Killer Full Body Workout with Five Pound Weights
I just finished a forty five minute interval workout that alternataed about every two minutes between strength endurance exercises and cardio drills. Did I say cardio drills? Did I say interval training? Yup…I worked out with Chalene Johnson again. She is my favorite Beachbody trainer because her training style makes me push for my best.
The workout I just finished was Burn Intervals from ChaLean Extreme. If you have done any of Chalene’s workout programs, you will feel comfortable doing any of them because although one program might stress one area more than another, all Chalene’s program thread in common exercises such as boxing moves.
Turbo Jam is an earlier program which I would classify primarily as cardio for weight loss. It is a good starter program and fun to do with a friend or two. ChaLean Extreme is a strength training program designed to build muscle, tone, and shed fat. It has plenty of cardio but the focus is on lifting weights (or buidling muscle with bands).
ChaLean Extreme is my pick for an overall balanced workout program for women. I like the fact that most of the workouts are around 35 minutes. I also like the fact that the workout schedule is only for five days. That seems to fit into busy schedules a little easier than some of the stepped up programs like P90X and Turbo Fire.
Unlike ChaLean Extreme, Turbo Fire focuses on cardio. The workout times vary from fifteen minutes to sixty minutes. Interval training is used to raise your metabolism and burn the maximum amounat of calories.
So, I am working a hybrid program right now. I am pulling together workouts from Turbo Fire and ChaLean Extreme. Later, I plan on pulling out some P90X moves again. Afterall, both Tony Horton and Chalene Johnson teach us to mix it up.
I think that is a good philosophy. It has been several months since I last did ChaLean Extreme Burn Intervals. It was a challenging workout for me. I feel both tired and energized now.
The toughest part about combining ChaLean Extreme and Turbo Fire is the constant work on my lower body. This is an area that I want to improve though so I push myself like I have a drill sergeant behind me. I love Beachbody home fitness workout programs. It is part of my healthy lifestyle now.
TurboFire – What to Expect in the Beginning
I am in my seventh week of TurboFire, but I wanted to back up just a bit to talk about what to expect when you start TurboFire. First, you will need to read everything that comes with the program and watch the first dvd. This will give you a good overview of what to expect as you progress through the program.
Ok, where do you start? It depends upon your current fitness goals. There are four workout schedules available: Prep, 20 Week TurboFire schedule, TurboFire and ChaLean Extreme Hybrid schedule, and the Inferno Plan.
Watch a couple of “new to class” workouts to help decide where to begin. The 5 day Inferno Plan is designed to kickstart your TurboFire program, but it is hard from the start in my opinion since you are seeing these workouts for the first time. I started with the Inferno Plan and managed to make it through. If you want to start here, just be prepared to work and willing to step back for a little while if needed.
If you are not a ChaLean Extreme graduate, you probably will not want to do the hybrid program even if you have the ChaLean program. Focus on one program at a time and then, combine them for maintenance and variety.
On to the basic 20 week TurboFire workout schedule…you might find that the workouts are difficult in the beginning. You are not familiar with the sequence of moves. You may feel behind. You may feel frustrated because everyone on dvd seems to get it perfect. Trust me, no one gets it perfect in the beginning.
That is one of the beautiful things about work at home fitness dvds and Beachbody workouts – you do not have to get it perfect. No one is watching. You can modify as needed to fit your current fitness level. If you try to modify and still feel uncomfortable, try the Prep schedule. The Prep schedule focuses on just a few classes. The routine of performing the workouts for a while will help build your confidence and skill level.
Always remember that you can learn new things. Have fun with your TurboFire workouts. If you feel discouraged, find a workout buddy or talk to your coach. You can also get a lot of support online at Team Beachbody. You can get a free account with or without a Beachbody program. I highly encourage getting an account so you can take advantage of the chat rooms, calorie calculators, etc. It is free, so why not?
TurboFire Day 17 Results and Review
Hi again! This is day 17 of my TurboFire program. It is week three, and today is my “rest” day. I guess this is actually week four if I include the 5 Day Inferno Plan week. Anyway, time is flying by because I abosolutely love doing the Turbo Fire workouts. This is one of the best Beachbody home fitness dvd workout programs, yet!
I knew TurboFire would be good because of how much I loved Chalene Johnson’s training methods in ChaLean Extreme. She is a “turbo” charged trainer who’s personal mission is to coach other people to live fuller lives.
The Fire 45EZ program this week was a totally different routine from the Fire 45. The only thing “easy” about this routine if anything is it does not have any fire drills. It is an invigorating cardio program that is non-stop from beginning to end. My heart rate was high and stayed that way. In a six second count, I was counting twenty beats. That is high for me.
By the end of the full routine, my legs were extremely fatigued. I could tell my intensity was decreasing because I was running out of juice. I had maxed out. Hmmm. Have I ever done this in a workout?
Tuesday’s class was another new routine. It was a HIIT 25 which sounded overwhelming to me when I say it on my workout schedule. The HIIT 15 is challenging. The HIIT 20 was just five more minutes, but something about twenty-five minutes just sounded impossible to me. Guess what? It is not as intimidating once you show up for class and just keep doing what Chalene asks you to do.
I think one of the successful things Chalene does is she changes the moves enough to forego boredom. You do not have time to realize you are tired. The breaks are frequent and just long enough to recover. Before you know it, you are in another fire drill and then, another break. Twenty-five minutes of HIIT seems much shorter than twenty-ve minutes on the elliptical.
Chalene always has encouraging words whether you are listening to her during class, following her on Twitter or Facebook, or reading a snipet in the TurboFire Tracker. The tip she talked about at the end of HIIT 25 was about the importance of wearing good shoes.
I workout in running shoes right now, but I want to get a good pair of cross-trainers. I think I would do better with a pair of court sport shoes (like those made for basketball, volleyball, or tennis) with all the plyometric jumping and quick lateral movements in TurboFire.
I do find that using floor mats helps absorb the shock of jumping. Before I used mats, doing knee lifts made my left knee hurt. I think it was because of the stress of the lateral movement. Anyway, it has been my experience that foam floor mats are a great investment whether you are doing TurboFire, Insanity, or P90X Plyometrics.
If you already have TurboFire, I would love to hear your progress on Twitter. Look me up. My screen name in Twitter is JustGetMeFit. By the way, if you are doing TurboFire but you have not signed up for your Free Beachbody account, yet what are you waiting for? There really are some cool fitness calculators as well as fitness and nutrition tips. Let’s get healthy together. Order TurboFire if you want to get started on this awesome program. And, sign up for your Free Beachbody account if you already have Turbo Fire or another Beachbody program.
Turbo Fire vs. P90X Home Fitness Training Workout Review
So, Turbo Fire is coming and you are caught between lure of a cardio intense home workout program and the challenge of P90X. I cannot guide you one way or another because you are the one who will ultimately have to decide what fitness goals have a higher priority for you and which program will help get you there. My goal in this post is to help you compare Chalene Johnson’s new Turbo Fire program with Tony Horton’s P90X.
P90X is primarily a strength training program designed for athletes. Although modifications can be done with most of the exercises, you will get the most out of P90X if you actually take the fit test and pass it before taking on the grueling routine of boot camp style fitness training.
P90X has a lot of push ups and pull ups. You will do a variety of each one of them and develop a love/hate relationship with them over the course of 90 days. Ab Ripper X and Yoga X are probably the two most talked about workouts.
Ab Ripper X is a challenging ab routine while P90X Yoga X is a 92 minute power yoga workout. Both of these workouts are difficult to complete even as you near your 90 day mark. Is it the suttle challenge of finishing that keeps you motivated to keep pushing play day after day? Afterall, each workout is about 55 minutes in length and you are working out six days per week.
P90X is divided into three possible combinations. Most people choose the classic version and then, wonder why they did not lose a lot of weight. The “doubles” version follows the classic version but adds more cardio. The “lean” version on the other hand, takes out some of the strength training workouts and replaces them with more cardio. If you are doing P90X and want to lose weight, I recommend doing either the doubles or lean version. The added cardio will help you lose weight.
If you are trying to lose weight for the summer, I think you will find your fastest results with a cardio intensive program such as Turbo Fire. Turbo Fire will be released on June 18th. I plan on starting the program myself on the first Monday after I receive it which will probably be the last week in June or first week in July.
Strength training builds muscle and muscle burns more calories. Unfortunately, it is a slow process. If you want to see faster results as far as weight loss, cardio is essential. (Your nutrition plan is also critical, but that is another conversation.)
When a person lifts weights, muscle tissue is damaged. The body tries to protect the muscle from further damage and to help it repair by surrounding the damaged tissue with fluid. This is a necessary process that may actually cause you to gain a little weight when you first start lifting. So many people get discouraged and say a program is not working because they do not understand the process their body is undergoing.
When you feel discouraged, don’t give up. Please use the Beachbody message boards and take advantage of the free coaching and fitness tools that are available to you. Remember that as you change, your goals may change.
I am currently working out with ChaLean Extreme and absolutely love the program. I have cuts in my arms and shoulders now. I can see ab muscles. My legs are not where I would like them yet, but I am even starting to see muscle definition there. Now, it is time for me to lean down. To peel off a layer and see what is hiding underneath that last layer of stubborn fat that seems to stay with me no matter what I do.
I am looking forward to Chalene’s High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). I know it will feel like boot camp or athletic drills. I hear some of the classes are only about twelve minutes long. I also understand that this type of training is actually nine times more effective than traditional cardio workouts.
I know I will struggle to get through each workout but completely elated when I do. I know more positive changes are around the corner for me. I am ready for a cardio intensive workout program for the summer. What about you? I can hardly wait to write my reviews as I work through my first Turbo Fire program.
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Get Ready to Get Lean! Turbo Fire is Approaching…
You are starting to hear whispers of a new Beachbody workout program called Turbo Fire. It is a twelve week intensive cardio program put together by Chalene Johnson, creator of both Turbo Jam and ChaLean Extreme. You guys know how much I love ChaLean Extreme. I am counting the days until Turbo Fire is released.
Turbo Fire is officially scheduled for release on June 18, 2010. In the meantime, I plan on writing a series of articles to tell you as much as I can about the program before actually being able to write about my own experiences.
What are my thoughts so far? I am excited. Turbo Fire focuses on cardio. It incorporates the science of HIIT (high intensity interval training). P90X had limited cardio. It focused primarily on military style strength training. Insanity was on the extreme side as far as cardio. I thought it was a bit too much cardio for me. Turbo Fire is less intense than Insanity from what I understand but will deliver Chalene’s mix of music, fun and cardio drills.
I love the ChaLean Extreme workouts. One of my favorite workouts is the Extreme Intervals dvd which is one of the upgrade workouts. The basic ChaLean Extreme program comes with two cardio workouts. Over time, I think you start looking for a change. That is one of the reasons I am so excited about Turbo Fire. I will have a whole lot more of Chalene’s cardio training.
As you know, I would not choose Turbo Jam as my favorite program to do over and over again. The reason for this is because of the dance moves. My workout focus is lost on trying to keep up with choreography. From what I understand, Turbo Fire is not a dancy program. The similarity with Turbo Jam is probably in the DJ flair of Chalene. New music, mixes made just for Turbo Fire, keep your mind off exercising and on having fun while you are taking care of your body.
For the Turbo Fire program, Chalene used a live cardio class. She mixed her own music and put the camera in the front of the class. This means we will have a front and center perspective of the class just as if we were actually right there with her.
Again, Turbo Fire is scheduled for release on June 18, 2010. I plan on beginning my journey on July 1st. Will you join me? Keep checking back for more information on TurboFire. This could end up being one of the best home fitness workout videos ever made!
