ABOUT ME
I consider myself a “barely-advanced” exerciser. For instance, I can make it through workouts like Cathe’s HIITs or Cardio Core Circuit, but I pretty much feel like I’m going to keel over when I do them. I have been exercising with home videos for about 7 or 8 years, but only started doing advanced workouts about 2 years ago. Cathe Friedrich is my favorite instructor, but I am catholic in my tastes as long as the instructor has good form, decent cueing, and uses tolerable music.

EQUIPMENT NEEDED
2 sets of dumbbells: “light” and “medium.” I used 5’s and 8’s. Going heavier would have made it difficult for me to keep good form on some of the moves, due to the speed at which they are done.

SET
A brightly lit, large space (you can’t see the ceiling) with blonde wood floors, white walls, and very little ornamentation. There are 4 background exercisers – two male, two female.

MUSIC
Innocuous, upbeat tunes. Not as beat-intensive/hip-hop-ish as the stuff Amy Bento uses, but good.

WARM-UP
0:00- 5:30: Light floor aerobics such as jogging in place, crescent leg kicks, stepping side to side, arm circles, high kicks, rear lunges. Then pick up light weights to do squats with front kicks, bicep curls with shoulder presses, and a slow-motion burpee-type move where you step out one leg at a time instead of both.

CYCLE 1 (approx. 10 minutes)
5:30-7:45: Strength Segment A: Crouch-walk side to side while holding dumbbells; pulse squats with overhead presses; jumping jacks with weights (hold dumbbells, jump legs to “in” position while raising weights above your head, then jump legs into “out” position while bending to touch weights to the floor); triceps extensions with shoulder presses
7:45-9:00: Strength Segment B: Suitcase squat with bicep curl; kettlebell-style dumbbell swings; jumping jacks with weights (hold dumbbells, jump legs to “in” position while raising weights above your head, then jump legs into “out” position while bending to touch weights to the floor)
9:00-10:15: Cardio Interval #1: line taps; football run alternating with rapid drops into pushup-position; more line taps; more football runs/drop-pushups
10:15-13:00: Repeat Strength Segment A on the other side
13:00-14:15: Repeat Strength Segment B on the other side
14:15-15:30: Cardio Interval #2: Same as Cardio Interval #1

CYCLE 2 (approx. 10 minutes)
15:30-17:30: Strength Segment A: Rear lunges touching weights to floor; mountain climbers; rear lunges again; more mountain climbers; lunge combined with 1-arm rows
17.30-19:15: Strength Segment B: 3-part side-to-side lunges; double-arm rows; reverse curls; more 3-part side-to-side lunges; more double-arm rows; more reverse curls
19:15-20:30: Cardio Interval #1: High-knee jogging in place; drop and roll onto your back and then roll back up to a standing position and jump into the air
20:30-22:15: Repeat Strength Segment A on the other side
22:15-24:15: Repeat Strength Segment B on the other side
24:15-25:15: Cardio Interval #2: Same as Cardio Interval #1

CYCLE 3 (approx. 10 minutes)
25:15-28:00: Strength Segment A: Squat to place weights on floor, standup and jump in the air, squat back down to pick them up again; jumping bean (just jumping up and down while holding the weights); slow lunges keeping the same leg on ground and moving other leg first to the front for a forward lunge, then to the back for a reverse lunge; more squats alternated with jumps; more jumping bean; more slow lunges
28:00-29:15: Strength Segment B: One-legged burpee followed by two pushups and a brief side plank; bicep curls with an elbow lift at the top of the movement
29:15-30:15: Cardio Interval #1: toe taps, motorcycle kicks, shuffles, jumping split lunges
30:15-33:00: Repeat Strength Segment A on the other side
33:00-34:15: Repeat Strength Segment B on the other side
34:15-35:30: Cardio Interval #2: Repeat Cardio Interval #1 on the other side

CYCLE 4 (approx. 10 minutes)
35:30-37:50: Strength Segment A: Hold dumbbells close against your chest, twist left and right, then punch one arm upward; wide-legged squats with torso rotated toward one leg; more dumbbell twists with punch; more wide-legged squats with rotated torso
37:50-39:30: Strength Segment B: rear lunge with shoulder press, then jump into a plyo pushup and jump back up; squat to drop weights on the floor, then stand and shuffle feet twice, repeat; more rear lunge /shoulder press / plyo pushups
39:30-40:30: Cardio Interval #1 Jumping jacks; 8 tuck jumps; Jumping jacks; 8 tuck jumps
40:30-42:30: Repeat Strength Segment A on the other side
42:30-44:30: Repeat Strength Segment B on the other side
44:30-45:45: Cardio Interval #2: Same as Cardio Interval #1

CYCLE 5 (approx. 10 minutes)
45:45-48:30: Strength Segment A: Crab position with a press; triceps dips; lift one leg straight out, parallel to the floor, then kick it up toward the ceiling, then lower and bend at the knee, repeat; triceps extensions, lying on the floor; more crab position presses; more triceps dips; more crab-position leg lifts;
48:30-49:45: Strength Segment B: Turkish get-ups
49:45-50:45: Cardio Interval #1: Star jacks (squat to touch your fingertips to the ground, then do a flying jumping jack); half-burpees; more star jacks; more half-burpees
50:45-53:45: Repeat Strength Segment A on the other side
53:45-54:45: Repeat Strength Segment B on the other side
54:45-56:00: Cardio Interval #2: Same as Cardio Interval #1

COOL-DOWN / STRETCH (approx 4.5 minutes)
Standard stretches. Note that, when you finish the main workout, a menu comes up that gives you the option of doing the Cool-Down or the Bonus Abs segment. However, if you are at the main menu (the menu you see when you first pop-in the disc), the only options are for the Main Workout or the Bonus Abs (i.e. there is no way to get to the cool-down from the main menu).

BONUS ABS (approx 9.5 minutes)
Diagonal crunches while lifting opposite leg in air; same move, but with leg bent; fairly traditional sit-ups; same traditional sit-ups but with a torso twist at the top of the move; boat-pose type move where you repeatedly bend and straighten your legs; move where you sit with legs slightly bent out in front of you and then lift one leg at a time and pull it toward your chest while twisting your torso; a boat-pose type move where you flutter-kick your feet; reverse crunches; progressive planks, where you slowly move your hands farther and farther away from your feet

WHERE THIS WORKOUT FITS IN MY EXERCISE WORLD
Because of the speed at which some of the moves are performed, I have to use fairly light dumbbells when doing this workout in order to 1) keep good form, and 2) not tax my cardio system so much that I have to pause the DVD. This means that the weights are rarely heavy enough to truly tax my muscles, making this more of an AWT (aerobic weight training) workout, similar to a Firm workout but -- in my view -- much, much harder. I will be using this on days that I want a high calorie burn and solid cardio challenge, but do not want to do a lot of high impact (note: there are a few moves that would have to be modified for someone who truly cannot do any impact at all).

rickets