Ilaria Montagnani Powerstrike 4 - Thoughts

Powerstrike 4 is a 57 minute kickboxing workout that adds karate type elements to the kickboxing moves.
Ilaria takes time to introduce you to her workout by going over what to expect and the type of moves (punches and kicks) you will be doing.
This isn't really part of the workout and you can easily fast forward through it. I mention it because I think it is very informative and reminds you about form and instructs you on how to perform the elements she will be doing in the workout.

The workout starts with a warm up that includes push ups. I actually did the push ups this time. She then moves into left-side drills - or you can call it practice if you want to - of the various punches and kicks. This section requires a lot of endurance because there are a lot of reps. I didn't count them but we are easily doing anywhere from 16 to 32 reps per punch/kick.

After the warm up, Ilaria teaches routine one and routine two on the right side.
Then we go back to drills on the right side and she concludes the workout with routine 1 and routine 2 taught on the left side. A cool down follows.

This workout is a good muscle conditioning workout and it requires endurance. You really have to build up to it to be able to do the number of reps. It wasn't that I couldn't handled the workout cardio wise but my muscles were fatiguing before the completion of the sets. So my kicks that started out chest level, were knee level by the end of the set and a couple of times I just had to take a break.
While, there is a lot of repetition in the workout, I wasn't bored with the repetition.

What I like about this workout arre the karate moves. They add interest and variety - just a little twist.
Ilaria is one of those instructors who likes to instruct. She is calm and precise; and I found her cuing easy to follow.

The music. I don't know who Ilaria gets to do her music. It is different from other workouts - more of a world beat type vibe and I like it. There are even vocals in a few of the tunes.

Solid workout and great for practicing your kickbox moves.
3 1/2 stars.

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