Austin Ultimate Fat Burner

[Guest guest]

In time crunch mode again today so this will be quick. First, thank you all for the birthday wishes! The day got better by evening especially and ended well. Today is a very good day so far too.

Anyway, last night, as I watched Biggest Loser, I reorganized all my workout videos. I had piles and boxes waiting to be organized and I finally got it done. I feel so much better! I was able to pull out a few I don't do and especially found a bunch I haven't tried yet or haven't done in so long I don't remember doing them and got a new rotation idea. I still need to organize it but I think the rest of this week and maybe moving forward, I'm going to try to do a workout from a different category of workouts each day. Today turned out to be circuit. Tomorrow could be pilates, ball, yoga, medicine ball, etc. I'm going to make a list of all the different types of workouts I have and then pick a category each day, then pick a workout from that category, with an emphasis on getting through a lot of virgins.

Anyway, today I decided to try a I have on VHS that apparently I've done before (just once I think) but it was over a year ago and I didn't remember it. I picked it staring at the shelf and when I went to log it, I saw I'd already done it. Here's what I wrote in October 2008:

Excellent! Cardio & strength intervals. Cardio is athletic, no combos. Each has 3 levels that build in intensity and are done several times. Cardio intervals are sports-themed. Strength intervals are multi-muscle involvement. Strongly intermediate level. Fun, effective workout!

I agree with all that today except that given I'm still rebuilding my endurance, I found it more strong intermediate - low advanced. You do 2 1/2 minutes of cardio, then 1 1/2 minutes of strength. Each cardio segment is sports-themed and you do 3 variations (3 levels) of one exercise, then a very short walk in place and breathe deeply, then go right into another exercise that also builds into 3 intensity levels then you do strength then right into the next cardio interval. It uses a step for both cardio and strength intervals. There are 4 backgrounders (3 women and a man I think) but no modifiers. You start each cardio interval at level 1 then intensity builds to level 3 and you can stay at 1 or 2 if you want. I went to level 3 for all the intervals and found them very cardio challenging on the 3rd level especially. I was also using a step with 2 risers (so 8"), like they were. I probably should have gone lower since my heart rate was frequently in the high 160s and even low 170s but I made it through the whole thing anyway.

Level 1 is usually low impact and by level 3 you're often doing plyometrics, including jumping on and off the step and doing jumping scissor squats (I have no idea what the real name is) on the floor. The strength training emphasizes upper body and she seems to hit most of the major muscle areas with probably 2 intervals for triceps. She does an upper body move by itself, then a brief break (just a few seconds) then usually does an upper body/lower body combination move. Some also work on balance. The workout ends with core training for a few minutes doing plank and plank variations on the step and then a stretch. The warmup was very interesting and varied too and I think it is the first warmup I've ever done that had pushups (off the step) as part of it but it was right at the end, before the first cardio interval and it seemed fine. I really had fun doing this. only said "burn butter" once or twice and "I'm so proud of you" probably 4 or 5 times. It was a 45 minute workout so they weren't too much! 's cueing was okay in this. I'd recommend watching the screen during the later intervals because she doesn't always cue to the next intensity level but the moves are so simple and athletic that her lack of cueing isn't a big deal. She seemed calm and focused and not like a Barbie on helium, which was my first impression of her a few years ago! I have this on VHS and liked it so well that I will look for it on DVD, if it is available (it is from 2001). I should also add that gives very little in the way of instruction for any of the moves so I don't recommend this for beginners. The cardio is tough too so they'd want to stay at level 1 or 2. After she starts the strength moves she'll often walk around and discuss proper form but there isn't a lot of help there. She does do a short intro at the beginning of the workout that gives tips and hints about the workout (especially the intensity levels) but you are expected to know how to use a step and how to do the exercises.

Gotta run to work, will try to reply to messages later!!