter dumbbells like Cathe did, the “tossing” wouldn’t have been a problem–but then I also wouldn’t have gotten as good of a workout.

Bootcamp is part of the Strong & Sweaty Series. There is a free digital handbook associated with the series that has all kinds of information–including several rotations. I created my own workout cards prior to doing all of the Strong & Sweaty workouts (but Cathe even includes workout cards in the handbook that you can print out and use), so all I am listing below are the weights Cathe uses. I chose my weights prior to doing the workout for the first time. Though I lifted heavier than Cathe on many of the dumbbell exercises, I (surprisingly) found 20 pounds for the barbell appropriate for the exercises that use the barbell. There were one or two (like diagonal front lunges) that I will probably just substitute two 15 pound dumbbells in the future, but most of the barbell exercises worked very well with just 20 pounds.

The first time I did this workout I planned to do the premix that adds the bonus abs onto the end–but the premix was messed up. It skipped right over the first cardio segment. So I just did the main workout then added the bonus abs on afterward. I checked it later on my computer and sure enough, it wasn’t my DVD player that screwed it up. That segment was just cut out. There may be more segments cut out, I don’t know since I didn’t end up doing the premix, but be warned!

Finally, just like all of the workouts in the Strong & Sweaty Series, the Bonus Ab segment is included (breakdown below).

Bootcamp is 44 minutes long; 4 minute warm up and 3:30 minute cool down. Equipment needed: step @ 8 inches, dumbbells, barbell set at 20 pounds and a fitness mat.

Round #1:

1. Plunge Lunges
2. Elevated Lunges (20# BB)
3. Static Lunge & Front Side Raise (8# DBs)
4. Bicep Curls (15# DBs)

Round #2:

1. Wide Box Jumps / Plyo Jacks / Power 7s
2. Marching Sumos (20# BB)
3. Front Swing Overhead Press (10# DBs)
4. Push Ups

Round #3:

1. Squats in a Box
2. Cross Back Lunge Sumo Squat (one 10# DB)
3. Single Leg Deadlift w/ Front Raise & Upright Row (20# BB)
4. Tricep Dips (20# BB)

Round #4:

1. Squat Thrust / 2 Plank Jacks / Box Jumps
2. Squat Toss (transfer one DB from hand to hand as you squat) (one 10# DB)
3. Rear Lunge w/ Overhead Press (2 triples/4 singles) (20# BB)
4. One Arm Back Fly & Reverse Fly (12# DBs)

Round #5:

1. 2 Straddle Jumps
2. Side-to-Side Toss Lunges (one 12# DB)
3. Cross Over Top Clean & Press (20# BB)
4. W Curls (12# DBs)

Round #6:

1. Swim Lunges & Peak Lunges
2. Diagonal Front Lunges (20# BB)
3. Pullovers & Chest Flys (12# DBs)
4. Kickback Planks (one 10# DB)

Bonus Abs is 13 minutes long. This is a tough and unique little Ab bonus. Cathe used a lot of familiar core exercises but put a new spin on them, making this fresh and different from what she has done in the past. I haven’t even seen these moves in her live workouts! Equipment needed: 8 pound dumbbells and a fitness mat.

1. Roll Downs (as you roll down you pause at 3 different levels and hold to the count of 8 each time)
2. Reverse Crunch & Pilate Press (lay flat on back, head down, knees bent and raised; do reverse crunch into straight legs twice; then hold straight legs a few inches off floor and raise head/shoulders, arms straight at sides (but off ground); pump arms 8 times; repeat these two exercises)
3. Side Plank Elevated Toe Taps (straight arm side plank with feet staggered, bottom foot in front of top foot and back leg bent; raise and lower hips while lifting bottom leg and tapping toe with top hand)
4. Rope Climb (in C sit with feet elevated, do rope climbs)
5. L Position Leg Circles (lay on back with straight legs in “L” position; do small circles with leg that is raised to ceiling)
6. Weighted Sit Ups (holding one DB in both hands, do a full butterfly sit up, doing a pullover with DB at bottom and raising DB overhead at top)
7. Sit Up Twist (still holding one DB in both hands, do a full sit up and at the top, twist DB to side of body while same side leg raises and at bottom do a pullover; this changes to Russian Twists–these are done pulsing and slow singles)
8. L Position Pull Overs (lay on back holding both DBs straight to ceiling with straight legs also raised to ceiling; slowly scissor straight legs while also doing DB pullovers)
9. Plank Complex (start in straight arm plank; tap your lower back with same side arm (do both arms), then tap hand to opposite foot under the body (both sides), do a push up and raise into soldier plank (raising opposite hand and arm), do another push up and a soldier plank on other side of body)

Premixes:

Of all of Cathe’s new workouts in the Strong & Sweaty Series I was most excited about this one (with Total Body Giant Sets a close second). First let me explain what PHA Training is. It stands for Peripheral Heart Action Training. Cathe defines it as: “You’ll alternate from lower body to upper body with very short rest periods between exercises. The goal is to maximize blood flow between the upper and lower body while the shortened rest periods keep your heart rate up for cardiovascular and fat-burning benefits.” This workout consists of 2 circuits. Each circuit contains 6 exercises and is repeated 3 times. Every exercise is done for 12 reps.

I was first introduced to Cathe’s PHAT workouts via Cathe Live. In fact, PHAT #1 was the very first Cathe Live workout I did after subscribing and it remains my all time favorite Cathe Live workout. She later did a Live PHAT #2 workout which I also like a lot, but PHAT #1 remains my favorite. So I was very excited to hear she created a PHAT workout for DVD. Having done it this morning I am mildly disappointed. Do not misunderstand–it is a very good workout and I not only like it but I plan to return to it. But it was no PHAT #1 (the Live workout). Nothing compares to that workout. This one is actually similar to the Live PHAT #2–which I liked but didn’t love. Oh well, right? I’ll deal with it. However, now that I’ve done it, I’m already feeling resistant to doing this PHAT workout instead of the Live PHAT #1 workout. I have my workout rotation for January already mapped out using Strong & Sweaty workouts as the foundation and I now want to go in and swap out all of the S&S PHAT workouts with Cathe Live PHAT #1.

PHA Training is part of the Strong & Sweaty Series. There is a free digital handbook associated with the series that has all kinds of information–including several rotations. I created my own workout cards prior to doing all of the Strong & Sweaty workouts (however, Cathe does include workout cards in the handbook that you can print out and use), so the weights listed below are the weights Cathe uses. I chose my weights prior to doing the workout for the first time. I did a decent job pre-choosing my weights, but I did find that several of the exercises that I used the same weight as Cathe did, I ended up giving up arrows to. Since this is a fast paced workout (not as fast paced as PHAT #1 Live btw), I stuck with the same weights through all 3 rounds of each circuit, in case I became fatigued. I figured that even if I felt in the beginning I could increase my weight, by the 3rd circuit I may have changed my mind. But that wasn’t the case, so when I repeat the workout I will use heavier dumbbells for some of the exercises.

Finally, just like all of the workouts in the Strong & Sweaty Series, the Bonus Ab segment is included (breakdown below).

PHA Training is 43 minutes long; 4 minute warm up and 3:30 minute stretch. Equipment needed: dumbbells, a step @ 10 inches and a fitness mat.

Round #1 (perform this circuit 3x):

1. Squat Off the End (of step), 12 reps (one 15# DB)
2. Overhead Presses, 12 reps (15# DBs)
3. Side Lunges, 12 reps (12# DBs)
4. Upright Rows, 12 reps (15# DBs)
5. Step Ups, 12 reps (12# DBs)
6. Release Push Ups, 12 reps

Round #2 (perform this circuit 3x):

1. Cross Back Lunges, 12 reps (one 15# DB)
2. Bicep Curls, 12# DBs (15# DBs)
3. Deadlifts, 12 reps (25# DBs)
4. Pullovers, 12 reps (15# DBs)
5. Standing Squats, 12 reps (20# DBs)
6. Lying Extensions, 12 reps (12# DBs)

Bonus Abs is 13 minutes long. This is a tough and unique little Ab bonus. Cathe used a lot of familiar core exercises but put a new spin on them, making this fresh and different from what she has done in the past. I haven’t even seen these moves in her live workouts! Equipment needed: 8 pound dumbbells and a fitness mat.

1. Roll Downs (as you roll down you pause at 3 different levels and hold to the count of 8 each time)
2. Reverse Crunch & Pilate Press (lay flat on back, head down, knees bent and raised; do reverse crunch into straight legs twice; then hold straight legs a few inches off floor and raise head/shoulders, arms straight at sides (but off ground); pump arms 8 times; repeat these two exercises)
3. Side Plank Elevated Toe Taps (straight arm side plank with feet staggered, bottom foot in front of top foot and back leg bent; raise and lower hips while lifting bottom leg and tapping toe with top hand)
4. Rope Climb (in C sit with feet elevated, do rope climbs)
5. L Position Leg Circles (lay on back with straight legs in “L” position; do small circles with leg that is raised to ceiling)
6. Weighted Sit Ups (holding one DB in both hands, do a full butterfly sit up, doing a pullover with DB at bottom and raising DB overhead at top)
7. Sit Up Twist (still holding one DB in both hands, do a full sit up and at the top, twist DB to side of body while same side leg raises and at bottom do a pullover; this changes to Russian Twists–these are done pulsing and slow singles)
8. L Position Pull Overs (lay on back holding both DBs straight to ceiling with straight legs also raised to ceiling; slowly scissor straight legs while also doing DB pullovers)
9. Plank Complex (start in straight arm plank; tap your lower back with same side arm (do both arms), then tap hand to opposite foot under the body (both sides), do a push up and raise into soldier plank (raising opposite hand and arm), do another push up and a soldier plank on other side of body)

Premixes:

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This is a rotation I have been planning to create and do for a very long time but the concept was overwhelming, considering all of the workouts I own. I have a lot of excellent ones. And then there is Cathe Live which is full of excellent metabolic workouts! The object of this rotation is intensity, but I also do not want to over-train myself or anyone who chooses to follow this. So what I really strove for with this rotation was to keep the intensity high almost every day, but to vary the impact. Luckily Cathe has a lot of intense low impact workouts, but there are others who do, too. I am staying away from systems to make this rotation accessible to more people. Every workout will be an individual workout you can purchase except for Cathe Live workouts. Yes, they are included. They are too good not to. The goal is to workout an hour a day. Since Cathe Live workouts are frequently only 40-50 minutes I also sometimes include a short add on that is streamed via Youtube and free. They will be mostly Popsugar workouts but also a few BeFit workouts. So other than Cathe Live workouts everything is available on DVD or free. However, if you are not interested in rounding out your hour, skip the add ons and just do the main workout. If you do that, your workout times will vary–sometimes as little as 30-40 minutes, other times 60-70 minutes (Saturday workouts).

Now, the majority of the workouts in this rotation I have done before but I will also be sampling some new-to-me Cathe Live workouts. The majority of Cathe’s Live workouts are metabolic, so I am not worried about these messing up the rotation. There is some repetition with some of the workouts. For the majority of the 8 weeks you will do a different workout every day but there is only a limited number of metabolic/cardio + strength upper body workouts that I am aware of so some of those had to be re-used. Same with low impact cardio. I used Jillian Michael‘s Killer Arms & Back for some of the metabolic upper body workouts. They are short workouts–around 30 minutes so I included add-ons to the days you do her workouts. I used the same one each day–Jillian’s Kickbox FastFix: Upper Body workout to keep the metabolic upper body theme going but personally, I swapped it out the last time it appears for Kelly Coffey-Meyer‘s Body Design: Upper Body Strength segment. They both are about the same length but Kelly’s gives you much more focused strength workout. However, it is not metabolic.

While researching the benefits of metabolic workouts (of which there are many) I came across this excellent article that articulates it so much better than I can: The Hierarchy of Fat Loss from T Nation. If you are wanting to lose fat I recommend you read this article. But for my purposes, in order to lose fat, you need intensity and afterburn. You also have to stop relying on muscle splits for a while. At least splits that focus on small muscle groups. You need to do total body circuit workouts that are made up of fast paced circuits with little rest between exercises. If you are doing splits, stick with upper/lower body splits and make sure your upper body splits are metabolic (fast paced circuits–add in some cardio intervals to up the intensity). In addition to this rotation, diet will have to be a factor, or you simply will not achieve results.

As I said, I have been thinking about this rotation for a long time. I decided to finally create it and commit to it because the scale has been creeping over the past few years and my clothes are getting tighter. I am usually good about damage control but the past few years, not so much. I have no problems keeping a strict workout schedule, but my diet has slipped. So I decided to commit to this 8 week rotation–the workouts and the diet–and document it all here.

I found this rotation very hard to create. My original vision for this rotation came a long time ago–before I subscribed to Cathe Live. There was a part of me that wanted to go with my original idea and do DVDs only. But Cathe has created some pretty amazing live metabolic workouts that I felt really enhanced the rotation. But due to Cathe Live workouts, some trainers/workouts that I would have otherwise included (or included more of) were left out. However, if not for Cathe Live, almost all of the metabolic workouts that also double as strength workouts would have been total body workouts. Thanks to Cathe Live I was able to make this rotation a little more interesting by doing two total body workouts a week plus splits. Because of this I have decided to also create the DVD only metabolic rotation and it will focus on total body workouts. I am still working on it but it should post soon.

A final note. Because this is a metabolic rotation, you will be using dumbbells for nearly every workout–so 6 days a week, every single day. Listen to your body. Your main strength days are Monday (total body), Wednesday (lower body), Thursday (upper body) and Saturday (total body). Keep this in mind when doing Tuesday and Friday workouts and do not lift super heavy on weights–especially if you are sore. And since these are all metabolic workouts, if you find yourself super sore during any week, lighten your dumbbells for every workout until you aren’t hurting so badly. You will still get a lot out of these workouts, even if you aren’t maxing out on dumbbell weights. Now, with that said, if you are capable and feeling strong, then lift as heavy as you can on the strength days. Just make sure you can complete all of the reps at the trainer’s speed/pace with good form. One of the important aspects of metabolic circuit workouts is little rest time between exercises–so you need to keep that brisk clip that the trainer sets in your workouts.

Results: In the end I stuck fairly close to this rotation. It is an 8 week rotation but I did it for 3 months. The last month I was playing with the DVD only metabolic rotation–so my metabolic workout rotation actually continued for 3 months. The biggest difference between this rotation and any other rotation I’ve done? I did the food. Every. Single. Day. Without fail. Even through the holidays! I lost 11.5 pounds. My goal was initially 10 pounds, so I achieved my goal. But now I think I could stand to lose another 3.5 so I am continuing to do the food.

Week 1:

Monday: Atletica #1 + Crossfire stretch only

Tuesday: Cathe Live: Crossfire Express + Popsugar: Metabolism Boosting Workout

Wednesday: Cathe Live: Triset Legs + Xtrain: Legs stretch only

Thursday: Cathe Live: Smokin’ Upper Body

Friday: ICE: Low Impact Sweat premix 4

Saturday: Patrick Goudeau Hardwork Conditioning 24/7

Sunday: Rest or yoga

Week 2:

Monday: Cathe Live: PHAT #1 + To the Max stretch only

Tuesday: Cathe Live: Quick Fix Kickboxing + Flex Train stretch only

Wednesday: Cathe Live: Lean Lower Body + Popsugar: Butt-Lifting Workout That’s Better Than Spanx

Thursday: Ripped w/ HIIT: Upper Body Circuit + Core 1

Friday: Ripped w/ HIIT: Low Impact HIIT premix 2 + bonus abs

Saturday: Cathe Live: Sweat, Pump & Jump

Sunday: Rest or yoga

Week 3:

Monday: Cathe Live: Total Body Giant Sets

Tuesday: Crossfire + Core premix

Wednesday: Cathe Live: Totally Toned Legs

Thursday: Jillian Michaels: Killer Arms & Back: Level 1 + Kickbox Fastfix: Upper

Friday: Afterburn

Saturday: Tracey Mallet F.I.T

Sunday: Rest or yoga

Week 4:

Monday: Atletica #2 + Total Body Stretching

Tuesday: Cathe Live: Fitness Fusion + Lean Legs & Abs stretch only

Wednesday: Cathe Live: Lean & Mean Legs + Popsugar: Leg Sculpting Hot Pants Workout

Thursday: Cathe Live: Step HIIT & Upper Body Weights

Friday: Kelly Coffey-Meyer: Athletic Conditioning #2: Workouts 1 & 2

Saturday: Patrick Goudeau Body Weight Blast

Sunday: Rest or yoga

Week 5:

Monday: Cathe Live: PHAT #2 + Popsugar: Skinny Jeans Workout

Tuesday: Cathe Live: Metabolic Conditioning + BeFit: Plyo Box Lower Body Workout

Wednesday: Cathe Live: Lower Body Burn + Popsugar: Squat & Plank Challange

Thursday: Jillian Michaels Killer Arms & Back: Level 2 + Kickbox Fast Fix: Upper

Friday: Cathe Live: Hard Strikes Low Impact Boxing

Saturday: Patrick Goudeau Extreme Calorie Burn

Sunday: Rest or yoga

Week 6:

Monday: STS Total Body

Tuesday: Cathe Live: Metabolic Circuit Blast + Popsugar: Cardio Jump Workout

Wednesday: Cathe Live: Legs w/ Weights & Stability Ball

Thursday: Jillian Michaels: Killer Arms & Back: Level 3 + Kickbox Fast Fix: Upper

Friday: ICE: Low Impact Sweat: Premix 4

Saturday: Toby Massenberg AfterBURN

Sunday: Rest or yoga

Week 7:

Monday: Atletica #3 + Total Body Stretching #2

Tuesday: Cathe Live: HIIT Fit Circuit + BeFit: Hard Out HIIT for Fat Loss

Wednesday: Cathe Live: Legs on Fire + Popsugar: Reboot Your Butt

Thursday: Cathe Live: Smokin’ Upper Body Blast + Flex Train stretch only

Friday: Xtrain: All Out Low Impact HIIT Extreme premix

Saturday: ICE: Metabolic Total Body: Premix 4

Sunday: Rest or Yoga

Week 8:

Monday: Jari Love Get Ripped in 6 Minutes

Tuesday: To the Max Extreme premix

Wednesday: Cathe Live: Legs & Glutes

Thursday: Ripped w/ HIIT: Upper Body Circuit premix 5 + stretch

Friday: Afterburn

Saturday: Patrick Goudeau Lean Hot Body

Sunday: Rest or yoga

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Lose the Belly Flab is another new-to-me workout by Tracey Mallet. I decided to get this one because she mentioned it in Get Your Body Back. She tells you to use the two workouts together. So I checked this one out and though it is core focused it also has lower body work, so I decided to give a it a try. In the intro to this workout, Tracey calls it the “super fit mama” method that celebrities use to get their bodies back after giving birth. The DVD contains 3 short (approximately 10 minute each) core workouts and 2 short lower body workouts (also approximately 10 minutes each). Since this is geared toward women who just had a baby, there is also an 8 minute segment called “Core Foundation.” In this segment, Tracey is addressing mothers who literally just had a baby. She doesn’t want someone who recently had a baby to just jump into these workouts so she discusses diastasis recti (separation of abdominal muscles). She demonstrates a test to see if you have separation and also to gauge the severity of your separation. She gives you an exercise to do if you find you do have diastasis recti to help your abdominals “rejoin.” Finally, the last 5 minutes are some very basic, simple abdominal exercises she wants you to do before you start doing the other abdominal workouts on this DVD; however she doesn’t say how long you should do them before moving on, just when you feel you are “ready.”

Now, I bought this DVD primarily for the lower body segments but since I did pay for it, I did everything–so it is reviewed here. But in the future I probably won’t bother with any of the core workouts again. I am only interested in the lower body workouts. So they are the first things I will review. The core workouts will follow.

The two lower body segments are perfect for little add ons after a weighted lower body workout. They consist of mat and barre work. They are great for finishing your legs off. But you could also do both of them back to back for a more intense 20 minute lower body workout. The first time I did the lower workouts I used them back to back to finish off a weighted lower body workout–so my legs were already fried when I came to them and that may have made them seem more challenging than if I had come to them fresh. If you do come to them without having done anything first, you might want to warm up for a few minutes (jog in place, do some jumping jacks, etc) before starting. I found them to be challenging for such short workouts. I did wear one pound ankle weights throughout both workouts.

Butt Blast Phase 1: 10 minutes long. You need a dynaband. I also wore one pound ankle weights. This segment is all mat work.

1. You will be on hands and knees w/ dynaband wrapped around one foot and one end under each hand on the ground; kick back into donkey kicks; changes to raising and lowering straight leg; changes to straight leg pulses; repeat on other leg
2. Lay on side w/ bottom knee bent and band wrapped around foot of top leg, holding both ends of the band together on the floor in front of torso; bend and straighten top leg; this changes to raising and lowering straight leg; changes to pulsing straight leg; changes to swinging straight leg in front of body then swinging straight leg behind body; repeat on other leg
3. Lay on back, legs straight up to ceiling and band wrapped around both feet, bands crossed with an end held in each hand, toes are pointed toward each other w/ heels pointing out; open and close straight legs; changes to pulses (set band aside at the end of this exercise)
4. Get into dolphin pose (down dog on elbows) but bend knees so they are a few inches off ground; straighten one leg out behind you and raise and lower that leg; this changes slightly–you still raise and lower straight leg but now you cross it behind the opposite leg at the bottom of the move; repeat on other leg
5. Lay on your stomach, resting your forehead on your hands, bend and open knees bringing soles of feet together; raise and lower knees in this position
6. Still on stomach, raise both legs, arms and chest off ground and do swimmers
7. Still on stomach, pull bent arms back (keeping them raised off ground) while raising chest, legs are still raised off ground and straight; scissor legs in this position
8. Last 30 seconds is a stretch

Butt Blast Phase 2: 10 minutes long. You need a dynaband and a chair. I also used a firewalker (substituted it for the dynaband for two of the exercises) and I wore one pound ankle weights. This workout has a bit of everything: some firewalking, some barre work and some mat work.

1. Tie dynaband into a circle around ankles (or just use firewalker); turn feet outward and step out into plie squats
2. Dynaband/firewalker still around ankles; squat walk 2x each side (remove band at the end of this exercise)
3. Stand beside chair, raise leg furthest from chair out to side and bend knee; bring knee in front of you (keeping leg level in hydrant) and push leg out straight to side
4. Hold leg out straight to side; bend knee so heel comes behind you then extend out straight
5. Keep leg raised and knee bent in hydrant; in this pose push foot back behind you, return to start and raise leg (still in hydrant)
6. Lift and lower in hydrant
7. Repeat the barre/chair work on other leg
8. Return to mat and lay on side w/ bottom knee bent and dynaband wrapped around foot of top leg, holding the ends of the band together on the floor in front of torso, top leg is straight; bring top straight leg behind you (leaning torso forward slightly) and do small circles with leg; this changes to bringing straight leg to side of body and doing more leg circles; this changes to straight leg pulses; repeat on other leg (set band aside at end of this exercise)
9. Get into pretzel pose: sit on mat, one leg bent in front of you and the other bent behind you, so your legs are in a sort of Z or pretzel, lean forward placing palms on ground in front of you; raise and lower your back leg off ground, keeping knee and heel level; repeat on other leg
10. Lay on stomach, raise arms, legs and chest off ground; reach one arm around behind you while turning head to look behind you; in this position flutter kick (do this on both sides of body)
11. Starfish: still on stomach with arms, chest and legs raised, turn toes out so heels touch; open arms and legs wide then close them, keeping everything elevated throughout
12. Still on stomach with arms, chest, shoulders and legs raised, bend elbows so hands are near shoulders (still raised off ground) and quickly open and close feet/legs
13. Last 30 seconds is a stretch

Ab Conditioning Phase 1: 12 minutes long. You need a dynaband and pilates ball (or a towel and a pillow can be substituted). This is not an advanced or difficult core workout but I felt it. I liked it and since it is geared toward the beginner (or mom restarting core work after having a baby) she never reps you out. But they are all effective exercises that I felt.

1. Pelvic Curls (bridges)
2. Lay on back, knees bent, feet on floor; fold band in half and place just under knees holding one end in each hand; do slow crunches
3. Raise feet off floor, knees still bent; place folded band just above knees, still holding one end in each hand, and raise head off floor; drop right leg so toe touches floor, then left leg; while doing this press band against knees and knees against band
4. With legs/band in same position as #3 do bicycle maneuver with legs
5. Set band aside and place feet on floor, knees still bent; raise head and shoulders and reach hands towards feet; do side bends, alternate reaching right hand to right foot, left hand to left foot
6. Get into side elbow plank but with bottom leg bent, knee on floor; raise and lower hips while also raising top leg
7. Dolphin to plank (get into a dolphin pose (down dog but on elbows) and alternate dolphin to plank)
8. Get into straight arm plank and alternate bringing knees into chest
9. Lay on back, hands behind head, left leg bent with foot on floor and right leg raised straight to ceiling; twist left elbow to right knee then lower leg
10. Repeat #9 on other side of body
11. Reverse crunches w/ ball between knees
12. Wag the tail (get on hands and knees and shift hips to one side, tilt pelvis then return to start; alternate sides)

Ab Conditioning Phase 2: 10 minutes long. You need a dynaband and pilates ball (or a towel and a pillow can be substituted). Phase 2 isn’t super advanced either, though it is more advanced than Phase 1. It takes some of the exercises done in Phase 1 and makes them a bit more advanced.

1. Pelvic Curls (bridges); this time you will hold in bridge and do pulses
2. Raise feet off floor, knees bent; place folded band just above knees, holding one end in each hand, raise head off floor; do pulsing crunches, pressing band against legs
3. Extend right leg straight to ceiling (band still pressed above knee) and left leg is also straight but a few inches off the floor, head and shoulders raised; do scissor kicks
4. Reverse crunches w/ ball between knees but this time with a twist; tilt hips to right, to center, then to left
5. Kayaking (sit up, feet on floor, lean torso back and clasp hands; in this position, do a figure 8 motion with hands, side to side, like rowing)
6. Get into side elbow plank but with bottom leg bent, knee on floor; raise and lower hips while also raising top leg (this time you will also reach the top arm overhead each time you lift leg and you will also do the reps faster)
7. Get into elbow plank and alternate bringing knees to chest; this changes to twisting hips side to side, touching same side knee to ground
8. In straight arm plank, lift each leg 8 times
9. Kneel, starting with bottom on heels; raise and lower hips while keeping torso leaning back slightly; this changes to twisting torso with hands behind head while on knees and leaning torso back
10. Sit on bottom and lean torso back on elbows/forearms; bend one knee placing foot on ground and straighten the other leg; raise and lower both legs at the same time while holding them in this position
11. Still leaning back on elbows/forearms, bicycle legs
12. Repeat #10 with leg positions swapped
13. Repeat #11
14. Cobra to stretch abs

Bonus Hard Core Abs is 10 minutes long. You need one light dumbbell; I used a 5 pound dumbbell. This was the most advanced core workout of the 3. It was pretty tough. She does have another person present doing easier versions of the exercises.

1. Lift Ups: start sitting up holding DB in both hands in front of you w/ straight arms; roll down to bra line then roll back up
2. Lay on back w/ one leg bent/foot on ground and other leg straight up in the air, still holding DB in both hands; reach DB up to foot then lower torso and straight leg to ground
3. Lift both legs up straight to ceiling, still holding DB in both hands; reach DB toward both feet then lower DB overhead while lowering both legs a few inches off ground
4. Start laying on back, knees bent and feet raised off floor, still holding DB in both hands, arms overhead; roll torso up so you are in bent knee boat pose, pushing DB so it is over shins then slowly lower back to starting position
5. Sit up with knees bent and feet on ground, still holding DB in both hands w/ arms straight in front of you; lower torso partially then twist DB to one side close to the floor, twist DB to other side close to the floor, return to start position
6. Get into elbow side plank, DB in top hand, arm reached straight overhead; lift hips into pike while bringing DB underneath body
7. Remain in elbow side plank, still holding DB in top arm, arm raised straight to ceiling; lower DB to hip and raise back to ceiling
8. Lay on back, holding DB in both hands again; do bicycle legs while bringing DB from side to side with straight arms
9. This one is similar to #4 but this time you will roll up into straight leg boat pose
10. Kyaking: sit on bottom, knees bent, feet raised off floor, still holding DB in both hands; row DB side to side while remaining in this position (feet raised, torso leaned back slightly)
11. Get into straight arm plank; bringing right leg over left, tapping toe to ground; alternate sides
12. Last 30 seconds is child’s pose and cobra

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Here is a second metabolic rotation but this time I went with the DVD only structure since many people do not want to subscribe to Cathe Live. I went into a lot more detail about my purpose in creating a metabolic rotation in the intro to the metabolic rotation that includes Cathe Live workouts so I won’t completely rehash everything here. In summary, before I discovered Cathe Live, I have been wanting to create this rotation for a very long time. I finally did, but used both Cathe Live and DVD workouts (see other rotation). But I also decided to return to my original idea and also create a DVD only rotation. I followed the one that includes Cathe Live workouts much closer than this one, but I did follow parts of this one as well. I have been doing these metabolic based rotations/workouts for more than 3 months and have lost more than 10 pounds. But I am also doing the work in the kitchen (for more info on that, see the comments below other rotation).

Differences between the two rotations: Unlike the other metabolic rotation, this one focuses on total body workouts. Metabolic upper body splits are just too hard to find on DVD. Another difference is that this rotation is more progressive. It progresses from intermediate level workouts to advanced level workouts; however, even some of the advanced workouts show modifications, depending on the trainer. The final weeks of the rotation will be the hardest/most advanced.  No workout is repeated in this rotation–so lots of variety. The final difference is, unlike the other rotation, every workout in this rotation does not use dumbbells. Most of them do, but I also included some HIIT workouts in the second half of the rotation. HIITs are metabolic, too, and give you that afterburn, so you are getting the same effect.

Below I am including some info that is the same as what appears in the other rotation intro, but if you are not interested in reading that post because you have no interest in that rotation, then you can get that info here. I do think it is important to touch on it if you are wanting to follow this type of rotation.

While researching the benefits of metabolic workouts (of which there are many) I came across this excellent article that articulates it so much better than I can: The Hierarchy of Fat Loss from T Nation. If you are wanting to lose fat I recommend you read this article. But for my purposes, in order to lose fat, you need intensity and afterburn. You also have to stop relying on muscle splits for a while. At least splits that focus on small muscle groups. You need to do total body circuit workouts that are made up of fast paced circuits with little rest between exercises. If you are doing splits, stick with upper/lower body splits and make sure your upper body splits are metabolic (fast paced circuits–add in some cardio intervals to up the intensity). In addition to this rotation, diet will have to be a factor, or you simply will not achieve results.

Because this is a metabolic rotation, you will be using dumbbells for nearly every workout–so 6 days a week, every single day. Listen to your body. Your main strength days are Monday (total body), Wednesday (lower body), Thursday (upper body) and Saturday (total body). Keep this in mind when doing Tuesday and Friday workouts and do not lift super heavy on weights–especially if you are sore. And since these are all metabolic workouts, if you find yourself super sore during any week, lighten your dumbbells for every workout until you aren’t hurting so badly. You will still get a lot out of these workouts, even if you aren’t maxing out on dumbbell weights. Now, with that said, if you are capable and feeling strong, then lift as heavy as you can on the strength days. Just make sure you can complete all of the reps at the trainer’s speed/pace with good form. One of the important aspects of metabolic circuit workouts is little rest time between exercises–so you need to keep that brisk clip that the trainer sets in your workouts.

Week 1:

Monday: R.I.P.P.E.D.

Tuesday: Kelly Coffey-Meyer Trim Down combined workouts premix

Wednesday: Atletica Vol 1

Thursday: Cardio Pump Fusion

Friday: Kelly Coffey-Meyer Cardio Pump workouts 1 & 2

Saturday: Cathe Cardio Supersets extreme premix

Sunday: Yoga or rest

Week 2:

Monday: Kelly Coffey-Meyer Circuit Burn combined workout premix + abs

Tuesday: Bob Harper Totally Ripped Core + bonus abs

Wednesday: Jari Love Get Ripped 1000

Thursday: Tracy Mallet Get Your Body Back (Play All + stretch)

Friday: Jari Love Get Ripped Express (full workout)

Saturday: Kelly Coffey-Meyer Bootcamp double session premix

Sunday: Yoga or rest

Week 3:

Monday: Patrick Goudeau Body Weight Blast

Tuesday: Xtrain: All Out Low Impact HIIT Extreme Premix

Wednesday: Atletica Vol 2 + Total Body Stretching (pick one)

Thursday: Cathe Crossfire + Core premix

Friday: Kelly Coffey-Meyer Lean Body Circuits combined workouts premix

Saturday: Kelly Coffey-Meyer Athletic Conditioning #2 workouts 1 & 2

Sunday: Yoga or rest

Week 4:

Monday: Cathe High Step Challenge

Tuesday: Breathless Body #1 Ultimate Calorie Burn

Wednesday: Kelly Coffey-Meyer Slim Sculpting both workouts premix

Thursday: Bob Harper Body Rev Cardio Conditioning

Friday: Strong & Sweaty Bootcamp

Saturday: Peak 10 More Cardio Strength

Sunday: Yoga or rest

Week 5:

Monday: Patrick Goudeau Hard Work Conditioning 24/7

Tuesday: Cathe Afterburn

Wednesday: ICE: Metabolic Total Body Premix 4

Thursday: Peak 10 Cardio Interval Burn Fat Blaster

Friday: Kelly Coffey-Meyer Strength & Stamina workouts 1 & 2

Saturday: Bob Harper Ultimate Cardio Body

Sunday: Yoga or rest

Week 6:

Monday: Patrick Goudeau Extreme Calorie Burn

Tuesday: Cathe X10 (X54 or premix of your choice)

Wednesday: Cathe‘s (original) Bootcamp

Thursday: Breathless Body #3 HIIT It Big!

Friday: Strong & Sweaty Total Body Giant Sets

Saturday: Peak 10 Cardio Strength Remix

Sunday: Yoga or rest

Week 7:

Monday: Cathe High Step Training

Tuesday: Peak 10 Cardio Interval Burn Remix

Wednesday: STS Total Body

Thursday: Cathe To the Max Extreme premix

Friday: Tracy Mallet F.I.T. (Play All)

Saturday: Peak 10 Cardio Strength Fat Blaster

Sunday: Yoga or rest

Week 8:

Monday: Patrick Goudeau Lean Hot Body

Tuesday: Cathe Intensity

Wednesday: Jari Love Get Ripped in 6 Minutes (Full workout)

Thursday: Breathless Body #2 The Edge

Friday: Atletica Vol 3 + Total Body Stretching (pick one)

Saturday: Peak 10 More Cardio Interval Burn

Sunday: Yoga or rest

I’m a big fan of Tracey Mallett‘s workouts but I put off purchasing this one because of the subtitle: Beginners & Beyond. I am not advanced in the barre realm but I also don’t want a beginner workout. But the more I read about it the more I decided I might like it anyway. The “Beyond” means she teaches it at multiple levels–so not just beginner level. Plus I loved her other Booty Barre workout: Total New Body. So this one ended up stuffed in my stocking this Christmas. And I was right! This is not as advanced as Tracey’s other workouts that I’ve done, but it is still an excellent barre workout that I felt while doing it and am still feeling in my legs more than an hour later. Oh–and I loved it. It was a lot of fun, well put together and effective.

This DVD has 3 segments: a 12 minute tutorial, a 35 minute barre workout and a 15 minute “Abs, Booty and Flexibility” segment. Like I said, I am not someone who has years of barre work behind me but I am also not new to it (I discovered it about a year ago). But I went ahead and followed along with the tutorial anyway. It was actually very informative. Since I did the tutorial right before I did the barre workout I gave a lot more focus to the subtleties of form. The actual barre workout is lower body focused. There is a beginner modifier, Tracey says she is doing “beginner plus” version of the exercises and there is an intermediate modifier. There is no advanced modifier. I followed Tracey or the intermediate modifier and I did not find this to be an easy workout. There are no complicated moves, but it did work my lower body hard. Like I said–still feeling it! There is an upper body section at the very end of the barre workout but it is very short and incorporates lower body so overall, this is a lower body workout. She even has a low impact cardio blast in it! Overall I loved this little workout. It is the perfect length for a doubles workout, plus it is fun and effective! The 15 minute Abs, Booty and Flexibility segment is also well done. For this one I followed the intermediate modifier for everything and I felt it. So if you want something longer, do the barre workout and follow it up with the 15 minute workout for an excellent 50 minute lower body and core workout. Tho there is a bit of arm work in the barre workout this definitely doesn’t qualify as a total body workout.

Express Barre Main Workout is 35 minutes long; 5:30 minute warm up and 1:30 minute stretch. You need a chair and a set of light dumbbells. I used 3s and 5s. Below in the break down I will describe each sequence of moves but understand that you are doing every sequence more than once. You will be doing at least 8 reps of each move.

1. Stand behind chair, facing side with feet in first position; plie squat, lift heels, lower heels, stand; hold in plie w/ heels raised and pulse; plie pulse w/ heels down; she then alternates between pulsing with heels up and heels down, reducing the amount of reps each time until you are doing singles; step out into wide plie squat then step back in; this changes to step out into plie squat and pulse 3x then, when you come in, lift onto your toes and reach arm overhead and to the side; return to first position and do pelvic tilts; repeat this entire sequence on the other side of the body, the only difference is the first exercises will be done in wide plie rather than first position (narrow plie).
2. Start in first position but bring your outside foot behind you, toe pointed and on the floor; sweep foot/leg in front of you into a straight leg lift; this changes to raising leg in front of you and bending knee so you are in an attitude position and pulsing leg; next bring sole of foot to inside of other calf and open and close knee; this changes to pulsing the knee out; next, bring feet together and bend knees placing forearm on back of chair and outside hand on inside thigh, bring outside leg straight behind you with toe pointed–lift and lower leg; changes to pulses; keeping leg raised, bend and straighten knee; keep knee bent and pulse up to ceiling. Repeat entire sequence on other side of body.
3. Cardio (no chair): start in first position and come out to side into wide plie squat and pulse twice then quickly, hop switch to other side and pulse twice; you will keep alternating side to side then she adds arm movements; next you will remain in wide plie squat and do side to side hip tilts in a single, single, double pattern.
4. Return to chair and stand behind it, facing side, lower forearm onto chair back, leg closest to chair is turned out (externally rotated Tracey calls it) and raise the other leg to side (leg straight, toe pointed); still in same position, bend knee bringing it into chest, press leg back out straight then lift leg; hold leg straight out to side and pulse. Repeat sequence on other side of body.
5. Face the chair back and place palms on back of chair, step feet back far enough so that arms are straight, legs/feet together and squat; you will pulse squat then raise up into toes and continue pulse squatting, she continues alternating between pulse squatting with heels up and down, reducing the amount of reps each time until you are doing singles.
6. Place forearms on back of chair, bring one leg out straight behind you, toe pointed; bend standing leg as you bring working knee into to chest, then straighten both legs as you sweep the working leg up behind you; in same start position, you will circle raised leg behind you; repeat on other leg.
7. Move closer to chair, still facing chair with hands resting on chair back, feet turn into first position then raise up onto toes w/ heels pressed together–plie squat in this position; remain in plie squat (feet are close tho, heels together) and shift hips side to side.
8. Grab one light DB and stand beside chair, the leg closest to chair is turned out (in first position), the other leg is out straight behind you so you are on a deep lunge–do one arm delt flies in this position (modifier also raises and lowers back leg); fly changes to pulsing at top of move (modifier is also pulsing leg up behind her); turn palm so it faces the ceiling and raise DB to ceiling then behind you, keeping arm straight; this changes to just pulsing straight arm/DB behind you. Repeat on other side of body.
9. Grab other light DB, stand in first position and raise DBs to side of body (so arms are in “T”), arms straight and circle them 4x then do 2 bicep curls (bicep curls are with arms straight out to side in “T” and curling DBs to shoulders); arms still straight out to side (in “T”), raise arms from side to overhead, and as you raise your arms overhead you will come up on toes and lower heels while lowering arms; alternating overhead press. The intermediate modifier remains on toes throughout this entire section.

Abs, Booty and Flexibility is 15 minutes long w/ a 3 minute stretch. There is no warm up but it does end in a more extended stretch than the barre workout, so if you do both workouts back to back for a longer workout, it does stretch you out nicely. All you need for this workout is a fitness mat. I will be describing the intermediate versions of each exercise, but know there is also a beginner and a “beginner plus” version, too.

1. Pelvic thrusts: kneel on your mat, knees about shoulder width apart; from this position lower bottom toward heels then raise hips and thrust them forward; next you circle your hips in this position; then she puts these two exercises together: 8 hip thrusts + 4 hip circles.
2. Lay on back and raise hips into bridge with arms held straight overhead; do pelvic thrusts in this position; this changes to thrusting hips side to side as you lift them; return to regular bridge thrusts; then back to side to side thrusts but faster.
3. Lay flat on floor, arms and legs straight; from this position raise head and shoulders then raise one leg straight to ceiling and place opposite hand behind head–raise and lower straight leg; this changes to bicycling that same leg while other remains on the floor; hold leg straight up to ceiling and pulse head/shoulders toward raised leg; repeat entire series on other side of body.
4. Raise both legs overhead, cross the ankles and do reverse crunches; this changes to reverse crunches but then lower legs to 45 degrees (so alternating a reverse crunch with lowering legs); this changes to pulsing reverse crunches.
5. Bring feet down to ground in a “diamond” position, heels off ground (so a butterfly knees but heels are raised so only top sides of feet are on floor); you will do a full sit up in this position and at the top of the move, twist torso to one side, bringing same side straight arm out to side; alternate sides; this changes to side twists–for this you remain at top of move, feet in same position and both arms straight out to sides in “T” and twist from side to side, pulsing with each twist.
6. Raise and lower hips in side elbow plank while bringing arm overhead with each hip lift; hold hips up and pulse them high; she does a stretch with legs in “Z'” position then you repeat side plank series on other side.
7. Come into elbow plank and alternate tapping knees on mat; hold elbow plank
8. “Snake move”: start in child’s pose, slide forward keeping chest close to mat and bottom raised until you are in cobra then curl spine back until you have returned to child’s pose.
9. Stretches.

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I remember when Bob Harper first announced the Black Fire fitness program. I was so excited! Then I found out it would not be offered on DVD. You have to subscribe to Daily Burn and stream it. I was not only very disappointed but I assumed I would never try it unless it was eventually put on DVD. Well, it’s still not on DVD but I got a new Apple TV (Merry Christmas!). I downloaded the Daily Burn app to it and a whole new world of workouts opened up to me–including Black Fire! So that was the first thing I decided to do.

Black Fire is a metabolic strength fitness program created and led by Bob Harper. Well, that’s not entirely true. It is made up of 12 workouts; Bob leads 8 of them and another trainer, Anja Garcia, a gymnast, leads the remaining 4 workouts. Black Fire is described as a 60 day program to help you transform your body. Every workout is approximately 30 minutes long. Equipment used in the program is dumbbells, a medicine ball, a box (I used my square step at 12 inches) and a dowel (a broom stick or a light barbell bar). Daily Burn schedules your 60 day workout rotation for you. You just go into Daily Burn and it presents your workout of the day–you just hit play. There is also a nutrition plan. You do a workout every single day, but they are not all super-intense Black Fire workouts. Daily Burn also gives you recovery days (2 a week) and on those days they schedule yoga/flexibility workouts from the Daily Burn library.

I, of course, did not follow the rotation. Due to the length of the workouts (approx. 30 minutes each), I used them as doubles workouts (my second workout of the day). I tried each workout individually to find the ones I like and plan to return to. A really neat aspect of this program is that you are competing against yourself. Bob wants you to have paper and pencil for each workout. At the beginning of the workout he tells you how to keep score and at the end of the workout you tally up your score. You also enter it into the app at the end of the workout. The idea is that you are competing against yourself, trying to improve each time you do the workout (like you do in Insanity: Max 30), but each workout also has a message board that you can post your results to if you want and interact with other people who are also doing the workout/program. I actually really liked the idea of competing against myself but I also found myself competing against Bob’s exercisers.

This is a tough and advanced workout program. I am not sure what the title “Black Fire” stands for but I suspect it is the black fire of agony coursing through your muscles in the days following some of the workouts (DOMS). Several of these workouts gave me nearly crippling DOMS. And some gave me none. They are not all the same level of intensity. It is somewhat progressive, so Daily Burn starts you off with the easier workouts and works you up to the more advanced workouts. There are other ways to increase intensity as well–heavier dumbbells, a higher box and more reps/shorter recovery. I’ll note in the workouts below the ones that I plan to modify to increase intensity the second time I do the workout.

I do have to note something here. Daily Burn gives an estimated calorie burn for each workout and they are all in the 400-500 calorie range–for a 30 minute workout in which the actual “work” time is 20 minutes or less. I wear a Fitbit 24/7 except when I am in the shower and putting on make up in the mornings (that’s when it charges) and I never burned close to that amount of calories in any of the workouts. Not once. For every workout my calorie burn was 200 calories or less. Are they referring to EPOC (Exercise Post Oxygen Consumption or afterburn)–so it is estimating the calories you burn both during and after the workout? Maybe. But they could also be using an overweight and out of shape person as their example to estimate calorie burn. The heavier you are and the more physically unconditioned you are, the more calories you will burn. Just something to keep in mind. I loved most of these workouts regardless of how many calories I burned and I know they worked me well. But if you are in good physical shape, a regular exerciser, at a healthy weight and you are searching out the high calorie burn then maybe this program isn’t for you. Just something to consider.

I really enjoyed the majority of these workouts and have already scheduled most of them into my rotation calendar to do a second time. But there were a few I wasn’t too fond of and won’t return to. One of them was ABC 1. I just didn’t care for that workout at all. Since it was the first one I did led by Anja, I initially assumed I just didn’t like her as a trainer. But then I enjoyed her other workouts, so that wasn’t the case. I did do this program because of Bob and his workouts were my favorites, but Anja’s were very good too and a great addition to the program. Whereas the majority of Bob’s workouts use dumbbells, her’s are bodyweight strength workouts that use different exercises, so they compliment Bob’s workouts well if you are doing this as a program. She has two programs on Daily Burn that I am now very interested in trying: Inferno and Inferno HR. They look like really intense metabolic workouts. They are on my To Do List now. However, like Cathe Live, I will not be paying for a Daily Burn subscription when I am not using it much, so it will be a few months before I try Anja’s Inferno programs.

Workouts:

Cyclone 15 is 26 minutes long; 5 minute warm up and 2 minute stretch. The only equipment needed is one heavy dumbbell and a fitness mat. Bob recommends a 30 pound dumbbell for men and a 20 pound dumbbell for women. I started with the 20 pound dumbbell but about halfway in I didn’t feel sufficiently challenged so I grabbed my 25 pound dumbbell and that worked much better. The structure of the workout is a single circuit consisting of 3 exercises that you repeat for 15 minutes. The circuit consists of 5 V-Ups, 10 dumbbell swings, 15 goblet squats. If you keep up with his crew members you will do 11 rounds–so 55 V-Ups, 110 dumbbell swings and 165 goblet squats. I did keep up with the crew members and found this to be an excellent workout. Daily Burn estimates that you will burn 458 calories doing this workout. Unless that is somehow counting afterburn, I did not even burn half that. And remember–I did every single rep and every single round and I used the recommended dumbbell weight and upped it halfway through. I’m just sharing this information. It is an excellent workout and I loved it. It is intense and low impact and my legs are burning–inner and outer thighs. As would be expected from 165 goblet squats and 110 dumbbell swings! *Next day–inner thighs suffering DOMS. **2 days later inner thighs, outer thighs and glutes still suffer DOMS. The inner thigh DOMS is severe. Some of it might have to do with Sweet 16 (below).

Sweet 16 is 26 minutes long; 4 minute warm up and 2:30 minute stretch. All you need is a medicine ball and a fitness mat. The “16” in the title has several meanings. First, the working portion of this workout is 16 minutes long. You will be doing 2 exercises, each for 16 reps. You have one minute to complete each exercise, so between the two exercises, you will be doing 16 rounds total. Sweet 16. It ain’t very sweet tho! I am reviewing these workouts in the order I did them, so I did Cyclone 15 yesterday. And my inner thighs are sore. This workout fried my poor sore legs so that they not only felt numb afterward but I am walking funny. The two exercises are broad jumps and “No Wall Balls.” He recommends women have an 8 pound medicine ball and men a 10 pound medicine ball. The mat is a marker to gauge the length of your broad jump; he wants you to jump at least the length of the mat (so 5-6 feet). The No Wall Balls is a deep squat, holding the ball at your chest and when you stand, you toss the ball in the air and catch it–that’s one rep. Now, the amount of recovery you get after each exercise depends on how quickly you get through your 16 reps. The way this worked for me was I was pushing it with the broad jumps–it took me 45-50 seconds to do 16 with good form. I got through the No Wall Balls in about 30 seconds so I had a longer recovery. The broad jumps were the really rough part. They are what fried my legs even worse. I was counting these rounds and after we had gotten through 12, I was chanting to myself–only 2 more, only 2 more–meaning 2 more of the broad jump rounds! My legs and calves just felt “off” or not normal during the stretch at the end. I am not sure they have ever felt that odd at the end of a workout! That’s 128 broad jumps! Very tough! **This workout and Cyclone 15 tore me up–no joke! Every muscle in my body was severely sore–quads, hamstrings, glutes, core (front and back)–and my shins and tops of my feet! Yes! I could barely walk for 2 days after doing these two workouts!**

Triplet Ladder is 28 minutes long; 7:30 minute warm up and 3 minute stretch. You need one dumbbell (Bob recommends 15 pounds for women, 25 for men) and a fitness mat. This workout is based on the ladder concept. You will do a circuit made up of 3 exercises. The first time you do the circuit you do one rep of each exercise and each time you repeat the circuit you add a rep to it. You do this for 15 minutes. If it is the first time you are doing this workout then stick with the crew but once you’ve been through the workout once, work at your own pace and do as many circuits as you can. I stayed with the crew and I was into my 12th ladder by the time 15 minutes was up, but I could have done more than that. They took more breaks than I needed! Don’t misunderstand–I found this a tough and excellent workout, but I could have worked harder, which I plan to do the next time I do this awesome workout. The 3 exercises are: dumbbell snatch (doing both the right and the left arm equals one rep), hand release push ups and tuck jumps. For the snatch, you start with the dumbbell on the ground and snatch it from the ground overhead, return it to the ground then do the same thing on the other side of the body–that is one rep. For the hand release push ups, lower body all the way to ground (keeping body straight) release and raise hands when chest is on ground, place hands on ground again and push body up in a straight line–that is one rep. Everyone knows what a tuck jump is, right? Plyometric jump bringing knees to chest while in the air. I used the 15 pound dumbbell and found that sufficient for this exercise. I’ve been done with the workout about 30 minutes now and my upper back is burning. I am sure the “Black Fire” will be frying my muscles tomorrow. Remember, the level and intensity of this workout depends on you–the weight of your dumbbell and the speed of your reps with good form!

Bodyweight Tabata is 30 minutes; 4:30 minute warm up and 3 minute stretch. Equipment needed: a fitness mat and a box (I used my square step at 12 inches). This is a tough workout done in traditional tabata style. You do 4 exercises; each exercise is done traditional tabata style: 20 seconds of work, 10 seconds of recovery for 8 rounds. After 8 rounds you get a one minute break before moving on to the next exercise. It starts with the easiest exercise then just gets hard from there. Exercise 1 is air squats; exercise 2 is hand release push ups; exercise 3 is up and overs (jumping up and over the box); exercise 4 is burpees. I was definitely pushing it by the end of exercises 2, 3 and 4. Like all of the workouts in Black Fire, Bob uses a scoring system. For each exercise your “total points” is the least amount of reps you do in any one of the 20 second work phases. For example, for the up and overs I did anywhere from 21 to 28 reps during the 8 cycles. So my final score for up and overs is 21–the least amount I did in any one of the cycles. At the end, you add your score for each exercise together and that is your total score for the workout. My total score was 52. The idea is to compete against yourself so that each time you do the workout, you try to improve your score.

OTM Air Force Style is 30 minutes long; 4 minute warm up and 3:30 minute stretch. OTM stands for On The Minute and Air Force Style is referring to burpees. But we’ll get to that in a moment. Equipment needed for this workout is a dowel (you can use a light barbell rod or a broom stick) and dumbbells (Bob recommends 25 pound dumbbells for men and 15 pound dumbbells for women. I used both 25 and 15 pounds dumbbells.) Another tough workout from Bob! The structure is 4 exercises. Each exercise is done for 12 reps and you have a minute to do each exercise. You repeat these 4 exercises 5 times–so 20 one minute circuits. Now for the “Air Force Style”–at the top of every minute, before you start the main exercise you do 4 burpees. Every single minute. So by the time you finish this workout you will have done 80 burpees. What are the 4 exercises? 1. deadlifts (I used 25 pound dumbbells), 2. front squats (backs of dumbbells rest on shoulders, keep elbows up) (I used 15 pound dumbbells), 3. back squats (rest one dumbbell behind neck) (I used one 25 pound dumbbell) and 4. overhead squats (hold dowel by ends, overhead, with straight arms while squatting). Remember, 12 reps of each exercise after you complete 4 burpees. The sooner you get done with each exercise, with good form, you get the rest of the minute to rest. This usually equaled about 15 seconds for me. This workout is a butt blaster! 192 squats and 48 deadlifts–plus those 80 burpees.

Power 10 is 34 minutes long; 5 minute warm up and 3 minute stretch. You need a box (I used my square step at 12 inches), a fitness mat and a set of dumbbells. Bob recommends 15 pounds for women and 25 pounds for men. You use them for 2 different exercises. I used a set of 15 for one exercise and a set of 20 pound dumbbells for the other exercise. Power 10 consists of one circuit of 10 different exercises. The circuit is repeated 4 times. Each exercise has a specified number of reps you must complete and you have 30 seconds to complete your reps. So the quicker you complete your reps (with good form) the more recovery time you have before the next exercise begins. Except for the last 2 exercises in the circuit. They are done for 30 full seconds each time. I really liked this workout. Not the most challenging of the workouts I’ve done so far but it is a solid workout. I think the next time I do it I will raise my step to 14 inches and add some reps to some of the exercises. Some exercises I got done pretty quick and felt like I had too much recovery time! I did like this workout a lot tho.

Exercises (circuit repeated 4x):

1. 10 Squat Thrusters (deep squat with DBs at shoulders, stand up and thrust DBs overhead) (I used 15# DBs for this one)
2. 30 Wide Mountain Climbers (done with hands on box, feet jumping up beside box)
3. 10 Box Jumps with a Squat (jump onto box and land in a squat)
4. 30 Jumping Jacks
5. 10 Split Lunges (plyo jump lunges)
6. 30 Jump Ropes
7. 10 Renegade Rows (I used 20# DBs)
8. 30 Dumbbell Jump Overs (with DB on floor, lateral jump “over” DB–but Bob wants you to jump behind the DB, not actually over it)
9. Deep Squat Hold for 30 seconds
10. Elbow Plank Hold for 30 seconds

Strategic Endurance is 30 minutes long; 5 minute warm up and 2:30 minute stretch. All you need for this workout is a box (I used my square step at 12 inches). This workout consists of 3 exercises. You do each exercise for 2 minutes then you repeat all 3 exercises (for 2 minutes every time you do them) 3 times total. So the workout is 18 minutes long. Even the warm up is challenging! This workout is definitely about endurance. You are going non-stop for 18 minutes and it is scored by doing as many reps with good form as possible. As usual you are keeping score. I really thought I did pretty well–my final score was 318 reps. Then Bob’s 3 exercisers shared their scores in the 400-500 range! So… not as good as I thought! Definitely not the most fun workout I’ve ever done but it was hard work! The exercises are: 1. Burpee Step Overs (do a burpee facing the box, step over the box, turn around and do another burpee facing the box, step over the box and so on); 2. Tricep Dips off box; 3. Butterfly Sit Ups. Two minutes is a long time. I was able to keep going nonstop throughout the Burpee Step Overs and the Butterfly Sit Ups but not during the tricep dips. I had to keep stopping to rest my arms. BTW–Bob’s exercisers did, too. Even Bob said there was no way he could do 2 minutes straight of tricep dips so he expects you to have to stop and let your arms thaw out. So the exercisers (and me) took multiple breaks lasting a few seconds each time. ***Triceps full of that black fire for several days after this one (DOMS)***

Weighted Tabata is 30 minutes long; 5 minute warm up and 2:30 minute stretch. For this workout you need some dumbbells. Bob recommends a set of 15 pound dumbbells and one 20 pound dumbbell for women; for men, a set of 25 pound dumbbells and one 30 pound dumbbell. Plus you need one light dumbbell for the warm up (I used one 10 pound dumbbell for the warm up, a set of 15 pound dumbbells and a 25 pound kettlebell). This workout is set up the same as Bodyweight Tabata–traditional tabata style. You do 4 exercises; each exercise is done for 20 seconds of work, 10 seconds of recovery for 8 rounds. After 8 rounds you get a one minute break before moving on to the next exercise. With the right weights, this is a very intense workout. I was crying out in pained exertion by round 7 and 8. This workout really pushed me to the limit and I suspect I will be feeling it tomorrow. Exercise 1 is Push Press (a powerful overhead shoulder press that you use your lower body to push up). Exercise 2 is Dumbbell Swing (this is a kettlebell swing using a dumbbell–I just used a kettlebell). Exercise 3 is Bent Over Row. Exercise 4 is Thruster (holding dumbbells at your shoulders, squat deep and stand up, thrusting dumbbells overhead). The idea is to do as many reps as you can in 20 seconds with good form. Like all of the workouts in Black Fire, Bob uses a scoring system. For each exercise your “total points” is the least amount of reps you do in any one of the 20 second work phases. For example, on dumbbell swings I did anywhere from 11 to 13 swings during the 8 cycles. So my final score for dumbbell swings is 11–the least amount I did in any one of the cycles. At the end, you add your score for each exercise together and that is your total score for the workout. My total score was 55. The idea is to compete against yourself so that each time you do the workout, you try to improve your score. Another excellent Black Fire workout!

ABC 1 is 31:30 minutes long; 6 minute warm up and 4:30 minute stretch. A stands for Agility, B stands for Balance and C stands for Core. This workout is led by Anja Garcia. No equipment is needed. You will do 4 different exercises. Each exercise is done for 30 seconds with a 15 second recovery. You do five 30/15 rounds, you get a one minute recovery then you move on to the next exercise. Exercise 1 is X Squats (stand with legs/feet wide–the width of your mat; deep squat, standing, lifting one leg out to side w/ both arms overhead, bring raised leg to opposite elbow, return leg out to side, then lower to floor and squat; keep alternating sides). Exercise 2 is Surfer Get Ups (a burpee variation where you come up sideways with arms out like you are surfing). Exercise 3 is Fence Jumps (tuck jumps over your mat, land in a squat). Exercise 4 is Diamond Push Ups (hands close together, forming a diamond–so tricep push ups). The scoring is done the same as Bob’s tabata workouts. Now that all of that is out of the way–my thoughts. I did not enjoy it. Not at all. I didn’t like the exercises and Anja didn’t motivate me. I wanted to do Black Fire because of Bob Harper and I love his workouts. This one was unimpressive and I will not be returning to it.

Gymnastics Strength 1 is 32:30 minutes long; 5:30 minute warm up and 6 minute stretch. This workout is led by Anja Garcia and I take back what I said In ABC 1 review. I may not have liked her ABC 1 workout but I loved her Gym Strength 1. What an awesome and intense bodyweight strength workout! No equipment needed except a mat. Unlike the other workouts in this program there is no scoring. She just wants you to focus on form and precision. There are 6 exercises and you do each exercise for one minute. After one minute of recovery, you repeat all 6 exercises. So a 12 minute workout not counting warm up and cool down. But it is an intense 12 minutes! The first exercise is the handstand kick up and I swear I did not think I would be able to do this move. But not only did I do it, but my legs got so high I kept feeling like I was going to tip over and fall on my back! It was weird and very cool! The hardest move form-wise the second half of the hollow body rocks where you are rocking in superman. Very hard for me to rock as much as the exercisers in the workout. I did my best tho! And the overall hardest move–the one that left me feeling the most exerted after the minute was up, was those donkey kick burpees! Great workout!

1. Hand Stand Kick Up (exactly as it sounds, you will kick up into a handstand; you do have a lead leg you kick with and you change leads after 30 seconds)
2. Hollow Body Rock (lay on back, legs and arms straight and overhead, legs and arms raised off floor (banana); rock in this position, shoulders and hips coming off the floor as you rock; after 30 seconds, roll onto stomach into superman and rock in superman position so that chest and thighs come off floor)
3. Walking Push Up to Bridge (do a one leg push up, bring raised leg over behind you onto the floor, same side hand follows so you are now in bridge (or crab on hands) with hips raised, return to plank and repeat on other side of body)
4. X Sit Ups (lay on floor, arms and legs wide and straight so body is in an “X”; sit up, twisting and bringing hand to opposite foot; alternate sides)
5. Bridge to Swing (sit on bottom, legs straight in front of you, palms on ground, fingers facing toward feet; raise hips off ground, swing hips through into bridge (or crab on hands with hips raised high), then swing back through to start but hips never touch the ground the entire minute)
6. Donkey Kick Burpee (do a donkey kick, stand and jump)

ABC 2 is 33 minutes long; 4:30 minute warm up and 5 minute stretch. A stands for Agility, B stands for Balance and C stands for Core. This workout is led by Anja Garcia. I like this one a lot better than ABC 1. The only equipment needed is a box and a fitness mat; I used my square step at 14 inches. This workout kicked my butt! It was super tough. The workout consists of a circuit of 5 exercises; each exercise is done for one minute. When you finish the circuit you get one minute of recovery before you repeat it 2 more times (for a total of 3 times). You score this workout the same as ABC 1 and Bob’s tabata workouts. I was wiped out at the end of this workout!

1. Tuck Up: start in plank and jump feet in and out–it doesn’t count unless knees are under shoulders when you jump your feet in.
2. BB Gun Squats: start standing on top of box w/ one foot in the center and the other off the box; squat until heel touches ground then stand; 30 seconds on each leg
3. Inchworm: start standing, bend at waist, walk hands out to plank, do a push up, walk hands back to feet and stand, raising arms overhead.
4. Candlestick Roll and Jump: start standing with arms overhead, squat, lowering bottom to ground, rolling onto back, and lifting legs overhead, roll back to feet and jump to standing.
5. Donkey Kick Kick Through: do a donkey kick then kick one foot through/underneath you, out to other side while coming onto one hand; alternate sides.

Gymnastics Strength 2 is 29 minutes; 5:30 minute warm up and 4 minute stretch. This workout is led by Anja Garcia and man is it hard. It is basically the same set up as Gymnastics Strength 1 except you are doing one less exercise. There are 5 exercises and you do each exercise for one minute. You get a one minute recovery, then you repeat all 5 exercises. So a 10 minute workout not counting warm up and cool down. In theory, this should be easier than Gym Strength 1 right? Well, it’s not. It is even harder. But thankfully, there is no scoring. Anja again wants you to focus on form and precision. Most of the moves are not done fast because they are hard and you need to do them with control. This is an excellent bodyweight strength workout that will work your upper body very hard–you will definitely be building some muscle and strength. The only equipment needed is a box (I used my high step at 12 inches) and a fitness mat. Anja encourages you to take regrouping breaks if necessary to preserve form and I had to on the Box Push Ups and the Caterpillars–so hard. My favorite exercise was the Dive Bomber Burpees–excellent exercise that brought Mark Lauren workouts to mind! In fact, Anja’s workouts from Black Fire would fit perfectly in a bodyweight strength rotation with Mark Lauren’s workouts.

1. Box Push Ups (pike push ups w/ feet on box)
2. 180 Degree Box Jumps w/ one foot on box
3. Scorpion to Mountain Climber ( start in plank and pull one knee in under body (toward chest), stretch bent leg back so foot reaches toward ceiling then twist, reaching foot toward wall on other side of body + 4 slow mountain climbers; alternate sides)
4. Caterpillar w/ feet on box (start w/ feet on box, knees bent and hands on floor; walk hands out to plank, do a decline push up and walk hands back top box)
5. Diver Bomber Burpees (start standing at top of mat, squat and place hands on floor, jump feet back to plank, do a dive bomber push up into a down dog then jump feet into hands, and jump to standing)

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Mark Lauren came out with another body weight strength training program based on his book You Are Your Own Gym (YAYOG). I love everything Mark Lauren creates so I snapped this up as soon as I saw it. Volume 2 is set up just like his first DVD YAYOG program. The program has 3 levels: Novice, Intermediate and Advanced. Within each level there are 3 workouts: Timed Super Sets, Ladders and Circuit Training. This program has a bonus. In addition to the 9 workouts in the main program, you also get a 10th workout–a 42 minute workout called Bodyweight Plus.

All the of the actual workouts are different but the warm up and cool down are the same for all 9 workouts in the main program (Bodyweight Plus is reviewed at the very end of this review and is a separate entity–nothing like YAYOG, plus it has it’s own warm up and cool down). Mark recommends doing Timed Super Sets on Mondays, Ladders on Wednesdays and Circuit Training on Fridays. The other 4 days of the week are rest days or on Tuesday’s and Thursdays do Mobility RX, or the bonus workout that came with this program, Bodyweight Plus. Heck, you’d really be getting an excellent week if you did Mobility RX on Tuesdays and Thursdays and Bodyweight Plus on Saturday. Take Sunday as a true rest day because you will need it.

All 3 levels use the same concept. For workout 1 you are doing Timed Super Sets, for workout 2 you do Ladders and workout 3 is always Circuit Training. After you do the warm up, it returns you to the menu and you choose which workout you are going to do. Once you finish the workout, it returns you again to the menu so you can do the stretch–or do a second workout (see my review for the Novice and Intermediate workouts). At the beginning of each workout, Mark demonstrates the exercises you will be doing. In the bottom right hand corner of the screen there is a timer and status bars so you can keep track of where you are in the workout. Along the top, the exercise you are doing (and the ones you have completed) are listed.

What I really like about YAYOG Vol 2 is that it is very different from his other programs, including YAYOG Vol 1. I did feel that the Vol 2 workouts are easier but still very effective and excellent. But different. YAYOG Vol 2 focuses more on functional exercises–flexibility, mobility, balance along with some strength. But it doesn’t seem as strength focused as many of his other workouts. I also didn’t get the same cardio effect I frequently get from his more advanced workouts. But that is because I wasn’t working as hard. During Circuit Training in the Advanced workouts even Mark says that the exercises are not about calorie burning or about muscle building–but about skill. So it does seem that he is creating something different in Volume 2. And I think that’s great because that adds more value to his body of work as a whole. There are a lot of ways to approach these workouts. Volume 1 remains the most advanced of his DVD workouts (the Advanced workouts in Vol 1, that is) so you could use Volume 1 as a final phase in your body weight strength journey and Vol 2 as the beginning with EFX in between. Or you could just mix them all up since they are all pretty unique–so some EFX, some Volume 1, some Volume 2, some Focus 15, some Bodyweight Plus–then do Mobility RX as your recovery day workouts. They would all work well together. And, I just have to add, EFX is still my absolute favorite of Mark’s workout collections.

Warm Up is 6 minutes long. This warm up is different from any other Mark Lauren warm up I’ve done this far. Very flowing compared to his other warm ups.

1. Start in seated double kneeling position (on toes, butt on heels); rock torso forward and back
2. Still in double kneeling position, raise bottom off of heels and raise both arms overhead, palms together and twist torso to the left, then to the right, then lower left arm to ground at side and do side stretch, do the same thing on the right, lower into child’s pose then lay on stomach, stretching straight arms in front of you; repeat 5x.
3. Lay on back, hands under hips and legs raised about 6 inches off ground; circle both ankles
4. Still on back but with hands behind head and knees bent, feet raised off ground, you will do hip circles (this is done kind of oddly with feet kicking around)
5. Alternating scorpion kicks: lay on stomach and bend one knee and reach foot over to other side of body trying to touch toe to ground while keeping torso stable
6. Get into lunge w/ back knee on ground, both arms raised overhead and palms together; twist torso side to side; reach arm toward the ground on same side as front leg while reaching other arm toward ceiling; repeat on other side of body
7. Return to seated double kneeling position (on toes, butt on heels) and do head/neck circles.

Cool Down is 6:30 minutes long:

1. Child’s pose
2. Pigeon stretch
3. Get into Z stretch (bring one heel in toward crotch, bend the other knee in the opposite direction so your other heel is near your bottom), grab front shin with same side hand and reach your other hand behind you, twisting your torso/spine and tilt head back to stretch neck
4. In straddle stretch (sitting on bottom with straight legs spread wide) reach both arms forward; then reach left arm to left side grabbing foot, then reach right arm to right side grabbing foot; next reach right arm to left foot, grabbing outside of foot, then left arm to right foot, grabbing outside of foot
5. Repeat 1-4 on other side of body

Novice: I remember when I did YAYOG Vol 1, the Novice workouts were below my fitness level, but I didn’t find them a waste of time. They were still solid workouts even tho they didn’t challenge me. They are great for beginners or someone returning to exercise after a long hiatus or an injury. I have never returned to YAYOG-1’s Novice workouts. So this time around, I decided to approach YAYOG Vol 2’s Novice workouts differently–which led to a revelation about how I can use the Novice workouts from both programs in the future. Rather than using them as my doubles workouts (and thereby wasting using time that could be used for more advanced workouts), why not use them as my Sunday recovery day workout? And rather than just doing one short Novice workout–combine all 3 into an hour long, recovery level workout. This turned out to be perfect! First, combining all 3 into a single session made it an overall more challenging workout tho still recovery level. And second, I needed recovery today. This past week I have been doing Cathe‘s new series Strong & Sweaty in combination with Bob Harper‘s Black Fire. Though they are both challenging programs the one that is tearing me up is Black Fire. I am in pain–everything has DOMS. Everything. When I got up this morning I did not feel like doing anything strenuous so these Novice workouts were very welcome. And having done it, it was perfect. I felt as if my entire body was worked well–but not overworked. I broke a mild sweat. Perfect recovery workout. I will definitely be doing this in the future. If you do the warm up and cool down, plus all 3 Novice workouts, that is 63 minutes. Perfect! Do the same thing with YAYOG Vol 1 Novice workouts and that is a 56 minute workout.

Timed Super Sets is 18:30 minutes long (31 minutes with warm up and cool down): This workout consists of 6 exercises done in pairs (or supersets). For each pair you do each exercise back-to-back for 20 seconds each and repeat 4x. You follow that pattern for each superset (so 3 times).

Superset #1:

1. Short Back Step: take a small step backwards with right foot (as if doing a very narrow/short reverse lunge) and drop right knee to ground so your knee is parallel with the instep of your left foot, return to standing; you will stay on one side the entirety of a 20 second interval and for each 20 second interval you will alternate legs so that each leg is worked twice.
2. Dirty Dog: these are simple hydrants–get on all 4s and raise and lower bent leg to side; you will stay on one side the entirety of a 20 second interval and for each 20 second interval you will alternate legs so that each leg is worked twice.

Superset #2:

1. Dead Bug: lay on back with knees bent and feet raised off floor and straight arms raised to ceiling; extend left arm and left leg at the same time so that they are both 1-2 inches off the ground then return to start; you will stay on one side the entirety of a 20 second interval and for each 20 second interval you will alternate sides so that each side is worked twice.
2. Side Crunch: lay on right side, body straight and right arm extended on floor in front of you, left arm behind head; crunch up, as if trying touch your top elbow to ceiling; you will stay on one side the entirety of a 20 second interval and for each 20 second interval you will alternate sides so that each side is worked twice.

Superset #3:

1. Hip Twist: get into straight arm plank; roll your heels/hips from side to side while keeping torso stable
2. Arm Swing: lay on stomach, legs straight and feet on floor, arms straight and stretched in front of you; swing straight arms around to legs, keeping arms straight and making a big circle with arms then return arms to start.

Ladders is 18:30 minutes long (31 minutes with warm up and cool down): This workout consists of 2 exercise complexes done in ladder format. Each pair is done first for 1 rep, then for 2 reps, then for 3 reps, then for 4 reps, then you go back down the ladder, so 3 reps, then 2 reps and you end like you began with 1 rep.

First Exercise Complex:

Long Kneeling Step Up Complex: start kneeling on both knees; take a long step forward with left leg so you are in a long lunge with back/right knee on ground, step forward bringing back/right knee up in front of you (Mark calls it Stork Stance), open right knee out to side opening the hip, return right knee to front then lower right heel to floor in front of left foot, return to knee to front of body and lower back into a deep lunge; this is one rep. You will do the ladder on each side of the body, so 1 rep on each side, then 2 reps on each side and so on.

Second Exercise Complex:

Arm Circles and Hip Circles: Do one rep on each side of the body, then 2 reps on each side of the body and so on.

1. Arm Circles: start in straight arm plank and bring your left foot up to the outside of your left hand; circle your left arm from your foot all the way overhead and at top, rotate hand and bend elbow, dropping fist behind back to spine then reverse the circle; this is one rep
2. Hip Circles: start on all 4s and keeping left knee bent, circle knee around forward then circle backward; this is one rep

Circuit Training is 14:30 minutes long (27 minutes with warm up and cool down). This workout consists of 4 exercises done back to back 4 times; each exercise is done for 25 seconds.

1. Monkey Squat: start standing with hands behind head and squat w/ torso leaning slight forward, rock forward and fall onto palms lowering knees almost to ground then push back up into squat and stand
2. Side Crunch: lay on right side, body straight and right arm extended on floor in front of you, left arm behind head; crunch up, as if trying touch your top elbow to ceiling; you will stay on one side the entirety of a 25 second interval and for each interval you will alternate sides so that each side is worked twice.
3. Twist and Reach: get on all 4s and reach left arm underneath body to right side then reach left arm to the ceiling on left side of body; you will stay on one side the entirety of a 25 second interval and for each interval you will alternate sides so that each side is worked twice.
4. Pillar Hip Twist: get into forearm plank and roll your heels/hips from side to side while keeping torso stable.

Intermediate: The Intermediate workouts take the Novice workouts up a notch. First, it takes some of the exercises done in Novice and makes them a bit more advanced. There are also new exercises. They’re all very good workouts. I found Timed Super Sets to still be somewhat beginner level. Ladders and Circuit Training were at the Intermediate level with Ladders being the most advanced of the 3 workouts. A great way to use these in the future is to combine Timed Super Sets with Ladders and/or Circuit Training for a longer and better workout. If you combine with the Ladders that is a 62 minute workout. Combine it with Circuit Training that is a 57:30 minute workout. And since I didn’t find any of them terribly challenging, these could also be used as my Sunday workout when I pair two together.

Timed Super Sets is 25 minutes long (so 38 minutes long w/ warm up and stretch). This workout consists of 6 exercises done in pairs (or supersets). For each pair you do each exercise back-to-back for 20 seconds each and repeat 6x. You follow that pattern for each superset (so the pattern is repeated 3 times). I did not find this workout very challenging. It uses a few of the exact same exercises done in the Novice Phase and takes others and makes them slightly more advanced. But not enough to make this very challenging (for me at least). The biggest difference is you repeat each superset 6 times rather than 4 times. Now, I do feel like my body was worked well and I actually enjoyed it, but it didn’t challenge me. More of a recovery workout. Depending on how I feel about the other workouts in the Intermediate Phase, these may be Sunday recovery workouts, too, because I did enjoy this workout and I do not feel like I wasted my time doing it.

Superset #1:

1. Monkey Squat: start standing with hands behind head and squat w/ torso leaning slight forward, rock forward and fall onto palms lowering knees almost to ground then push back up into squat and stand.
2. Dirty Dog w/ Kickout: these are simple hydrants–get on all 4s; raise bent leg to side then kick leg out, bend it again and lower leg; you will stay on one side the entirety of a 20 second interval and for each 20 second interval you will alternate legs so that each leg is worked 3x.

Superset #2:

1. Deadbug: lay on back with straight legs and straight arms raised to ceiling; extend left arm and left leg at the same time so that they are both 1-2 inches off the ground then return to start; you will stay on one side the entirety of a 20 second interval and for each 20 second interval you will alternate sides so that each side is worked 3x.
2. Side Crunch w/ Legs Elevated: lay on right side, body straight and right arm extended on floor in front of you, left arm behind head, legs are kept together and raised about 6 inches off the floor; crunch up, as if trying touch your top elbow to ceiling; you will stay on one side the entirety of a 20 second interval and for each interval you will alternate sides so that each side is worked 3x.

Superset #3:

1. Pillar Hip Twist: get into forearm plank and roll your heels/hips from side to side while keeping torso stable.
2. Twist and Reach: get on all 4s and reach left arm underneath body to right side then reach left arm to the ceiling on left side of body; you will stay on one side the entirety of a 20 second interval and for each interval you will alternate sides so that each side is worked 3x.

Ladders is 24:30 minutes long (37 minutes long w/ warm up and stretch). Mark says there are 4 exercises but there aren’t. There are 3 exercises–or 3 exercises complexes, similar to how it is done in Novice Ladders. Each complex is done first for 1 rep, then for 2 reps, then for 3 reps, then for 4 reps, then 5 reps, then you go back down the ladder, so 4 reps, 3 reps and you end like you began with 1 rep. This time, instead of 4 reps, you will be working your way up to 5 reps, then back down to one rep.

This workout definitely seemed intermediate level (unlike Timed Super Sets). It challenged me and made me sweat. It’s not an advanced workout, but I felt it throughout my lower body. Very good workout.

First Exercise Complex:

Short Kneeling Straddle Step: Start in kneeling position; plant your left foot next to your right knee (not in front), heel is on ground, stand up and lift right knee in front of you, step out with your right leg (which is already raised) and lower leg so you are in a wide squat, raise leg and return to standing w/ knee raised, return to short kneel; this is one rep. You will do the ladder on each side of the body, so 1 rep on each side, then 2 reps on each side and so on.

Second Exercise Complex:

1. A Frames: start in plank and bring left foot up beside/outside of your left hand, straighten your left leg, raising bottom in a pike, bend knee again lower left forearm to the ground; this is one rep. You will do the ladder on each side of the body, so 1 rep on each side, then 2 reps on each side and so on–before you move on to #2 of the complex.
2. Windshield Wipers: lay on back, arms on ground in a “T”, knees bent at a 90 degree angle w/ feet off floor; drop bent left leg to left side as close to floor as possible, then lower right leg to follow it, then raise right leg back to start followed by left leg back to start; this is one rep. You will do the ladder on each side of the body, so 1 rep on each side, then 2 reps on each side and so on–before you return to #1 of the complex.

Circuit Training is 20 minutes long (or 32:30 w/ warm up and cool down). This workout consists of a circuit of 4 exercises done back to back 6 times; each exercise is done for 25 seconds. Like Intermediate Ladders, this workout is at a more at an intermediate level. I found it easier than Ladders, but more challenging than Timed Super Sets.

1. Advanced Monkey Squat: start standing with hands behind head and squat w/ torso leaning slight forward, rock forward and fall onto palms lowering knees almost to ground then walk hands out until you are in plank, do one push up, walk hands back in, push back up into squat then jump.
2. Side Plank Leg Lift: start in side plank and lift and lower top leg; or each interval you will alternate sides so that each side is worked 3x.
3. Prone Twist and Reach: get into knee plank and reach left arm underneath body to right side then reach left arm to the ceiling on left side of body; you will stay on one side the entirety of a 20 second interval and for each interval you will alternate sides so that each side is worked 3x.
4. Scorpion Kick: start in plank and pull left knee in under body (toward chest), kick bent left leg back so foot reaches toward ceiling then twist, reaching left foot toward wall at right side of body; alternate sides.

Advanced: This was a bit surprising. I expected the Advanced workouts to be a huge jump in level like they are in YAYOG Vol 1. These are more advanced than Novice and Intermediate level workouts, and they are all excellent workouts, but I was not nearly as challenged as I was in Vol 1. I had to really push myself in some of the workouts in Vol 1. Even tho I was challenged in Vol 2 workouts, it was different. I didn’t have any problem with any of the exercises. I got great workouts but I never really had to push myself. I found Circuit Training to be the most advanced of the 3 workouts.

Time Super Sets is 33 minutes long (45:30 minutes w/ warm up and cool down). This workout consists of 6 exercises done in pairs (or supersets). For each pair you do each exercise back-to-back for 20 seconds each and repeat 8x. You follow that pattern for each superset (so the pattern is repeated 3x). This workout was more challenging than the Intermediate level Timed Super Sets and I did find it a great workout–but I didn’t feel it was actually advanced. More advanced than Novice and Intermediate tho, and still an excellent workout, but I wasn’t horribly challenged.

Super Set #1:

1. Advanced Monkey Squats: start standing with hands behind head and squat w/ torso leaning slight forward, rock forward and fall onto palms lowering knees almost to ground then walk hands out until you are in plank, do one push up, walk hands back in, push back up into squat then jump.
2. Glute Hip Up: this is a one leg bridge; lay on back, bring one foot close to glutes (knee bent) and other leg raised straight to ceiling; raise and lower hips. You will stay on one side the entirety of a 20 second interval and for each 20 second interval you will alternate legs so that each leg is worked 4x.

Super Set #2:

1. Dead Bug: lay on back with straight legs and straight arms raised to ceiling; extend left arm and right leg at the same time so that they are both 1-2 inches off the ground then return to start; you will stay on the same arm/leg the entirety of a 20 second interval and for each 20 second interval you will do the other arm/leg so that each side is worked 4x.
2. Hip Drop: in straight arm side plank, raise and lower hips. You will stay on one side the entirety of a 20 second interval and for each 20 second interval you will alternate sides so that each side is worked 4x.

Super Set #3:

1. Scorpion Kick: start in plank and pull left knee in under body (toward chest), kick bent left leg back so foot reaches toward ceiling then twist, reaching left foot toward wall at right side of body; alternate sides.
2. Moon Walk: start in side plank with feet staggered, top leg in front; take 4 steps forward (torso remains stationary) while remaining in side plank by bringing back foot directly in front of front foot then take 4 steps back to start, you will remain on the sides of your feet the entire time. You will stay on one side the entirety of a 20 second interval and for each 20 second interval you will alternate sides so that each side is worked 4x.

Ladders is 40 minutes long (52:30 minutes w/ warm up and cool down). Mark says there are 4 exercises but there aren’t. There are 3 exercises–or 3 exercises complexes, similar to how it is done in Novice & Intermediate Ladders. Each complex is done first for 1 rep, then for 2 reps, then for 3 reps, then for 4 reps, then 5 reps, the for 6 reps then you go back down the ladder, so 5 reps, 4 reps, 3 reps and you end like you began with 1 rep. This time, instead of 4 or 5 reps, you will be working your way up to 6 reps, then back down to one rep.

This is a tough workout but more from a balance and endurance perspective. It is more advanced than the Novice and Intermediate level Ladders workouts, but I am not sure it qualifies as an “advanced” workout. It is a very good workout. I was working hard and so was Mark–he was breathing hard and sweating. This is a very functional workout. There is a lot of balance involved. Now, I have very poor balance due to having plates and screws in my heels but I did recently get some very good workout shoes (after seeing a podiatrist) that are actually aiding in my balance when working out. So I was able to perform all of the balance moves tho I was very challenged and wobbling–but so was Mark!  Another great YAYOG workout!

First Exercise Complex:

Side Kneeling to Straddle Step Complex: start in double kneeling position, place left foot out straight to left side, drop hands to ground and push up so you are standing on left foot w/ right leg raised and bent in front of you (Stork Pose according to Mark), cross right leg down in front of you so right heel taps floor on outside of left foot, raise right knee again into Stork Pose and drop into a straddle step (deep wide squat), raise back up into Stork Pose, return right foot to ground and shift down so your left leg is straight out to side and hands are on ground in front of you, raise torso and return to double kneeling; this is one rep. You will do the ladder on each side of the body, so 1 rep on each side, then 2 reps on each side and so on.

Second Exercise Complex:

1. Saxon Tilts: start in straight arm plank and bring left foot forward so it is beside your left hand, raise torso so you are in a deep lunge w/ arms overhead; from this position, side-tilt torso left then right–this is one rep. You will do the ladder on each side of the body, so 1 rep on each side, then 2 reps on each side and so on–before you move on to #2 of the complex.
2. Windshield Wipers w/ Straight Legs: lay on back, arms on ground in a “T”, legs raised straight to ceiling; drop straight left leg to left side as close to floor as possible, then lower right leg to follow it, then raise right leg back to start followed by left leg back to start; this is one rep. You will do the ladder on each side of the body, so 1 rep on each side, then 2 reps on each side and so on–before you return to #1 of the complex.

Circuit Training is 27 minutes long (40 minutes w/ warm up and stretch). This workout consists of a circuit of 4 exercises done back to back 8 times; each exercise is done for 25 seconds. This was the most challenging of the 9 workouts. It was an excellent total body workout that had me working very hard. I still didn’t find it as challenging as Advanced YAYOG Vol 1 workouts, but as I mentioned in the intro, Vol 2 workouts are different types of workouts.

1. Peg Leg Squat: stand w/ arms straight out in front of you, feet hip width apart, lower hips/bottom down into a deep squat and while in the squat, raise one leg slightly off floor and bring leg behind you, dropping knee to floor so you are in a narrow lunge then raise knee and return to the squat position–the entire time, keeping hips lowered, when both feet are parallel again, stand up; alternate sides.
2. Scorpion Kick w/ Push Up: do one push up then pull left knee in under body (toward chest), kick bent left leg back so foot reaches toward ceiling then twist, reaching left foot toward wall at right side of body; alternate sides, doing a push up between each kick.
3. Short Kneeling S Reach: kneel so that left foot is flat on ground while right knee is beside left heel, hips pushed back, arms are spread wide and straight in “T’ position; from this position, reach one hand overhead toward the opposite shoulder while reaching the other hand downward behind you to the other shoulder (as if you were doing a tricep stretch w/ one arm and bringing the other arm up to meet it)–so you arms are in an “S”; keep alternating arms while maintaining the kneel. You will kneel on one side the entirety of a 25 second interval and for each interval you will alternate legs so that each leg is worked 4x (in the kneeling position that is–the arms alternate throughout every interval).
4. Starfish Hip Drop: start in straight arm plank and roll heels to side so you are in a side plank with arm reached overhead, lower hips to floor, raise hips and and return to straight arm plank, do one push up and roll heels to other side and repeat; continue alternating sides.

Bodyweight Plus 42 minutes long. Bodyweight Plus is the bonus workout included with YAYOG Vol 2. Mark suggests using this workout on your rest days. I was very excited to try this workout and I did it on my rest/recovery day (Sunday). It was not an easy workout! But I didn’t expect it to be. His “recovery” workouts on Mobility RX are downright painful! This wasn’t painful but it was work! And it is very different from Mark’s other workouts in many ways. First is production. There is no menu on this DVD. You pop it in the DVD player and the workout starts. When the workout ends–it just starts over again. A constant cycle. There are no graphics, no anatomy lessons and he doesn’t even spend much time on form demonstration. He does demonstrate some of the exercises but not in the same detailed manner as he does in all of his other workouts. The set up for this workout is kind of cool. It starts with a completely black set and Mark is dressed entirely in white workout clothes–even down to his socks and shoes. After you complete the warm up, the screen splits into half black, half white and Mark walks over to the other side of the screen to the completely white side but now he is wearing all black workout clothes. Sometimes after you complete a stack the screen splits again and Mark walks over to the other side–and each time he is wearing the opposite color clothes as the set. Pretty cool!

Now for the actual workout. It is set up in what Mark calls “stacks.” These stacks are a flowing series of exercises and it can get a bit complicated. All of the stacks are similar. They build on one another and also evolve and change, so that the final stack is completely different from the first stack, but it changes gradually. Your first stack is your warm up. You will repeat each stack several times before moving on to the next stack. Though Mark does move through the exercises at a controlled pace and with great form (as he always does), this workout moves at a faster pace than his others with little to no rest. I was dripping sweat onto my mat with little time to mop my face up with a towel or get a sip of water

1. Warm up Stack: Lay flat on back, legs straight and feet flexed, arms overhead w/palm and back of hand together. Roll onto stomach, push up into straight arm plank then to quadruped (on hands and toes w/ knees bent). Drop to knees and raise up to kneeling, sit bottom on heels, raise back to kneeling, extend one leg in front of you into kneeling lunge, raise arms overhead, lower arms, return to raised kneeling position, sit bottom back on heels, return to quadruped, then to plank, back onto stomach with arms and legs extended then roll back onto back. You are back to starting position.
2. Stack 2 is the same as stack 1 except he adds a hip up the the very beginning. So you start laying in your back, bend one knee, keeping foot on ground and raise the other leg to the ceiling. Push hips up 4 times, then continue on with the stack.
3. For the 3rd stack he adds straight lunges. Do the stack exactly as laid out in Stack 2 except now when you are in the kneeling position you do 4 pendulum lunges; these lunges are so deep that your knees tap the floor. The rest of the stack continues on just like Stack 2.
4. For this stack you do everything just like Stack 3 except you replace the glute hip ups with Supine Twists. For a Supine Twist get into straight arm plank; roll your heels left then roll them right; do this 4 times. The rest of the stack continues on as in Stack 3.
5. For Stack 5 you replace the kneeling position with a kickout; while in quadruped, keep one hand on ground, place opposite foot flat on ground and bring other leg underneath body to kick out; from kickout, transfer to kneeling lunge and continue the rest of the stack the same as Stack 4.
6. For Stack 6, you will replace the Supine Twists with Moon Walk; so now the Stack starts in side plank with feet staggered, top leg in front; take 4 steps forward (torso remains stationary) while remaining in side plank by bringing back foot directly in front of front foot then take 4 steps back to start (you will remain on the sides of your feet the entire time), rotate body into quadruped and continue the same as Stack 5.
7. For Stack 7 you will replace the straight lunges with Romanian deadlifts. After the kickout, you will end in a kneeling lunge just like you have been but this time you will stand with feet together and hands/arms overhead, hinge at the waist, pushing hips back; do 4 reps then return to kneeling lunge and continue the stack as it was done in Stack 6.
8. For Stack 8 you will replace the Moon Walk with hip circles. Instead of starting in side plank, now you start on hands and knees, extend one leg out diagonally and circle straight leg (big circles); circle 4 times in each direction; go into quadruped and continue stack the same as Stack 7 with the kickout.
9. For Stack 9 you will replace the kickouts with Scorpion Kicks; so after hip circles, you go into quadruped and kick one foot up and over behind you until it is on the ground and the same side arm reaches overhead while the other leg will be extended straight; when you come out of the Scorpion Kick, you go directly into the kneeling lunge and continue the stack just as you did in Stack 8.

Cool Down is 4 minutes. 1. Start laying on back with arms wide in T position, knees bent, feet on ground and knees wide; rotate both knees to same side until they touch the ground; alternate sides. 2. Get into double kneeling position, toes flat on ground and bottom on heels; twist torso to side so you are looking behind you, grabbing your heel; then come down in a child’s pose but torso is stretched in the opposite direction that you just twisted and arms are reaching away from body; alternate sides. 3. Bend right knee in front of you (as if you were about to do pigeon pose) and place your left knee behind the ankle of the right leg, drop forearms to ground and push hips back and to the right; repeat on other side of body.

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Rock It Sock It is 53 minutes long; 11 minute warm up, 20 minutes of cardio boxing, 8 minutes of cardio kickboxing, 8:30 more minutes of cardio and 4 minute cool down/stretch. All you need for this workout is boxing or weighted gloves. It also has heavy bag segments if you own one of those, but it isn’t necessary. I don’t own a heavy bag but doing the same exercises with 2 pound weighted gloves is still a great workout. It aired live on 12/31/15 and here is the video clip.

This is a great kickboxing cardio workout inspired by the ICE series Rock’m Sock’m Kickbox. There are definitely some similarities but it is also quite different. I love the DVD Rock’m Sock’m but I think I like this one even better. They definitely compliment each other! It is an intense cardio boxing/kickboxing workout with lots of intensity blasts. It’s also a lot of fun.

Here is how the workout plays out. The first 20 minute segment after the warm up is cardio boxing and it consists of cardio boxing drills and blasts plus 3 separate segments of heavy bag work. So, you do some cardio boxing, then some heavy bag, then some cardio boxing, then some heavy bag, then some more cardio boxing then the final heavy bag. The heavy bag is punch drills that end with two 20/10 tabata blasts then you do a cardio blast w/out the bag, then return to the floor for more cardio boxing. The tabata drills are always the same: fast alternating front punches that you can add fast feet to (I added the fast feet because it increases the intensity to make it at least somewhat worthy of the “tabata” label). Next Cathe has you remove your gloves for the kicking segment. As a note–I removed my gloves but regretted it. It is mostly kicking but there are punches plus the weighted gloves increase intensity. So in the future I will leave my gloves on for the entire workout. The kicking segment is made up of combos of front kicks, back kicks, squats to side kicks and jump kicks. She also inserts high impact blasts. The last 8 minutes of the workout is mostly cardio with some cardio boxing thrown in–things like flying jacks w/ front kicks, pendulums, etc.

Overall another excellent cardio kickboxing workout from Cathe Live.

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Another excellent total body cardio + strength workout from Cathe Live. This one is set up in 7 rounds or circuits. Each round starts with a cardio move then moves on to strength training. Each round works both the upper and the lower body and sometimes also gives you a compound/4 limb move. Overall, very metabolic–both the fast paced weight training exercises and the cardio blasts. And, of course, combining them really gets your heart pumping. The cardio blasts were sometimes HIIT level and other times just a cardio interval. Either way, Cathe gets your burning calories while building muscle.

A few times Cathe got her count got messed up but I think she still managed to work each side evenly. The music ran out near the end and Cathe had to restart it–but she still managed to keep the exercise we were doing when the music ended going w/out a hitch. Fun and intense total body workout!

Total Body HIIT is 60 minutes long; 8 minute warm up and 3:30 minute stretch. Equipment needed: various dumbbells (Cathe uses 5-15 pounds and I used 5-25 pounds), sliding device and a mat. The mat stays on the floor throughout the entire workout. It aired live on 1/19/17 and here is the video clip.

Round 1:

1. Cardio: 3 power hops forward straddling the mat, two jumps, 4 jacks
2. Sumo squat to side, pivot into one arm overhead press, 16 reps (one 10# DB)
3. Lateral sumo walks, 4 steps to each side (12# DBs)
4. Iron Cross (front raise, open arms to side, return arms to front and lower), 12 reps (5# DBs)

Round 2:

1. Cardio: 4 regular jacks, 4 low squat jacks, 4 regular jacks, 2 plyo jacks
2. Plie squats w/ upright rows, 16 reps + 8 reps (12# DBs)
3. Side slide lunges in pattern (1 slow, 2 fast), 6 reps (one 15# DB)
4. Overhead tricep extensions, 10 reps + 8 reps (12# DBs)

Rounds 3:

1. Cardio: lateral skates over the mat
2. Sumo squat walks straddling the mat (Cathe uses one 15# DB, I used one 20# DB)
3. Forward diagonal lunges + bicep curls (the first time she does 4 lunges to one side + 2 bicep curls then repeats on the other side but only does one bicep curl, then she does 8 lunges to one side + 3 bicep curls; the 8/3 pattern is done twice on each side) (Cathe uses 12# DBs, I used 15# DBs)

Round 4:

1. Cardio: high reaching pop squats straddling mat, 3 sets of 10 reps
2. Slide back lunges, 16 reps (Cathe uses 12# DBs, I used 15# DBs)
3. 8 lateral raises, 4 high ends (raise DBs to sides and pulse 4 times then lower), 8 more lateral raises (Cathe used 5# DBs, I used 8# DBs)

Round 5:

1. Cardio: heel taps circling the mat (you’ll do 8 jacks each time you change directions)
2. Static lunges + deadlifts (16 lunges on one leg, 8 deadlifts, 16 lunges on other leg, 7 deadlifts, 7 lunges each leg 2x) (Cathe uses 15# DBs, I used 20# DBs)
3. Tricep kickbacks + rear dealt flys, 3 sets: first 2 sets are 8 reps, last set is 6 reps (10# DBs)

Round 6:

1. Cardio: 3 forward jumps the length of your mat, jump turn and 3 forward jumps back to start
2. Alternating side lunges, 16 reps (or 8 each side) (Cathe uses 10# DBs, I used 12# DBs)
3. Alternating side lunges, 16 reps (Cathe uses one 15# DB, I used one 20# DB)
4. Bicep Curls + Overhead Presses; first set she does 8 reps of each, the second set she tries to do a pattern with the bicep curls that gets messed up but on the overhead presses the pattern is 1 double arm overhead press + 1 one arm press, alternate arms–so you end up doing 8 double arm overhead presses and each arm does 4 single arm overhead presses, for the 3rd set 8 bicep curls then do the same pattern done in the second set for overhead presses (Cathe uses 10# DBs for first 2 sets and 12# DBs for final set, I used 12# DBs for all 3 sets)

Round 7:

1. Cardio: snowboarders, 3 set of 8 reps
2. Cross-back lunges, sliding device only so lots of reps
3. Alternating rear lunges w/ “thumb to thumb” overhead arcing side lateral raise, 3 sets=8 reps + 6 reps + 4 reps (8# DBs)
4. One arm row, 16 reps (Cathe uses one 15# DB + one 5# DB, I used one 25# DB)
5. Push ups, 3 sets=12 reps, 10 reps, 8 reps

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Tracey Mallett has created two new workout DVDs. They are both titled Svelte U. One is Workout One and the other is Workout Two; however they both contain three 20 minute workouts. This is obviously a review of the first DVD. Though it does contain 3 workouts, I did them all in once session, back to back. The first workout is called Total Svelte Toning 1. This a standing conditioning workout that uses nothing except a theraband. It has a definite cardio factor and works the lower body, core and some upper body. My shoulders were getting a little achy from holding the band constantly with constant tension (that’s the point btw). Abs & Booty Svelte is the second workout. It is very core and lower body intensive and it is done on the mat with a theraband. The third workout is Pilates Svelte. As I am not a big fan of pilates by any trainer, it is my least favorite of the 3. But it is an effective workout. No equipment needed except a fitness mat and, like all pilates workouts, it is core intensive with some lower body work. I probably will not return to the third workout but I liked workouts 1 & 2 a lot and I think they work very nicely together.

Tracey is alone in these workouts with no cast. The setting is a bright and spacious warehouse type room with lots of windows. Though a theraband is used in two of the workouts these are all essentially bodyweight workouts. Though she does give you the option of using a towel instead of a theraband, it definitely is not quite the same since the theraband has tension/resistance that a towel doesn’t have. These workouts are different from the other Tracey Mallett workouts I own and love–except maybe Lose the Belly Flab. I do like it but not as much as her others that own.

Total Svelte Toning 1 is 23 minutes long; 3:30 minute warm up and 30 second stretch. The first 40 seconds is Tracey explaining how she would like you to hold the theraband. You take the ends and wrap them around each hand so that there is approximately 2 feet of band between your hands; you will hold the band this way, taut w/ tension, throughout the entire workout except for the very last exercise. Even tho there isn’t a lot of upper body work in this workout, holding the band this way for 20 minutes does work your shoulder area. Mine were starting to ache by the end. I will not comment on the band in the breakdown unless the way you hold it changes.

The warm up consists of marching in place then alternating side lunges with the band over your head, leaning as you lunge. Next is plie squats, alternating sides with arms overhead and torso/arms rotating to side as you plie squat. Next get into plie squat and do a lat pull down (arms overhead, pull band down behind head, bending elbows). Add releve. While remaining in plie squat/releve, raise and lower straight arms from overhead to chest level. This changes to chest presses (still in plie squat/releve). Add releve plie squats to chest press. The warm up ends with plie pulses.

1. Plie squats w/ figure 8 arms
2. In plie you will do a squat then jump up into releve with overhead press; add rotation w/ the overhead press
3. Alternating curtsy lunges while bringing band down to side; remain in static curtsy lunge, sweeping arms down to side with each lunge
4. Tap front foot while raising one leg behind you, you will be raising and lower arms while doing this; this changes to pulsing the leg behind you 3x; this changes to balancing on front leg while continuing to pulse back leg
5. Repeat #3 & #4 on other side of body
6. Step in and out in plie squat with arms held overhead
7. Plie squat while swinging arms overhead then down to side; this changes to raising knee while still swing arms (so it turns into a side crunch, bringing knee up to arms as they swing overhead)
8. While in a deep plie squat, shift slowly side to side while chest pressing arms; hold in side lunge to one side then swing straight arms to side while pivoting into a lunge facing the side (so you pivot side lunge facing the front to a front lunge facing the side; you arms are always in front of you, whatever direction you are facing)
9. Step side to side with arms overhead; this changes to hamstring curls; this changes to knee raises to the side (you will be bringing arms/band down as you raise knees)
10. Side lunge w/ side leg raise w/ arms overhead
11. Knee repeaters, 3 to each side then switch sides; changes to singles; arms change to figure 8 arms
12. This is the only exercise that you are not holding your band taut between straight arms; release band and wrap around one foot, holding ends of band in opposite hand; raise and lower leg to side; changes to pulses

Abs & Booty Svelte is 20:30 minutes long. For much of this workout you will be holding the theraband the same way you did in Total Svelte Toning 1: You take the ends and wrap them around each hand so that there is approximately 2 feet of band between your hands; you will hold the band this way taut w/ tension. As in the first workout, I will not comment on the band unless the way you hold it changes. For every move in the beginning you are hold it with tension between both hands.

1. Start sitting with feet in butterfly (soles together) and reach band/arms overhead; lean arms/torso side to side; changes to leaning side, front–alternate sides; lean forward and back only; lean forward, arms still straight overhead and pulse arms up and down
2. Straighten legs into a V in front of you and raise and lower arms overhead; this changes to reaching band toward one foot then raising band overhead; rotate arms/torso side to side w/ arms held straight overhead
3. In C sit w/ arms held out straight in front of you, small torso raise and lowers; remain in C sit, leaning torso back and chest press arms; return to raising and lowering torso in C sit (bigger movements this time); hold in C sit w/ torso leaned back further, arms still held in front of you and alternate raising feet off floor, knee raises to band height; rotate torso/band to side while continuing raising feet off floor
4. Wrap band around instep of right foot and straighten leg, still holding ends of band in each hand; holding leg straight and raised, raise and lower torso doing a back row with arms/band as you raise torso; lean torso back w/ leg and arms straight (band still around foot) and raise and lower leg; changes to circling straight leg
5. Repeat #4 on left leg
6. Wrap band round bottom of right foot again, lay back and raise right leg straight to ceiling and left leg is straight about 6 inches off floor; raise and lower left leg; keep left leg raised, both legs straight, ankles crossed and do a hip tilt
7. Place both feet in band, raised feet to ceiling, legs straight, and open and close feet; changes to pulses
8. Repeat #6 on other side of body
9. Place both feet in band, legs both raised to ceiling, knees slightly bent; raise hips and swivel/rotate them side to side w/ head/shoulders raised
10. Lay on back, legs straight and on floor, arms overhead (band is back in starting position: take the ends and wrap them around each hand so that there is approximately 2 feet of band between your hands; you will hold the band this way taut w/ tension); roll up doing a full sit up and reaching band over toes and roll back down
11. Still laying on back with legs straight and arms overhead, lift and lower right leg to ceiling and raise arms/head/shoulders and tap band to leg; repeat on left leg
12. Wrap band around right leg and lay on side  w/ left leg bend underneath you and holding ends of band in both hands; raise and lower right leg; changes to circling leg; changes to bending knee and pushing heel/leg out straight; changes to same action but pulsing; repeat on other leg
13. Keep band wrapped around one foot and come onto your hands and knees, ends of band are still in your hands; bend knee under you then press out straight behind you; hold leg straight and pulse; keeping leg straight, cross it behind other leg and tap toe to floor then lift; bend knee slightly and do small pulses out behind you; repeat on other leg
14. Set band aside and go into down dog and do 30 seconds of stretching

Pilates Svelte is 21:30 minutes long. Since it is pilates and not something I will be returning to, I am going to be very brief in the break down. It is a very good pilates core workout, I’m just not a fan of pilates. She does C sit raise and lowers and full sit ups w/straight legs, rolling up and down to warm up the core. This changes to having you hold halfway down when rolling up or down. You do a combo where lay on back, hands behind head and head/shoulders raised, knees are bent w/ feet on floor; straighten one leg to floor, then the other leg, then slide both feet/legs in to start–you do several variations of this base move. Placing palms on floor beside hips with feet on floor and knees bent, push hips up into crab then swing hips through between hands, keeping hips off floor. Start in bent knee boat and roll down to back then back up to bent knee boat. In bent knee boat, alternate tapping toes to floor. Lay on back with hands behind head and head/shoulders raised; you do various moves with legs in this position. Start doing a lying spinal twist; from this position, straighten top leg (leg that is leaned to opposite side stretching spine) and do a huge circle opening out to same side and returning to opposite side. Bicycle maneuver. One leg bridge/hip raise w/ wide leg circles. Lay on side and so one arm tricep push ups but she has you engaging your obliques so it is more of a core movement. Pulse raise top leg then hold top leg raised and stationary while you pulse raise bottom leg to top leg. Flutter kick with upper body also raised (still laying on your side). Modified side elbow plank moves then full side elbow plank moves. Down dog to plank moves. Ends w/ 30 seconds stretch.

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Another awesome Cathe Live workout. Just like Hi-Lo HIIT Live, this workout is based on Ripped with HIIT series and gives you a “premix” you do not get with the DVDs. And I absolutely love it! These are the kind of premixes I love but we never get on DVD. Just like the other live workout, this one alternates plyometric HIITs w/ low impact HIITs. The difference is that this workout uses a step. The step is used for the high impact/plyo HIITs. The low impact HIITs are done on the floor. And, of course, this workout gives you different exercises than the ones you get in the Hi-Lo HIIT w/ no step. Also, just like the other one, this has a 7:30 minute core section that you can skip for a 35 minute HIIT workout. So it is perfect for a doubles workout! But it is a pretty excellent core section. This morning I did the entire workout and ended it with STS Extended Stretch to round out my hour. Very nice workout this morning overall!

Hi-Lo HIIT w/ Step is 42:30 minutes long; 8 minute warm up, 25 minutes HIIT, 7:30 minutes core and 2 minute stretch. Equipment needed: a step @ 8 inches and a mat for the core work at the end. It aired live on 12/18/14 and here is the video clip.

1. Pivoting apple pickers
2. Straddle jump and when you jump back on step, jump on one leg; alternate legs
3. 3 ice breaks + one elbow strike to side
4. Lateral box jumps
5. Windmills
6. Box jumps + power 7s
7. Fred Astaires
8. 3 wide box jumps + 1 plyo jack
9. Lean back volley forward
10. While straddling step, jump forward and back 3x then jump on and off step; ends w/ straddle jumping on and off step
11. Hi/lo side punches w/ squat hops
12. 180 squat jumps w/ one foot on step 7x; repeat 3x then do power 7s before repeating on other side; repeat but this time three 180 squat jumps and power 3s
13.  Low impact split lunges
14. Lateral box jump on step to other side, lateral jump back to start, burpee and 2 tuck jumps
15. Galloping jacks (fast straddle step in and out–on floor, not step)

Core:

1. Ankle grabbers, 10 reps
2. Butterfly sit ups, 10 reps
3. Repeat 1 & 2
4. Side elbow plank hold; raise top leg and hold; still in side elbow plank, top hand behind head, bring top elbow to bottom hand on floor for 12 reps
5. Elbow plank hold; raise one arm and opposite leg; alternate tapping knees to floor
6. In straight arm plank alternate bringing same side knee to elbow, 20 reps
7. Reverse crunches

Ignite by Spri Hi-Intensity is a collection of 4 workouts led by Brett Hoebell that are each approximately 25 minutes long. They are supposed to be super intense 25 minute workouts–in fact 3 of them have HIIT in the title. HIIT stands for High Intensity Interval Training; however, I did not find any of these workouts high intensity or advanced. None of the workouts qualify as a HIIT workout. A HIIT is a short burst of max intensity exercise followed by short recovery period; you keep alternating max intensity w/ recovery until you are exhausted. The more intervals you do, the higher your heart spikes with each interval. That never occurs in these workouts. Plus the trainer, Brett Hoebell, is seriously irritating. He yells “boom” a lot and it is not funny or motivating, just… annoying. I did like two of the workouts, HIIT it with Weights and 30/30 HIIT, but he was still pretty irritating. And BTW–neither of those workouts were HIIT level either. HIIT it w/ Weights it is a good metabolic weight training workout with a lot of back focus. Overall, I was disappointed with this collection and am now not expecting much from it’s sister DVD, 900 Calorie Burn. But who knows? Different trainer, so she might do a better job. I plan to try that one next week. From the titles, I expected a lot more from these workouts. In every workout you go through a circuit of 4-5 exercises 4 times. The 4th and final time you go through them you do them at their most advanced level; Brett calls this the “spice” round. Now, after going through the workouts once or twice so you are familiar with the spice rounds, you could do all of the rounds at the spice level to actually get a more intense workout. But the majority of the exercises in all of the spice rounds are still not HIIT level.

Overall a collection of pretty easy/beginner level workouts with some growth potential for the person willing to do all of the rounds at the most advanced (“spice”) level. Just FYI–there is also a no dumbbell modifier in the workouts that use dumbbells and a modifier doing even easier versions of the exercises.

HIIT Intense is 26 minutes long; one minute intro, 2:30 minute warm up and 2:30 minute stretch. This was the first workout I did and I was not impressed. Even tho there is a warm up, the workout starts pretty easy for a workout labeled HIIT and could easily double as the warm up. However the workout does pick up. Let me explain how it works first. It is made up of 4 exercises, each exercise is done for 50 seconds with a 15 second break between each exercise. You repeat this 4 exercise circuit 4 times total. Between each circuit you get a one minute active recovery. Active recovery is jumping rope. The 4 moves vary in intensity, even at their most advanced. The first exercise is a very deep alternating lunge. I liked this one a lot from the easiest version at the beginning to the most advanced version at the end. By the 4th circuit it evolves into a very deep plyometric jump lunge. The others–the push ups and the sit up with scorpion kick are never very intense no matter which level/interval you are in. And the final/4th move–Tire Runs–is the same throughout and is just a cardio move, never a HIIT level move. So… one excellent move out of 4. The deep lunge is really the only one that ever got me into the HIIT range–and that was the 4th and final time through. It’s unlikely I will ever return to this workout since there is only one move I like.

1. Deep forward lunge so that you are placing your palm on the floor (same arm/hand as the front leg), the other arm/elbow is bent in front of face, return to a wide lunge and repeat on other side; keep alternating sides; spice round: deep plyometric jump lunges.
2. Push ups: plank walk forward 2 steps, do one push up, plank walk back 2 steps, one push up; spice round: add knee to same side elbow to each push up
3. Sit up w/ scorpion kick: full sit up, twist into plank, scorpion kick, return to top of sit up position and repeat on other side; alternate sides; spice round: raise same side hand when doing scorpion kick
4. Tire runs: 4 high knee runs and brief pause w/ knee raised (Heisman-type move); spice round: ?? not sure… I think tapping the knee with opposite hand? Seemed like the same move as the previous 3 rounds except smacking your hand to your knee

Abs & Booty Burn is 26:30 minutes, 50 second intro, 3 minute warm up and 2 minute stretch. As evidenced by the title, then focus of this workout is working your core and your glutes. For some reason (the DVD title maybe?) I was expecting these workouts to be very intense. It was a decent workout, doing what the title promised–working your core and your glutes. But it was not intense. It was not difficult or challenging even when done at the most advanced level. Beginner workout all the way. The workout consists of 4 rounds of 4 exercises; 2 glute exercises and 2 core exercises. Each exercise is done for 60 seconds w/ 15 seconds of recovery between each exercise. Each time you go through a round, Brett makes some of the exercises a little more challenging–but never advanced them to even intermediate level. This is a pretty basic workout all the way around. The 4th time through the circuit he says he is adding “spice” to moves–making them their most challenging. Below, I will note “spice” for any changes Brett adds to the 4th round. Equipment needed: various dumbbells.

1. Figure 4 (one leg hip raise in bridge w/ one leg crossed over other knee and DB setting on your hip; I used a 15# DB) Spice: move faster.
2. Superman Sit Ups (lay flat on ground, legs straight and holding DBs w/ straight arms toward the ceiling; roll up, keeping DBs raised to ceiling and legs straight, then roll back down; I used 8# DBs). Spice: one knee bent
3. Butterfly Bridge (lay on back with legs in butterfly, soles of feet together and sides of feet on ground; press hips up and down). Spice: DBs on hips (I used 15# DB)
4. Walking Plank (holding DBs get into straight arm plank; walk 4 steps forward and 4 steps back while in plank). Spice: add a renegade row to each “step.”

HIIT it with Weights is 27 minutes; 1:15 minute intro, 2:45 minute warm up and 2 minute stretch. This is the second workout on the DVD (tho it is the 3rd one I did) and I like it a lot more that the others so far. Tho it is more intense it is still not HIIT level. As you can see from the title, dumbbells are used in this workout. However, the modifier uses no dumbbells. I used 15 and 20 pound dumbbells for this workout. It is made up of 5 exercises done for 4 rounds. Each exercise is done for 45 seconds with a 15 second recovery. Like the other workouts, it starts out slow so that the first round is more of an extended warm up and the 4th set is Brett’s “spice” round, the most intense of the 4 rounds. Tho my heart rate never peaked, it was actually a pretty decent metabolic strength workout. The final move uses no weights, but I used 2 pound hand weights to increase the intensity. Brett used 20 pound dumbbells, the female exerciser used 10 pound dumbbells and the modifier used no dumbbells. The weights listed below are what I used.

1. Front Loaded Squat (hold DBs at chest under chin) (15# DBs); spice round: add overhead press at top of move
2. Renegade Rows (20# DBs); spice round: add 2 push ups after rowing on each side
3. One arm row (get into deep lunge and opposite arm is leaning on front thigh) (one 20# DB); spice rounds: hold other arm out to side as you row
4. Jack Knife (sit up holding one DB in both hands, as you sit up you lift one leg, reaching the DB toward toes; alternate legs) (one 15# DB); spice round: lift both legs
5. Punches (jab, cross, jab, cross, bob and weave) (2# weights); spice round: replace bob and weave with step back and front

HIIT 30/30 is 26:30 minutes long; 1 minute intro; 2:30 minute warm up and 2 minutes stretch. This is the final workout I did on this DVD and it was a decent cardio workout. The most intense of the 4 workouts. Still not HIIT level but it did get my heart rate up. Brett went a little crazy himself during the spice round, doing plyometric push ups using both hands and feet at the same time. This is not what he told the viewers to do and not what his exercisers did. This was just Brett showing off, which he does frequently throughout all 4 workouts. That was a real HIIT for him, but the (safe) version for everyone else was not HIIT level. As the title states, the workout is composed of 5 exercises done for 4 rounds. Each exercise is done for 30 seconds of work alternated with 30 seconds of active recovery. Active recovery is usually skipping rope but sometimes it is punches. There is also a modifier doing an easier version of the exercises.

1. 4 mountain climbers with a jump (burpee w/ 4 mountain climbers at the bottom); spice round: add a push up
2. Alternating side lunges bringing elbow to opposite knee; spice round: add two punches in between the lunges
3. Push up w/ salute (tap hand to opposite shoulder at top); spice: soldier plank between each push up (raising one arm and opposite leg)
4. High knee runs; spice round: he adds direction changes as you run
5. Swimmers (raise one arm and opposite hand); spice round: do it fast

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Chiseled Legs & Abs is another great lower body workout from Cathe Live with a very long core section. Though I did enjoy it, it wasn’t my favorite lower body workout Cathe has created. Because I did it on a Saturday, I finished it off with Xtrain: Legs floor work + stretch–so an additional 17 minutes. When I return to this workout in the future, I will wear my 12 pound vest to make it more intense. I have found that wearing that vest can completely change a workout, making something I just found okay into something awesome. I will also completely skip the 15 minute core segment and go straight to the 17 minutes of Legs floor work and stretch. Since the core work starts at the 40 minute mark that would still equal a 57 minute workout that works the lower body even better. So note to self (when I make the workout card some time in the future): wear weighted vest for standing legs, skip core and add on Xtrain: Legs floor work + stretch.

Chiseled Legs & Abs is 57 minutes long; 6 minute warm up, 25 minute standing legs, 8 minute stability ball legs, 15 minute core and 2 minute stretch. Equipment needed: 10, 12 and 15 pound dumbbells, a stability ball, a fire walker, a sliding device and a fitness mat. I used one 25 and two 15 pound dumbbells. It aired live on 12/14/16 and here is the video clip.

Cathe says the first exercise is an extended part of the warm up but if you use the right weight (rather than the 10 pound dumbbell she grabs) it qualifies as part of the workout.

Standing Legs (25 minutes):

1. Side slide pick up lunges, 16 reps (Cathe uses one 10# DB, I used one 25# DB)
2. Pulsing plie squats (Cathe uses one 15# DB, I used one 25# DB)
3. Marching sumos (Cathe uses one 15# DB, I used one 25# DB)
4. Side slide lunges (one slow + 2 fast pattern) (Cathe uses one 15# DB, I used one 25# DB)
5. Sliding/pulsing crossback lunges (Cathe uses one 15# DB, I used one 25# DB)
6. Single leg deadlifts (Cathe uses one 15# DB, I used on 25# DB)
7. High rep lunge slides (place end of DB on floor and hold top end w/ hand, step same side leg back, toe on sliding device; slide leg in and out at a pretty brisk pace; you will alternate between touching the DB for support and genie crossing your arms in front of you) (Cathe uses one 15# DB, I used one 25# DB)
8. Place firewalker around ankles: 16 jumping jacks , 8 jump squats forward and back, firewalking side to side and diagonally forward and back; repeat this circuit 4x
9. Static pulse lunges; 32 pulses, 16 pulses, 7 pulses 2x (Cathe uses one 15# DB, I used one 25# DB)
10. Diagonal forward lunges; 2 sets of 12 reps each side (Cathe uses two 12# DBs, I used two 15# DBs)

Stability Ball Legs (8 minutes):

1. Hamstring roll ins; changes to roll in, lift hips, lower hips, roll out; changes back to just rolling in and out
2. 4 hamstring roll ins then hold hips up, legs straight and raise straight arms overhead and back down to count of 4 up and 4 down; repeat this pattern 4x
3. Hip lifts only (heels on ball, legs straight)
4. Outer thigh: lean on ball, bottom leg bent and pulse top leg pointed then flexed; slow leg circles forward then slow leg circles backwards; lift top leg and push heel out

Core work (15 minutes):

1. Roll outs on stability ball (get on knees facing ball, forearms on ball, and roll in and out, using your core to pull you in and out)
2. Same position as roll outs but hands are clasped; roll out and stay out, circling ball using forearms
3. Plank roll ins (shins on ball)
4. Windshield wipers (lay on back, arms out to sides in  a “T”, legs raised straight to ceiling and ball between feet; lower legs/ball side to side)
5. Ball exchange (still laying on back, pass ball from hands to feet, never lowering feet/ball to ground)
6. Crunches on ball (leaning back on ball, various arm positions)
7. Get into straight leg side plank on ball; raise and lower torso w/ various arm positions
8. (set ball aside) Roll downs (as you roll down you pause at 3 different levels and hold to the count of 4 each time)
9. Reverse crunch & pilates press (lay flat on back, head down, knees bent and raised; do reverse crunch into straight legs twice; then hold straight legs a few inches off floor and raise head/shoulders, arms straight at sides (but off ground); pump arms 8 times; repeat these two exercises)
10. Alternating elbow reach (still lying on your back, plant one elbow on the ground with the fingers pointing straight up in the air, the other arm lifts up, raising your torso while your other elbow remains planted on the mat; alternate sides)
11. Jack knifes (get on one hip and elbow, legs straight and top arm raised straight to ceiling; raise straight legs, bringing top arm/hand to meet toes)
12. Elbow plank hold; march feet in and out; ends w/ another elbow plank hold

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Kick Punch Cardio is another cardio kickboxing workout from Cathe Live–and she has a lot of them! This is another very good one but nothing really makes it stand out from all of the others. Except for a long and intense kick combo about halfway through the workout. I really enjoyed that. The combo was pretty intense and really conditions the lower body. I felt it in my glutes (lots of back kicks). The first 30 minutes (including the warm up) is cardio kickboxing and it is done in Cathe‘s usual manner–punch or kick combos alternated with cardio blasts. Though at times the workout does get intense, it is never HIIT level intense. At the 32 minute mark you go to the heavy bags for a 6 minute session. For the heavy bag segment you do 3 punch drills alternated with 3 punch blasts. The punch blasts are always the same: fast alternating front punches with fast feet. After the heavy bag segment you return to the floor for the rest of the workout which is more cardio kickboxing. Another excellent and intense cardio kickboxing workout!

Kick Punch Cardio is 51 minutes long; 13 minute warm up and 4 minute cool down/stretch. The only equipment needed is boxing gloves. I used 2 pound weighted gloves. It aired live on 1/12/17 and here is the video clip.