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2010 is almost upon us. I am about to embark on a 3 1/2 month fitness rotation that will mostly featured the STS Weight Workouts and the Shock Cardio workouts. Normally I try to schedule my rotation for 1 month at a time only. This is mostly because I have so many workouts and I buy so many workouts, so I always have new workout to do. For 2010, I am going to try to limit my purchases of new workouts. I've organized the cardio portion of the rotation myself. For, the STS weights portion, I am taking that from Cathe's 3 1/2 month STS sample workout. Cathe is suppose to be coming out with a rotation that combines both but it is December 31 and she has yet to do so or post it. I wanted to compare what I came up with to the suggestion she would come up with. I officially start this 3 1/2 month rotation January 3rd and will finish up April 16th. Wow, that is such a long time.

Last workout for 2009 was Tracie Long's Back Up , the fourth workout from the Longevity series. Tracie keeps it consistent in that the workout is also right around the 50 minute mark, 52 minutes to be exact. Like Staying Power this too is mostly a interval style workout. The individual segments in this workout were long and the moves repeated a lot. The cardio segments were functional fitness/sports drill related (i.e soccer, tennis, baseball). The sculpting segments were compound in nature with many exercises working the small muscle groups. Tracie used light, medium and heavy weights for sculpting and she used the medicine ball in the cardio segments. Like the other three workouts, this workout also includes push ups and a core/abs segment. Overall I like this workout. I did think Tracie's face appeared out of focus almost throughout the whole workout. just very fuzzy. The music was good and fit the exercise that Tracie was performing. 3 1/2 out of 5 stars

Step Forward is a 50 minute plus step workout and it is Volume 3 in the Longevity series that features Tracie Long. Mmmmmm. Where do I start? My first impression is that found it highly repetitious and boring. The step patterns/combinations were very basic. So there was no learning curve at all. (this is not a negative) Tracie takes you through 5 step combinations with the step in the horizontal position and 3 step combinations with the step in the vertical position. As she went through each combination, she showed you varying levels that you could use. Step Forward really works the legs. There were several times throughout the workout I felt my legs fatigue. This is mostly a result of doing the moves over and over again which for me translated into boredom. Within the combinations, there were moves in the workout that I liked, but after the 10th time doing them, I was ready to move on. The last 10 minute of the workout, Tracie took you to the floor for tricep dips, pus

Coming in at around 52 minutes, Staying Power , the second workout from Tracie Long's Longevity series is an interval style workout. That is the first 30 minutes, after the warm up, is interval style. Then Tracie takes you to the floor for the last 15 minutes of the workout. This workout reminded me of TLT (Tracie Long Training) workouts. Although, I will say it didn't have as much functional fitness exercises as the previous series. This interval workout alternated cardio sets with sculpting sets. Many of the cardio sets used a medicine ball and the sculpting sets used light to medium weights. The only time you really needed to grab a heavy weight was during the one arm row exercise. My least favorite sections was the floor work section. This section was loosely divided into three sections, push ups/core, hips and stretch. In the push up section, Tracie takes you through a series of push up/plank exercises. The hip section consisted of doing long lever side hip raises

Finally, we have new workouts and a new series from Tracie Long. The series is called Longevity and the first workout in the series is called Defining Shape . Defining Shape is a 50 minute sculpting/weight and balance workout. I say balance because there were lots of balance moves used in this workout. The sculpting moves are a cross between traditional exercises and functional fitness exercises. Everything flowed really well and the exercise were completed right in tune with the music. The workout itself moved fast. Before I knew it, Tracie was saying let's stretch. Before that, you had a floor section in which you work the lower body doing traditional leg floor work. Prior to going down to the floor, you had as series of standing toning sections that work the legs (i.e. squats, dead lifts and lunges) and upper body (i.e shoulder presses, bicep curls, rows etc). There were also push ups. Tracie is phenomenal. She really has to be one of the top 5 video lead instructors out

I like dance workouts and own quite a few. One of the things I notice about dance workouts is that they can be highly repetitive and many "take it from the top" way too much. Dance with Julianne Cardio ballroom , a 43 minute workout was no different. And while I view the repetition in a negative context, I don't think this workout itself if bad. Julianne is very good. Her enthusiasm (some might say over the top) boils over and spills onto the screen. I think she makes if fun. You can tell she is really working hard. She also does mirroring cuing which is a big plus. The workout is broken down into a warm up, 3 combos, and a cool down. The combos feature dances of the cha cha, jive, and paso. I liked all three dances very much and the music that Julianne selected is upbeat and fits perfectly with each dance. I think my favorite dance is the paso. The only negative that I have for this workout is that it is repetitive. 3 1/2 out of 5 stars

Circuit Blast is a 44 minute workout that consist of six circuits. I really wanted to start off this review with something like "Circuit Blast, What a Blast?", but I thought it would sound corny. Even so, it does fit. The workout moves extremely fast and was over before I knew it. I love workouts that get in, does its job, and then gets out. All very efficient. I didn't expect that I would like this workout. This workout is part of Cathe's Shock Cardio series and at first I was disappointed that so much resistance work was included in the workout. However, the majority of the resistance work has a cardio influenced. Many of the moves are compound in nature so you are working upper body and lower body at the same time. The workout does use quite a bit of equipment -the Step (with four risers on each side), dumbbells, medicine ball, and a band. I like the music and the set is the same set Cathe used in the STS weight workouts. 4 1/2 out of 5 stars

Lean is the fourth workout from the WHFN FitPrime series. It is 43 minutes long and features Keli Roberts. I like Keli. My very first workout video with her was CherFitness. With WHFN, she felt force to me. Not bad, just not comfortable. She was however precise. She seemed to be bigger than the workout - if that makes sense. Lean is a fusion workout that is suppose to be more cardio. The cardio while cute leaves something to be desired. Even coming off a cold, I felt this workout was too easy. The workout does make up for it in music selection and set design. I don't expect I will be grabbing this workouts again unless I want a super light workout. It is not bad, I just want more. Between 2 1/2 and 3 stars. I can't quite decide. Probably 3.

WHFN FitPrime Pump is a 54 minute fusion workout that combines pilates, cardio, yoga and weights. The major emphasis in this workout is on weights. This workout is lead by Heidi Tanner and contains great music and a stunning set design. Pump, as well as several other workouts in this series are great Recovery type workouts. I am coming off of a cold; and I found that this workout didn't exert me too much, which is good when you are coming off a cold or want a light exercise day. This workouts keeps up the non-dominant training method. The cardio tunes were fun but brief. Nice workout - One that I will keep on hand for less intense days. 3 out of 5 stars

This is a Great Week for receiving new workouts. Yesterday I got Cathe's Shock Cardio Set plus Travel Fit - That is 10 workouts. I really don't plan on doing the Heavy Bonus Bag. And actually I am not planning on doing any of the Shock Cardio workouts until the new year. I am trying to determine where Circuit Blast is going to fit into the rotation. So far from previewing at least, I am looking forward to trying the new workouts. Today, my Longevity workouts from Tracie Long came in. I will preview those when I get home from work or sometime tomorrow.

Friday I caught a cold and today I am just getting over it. I really have to take my hat off to ZICAM. I do think that stuff works pretty well, although it is expensive. It really keeps the symptoms at bay as you go through your cold. So other than taking a couple of Aleve for aches, the ZICAM was all I took. Needless to say, today was the first day I have worked out since Thursday. As a result of being sick, I am altering this weeks workouts to the following schedule: Tuesday - WHFN FitPrime Pump Wedensday - WHFN FitPrime Lean Thursday - WHFN FitPrime Upper Body Burn Friday - WHFN FitPrime Lower Body Burn Saturday - Rest

This week's workout are mostly workouts that I have reviewed before. I didn't workout Sunday. I was supposed to do a Dance Body Beautiful workout but I spent most of Saturday walking the streets of New York, so I rested on Sunday. Monday was 30 Minutes To Fitness Weights . For some reason I am still sore in the leg area from doing this workout. Tuesday's Workout was Core Rhythms Secrets To Sexy Abs . I really like this workout. I think Janna Kunitz is fantastic. Today's workout was Core Rhythms Latin Cardio Jam . Short but good. When I first did this workout, I wasn't thrill but I had a good time doing it today. PreOrders So some of my PreOrders have come it. I got Dance With Julianne Cardio Ballroom and The PussyCat Dolls Workouts . I have only pre-viewed the PCD video and from the warmup I really thought I was going to like it. Then I watch routine/combination and realize that the same 32 count or maybe it is 64 counts is repeated over and over for a whole

FlexPosture is the second volume in WHFN FitPrime series. It is a 54 minute fusion workout lead by Tamela Hastie. The workout is fused with pilates, cardio, yoga, and weights. I found the pilates section to be the most challenging. There wasn't much intensity in the weights or cardio sections. The yoga sections was mostly used for stretching and balance. I think this would be a real good workout to use on active rest days or recovery days. Tamela does a good job in leading the workout. I particularly liked how she focus on breath work. The equipment used in the workout consist of step, light weights, dowel and yoga block. Tamela and the cast exercised barefoot but I wore shoes. The set is stunning and the music is very good. 3 out of 5 stars.

Zumba Fitness 20 Minutes Express Zumba Fitness Flat Abs - Approximately 18 minutes Zumba Cardio Party - About 50 minutes Zumba Sculpt and Tone - 45 minutes These four workouts are part of the Zumba Fitness Total Body Transformation System . Well I don't really think you are going to have a Transformation with these workouts but they are fun and the music is super cool with a great beat. My favorite of the bunch is Zumba Sculpt and Tone. I have reviewed this workout before. My next favorite is probably Flat Abs. All the ab work is standing and I really felt my obliques the next day after this workout. The Express Workout is fun too. I did like Cardio Party as well, although I found some of the tunes to be a bit gimmicky. The workouts are led by the creator, Beto and Tonya - one of the dance participants. I think Tonya is an outstanding instructor. The one negative with all of them is you do a lot of standing around in between the different tunes and sometimes within the tunes while

This review is of Kelly Coffey-Meyer's 30 Minutes To Fitness Muscle Definition Workout 1 only. The last time I did this workout, I did one of the full body pre-mixes and while I like the workout, I felt the pre-mix was disjointed. In workout 1, which clocks in at 41 minutes and NOT 30 minutes, Kelly takes you through several compound joint exercises where all the major muscle groups of the upper and lower body are worked. There were a couple of exercises that even worked the core. After the warm up, Kelly started with shoulders, she then inserted a leg exercise, next came biceps, and then a bicep leg exercise. After biceps, Kelly worked your back. In the back exercise, Kelly has you doing this one arm row catch type of move. I did one set with Kelly. Then I started following Lauren (the modifier) for the next set of these. During the third set, I modified once again, this time doing just a traditional 1 arm row. Something about this exercise, just wasn't clicking with me

Dancing with the Stars Alumni Lisa Rinna creates a workout series called Dance Body Beautiful. The Dance Body Beautiful series contain four workouts. One of the those workouts is titled Ballroom Learn & Burn . I thought this was the first workout in the series but the introduction to the workout cited it as being the second workout. This workout is a 66 minutes workout that takes you through a warm up, 4 dances, and a cool down. The dance sections are: - Super Rumba Burn - Fat-Free Hustle - Paso Doble Matador Burn - Quick Step Power Shred Within each dance section, Lisa first breaks down the step in a 8 count reps, then she walk you through the whole sequence, next you do the dance steps to a slow tempo, then a medium tempo, and then to a fast tempo. The fast tempo is done for a minute and 1/2. The only step I had a problem picking up were the steps in the Fat-Free Hustle and it i

In 2005 or maybe it was 2004, Anna Benson founder of the FIRM started a new venture called WHFN or Women's Health and Fitness Network. Within this venture she created and produced 12 workouts. The 12 workouts were broken up into two series each containing 6 DVD workouts. The two series are called FitPrime and Kick Butt!. The Kickbutt! workouts were a remake of her Original FitPrime workouts and the FitPrime workouts were made up of new material. Metaboost is Volume 1 in the FitPrime Series. It is a 49 workout that has elements of pilates, cardio, yoga, and weights - with the primary emphasis being weights. I like to call these workouts fusion workouts because of the way the different elements are blended together. These workouts and I have had them since they came out was for the most part the first time I was introduce to pilates and yoga. Since this time I have purchase several pilates workouts. The set - absolutely gorgeous. The visual impact is stunning. The music - ter

Amy Bento Kickbox Xtreme is approximately 70 minutes in length and features 5 kickbox combinations followed by 5 intensity drills. I have to say when I first did this workout - probably some two years ago now - I wasn't sure if I like it. It was a new kind of kickboxing and it moved fast. But this workout and Amy really grew on me and I am so glad that I stuck with learning her style because her workouts are a lot of fun. Kickbox Xtreme is one of her three cardio kickboxing workouts but unlike the other two, I feel this one is more drill oriented than combinations oriented. That is because within the combinations you are sometimes doing the same move/reps quite a few times. One of the things that Amy did when she started filming her other kickboxing workouts was she reduce the size of the cast. I like the smaller cast. In Kickbox Xtreme there were 4 cast members plus Amy (very busy). Music: Great Great Great. This workout has bonus section that uses a heavy bag, but I

Amy Bento's In The Ring is a 75 minute kickboxing workout. The workout has 4 cardio kickbox combinations. Each combination is followed by a medicine ball drill. Amy uses an 8lb med ball. I used a 4lb med ball. I loved loved loved the cardio kickbox combination, even though some combinations took me a couple of times through to pick up. I wasn't as crazy about the intensity drills using the med-ball. I thought some of the drills were repetitive. As usual, with Amy's workouts the music was outstanding. Amy always seems to find the right music that will get you pumped up. 4 stars out of 5

Amy Bento leads CIA's 2901 Kickbox Surge & Core Training . It is a 75 minute cardio and core workout, although I didn't do the Core Training section. I love Amy's Cardio Kickboxing and I think 2901 is her best of the three she has out. It is more combination oriented; and the combinations are done to great beat driven music. I know I am getting use to Amy and her cuing because I had no real trouble picking up any of the combinations. That wasn't always the case with Amy's choreography. In Kickbox Surge, there are 4 combinations followed by 4 surges. Surges are the intensity blast within this workout. The toughest of the surges were the pushup burpees. I had the most fun with the combinations. There is a real cool vibe with the moves that Amy uses. 4 1/2 out of 5 stars