Sean O'Malley Cardio Coach Volume 5 - Review

Cardio Coach Volume 5 is 63 1/2 minutes in length if you do the ending stretch. Without the ending stretch, the workout clocks in at a little less than 54 minutes.

Following the same levels and zones as previous Cardio Coach workouts, Volume 5 breaks down as:
Warm up - 5:18 - Level 1
Steady State 1 - 3:03 - Level 2
Challenge 1- 16:22 - three Level 3 Hills, each hill climb is 4 minutes with a 2 minute rest between hills
Steady State 2 - 3:10 - Level 2
Challenge 2 9:37 - six - Level 3 sprints, sprint for 1 minute with a 30 second rest between sprints
Steady State 3 - 3:12 - Level 2
Challenge 3 - 7:24 - four Level 4 Treks, each trek is 30 seconds with a 90 second rest between treks
Cool down -5:39 - Level 2 to Level 1
Stretch 9:54

Volume 5 also contains Coaches Notes track (4:22) and a Bonus Track (3:25).

This is another great cardio coach workout. I love all the tunes but the cool down music. That seems to be the case with me. I feel a lot of the cool down music is a bit sappy. Out of all the volumes, I think I only like the cool down music in Volumes 4 and 3.

Anyway for Cardio Coach Volume 5 - 4 stars.

Michelle Dozois More Cardio Strength - Thoughts

More Cardio Strength is approximately 55 minutes in length.
There is no warm up. It consist of 5 blocks that are about 10 minutes in length. Each block is composed of 2 rounds that are around 5 minutes. There is a cool down.
This workout follows Michelle, Peak format. That format is:
Base camp, Ascent, Climb and Peak.
With the exception of the first block, which does not include Peak and really doesn't include a Base camp, the other 4 blocks do follow the format.

In the Cardio Strength workouts (this is Michelle's third Cardio Strength Workout) the Ascent level is the strength level, and thus weights are used. Michelle does a lot of compound multi- muscles type exercises. On almost every exercise you are working both the upper and lower body and sometimes the core. The Climb is cardio level - no weights are used. The Peak level is heavy on the plyo. There is a modifier.

The Peak Exercises in this workout are:
Block 2 - 180 Squat Touchdown
Block 3 - Side to Side Jump Squat Down
Block 4 - Ski Jumps
Block 5 - Knee Slappers

My issue with this workout is the no warm up. I already knew it was going to be that way. So I had my system in place on how I would approach this workout.
My Approach:
I use the first round of the first block as my warm up and I don't use weights. Then the second round of the first block I will use light weight. This is for the Ascent level.
Luckily Michelle, keeps the workout pretty even between these two rounds. I say that because many times she has you do the exercises on the right side for the first round and then the second round you repeat everything on the left. So because she work the sides pretty evenly, I didn't have to worry about being uneven.
However, what further annoyed me about the workout is that the Climb level in the first round has you doing a side Burpee followed by a plank lunge jump as your first group of moves. So I wasn't please, because I still didn't feel warmed up. At this point we are about 2 1/2 minutes into the workout.
Once I got past the first block. I felt better about the workout and give it -
3 1/2 stars.

Michelle Dozois More Cardio Interval Burn - Thoughts

Another winner from Michelle. I am really a fan of her cardio workouts. More Cardio Interval Burn clocks in at 60 minutes, and the time flew by for me. Michelle said something about it being the last block and I was like "really?".
There is a warm up, five Cardio Blocks consisting of two rounds each, and cool down.
Each round consist of a series of training levels. As you proceed through the levels the intensity and movements increase.
The levels are:
Base camp, Ascent, Climb and Peak.
Base camp is your recovery level. Ascent and Climb are where you increase the intensity. Climb is more intense than the Ascent. The most intense level is Peak. This level features a lot of plyo type movements.

The Peak Exercises:
Block 1 - Air Jacks
Block 2 - Jump Shots
Block 3 - Tuck Jumps to a Burpee
Block 4 - 180 Lunge Jumps
Block 5 - Quarter Eagle to Knee Slapper
There is a modifier showing less intense ways to do the Peak Exercises.

More Cardio Interval Burn follows the exact same pattern as Michelle's Cardio Interval Burn workout. I thought this workout was easier than Cardio Interval Burn. There is also more Kickboxing type moves in this workout.
The DVD is chapter so that you can select individuals blocks to do. Each block is about 10 minutes. The music and Michelle are both motivating.
Love the workout.
5 stars

Patrick Goudeau Lean Hot Body - Thoughts

Lean Hot Body is a 60 minute Patrick Goudeau Workout.
It is interval based - mixing cardio intervals with toning intervals.
The workout follows a similar format to some other Interval Style workouts I have.
You are essentially doing everything twice through. Once on the right and again on the left.
I believe there are five interval blocks for a total of 10 intervals.
I was going to break down each of the interval with each of the exercises perform but the workout is not chaptered - which is a big negative. So the next time I do the workout, I will try to take the time to write down what is what.

It is a shame that the workout is not chaptered or the main part of the workout is not chapter. You can select the cool down and the abs as separate chapter points. Anyway, as I was doing the workout, I was thinking it would be good to mix and match the sections - to design my own workout by shortening it or repeating some sections or simply just doing the intervals I like best.

This workout was challenging for me. Some of the moves I modified. There is a lot of getting down and up from the floor type moves. There are several moves that I really like. I like the roll backs and the step back lunges with clean and press. I also like the repeat side to side lunges and the twisting kickback moves. However, I could have done without the mountain climbers and the burpees. Even so, I think Patrick has a lot of variety in this workout.

Patrick stops to coach quite a bit. He spends quite a bit of time interacting with his Cast.
The music is pretty good. Patrick's energy is very high. Along with 2 pair of dumbbells, a mat is used.
If you add on the ab section, the workout clocks in at about 70 minutes. I didn't do the Ab workout.
4 stars

Cardio Coach Volume 6 - Thoughts

Cardio Coach Volume 6 is 58 minutes long. Your coach is Sean O'Malley and Sean takes you on a journey through several challenges and steady state intervals.
This workout recommends the use of a heart rate monitor. You use the heart rate monitor to keep track of which level you are working at.
The levels are:
Level 1 Blue - 55% to 65% of max heart rate
Level 2 Green - 65% to 75% of max heart rate
Level 3 Orange - 75% to 85% of max heart rate
Level 4 Red - Above 85%

The workout breaks down as follows:
warm up - 5:28, Level 1 to Level 2
Challenge 1 - 21:01, Four Level 3 to Level 4 hill climbs, followed by a 1 minute sprint, 2 minutes of rest
Steady State 1 - 3:37, Level 2
Challenge 2 - 9:47, Five Level 3 Sprints, Sprint for 1 minute, rest for 1 minute
Steady State 2 - 3:05, Level 2
Challenge 3 - 4:04, Level 2 Climb for 1 minute, Level 3 Climb for 2 minute, Level 4 climb for 1 minute
Cool down - 3:55, Level to Level 1
Stretch - 6:42

I like Cardio Coach Volume 6 because it has more sprints than some of the other Cardio Coach workouts. I also like the length of the workout. The soundtrack is great. The only tune that I didn't care for was the cool down tune.
4 stars

Jazzercise Latin Live - Thoughts

Latin Live by Jazzercise is 45 minute dance based workout. It stars Judi Sheppard Misset and Cheryl Burke as the instructors. It features a live percussionist and a circular stage surrounded by a ton of cast members. With the exception of the warm up and cool down, Judi and Cheryl take turns leading each of the dance segments.

The Breakdown of the main workout is:
Warm up - features both Judi & Cheryl
Dance 1 - Merengue with Cheryl
Dance 2 - Jazzercise Diva Dance with Judi
Dance 3 - Samba with Cheryl
Dance 4 - Jazzercise The Skip It Dance with Judi
Dance 5 - Jazzercise The Hip Core Dance with Judi
Dance 6 - Cha Cha with Cheryl
Dance 7 - Jive with Cheryl
Dance 8 - Jazzercise - Ball Change Dance with Judi
Dance 9 - Cha Cha with Cheryl
Dance 10 - Rhumba with Cheryl
Cool Down - features both Judi & Cheryl

Now, while the workout is chaptered, you can't select each segment as I have them listed. There is no menu for it. However, you can moved quickly from one segment to the next with your DVD chapter button. Also, I came up with the names for the Jazzercise Dance Segments to differentiate one dance from the other.
Each dance features a song that plays throughout the segment. I love, love, love the music in this workout. I felt the music had a lot of energy. It would have been great if they had a music only option with the workout All the dance segments were very easy to follow. There is repetition within each segment. You are probably doing about four to eight different mini combo moves per dance and then you just repeat those moves for the length of the song. Slight variations are added as you proceed through the dance. Each dance usually ends with a pose from Judi or Cheryl. You come to a complete stop before moving on to the next dance.

I liked this workout. I probably like Cheryl's sections a little more than Judi's. I remember thinking I wish they had an option that combined just all of Cheryl's dance segments.

Well I wish and I got. There are two bonus workouts on the DVD. One is a 20-minute Latin Ballroom Blast and this workout contains all the segments Cheryl lead by herself.
There is also a 10 Minute Latin Ab Blast that includes segments lead by Cheryl.
3 3/4 stars

Patrick Goudeau Body Design - Thoughts

Body Design is a long workout. I specifically schedule it for today because I knew that I would be off from work. It clocks in at 81 minutes, and I did all 81 minutes, and yes it felt that long.
The DVD is chaptered so you don't have to do the whole workout or rather you have options to jump round and do what you want.
The breakdown is:
Warm up
Design 1 - Lower Body
Design 2 - Chest and Back
Design 3 - Triceps and Biceps
Design 4 - More Legs & Shoulders
Design 5 Abs
Cool Down.

Now Patrick, tells you that you can pick and choose which sections to do, thus designing your own workout. I just think with the way he has it set up, it would be difficult to get a complete workout in.
This is an interval workout and many of the sections contain some type of impact move. Squat thrust and mountain climbers both show up. A lot of the impact moves comes from moving on and off the step. Along with a step, Patrick uses a body bar for sculpting and balance moves. For most of the workout, I used a body bar as well. There were a couple of exercises, where I swapped out the body bar for a dumbbell because I felt the length of the body bar was to long for some of the moves I was executing.

It is often mentioned how much Patrick uses the phrase "Oh My Gosh". Well in this workout he uses it a ton. I really picked up on that at the beginning of the workout but as I moved through the workout, I was no longer paying attention to that.

Patrick stops to coach and check on the other two cast members quite a bit.
This set has a blue back drop and lighted opaque columns . The music has that driving techno beat.
This workout was okay.
3 stars