Although I had tried Turbo Jam in the past, I had never tried Turbo Kick, so when I saw a used copy of this DVD, I picked it up. Instructor Chalene Johnson explains that this DVD is designed for Turbo Jam instructors--according to her, it means that the workouts are harder and more fun. In actuality, I think what it means is that the DVD has lower production values, and there is less consistency to the workouts--e.g., Chalene wants to show her instructors basic and more advanced moves, so she'll do the former on one side of the body and the latter on the other side.

There are three workouts on this DVD: Turbo 101, Round 28, and Round 29. Each is well-chaptered, so you can skip around if you choose. I've provided brief breakdowns below.

TURBO 101 (small group of instructors with one showing lower impact; Chalene describes this as a beginner workout)
*Warm-up--Very similar to the Cardio Party DVDs
*Punches--side jabs with abs; jabs front/move front, speed back
*Kicks--side push, front push, roundhouse, back push
*Turbo--about 1 minute
*Recovery--seemed more like Finale with jab-cross-jab-knee, adding row & wheel
*Capoeira-Jenga--focus on the legs with half-time kicks (<4 minutes)
*Cool-down--about 2.5 minutes

ROUND 28 (huge group in large conference room)
*Warm-up--about 5.5 minutes; similar to other workouts
*Punches--start with basics on one side, move to advanced on other (7 minutes total)
*Kicks--again go from basics to advanced; includes front and side push (7 minutes)
*Capoeira & Punches--same pattern of basic to advanced (7 minutes)
*Turbo--2 minutes
*Recovery--basic and advanced; includes turns with jacks
*Finale--about 4.5 minutes
*Finesse--slow grapevine and slow kicks
*Capoeira Legs--slow Jengas and kicks; brief stretches (4.5 minutes)
*Core and Crunches--3 minutes of abs work on the floor
*Tai Chi Cool-Down--2 minutes of floor stretches

ROUND 29 (small group of instructors)
*Warm-up--standard, about 5.5 minutes
*Punches--step-up and jab, twist with punch, move to advanced (7 minutes)
*Kicks--jab-jab-cross-uppercut, adding front kick, back kick, back hand, roundhouse (6.5 minutes)
*Punches & Kicks--jabs, front & back kicks, roundhouse, crescent kicks
*Turbo--2.5 minutes, with lots of jacks and jumps
*Recovery--VERY fast; I found this hard to follow (7 minutes)
*Finale--twist with up & down punch; front & back kick (5 minutes)
*Finesse--slow kicks and punches, including roundhouse & hitch kick (2 minutes)
*Legs--low horse stance; hamstring & quad stretches (3 minutes)
*Core & Crunches--3 minutes of abs work on the floor
*PiYo Cool-Down--Chalene calls this "traditional yoga"--she does a flow of postures including down dog, up dog, and warriors 1, 2, and 3 (3 minutes)

Chalene includes some interesting moves in these workouts; I especially liked the variety of kicks. Overall, however, I just find her frenetic style too hard to follow--I think she is difficult enough to follow in Turbo Jam, which is much more choreographed and polished, but these workouts were just too frustrating for me to do on a regular basis. I wound up trading this DVD.

Instructor Comments:
Chalene is fun and upbeat, but for me, she is just too over-the-top in personality and style.

Beth C (aka toaster)