Whew. Breathe, breathe, breathe. Right, trying to get my breath back so I can do a proper review. Let's start with:
What is it?
There are three workouts on the DVD, each about 20 minutes long. And this time she really does stick to 20 minutes, which is nice. (Jillian Michaels often advertises "20 minute workouts" that are more like half an hour.)
The first workout concentrates on the upper body, the second on the lower, and the third on abs, but really it's all just kickboxing, with about one resistance move per circuit to let you catch your breath.
There are four circuits in each level, each repeated twice, and each consisting of about five moves repeated for 30 seconds each. Absolutely no time to get bored here, which I like.
Some of the kickboxing combos are a bit complicated, and I expect to enjoy this DVD more as I do it more and get the combos memorized. Prepare for a bit of frustration the first time through as you try to get the combos down.
Cons
My martial arts training was in Tang Soo Do karate, so I prefer to perform my kicks and punches slightly differently than Michaels does. I don't like how often she has you put your foot down for balance, but I can see how that would be useful if you weren't well-trained. I also don't like that she has you do each exercise only on your dominant side (and lefties will have to switch everything she does) because I like training both sides of my body equally. But I didn't find it too hard to switch sides on the second repeat of each circuit.
This isn't a beginner workout - not at all - but that's primarily because of the speed at which the moves are performed and because of the aerobic capacity required. I think that a beginner could make good use of this DVD if she were willing to perform everything at a half-time speed. And that would still be a really good workout!
TL;DR
Great workout, AWESOME at-home cardio option, advanced, highly recommended.
Peace of Christ to you,
Jessica Snell
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