This is 10 Minute Solution DVD with just a variety of several exercise genres of 10 minutes each – all meant to keep your heart rate up and burn fat. I wasn’t originally inclined to purchase this workout given I’m not an Amy Bento fan, but I got it at a bargain so couldn’t refuse! I was hoping to use this DVD (one or two chapters) on days when I want to do something, but not sure what, and have found that this fits the bill. It’s basically good for people with exercise ADD. Since it dapples so much, it’s hard to categorize it, but it’s an overall good intermediate workout sampler. The music is upbeat and with generally two tunes in a 10 minute chapter and has a high production quality consistent of all 10MS workouts.

Like all 10 Minute Solution videos, there are five 10-minute sections that each have a specific focus with a very brief (~30 seconds) warm-up and cool down for each section. This video is broken into five parts:

Cardio Kickboxing: Like Lindsey said, this is fun and fresh. Amy has a lot of interesting twists on classic kickboxing moves. There are just several mini sets with punch and kick variations which you repeat several times on each side then move to the next set. The choreography is not complex at all. It has the intensity of a section of 10 Minute Solution Knockout Body – I would say this section is the most comparable to the Knockout Body Blast chapter in that DVD. Fun and easy to follow! I would say this is my favorite chapter! I used my 1# gloves to spice it up.

Fat Blasting Intervals: While it is an interval workout, the focus is on cardio. Amy leads you through a very brief strength set (think 30 seconds tops) then through a full minute of a cardio move. The strength work was multi-limb but seemed like just too much of nothing to get strength gains at all. She recommended specifically 5# bells but I found those to be too light. Next time I am going to try 8# or 10# and maybe it will be more challenging. Overall this chapter was okay but didn’t have a fantastic fun factor nor did it feel really effective. I would say this is my least favorite and I’m not likely to use it in the future.

Power Yoga: Amy promises to get and keep your heart rate up with this power yoga chapter - she specifically says that it is NOT a relaxing or restorative routine. All in all I agree with her, however I found the workout to be overall redundant. It is basically 10 minutes of vinyasas, with the second set (at about the 6 minute mark) adding brief warrior 1 and 2 and chair poses. However, it did get and keep the heart rate up. The music in this was especially good.

Belly Fat Burner: Amy begins with some creative standing ab exercises with light weights (I used an 8#, she used 5#), then on to the floor for several plank and crunch variations. This workout was fun and effective!

Lean Body Sculpt: Amy uses 5# and I felt that was appropriate. All compound moves which kept the heart rate up. It seemed somewhat shoulder intense but there was also work for the biceps and triceps, chest, rear deltoids, and plenty of leg work. This was primarily standing but there was some floor work at the end which included donkey kicks in table position and pushups. The combination moves did keep the heart rate up.

Like the majority of the other 10 Minute Solution workouts, this is solid Intermediate level and can be somewhat modified up or down to suit your needs. There is quite a bit of high intensity (in the interval and kickboxing sections) and Amy doesn’t give modifications, so would probably not be best for beginners. Which is in a way too bad since such a variety of little workouts would be great for a beginner to discover what kind of genre(s) they prefer. Advanced exercisers will likely bore of the quickie workouts but might be good for a light day. All in all I like it for what I mentioned earlier: a quick selection (mixed as I see fit, unlikely to ever do the DVD in its entirety) for days I just want to move but don’t have any focus nor the mental energy to think about what I want, but I would tend to prefer a more specific workout for heavier workout days (a classic Firm for AWT, a Turbo Jam for kickboxing, a Baron or Rodney Yee for yoga, or a true strength workout for instance). In a way this workout fills a “one stop shop / all in one variety mix” niche but I wouldn’t say it’s a must have, especially for those who already have an extensive DVD collection. Grade B.

Instructor Comments:
I was so disgusted with Amy’s kettlebell workout that I swore I would never buy her DVDs again. But seeing as how I got a bargain on this I decided I’d give her one more try. She is a fairly good cuer and instructor, nothing special yet nothing horrendously annoying. I enjoy her creativity, but some of the moves (in many of her videos) seem so creative that they’re awkward to execute, also, she tries to get so much done, that you end up doing a lot of nothing. I’m conflicted with her because I like the creativity and functionality of the moves, she “seems” like an instructor I would like for that reason (like Patrick Gordeau or Stephanie Vitorino) and yet I don’t seem to click with her personality or the way she leads. I tend to get a good workout with her, but don’t look forward to working out with her. I probably won’t buy her workouts again, but then again, never say never! I seem to like her 10MS workouts the best.

Emily B.