Video Fitness

Kickbox Boot Camp

Kimberly Spreen

I am not one of those that do breakdowns, but I wanted to post my impressions of this workout. In a word-WOW.
You will need a body bar or dowel, very light dumbells or handweights( I use 16 oz soft weights) and a step.
This is a non stop interval workout with lots of fun and interesting moves. The step is used primarily for cardio drills in between boxing segments. Its all very doable choreography wise and Kimberly's cueing made it possible to do the workout the first time through would missing a beat. Although the drills do add power, its concentrated on the step onto the bench, not coming off the bench so its easier on my knees than many workouts. The kickboxing is really misnamed in a sense-its upper body punching and knee strikes rather than actual kicking, but its still a blast. There is one part where you use the bar to strike and block. It made me feel like Uma in "Kill Bill". Kimberly also includes those killer boot camps in the workout she does so well. I am always tempted to curse during these. Finally, you finish with some very interesting and effective core moves on the step and a stretch and balance cooldown. its a geat workout, full of energy and fun. I am spent after doing this one.!!

Instructor comments: Kimberly is a great instructor. She has lots of energy and I was able to follow her cuing without missing a beat.

Kathy

25/30/2005

57 minutes
DVD
The menu items are: Intro; Warm up to Kick Box Boot Camp; Core Training & Stretch; Bio & Content; Credits.

EQUIPMENT: Step, body bar, LIGHT dumbbells/handweights as you'll be punching with them(I used a 10” step and 3 kg/6½lb handweights as is my usual) and have them ready at the end of the step closest to the TV - the step is located with the small end to the TV and you stand behind it.

SET: Spartan but with a warm Asian feel. Kimberly is out front in yellow sports bra and long black pants, Dana & Shelby behind in all black.

MUSIC: Brisk techno-style with a strong beat to follow.

GENERAL COMMENTS: This has a little of everything for those days you don’t want TOO much of anything but still want a decent workout. I agree with Kathy that it is misnamed as the kickboxing parts don’t have any kicks and also that her cueing is impeccable so it’s easy to follow. There is no fancy step aerobics, no major weights work and the blasts won’t have you gasping for air – so no dread factor involved! It’s an all-rounder and does that job VERY well. You could have this for a long time and still happily reach for it. Here’s the breakdown:

Ch. 1 (00:00) = Intro

Ch. 2 (00:12) = WARMUP (~5 min)
Marching; step touches; toe taps & side lunges with various long arm movements; back stretch.

WORKOUT (~ 40 min)
Ch. 3 (04:59) = Cardio.
(1) Builds up from step touches to wide jogs with one foot alternating between the floor and the step.
(2) Bob & weaves whilst moving forwards & back straddling the step; jabs; and knee strikes.

Ch. 4 (08:03) = Cardio.
(1) & (2) combined.

Ch. 5 (09:34) = AWT with light hand weights.
Bob & weaves moving fore/back as before; jabs; crosses; knee strikes; torso twists in plie position; and squats.

Ch. 6 (12:25) = AWT with light hand weights.
Side shuffles; torso twists; bob & weaves; hook shots; upper cuts; and body shots.

Ch. 7 (14:38) = Cardio.
Squats with shoulder rolls; taps on the step in straddle position which move to double speed for a long set of leaps with a light touch on the step (here they chant “Won’t give up, NEVER give up!”)

Ch. 8 (15:53) = Quads & abs.
Side squats off the step; squat + shin block combo; slow version of same. Same again on the other side. Alternating squats then up-taps from one side which build to add propulsion (speed skating style). Same again other side. Then on continues to alternate sides with fewer reps. Single leg lunges onto the step alternating with fore/back shuffling jump rope; knee strikes onto step. Same other side. Continues on alt. sides with fewer reps.

Ch. 9 (22:25) = Punching drills & cardio.
March on top; straddle march; squats with shoulder rolls; squats with 2 quick alt. jabs; squats with shoulder rolls again; then a series of alternating punches (jabs; crosses; fast jabs; double jabs; speed bags; alt. crosses + double jab with a squat; hook, rib, & body shots). Then continuous speed bag with a pulsing squat; wide quick running which moves to a fast up/up down/down on the step; squats; squats with high reaches whilst moving forwards to pick up body bar.

Ch. 10 (26:31) = AWT with body bar.
Squats; step taps moving to back of step; side steps; wide toe taps whilst rotating bar b/w horiz.-vertical. This movement increases to a full strike with the bar, and legs forming a rear lunge. Step touches & knee repeater to do same on other side. Then side steps; march and move to side (and facing) the step.

Ch. 11 (29:04) = Quads & abs with body bar.
Left leg lunges onto the step; change to a 3-pulse; add torso twist on 2nd count; back to singles. March to repeat on the other side. March on top; move to stand straddling the step.

Ch. 12 (31:34) = Back, shoulders, & core with body bar.
Stand straddling step with bar overhead; then move it slowly from one side to the other (rainbow), then increase the pace. Squats with a shoulder press (going from the step to overhead); bent-over rows. **Single row, put bar down across step, walk feet back into plank for pushups, jack feet in & out twice, jump to squat position, repeat from ** several times. Alternate between reps of rows & standing front raises. Bar on step & walk back to plank; then several reps of (drop to knees, one pushup, back to plank); hold plank position; slowly lower body to lay down on step. Roll the bar off the end – you're done with it.

Ch. 13 (37:22) = Glutes & lower back.
Lying on step with legs wide; slow reps of (raise legs and bring heels together then drop wide to floor); hold up with heels together; reps of (bring heels to glutes with thighs off the step); reps of (hold legs bent and raise thighs); then pulses of same. Child’s pose stretch. Achilles stretch in low squat. Hamstring stretch in forward bend. Stand for slow shoulder rolls with increasing arm movement.

Ch. 14 (40:45) = Core.
Sit on step, right leg out to side, left bent in front with foot on floor. Hands at ears (as for crunches) and lean slowly to the left and up again. Several reps of those for obliques. Extend arms overhead and hold in the leaning position. Left hand down, right up and extend left leg for a T side plank. Sit on step for slow V-sits with bent legs, includes holds. Do the obliques on other side and another set of V-sits.

BALANCE POSES & STRETCHING
Ch. 15 (46:35) (~10 min)
Uses both yoga-style and standard stretching with balance poses for abs, hamstrings, hip flexors, hamstrings again, calf, neck, arms, and back.

Chapter 16 (56:50) = END CREDITS

Instructor comments: Kimberly has a very pleasant manner, offers constant encouragement and reminders of form. No false hooting, patronising tone or constant chatter. That is, there’s nothing about her to bug you! She’s young, fresh-faced (no heavy make-up) and slim & toned without being ripped & muscular. She's really likeable!

Helen

15th of September, 2005

This is basically a cardio sculpt/aerobic weight training workout which uses a step (placed in a vertical position), light hand weights (for punching), and a body bar (for strength moves). I don’t have a full step, so I substituted the bottom (blue) section of my Fanny Lifter. This worked fine, although next time, I think I would be better off using the shorter (purple) top section; I also think you could forgo the step entirely and do the workout on the floor, especially the cardio segments. I used an unweighted dowel for the body bar, but I don’t think this provided enough resistance (even though I was wearing my 1-lb. weighted gloves), so next time, I might try dumbbells instead.

The workout begins with a 5-minute basic warmup; instructor Kimberly Spreen spends a lot of time warming up your shoulders in particular since you’ll use these muscles a lot during the workout. Next comes 25 minutes of cardio sculpt. Kimberly uses the step to add intensity at times, but the impact is still fairly minimal. The simple choreography includes punches, bob-n-weaves, side steps, lunges, knee lifts, and a single knee-kick move. The cardio segment segues into about 10 minutes of more toning-specific moves using the bar, including a fun block move, squats, rows, planks/push-ups using the step, and lunges onto the step. Next is 8 minutes of core/abs work, mostly oblique moves while seated on the step with balance v-sits between each set. I was a bit disappointed in the core work, as I didn’t feel it was very intense, but I liked that Kimberly included some balance moves. Kimberly finishes the workout with a 9-minute segment that includes some nice lower body stretches (again using the step) and a Tai Chi-like cool-down, which brings the workout in at about 57 minutes total.

In general, I liked this workout, although there were a few disappointments. First of all, I wore my heart rate monitor the entire time, but it showed that I was only in my target zone for about 15 minutes, which was frustrating since I did feel like I was working hard. It’s possible that because this was my first time with the video and I was just learning the moves, this may have affected my HR, so I’m hoping that my time in zone numbers will improve. Also, as mentioned above, I didn’t feel that the core work was very intense, so I’d be inclined just to skip it in the future (luckily, the DVD is chaptered, so this would be easy to do). Finally, although Kimberly was a good instructor and cued well overall, there were times when she slipped up a bit—e.g., at one point she cued “upright row” when she meant “front raise.” She also has a tendency to be a bit goofy in her comments, although she does come across as very down-to-earth.

In summary, this is a solid cardio sculpt workout, and I’m hoping to get greater cardio intensity from it in the future.

Instructor comments: This was my first video with Kimberly, and I liked her, although she can be a bit goofy. She generally cues well using mirrored cueing, although she got it wrong when cueing from the side. She also occasionally misnamed moves as described above.

Beth C (aka toaster)

April 4, 2006



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