Last week I blogged about my new SparkPeople 28 Day Bootcamp video:
I’ve really enjoyed the video. I think this workout is great for beginners. Each exercise has three different levels and an instructor demonstrating each exercise. I’ve been “following” the boot camp plan but I’ve added on more workouts from the video or rocking my elliptical. If you’re a fitness newbie, a 22 minute workout (6 minute warm-up 12 minute workout, and 4 minute cool-down would be perfect but I am definitely not a fitness newbie (though I’m not quite in as badass shape as I used to be). What I really like about this workout video is all the different options:
- Warm-up (6 min): decent warm-up, I always do the warm-up
- Cardio burst (12 min): excellent for beginners. I always skip straight to doing the advanced move without doing the build up (for example: instead of tapping my feet to the side one at a time, then adding arms, then doing a jumping jack, I just do the jumping jack)
- Short cardio sculpt (12 min): roughly a minute of strength, a minute of cardio. This is a pretty awesome, short workout. Most of the strength moves incorporate squats and lunges so you are doing strength and cardio. My legs and shoulders get sore (in a good way) from this workout.
- Tone & Burn (20 min): this is my favorite workout. It’s different from other 20 minute workouts but it is incredibly challenging. Your shoulders will be screaming at the end of this workout.
- Total body challenge (30 min.): kettlebell inspired workout. I did this one using my kettlebell (for most of the workout) and you get an awesome workout. I’m a huge fan using kettlebells and 30 minutes is the perfect length for a kettlebell workout.
- Cool down (4 min): I don’t always do the cool-down but this one is a good cool-down without being boring. So I’ll do it when I have time (I know I shouldn’t skip cool-down but I’m bad).
Overall I highly recommend this workout DVD to any beginners or immediate level fitness buffs looking to spice up a workout routine. If you are an advanced exerciser, this DVD is not for you. Like most strength workouts, I also recommend using different weights. I mainly used five pound weights but could easily add a pound or two on some exercises. I do use my three pound weights for some of the shoulder exercises because my technique gets sloppy if I use the five. I switched between my ten pound kettlebell and five pound weights for the total body challenge. One of my favorite routines is to do the warm-up, cardio burst, short cardio sculpt, tone & burn, and cool-down (this is a pretty kickass workout). And yet I am still smiling after getting my ass kicked, does this mean I am a masochist?
Pre-bootcamp Post bootcamp
