Just as a side note, on the DVD I have the title is Kick Box Boot Camp! (yes, with the space between kick and box and the exclamation point).

I’m reviewing this workout after doing it once.

This has already been broken down well, so I’ll just add a few thoughts about my experience with this video.

I used my 15 lb. body bar, which was fine, if maybe a little light, for legs and back but too heavy for me for shoulders. I also used 3 lb. dumbbells, and that was good. (I don’t have a lighter body bar, or I would have used it, and I don’t even have a broom or mop handle or dowel hanging around.) 2-5 lbs. is truly best for the one pair of dumbbells you’ll use, unless you have strong, healthy shoulders and are used to punching with weights, at which point you could go up to maybe 8 lbs. If like me you go heavier than maybe advisable, at least the first few times through, I’d recommend not doing this in conjunction with other activities stressful on the shoulders, though; doing this after ShovelMax can make for cranky shoulder joints.
I used my full-sized club step with 1 set of risers, which is what Kimberly and crew use. I agree that you don’t really need a full-sized or even the home-sized step and could use the equivalent of a Fanny Lifter or high step for this, especially if you don’t have tons of room in your workout space.
Kimberly and company arrange their step vertically. You’ll need just enough space in front of your step to place the body bar and dumbbells, but you’ll need enough space behind it to come into a plank. You’ll need quite a bit of space to each side to lunge onto the step, although if you are starting to feel the space squeeze you can stay on the same side for that series. You’ll probably want to be able to hop onto your step from both sides, but if you’re really tight on room you could probably find a way to do that also all on one side, flipping to the back instead of shuffling behind the step.

I’d consider this an intermediate / advanced workout. Experienced intermediates can find ways to make this appropriate for them as needed, while those crossing over into low advanced will find this adequately challenging, assuming they’re not looking for a killer workout. Because Kimberly doesn’t do tons of reps but moves at a fast pace (sometimes too fast for my tastes), it’s hard to go very heavy and really sink your teeth into form (which is what I like to do to increase intensity), so I could see an upper limit of how hard I could make this. I consider myself an int./adv., and I felt this was at the right level for me to feel worked out without feeling wiped out.

Kimberly several times describes this as a cross-training video, and I think that’s a good way to categorize it. Not only would it be a nice one to throw into a kickboxing rotation (maybe in place of the sculpting videos in the Turbo Jam or Turbo Kick series), but it also makes a nice change from your typical gym-style home video (meaning the ones that go through the body parts systematically). If you do this regularly, however, I’d make sure that you felt you had worked your back, especially the rear delts, sufficiently as Kimberly ends up spending a lot of time working the front delts (somewhat unintentionally, I think, as the body bar limits her choice of exercises).

There are reasons why I should like this video: First, I’ve always liked Kimberly as an instructor; she has a “girl next door who teaches at the local gym” quality which appeals to me. Second, I much prefer to train movements (a la The New Rules of Lifting, kettlebells, and preparatory Olympic lift work) over muscles, and the exercises here fall more into the former category over the latter. Third, I like kickboxing, and I’m one of those who, if forced to choose, would rather punch more than kick more, although even I missed having some kicks in here. Fourth, I like warm-ups with dynamic stretches and related movements to get the blood flowing and get the body comfortable with the range of motion, even if I felt this warm-up could have had a little more variety for the lower body and core. Fifth, I like total body weights workouts that keep my heartrate up. My current goals revolve around weight loss and control, and I find these types of workouts work best for me in working toward those goals. Sixth, I’m not the biggest fan of really high rep stuff - I can certainly use endurance training, as endurance does not come easily to me, but I prefer not to have to do 72 reps – and the rep count here seems perfectly reasonable to me. Seventh, I like that Kimberly trains some explosiveness and power here with some (gentle) plyos and that she includes some balance training.

And yet there are reasons why this didn’t click with me. I’m not the biggest fan of cardio and weights circuits, although this isn’t quite as clearly structured as such. And while we’re on the subject of picky personal preferences, I also prefer to work my lower body with more weight; really only the lunge series onto the step is done with any significant weight, assuming you’re using a weighted body bar. Now, that doesn’t mean I didn’t feel anything in my lower body the next day, just that I was left feeling I needed more for it. More importantly is that my body walked away not entirely convinced this was as good for it as Kimberly claimed. Some of the exercises in the second part of the video didn’t feel entirely comfortable to me. Push-ups and plank jacks with hands on a body bar plopped on top of a step made me nervous, as I could just see the bar rolling out and me flat on my face if I lost focus for a millisecond. Lying prone on the step and raising one’s legs behind was hard on my lower back, which is extra sensitive these days for several reasons. I already mentioned the shoulder achiness, although that wasn’t entirely Kimberly’s fault since I was the one who didn’t have a lighter body bar and who decided to do this on a snow day. Also, as much as like Kimberly, I wanted her to be more direct with her cuing and encouragement here; I don’t like people shouting and demanding things at me (“Don’t be a quitter and wimp out on me; give me one more NOW!”), but Kimberly was almost too polite (“Could I ask you to give me one more?”). Just tell me to do one more!

This kind of sort of reminded me of Tracie Long’s Longevity and Focus series, particularly Longevity’s Staying Power and Focus’ KickBack, which both incorporate kickboxing moves, including some where you hold weights while doing them. I prefer Tracie’s take on this, I think. But if you’re really looking for a kickboxing “boot camp” with a real punch and some kicks, check out Ilaria Montagnani’s Atletica by Powerstrike, which I think is one of the better recent releases out there, even if it’s quite challenging. Actually, if you missed the kicking here and wanted to alternate Kimberly’s workout with something that has more kicks, Ilaria’s Bodystrikes (1 and/or 2) might be just the thing.
If you were hoping for more kickboxing moves on the step, you might want to look into Kelly Coffey-Meyer’s Step Kickboxing videos (she has two), although they’re cardio-focused. (The first one has a separate strength segment which isn’t particularly kickboxing-related.)
If you were looking for a circuit where you alternate cardio kickboxing with segments of weight training, take a look at Janis Saffell and Guillermo Gomez’s Hardcore Kickbox Circuit.
If you like the portion where Kimberly does blocks and strikes with the body bar, check out her CIA 2705: Absolute Kick-Boxing and CIA 2904: Cardio Combat Surge, where she has longer segments devoted to just that.

KathAL79