TurboFire
TurboFire is a high intensity interval training cardio program developed by Beachbody fitness trainer Chalene Johnson. Chalene Johnson is well-known for her previous Beachbody programs including Turbo Jam and ChaLean Extreme. She is a trainer who works on your confidence and motivation as much as she helps you get into the best shape of your life. In Turbo Fire, she promises you will burn up to 9X more fat than with traditional cardio such as treadmills.
Like all Beachbody programs, Turbo Fire is a complete program that includes a Fuel the Fire nutrition guide. In the guide, Chalene gives sound nutritional advice and recipes. She even includes substitution lists, her favorite Shakeology recipes, and training on how to read nutrition labels when you are at the grocery store.
The heart of the workout sessions or classes as Chalene calls them, are broken into three categories: Fire, HIIT, and Stretch. The program also had some strength training classes to tone and sculpt as well as work the abs, but this program is primarily designed for high intensity cardio. Because of this, it makes a great hybrid schedule with P90X and ChaLean Extreme. Unlike Insanity which is designed as a short term high intensity cardio program for sixty days, Turbo Fire may continue beyond the inital schedule without a break for the body to recover.
Turbo Fire is a combination of kickboxing and plyometric exercises set to modern upbeat music that was actually mixed by Chalene herself. The Fire classes are longer in duration than the HIIT classes. Chalene teaches a basic exercise sequence which is short in duration. You move onto the next set of moves before you have time to think you cannot do it or you get bored from the same movements.
There are also these tiny little segments when the music changes and you know you are about to push as hard as you can. It reminds me of the old “Jaws” movies – you know it is coming. Wham! The fire drill hits and you go as intense as you can, but only for a very short duration. These drills are in the Fire and HIIT classes. The difference is the HIIT classes are mostly fire drills while a Fire class might only have one.
The HIIT classes are “high intensity interval training” sessions which are much shorter in duration than the Fire classes. Would you believe one class is only 15 minutes? In HIIT classes, you push to your maximum performance. Chalene says you should be too tired to try to do any other exercise that day if you have done your job in the HIIT session.
In addition to the HIIT and Fire classes, Turbo Fire includes a daily stretch as well as a 40 minute weekly yoga and stretch combination class. Stretching is important in Turbo Fire due to the punching, kicking and jumping in the program.
Finally, Turbo Fire uses resistence bands in classes designed to tighten and tone both the upper and lower body. The program also had classes specific to the core and abs. The deluxe program has 17 workouts, five more than the basic program and a free tracking journal. The tracking journal helps you schedule and stick to workouts as well as plan and evaluate your nutrition.
Chalene Johnson is my favorite Beachbody fitness trainer. Turbo Fire is my favorite Beachbody workout. If you are competitive. If you were once an athlete or made it through a military, law enforcement, or other strenous training program, Turbo Fire just might be the fire you need to get back into shape – to get into the best shape of your life!
