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Showing posts from May, 2016

Tony Horton 22 Minute Hard Corps Disc 2 - Thoughts

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Disc 2 of 22 Minute Hard Corps contains the resistance workouts. The Main Menu has the following options : Cold Start Resistance 1 Resistance 2 Resistance 3 Bonus Workout  P90X3 The Warrior Subtitles The Cold Start workout on disc 2 is the same Cold Start workout that appears on disc 1. I forgot to mention the subtitles when reviewing Disc 1 but if you click on subtitles, you are given the following subtitle selections : Off English Spanish  The format is set pretty similar to the workouts on disc 1. When you select a workout, you get to choose your music setup and you get a list of what equipment you need. Tony also gives you your daily directive. Unlike the cardio workouts, the resistance workouts do contain a brief warm up that includes four exercises.  After the warm up, Tony and cast take you through a series of 5 moves for three rounds. The reps vary in each round and for each exercise. Before each exercise in round 1, Tony does have a cast member demo the exe

Tony Horton 22 Minute Hard Corps Disc 1 - Thoughts

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Disc 1 of the 22 Minute Hard Corps system contain the cardio and core workouts.  The Main Menu of the DVD gives you the following options: Program Intro Cold Start Cardio 1 Cardio 2 Cardio 3 Core 1 Core 2 Once you select a workout, you are then given music audio options which are: Normal Off Music and cues Cues Only After you select your audio option, Tony Gives a brief introduction to the workout telling you what equipment you need and he gives you a daily directive. The daily directive is your goal for the workout. There is not a warm up for any of the workouts. Tony will tell you if you need a warm up to do the Cold Start . Cold Start clocks in at just under 10 and 1/2 minutes.  In Cold Start, Tony and cast take you through several rounds of running in place followed by some type of dynamic stretching. All the cardio workouts follow essentially the same pattern. There are seven exercises that you do for three rounds. The first round, Tony has one of the cast m

Tony Horton 22 Minute Hard Corps System Introduction

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 Beachbody has a new system from Tony Horton. This system is called 22 Minute Hard Corps . It is based on the military approach to training.  The system gets its name in the fact that each of the main workouts are roughly 22 minutes. The workouts come on two DVDs.  Included in the kit is the Quick Start Mission Guide which is an 8 page mini-pamphlet that details four steps. The steps are:   - Step 1 Your Ration Plan   - Step 2 Your Transformation Tracker   - Step 3 Your PT Fit Test   - Step 4 Your Action Plan The pamphlet also contains a message from Tony.  The Nutrition Guide is 60 plus pages and includes meal ideas, recipes, and portion control guidelines that are based on the color coded portion control containers (i.e. green for veggies, red for proteins). There is an 8 week rotation calendar and a 7 day Hell week challenge rotation included with the system. I will review the workouts in a separate post but all the workout contain the Beachbody countdown time

Zumba Sentao - Review

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Zumba Sentao is led by Marcie Bienevedes  It  is 37 minutes long and uses a chair. The song tracks in the workout are: 1.        Electro Step 2.        Solito Y Sin Ti 3.        Respeta Pa’ Que Te Respeten 4.        West African Jungle 5.        Groove to the World 6.        Vem   Vem (Remix) 7.        Maconda The chair is used throughout and it is used for more than just a prop or something to sit on.       First you use the chair in a variety of positions and thus you move it around quite a bit.   As well as dancing around the chair, Marcie also has you use the chair for resistance.   You are using the chair to do triceps dip, push ups, shoulder row and core moves.  Marcie incorporates lunges and squats too. I like this workout. My problem was that my chair kept sliding. I work out on hard wood floor and any time a move would call for tapping the chair, my chair would slide. Along with Marcie there are two other cast members. One member does show

Zumba Target and Tone DVD - Review

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Target and Tone contains two 35 minute workouts. The DVD offers the Verbal Cues On and Verbal Cues Off options.  Verbal cuing is standard cuing. In other wise it is not narrated. The first workout is Shoulders/Back and it is led by Loretta.  Along with Loretta there are two other participants.  Loretta takes you through a series of tracks focusing on shoulder and back moves such as rows, rear flys, shoulder press, upright rows, and front raise.  Most of the toning is incorporated in the dance.  There were two tracks that contain some isolated exercises for the back in the form of rows and rear flys. The workout uses toning sticks and the sticks are used in all the tracks except for first, second, and last. Shoulder/Back Song Tracks 1.    Despierta 2.    Status Dance 3.    Ay Que Yo La Enamore 4.    Chica Practica 5.    Pasito A Paso 6.    Tanto 7.    Salsa Choque 8.    Konsey 9.    Color Del Amor Zumba toning workouts are usually not my favorite, but I like this one. 4 stars The

Zumba Toning 101 - Review

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Toning 101 is led by Jhon Gonzalez ad Loretta Bates. Toning 101 comes in two versions.  The first version is with Demo & Safety Tips On. If you choose this version then the workout is around 18 minutes.  The second version is with Demo & Safety Tips Off. If you choose this option, the workout is around 10 minutes.  In the Safety Tips On version, Jhon and Loretta breaks down each step adding safety tips. After each step is taught, music is added starting with a slow tempo.  The tempo increases as you do more reps.  Expect lots of starting and stopping as Jhon and Loretta demonstrate and have you practice each move. The steps that Jhon and Loretta demonstrate are: Front Step & Turn Machete Fly & Pull Triceps Side Travel Sleepy Leg Lunge and Crunch Torso Rotation You are using the Toning Sticks in Toning 101. The music that appears in Toning 101 shows up in both workouts of DVD-2 Target and Tone.

Zumba Tone Up System Introduction

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Zumba Tone Up contains six workouts that comes on four DVDs.  The system also includes 2.5 lb toning sticks. The six workouts are : Toning 101 Amazing Abs Target and Tone:  Shoulders/Back Target and Tone:  Biceps/Triceps Zumba Sentao 30 Minute Burn The Amazing Abs workout and the 30 Minute Burn workout are the same workouts that are a  part of the Incredible Results System.  So I will not review them here as I have reviewed them for the Incredible Results System.

Holly Perkins Baladea Calm - Thoughts

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Baladea Calm is a 24 minute meditation workout. For almost the whole 24 minutes, you are lying supine listening to Holly guide you through the meditation that is suppose to motivate and destress you.  This workout is for your mind. Towards the end of the workout, you return to the sitting position. I like the this workout but would have liked it to be shorter or maybe have the option to do one of two 12 minute workouts and then "play all" for 24 minutes. 3 & 3/4 stars

Holly Perkins Baladea Flow - Thoughts

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Baladea Flow blends tai chi and chi gong. You are finding your own way of moving while following Holly and crew as they more through a series of moves. The first part of the workout is performed standing. The workout starts out fairly stationary as your feet are grounded and you are moving your shoulders, arms and hips. Holly starts building combinations by introducing moves one by one. She then later combines the moves to a flowing combination. The second part of the workout is floor base and it follows a similar pattern as the standing in that Holly has you go through a series of moves that she later combines to create a flowing combination that you move through for several reps for a ground/floor combo. I enjoyed the stretching part of the workout. While the workout is called flow and parts of it contain flowing type moves, I didn’t think it really “flowed” that well. Seem to start and stop quite a bit, there was a lack of transition that created an abrupt feeling about the worko

Holly Perkins Baladea Slim - Thoughts

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Baladea Slim is a 40 minute cardio based workout. Holly leads you through two combinations that she combines at the end for one big combination. The moves are easy to follow. Holly teaches in a layered pattern. You do a move for a few reps before she adds on. There is an energy march that is your transition move. First sequence - Hop taps, side step, jumping jacks, twist with arm punch, quick jog with arm circle, Second sequence – jump rope, scissor jump, rockette, quick jog, step heel lift, squat, side kick, This workout was okay. A nice way to quick the heart rate up with simple moves. I thought it was slightly repetitive. I started to bored with the moves. There are water breaks throughout the workout.  The workout concludes with a 3 and ½ minute cool down. This workout was filmed indoors - looks like a living room or great room. 3 stars

Holly Perkins Baladea Yoga - Thoughts

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Baladea Yoga is a 45 minute workout. Like the Fusion workout, this workout also has an outdoor setting. The workouts starts with stretching, (runner stretch, plank, downward dog) and then goes into moving postures type exercises for the main workout. Holly starts building yoga combos or her version of the sun salutation by layering yoga poses.  The sun salutation (sals) series felt very long to me.  It starts off slow because Holly is holding moves for several breaths, not to mention you are repeating the move usually 2 to 4 reps before adding on. Mountain pose, forward bend, lunge back, plank, down dog, up dog, high lunge, warrior two, extended side angle are some of your sun sal moves. There was a standing posture series and this was a nice break from the sun sals. The standing sequence included tree pose, dancer pose, and standing straddle stretch. There was also a floor based stretch that included pigeon, child pose, seated v stretch and thread the needle. The workout co

Holly Perkins Baladea Fusion - Thoughts

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Baladea Fusion is a 47 min cardio yoga workout.  This workout uses a mat and the resistance tubing.  Yoga blocks are optional. The workout is performed from a variety of positions; lying,kneeling and standing. You start off on the floor and progress to standing exercises.   You are doing quite a few reps of the yoga poses and this is where the cardio comes in.  You also get a good stretch because you are holding certain poses as your transition into them or come out of them. The band is only used in the last part of the workout during the ab segment and only briefly to help you do a full sit ups.  The workout concludes with a floor based cool down. The Fusion workout was filmed outside and it has a pool side setting. The music was pretty up beat.  Holly gives you water breaks throughout. I like this workout. I think it is my favorite of the bunch. 4 & 1/4 stars

Holly Perkins Baladea Boost - Thoughts

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Baladea Boost is a high intensity interval training workout.  The workout is characterized by 40 second boost intervals, recovery transition moves, and  core moves, The workout starts off with a long warm up or multi-part warm up that  ended up being about 10 minutes long. The transition and recovery moves consist of step tap, energy march, low kicks and step knees. Between the boost and cross core moves are the transition recovery move. The boost/cross core move breaks down as follows: Boost 1 – Run in place with arm presses Boost 2 – Jumping Jacks Boost 3 – High Knee Runs Boost 4 – Jumping Spit Jumps Cross Core 1 – Plank Jacks Boost 5 – Alternating Push Kicks Cross Core 2 – Bridge Leg Switch Boost 6 – High Jump Cross Core 3 – Plank Tap overs Boost 7 – Squat Jump 180 Turn Cross Core 4 – Side Lying Plank dips lifts Boost 8 – Skater Jumps Cross Core 5 – Plank Knee Elbow Taps Boost 9 – Three Pulse Squat High Jump Cross Core 6 – Plank Hops Forward & Back Boost

Holly Perkins Baladea Power - Thoughts

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Baladea Power is a 50 minute workout that was design to build muscle. The workouts contains partner exercises that  you can do with a buddy. The workout uses a band with handles on the end and a mat. The workout contains two blocks. Each block includes two circuits. One circuit is strength based and one is time based. Each circuit contains five exercises that are performed once for the strength circuit and one for endurance circuit.  In the strength circuit you are doing 10 to 15 reps. In the endurance circuit you are doing as many reps as you can in either 30 or 60 seconds. The exercises in block one are: 1.       Power Squats 2.       Power Posture – double arm row 3.       Shoulder shaper – Overhead press 4.       Butt Lift 5.       Awesome arms – biceps curl The exercises in block two are : 1.       Courtesy row 2.       Triple toner – Overhead triceps press balance on one leg 3.       Core galore – wood chops 4.       Row 2.0 5.       Trouble zone double – bridge chest fly After

Holly Perkins Baladea Introduction

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Baladea is a fitness and wellness system created by Holly Perkins who is a celebrity trainer.  The system comes with a 36 page lifestyle guide, a 97 page nutrition guide, a progress schedule that features three rotations, and a DVD booklet that includes 8 DVDs.    Each of the guides are filled with colorful pictures and are of very good quality. One DVD serves as a introduction to the system and the other DVDs contains the seven workouts that make up the Baladea System. The introduction DVD is ten minutes long and is called "Hello". Each of of the other DVDs (I will review in later blog post) comes with the option to "play" or "play without music" Each of the workouts also contain a workout countdown timer and a segment timer.  Sometimes the segment timer is counting down the time and sometimes it is counting down reps. The workouts also have subtitles that briefly appear to tell you what you are doing. Along with Holly, there are three other cast

Karen Voight Sleek Essentials 2 - Thoughts

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Sleek Essentials by Karen Voight focuses on the three essentials of fitness: cardio, strength, and flexibility to deliver a “fit, firm, and flexible” body.  Karen calls it her triple effect training system.  It is a 3 in 1 program. In this system you have three main workouts, Sweat Effect, Strength Effect, and Sleek Effect.  All workouts are around 22 minutes. Sweat Effect is the cardio workout. Karen uses a fitness roller to warm up the body. She then takes you through a series of athletic, kickboxing inspired moves. The majority of the cardio workout is low impact.  Karen does include some high impact modifications.  However you can always follow the modifier who keeps the moves low impact.  The workout contains minimum choreography and it is easy to follow. It is not drill base. Karen teaches the move on one side and then have you repeat on the other side.  This workout is about getting your heart rate up.  The music was very uninspiring. Strength Effect is a weight based

Michael Olajide Jr Aero Power Round 1 - Review

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AeroPower Round 1 is described as a Women's Upper Body Workout.  It is lead by Michael Olijade Jr of AeroSpaceNY and the Aerobox System.  Aero Power clocks in at around 45 minutes and it is made up of rounds. As you complete a round, a 10 second countdown appears on the screens and counts down the last remaining seconds. The workout then fades out and a graphic reappears introducing the next round - telling you what you are going to do and what equipment that you need for that round. Before the next segment starts, another countdown (this time 3 seconds) appears to cue you to start performing. The workout alternates jump rope segments with sculpt segments. Throughout the segments Michael alters the tempo by slowing the move down and speeding the move up.  All the sculpt segments use light weights except for the triceps dip. Expect lots of reps. The segments require a lot of endurance.  I was definitely feeling the work in my shoulders and I was using one pound weights.  Th

May 2016 Monthly Rotation

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May 2016 Monthly Rotations is mostly about systems with a few one offs thrown in. The first system is Karen Voight's Sleek Essentials   workouts.   These consist of four 20 minute workouts. The second system is the Baladea System . There are a total of seven workouts in this system. The third system is Zumba's Tone It Up which includes four workouts. The fourth system is 22 Minute Hard Corps and there are eight workouts in the version of the system I have.