I am a high intermediate exerciser (I work out 6-7 days per week) who is relatively new to kettlebells. I really liked the first Kettlebell Way workout (“The Kettlebell Way to Your Perfect Body, Vol. 1, ‘A New Providence’”), so I was happy to have the opportunity to try this one as well. The DVD features Anthony Diluglio, a certified kettlebell trainer who is founder of Punch gyms and Art of Strength, and Beth Chamberlin, an actress and self-described kettlebell enthusiast. In their Intro, Beth explains that Vol. 1 was meant to be a bridge to Anthony’s more advanced DVD, Newport; instead, with this DVD, they have offered viewers another more advanced option. Some of the exercises included can be performed with two kettlebells; either Anthony or Beth will show the more advanced variation, depending on who is leading that particular segment.

This is actually a 2-DVD set. I’m going to list Disc 2 first, as this is one that includes the Joint Mobility warm-up:
*Manmaker
*Manmaker 2x
*Manmaker 3x
*Joint Mobility

The joint mobility is actually the same footage which appears in Vol. 1. The section in the first volume was obviously cut, however, as it is only 5 minutes long, and here the segment is 9.5 minutes. I really appreciated the extra time, as this the additional moves included are excellent. Anthony leads and begins with a triple plane neck warm-up, followed by a very thorough shoulder segment including shoulder rolls with flexion/extension, shoulder rotation (the Egyptian, and several other shoulder stretches not included in Vol. 1. In addition to a hip flexor stretch, other moves for the lower body include a frog stretch on the floor and then both upward and downward facing dog from yoga.

Also on Disc 2 is the Manmaker series. The Manmaker is basically an advanced bonus round that you have the option of repeating several times. It consists of 3 sets of exercises, each performed for 2 minutes with 30 seconds of active rest (moving from upward dog to downward dog) in-between each set. The Manmaker exercises are as follows:
*Manmaker: combo of renegade row and squat thrust to double clean & press (2 kettlebells)
*Swings: combo of 2-arm, 1-arm, and alternating
*Crush Curls: full triple crush, bicep curls, and tricep extensions

Disc 1 contains the main Empire State workout. It is filmed on an elevated outdoor patio with portions of the NYC skyline visible in the background. As with Vol. 1, Anthony and Beth take turns leading the various segments. The Main Menu for Disc 1 is below, with my brief comments appearing in parenthesis:
*Introduction (2.5min; Anthony & Beth explain the 3min round format—each round consists of an upper body exercise, a lower body exercise, and a core more—and the option of using 2 kettlebells)
*Workout (40 minutes total, with quick transitions within rounds)
*Workout Shuffle (consists of the warm-up and random segments)
*Workout Select (allows the user to select individual rounds)
*Bonus Round (2min high pull/snatch with both Anthony & Beth followed by an additional 2min of snatches with just Anthony)
*Links (links to Anthony & Beth’s web sites)

The breakdown of exercises is listed in the DVD insert. I have copied this list here, adding a few of my own notes.
*WARM-UP: Mountain Climbers/Russian Twist/Chest Presses
*Swings/Half Get-up/Suitcase Row
*Lunge Cocktail (lunge with rotation)/Side Plank/Super Plank (a.k.a. spider plank)
*Squats/Bottom Windmill/Crush Curls
*One leg Dead Lift to a Row/Janda Sit-up (no kettlebell)/Tricep extension
*Overhead Lunge/Figure 8 to a Hold/Clean and Press
*Suitcase Dead Lift/Punch Matrix (plank with foot lowering to opposite side)/Side Snatches
*Hand-to-Hand Sumo Deadlifts or Plié to Relevé/Pull Over to Get-up Sit-up/Hot Potato
*Super Burpee/Banana Rolls/Tricep Push-up

Overall, I really enjoyed this workout. I liked working the core in every round, and I liked the inclusion of some unique moves, from the Figure 8 to Hold (which I liked in Vol. 1 as well) to Side Snatches, which were new to me here. I also appreciated the variety of options that this DVD has to offer; I don’t yet have 2 kettlebells of the same size, so I mostly followed the less advanced options, but it’s great to know that I could grow with this DVD as I advance in my kettlebell work. Definitely recommended for those who enjoyed Vol. 1 and feel ready to move on to a greater challenge.

My only minor complaints? I do agree with Kath that it really doesn't make sense for this set to have 2 DVDs; since the Manmaker is only 8.5 minutes and the Joint Mobility is 9.5 minutes, the entire second disc was thrown in for a total of 18 minutes. Also, I don't understand why so many kettlebell DVDs fail to include cool-down stretches--I would have loved to have seen a short stretch segment here, although you could certainly use the Joint Mobility segment for this purpose as well.

Instructor Comments:
I understand that some people prefer Anthony as an instructor on his own. I can't comment on this, as I haven't yet tried any of his other AOS workouts, but I can say that I really like the interaction between Anthony & Beth. I find that I can relate to Beth--not only do we have the same name (!), but she is almost exactly my age (I'm 43; she said in Vol. 1 that she is 44), and I like the idea of being in my best shape ever at this age, just like her. :)

One thing to note: Anthony and Beth do not mirror cue. I have learned how to cope with this in yoga, but again, being relatively new to kettlebells, it would have helped me a lot if they had--oh well. ;)

Beth C (aka toaster)