This has already been well reviewed, so I’m just going to add my opinions. This is one of the add on Turbo Jam workouts, produced by Beachbody with Chalene Johnson as the lead. The set is a little different from the originals, brighter and the cast is all on the floor (instead of some of them on raised platforms), and the music included smaller snippets of what was in some of the originals. I recognized most of the backgrounders from the original Turbo Jams.

This workout is entirely made up of turbos! There are four real (all out energy) turbos, preceded by four prep turbos at a lower intensity, to learn the moves, sandwiched between a longish warm up and longish cool down, totaling 30 minutes. Therefore pretty much the whole workout was sports drills (fast feet, plyos, jump rope, very fast punches while jumping, repeaters, etc.) and not really kickboxing. In fact I don’t think there were any kicks whatsoever in this workout. I agree with Kath’s comment that you don’t really need to use weighted gloves here, because it’s less kickboxing and more high intensity sports drills. (I like to use the gloves for the other Turbo Jam workouts to intensity the punches, but I think gloves here would just be extra weight on the joints). Even Chalene says to only use this workout for “special occasions” and that it’s not meant for everyday use, due to the intensity. She does remind you to keep at your own level and to modify if necessary. The prep turbo and full out turbos alternated made this a tough interval workout.

Having done other Turbo Jams (with my favorites being 20 Minute Workout and Cardio Party 1) I was familiar with most of the moves and kept up quickly. I would say it is not too complex (especially with the practice round of each turbo) but would be better if you were familiar with Chalene’s style, to get the most out of the workout. This was very well done! It was super fun and because of the short and constantly changing turbos, the time seriously flew by. I will definitely be doing this workout regularly. High production quality and super fun music. I would rate it intermediate as is, but like with any of the Turbo Jams, can be modified up or down depending on how much energy you put into it. Grade A!

Instructor Comments:
I really like Chalene a lot from both Turbo Jam and CLX (I plan to get Turbo Fire someday). She is definitely playful and pans for the camera, but she still keeps you up with the quickly moving exercises by mirror cuing. She’s both encouraging and friendly but not too chatty or otherwise annoying (whooping, etc.) which is awesome.

Emily B.