HIIT 25 High from TurboFire
I’m feeling pretty good right about now. I finished HIIT 25 from TurboFire about ten minutes ago. This is one of the high intensity interval training workouts from Chalene Johnson’s latest release. If you are not sweating and out of breath during this workout, you just aren’t giving your full effort because it is designed to do both.
Like her other HIIT routines, Chalene takes you through all the moves of a “round” before the siren of the fire drill sounds. When the fire drill sounds, it’s one minute of full effort throughout the series of exercises. Then, you get one minute of rest to get a drink, dry off your sweat and get your breath back to normal before you repeat the sequence.
HIIT 25 consists of a warm up period, four rounds done twice, and a cool off period. Expect to do a lot of jumps, jacks, burpees, and high lows as well as high knee running, skiing, and side lunges. It felt like all the moves of Turbo Fire excluding kicks and punches.
Was it a challenge? I thought it was a mental challenge me because I wanted to give up a few times…you know, cut the minute short a little. I felt like I couldn’t do one more burpee. Then, we were done. Were we actually in cool down? Did that workout really go that fast?
That’s what I really like about the HIIT workouts. You focus so much on a short period of time. Then, you forget about it as you focus on a new set of exercises in another short block of time. Before you know it, you’re done. I feel a great sense of accomplishment after a HIIT workout, probably because I tried to push myself and refused to give up.
TurboFire HIIT workouts are easier for me than any other form of cardio. I tend to get bored with cardio if it is constant repetitive movements like walking on a treadmill or elliptical machine. I think that’s what was appealing about the cardio in P90X, too.
Although the cardio in P90X was somewhat limited in my opinion, Plyometric X, Cardio X, and Kenpo did mix it up and keep it fun. Ok, so maybe plyo wasn’t fun, but Kenpo makes up for it. And what about P90X Yoga X? Yeah, I think parts of that 92 minute power yoga workout could be considered cardio. It’s too bad P90X didn’t include a HIIT workout though. It makes me wonder what type of cardio we’ll find in p90xMC2 when the new PX90 is released.
My endorphines are on fire! I’m feeling good. I love those TurboFire HIIT workouts!
ChaLEAN Extreme Burn It Off!
At the completion of week 1 of ChaLEAN Extreme, you’ll be introduced to a cardio workout called Burn It Off! Although the workout is only about 30 minutes long, it is comparable to the Plyometrics workout in P90X. Yes! It’s intense and involves jumping. You’ll be breathing hard and your heart will be pumping. I was sweating more than I thought I would with a 30 minute cardio session.
Chalene Johnson shows us a different type of aerobic conditioning with moves far different from her Turbo Jam series. You won’t see one punch, cross, jab, wheel, or kick in this workout. It’s different from the Cardio X and Kenpo X moves that Tony Horton uses in P90X. What is similar is the use of high intensity interval training to get your heart rate up in a short time.
This fitness workout starts with a warm up followed by five back to back exercises approxiamately two minutes each. At the end of the five exercises, you get a one minute break to rest and hydrate. Then, you’ll be back on the floor for six more exercises and a cool down.
This was an intense workout for me. I tried to push myself because I want to get the most out of my workouts. Chalene has two women in her group who perform modified versions of each exercise to demonstrate how to decrease the intensity or impact of a particular move. She also talks to you throughout the video and reminds you to push yourself but only to your level.
The best part about this workout was getting to the end! I mean that in a good way. This was a challenging workout for me. I made it to the end, so I’m thrilled about that. I know that I’m burning fat. I know I’m boosting my metabolism. I know that I made it a little closer to my goals today. Keep pushing play! It works.
P90X Extreme Home Fitness Kenpo X: Loving the Stretch
I never get tired of P90X Extreme Home Fitness workouts. I just completed the P90X Kenpo X routine. It’s far easier for me than the first few times I did it – maybe even the first month or two that I kicked, punched, blocked and jabbed with Tony Horton.
Kenpo X is probably one of the most favored routines in P90X. Perhaps because it’s fun to focus all the day’s stress and aggression toward an imaginary opponent?
What I really appreciated about this 58 minute cardio session from Beachbody tonight was the warm up section. Although I know that sounds strange, the stretching to warm up your legs and lower back felt good.
Stretching and warming up your muscles is important in any workout. Kenpo X has a lot of kicks, punches, twists, and movements in all planes. Take the warm up session seriously.
Your muscles will appreciate the time you’ve taken to prepare them for an extreme workout. You’ll also be able to push yourself a little harder and maximize your cardio workout. Wow! I feel really good now.
I burned a lot of calories and probably a little fat. I also got a full body workout for strength and flexibility. I did something good to rev up my metabolism. It’s not hard to get fit and stay fit. All you have to do is find something you like doing and then, do it. Are you up for P90X?
Power 90 Sweat! Cardio 1-2
I wasn’t feeling well this past week, so I took it easy with my workout schedule. I tried to keep my eating fairly clean although I have to admit that I did enjoy an authentic Italian pizza with a few of my friends. I think it’s ok to back off from your exercise routine every once in a while and have a meal that isn’t as strict. What’s important is to remind yourself of the delicate balance between nutrition, food, and fuel for the body. If you have a day you don’t work out, adjust the amount of calories you’re eating that day to compensate for the reduced calorie expenditure.
I felt like doing something different today, so I pushed play on Tony Horton’s Power 90. Power 90 was produced by Beachbody prior to P90X and was the foundation used to design the P90X Etreme Home Training System. Power 90 consists of six workout routines – two cardio, two strength training, and two ab routines.
I started my workout with the Sweat 1-2 dvd. As you might’ve guessed by the name, it’s a cardio routine. The one and two refer to phase one and phase two of four phases in the Power 90 program. I think I like the three phase system (30 days for each phase) in the P90X program better than Power 90’s four phase system which relies on the participant to decide on when to move from one phase to the next. I’m more motivated by a program which has a beginning and end already set.
Sweat 1-2 is just under 36 minutes in length. I didn’t work up a lot of sweat, but the workout felt good as a transition back into working out after having a few days off. I think this program will be good for those new to exercise or those who need a slower pace due to weight or health. It’s an excellent preview to P90X.
Sweat 1-2 begins with stretching and then progresses to power yoga. The routine also pulls in some plyomtrics and kenpo karate. Tony uses a series of three exercises he calls a round. Once you go through the first round, you repeat the same exercises for a second round. After the second round, a new set of three exercises are introduced and repeated for a total of five exercise groupings.
This method allows you to feel the exercise the first time around and adjust your intensity up or down during the second round. It’s kind of nice knowing what’s coming in the second round, too. Tony uses this technique in his P90X program as well. Although P90X is a more intense exercise program (13 dvds & hour long workouts), Power 90 lays the foundation for the methodology and exercises.
I was familiar with front and side kicks, knee ups, punches, power yoga, and some of the other exercises in Power 90 because they were done in different variations in P90X. If you don’t know if you’re ready for P90X, you’re probably ready for Power 90. Try Power 90 for thee months. When you’re ready to go to the next level, P90X is your program.
I like mixing up different Beachbody workouts, and I like being able to tell you about these workouts because I’ve actually done them. I plan on doing all the Power 90 workouts and will write about them for you. Two last thoughts on Sweat 1-2…
I think this workout would be good for morning cardio. The stretching at the beginning and end is excellent. It’s only about 36 minutes long and gets your heart rate goind without putting you in overdrive. In other words, it will help me wake up while doing something good for my body.
My second thought is that it is such a good summary of P90X that it makes me want to do another round of P90X! Yes, that is in my future. I know I’m going to do another round of P90X because I just love that program. And, when I do press play on the X again, I just might do Power 90 on my rest day or on those occassional days when I need a less intense program. Click on Power 90 to learn more about what comes with this program and it’s 90 day money back guarantee.
Turbo Jam: Punch, Kick & Jam
Chalene’s style of keeping it fun and keeping your eyes off the clock held true in her 48 minute Punch, Kick & Jam workout in the Turbo Jam program. As the name suggests, this workout packs a lot of punches – jab, cross, hook, uppercut – kicks from all sides and lots of jamming to upbeat music.
I added the Beachbody weighted gloves with this workout to increase the intensity a little. It was enough (.75 pounds for each glove) to increase the intensity but still allow me to work aerobically without going to the point of exhaustion. You can certainly get a good workout without the weighted gloves though.
Now that the workout is over, I can really tell that I worked my abs. I can especially feel my upper abs and obliques. I was dripping with sweat at the end of the workout but felt energized and stretched out at the same time.
The hardest part of this workout for me was the cooling down period when we did a lot of capoeira. I think this will get easier for me as I learn the moves in this section better. What’s nice about the capoeira section is that your body is stretching after a lot of punching and kicking. P90X didn’t have any capoeira moves, so this is totally new to me.
I’m thinking about jumping back over to P90X Yoga X for a day just to see how that workout feels after doing all these Turbo Jam jabs and kicks. I’m guessing that it’s going to be a lot easier than when I was going through 90 days of P90X. I still have a few Turbo Jam workouts to enjoy before I do that. And, I’m expecting my new Tony Horton One on One workout to arrive this week. It’s so fun having variety in my exercising routine.
I always like to tell you when I see something new in a program that I like. Toward the end of the workout, Chalene had us to pull out a resistance band. I totally wasn’t expecting that. It reminded me of the toning portion of Slim in 6. I thought I’d see similar moves, but we only did three moves and they were all different from the one we did in Slim in 6. By the way, if you need resistance bands, you can get them from the Beachbody store or shop for gym stuff where I often do because of the quality, prices, and free shipping. (Update – This website is currently unavailable, so I removed the link. I should have it repaired soon.)
First, we used the band in conjunction with uppercut punches. Then, we used it to put resistance on on jabs in a side-lunge position. That was cook because I could really feel it working the anterior (front) shoulder muscle with each jab. The last thing we did with the band was a series of side kicks to work the outer thighs and glutes.
I don’t think I’ve ever used resistance bands to work my legs. I liked the way we formed a loop with one handle of the band to make a stirrup for the foot. I’ve worked out plenty using cables and ankle attachments. I’ve even used a fancy foot attachment with my Bowflex Revolution, but this simple technique was just as effective, more comfortable, and less expensive.
I’ve got two more workouts to move through in the Turbo Jam program before I repeat any of them. I still haven’t experienced Ab Jam or Booty Sculpt & Abs. You’ll see me going back to Yoga Booty Ballet on occassion as well. I’m mixing up a few programs right now to take a break from following just one trainer. When I reach my current weight goal, I think I’ll go back to P90X for 90 days or workout with Tony Horton for 90 days with Power 90.
What’s the difference in the programs I’m doing now vs. P90X and Power 90? I’m focusing primarily on cardio and toning right now. P90X and Power 90 put more emphasis on strength training. As I’ve said in previous articles, it’s important to define your current fitness goals and then, support your goals with appropriate fitness routines. What are your current fitness goals?
If you’d like free coaching, sign up for your free Beachbody account. My job as a coach is to help people define and reach their fitness goals through fitness programs such as P90X, Slim in 6, Turbo Jam, and Insanity. If you have a passion for fitness, you can sign up as a coach yourself and start your own business helping others get fit. As a bonus, you’ll save 25% on your Beachbody orders. Stay fit. Keep pressing play!
taking advantage of every opportunity to reach your fitness goals.
