This workout is a real sweatfest! The menu is nicely chaptered into the warm-up, three 20-minute circuit routines, cool-down, and bonus features. Bonus features are an interview with instructor Caroline Pearce and option to turn off narration (music only); this last option is nice if you don’t like voiceovers or don’t need cueing. Caroline is listed as a “former gladiator” – she says to use weights from 1 to 3 kilograms, which converts to roughly 2 ½ to 6 ½ pounds (I had to look it up!), and I used five pound weights. The workout breaks down as follows:

Warm-up: Chest presses, side arm reaches, hip circles, kickbacks (hamstring curls), side lunges, toe reaches, chair squats, calf streches, high knee marches, reverse crescent circles.

LEVEL ONE
Circuit One: Round one – squats, chest flies in bridge pose, crunches with weights.
Round two – squats with weights, chest flies in bridge pose, crunches with weights.
Burner (cardio burst) – side-to-side jumps

Circuit Two: Round one – good mornings with weights at shoulders (this was hard on my shoulders, so I kept the weights in front of me, lifting and lowering them as I bent forward and returned to standing), bent over flies, reverse crunches on the mat (I am NOT a fan of standing/floor/standing workout.)
Round two – good mornings with weights, bent over flies, reverse crunches on the mat
Burner – from seated position with weight in each hand, move arms back and forth in a sprinting motion. This was a great arm burner, for sure!

Circuit Three: Round one – plie squats, shoulder presses, side stretches with overhead weight (first one side, then the other)
Round two – plie squats while pushing weight forward away from body, shoulder presses, side stretch
Burner – squats with alternating side kicks

Circuit Four: Round one – side leg lifts, bicep curls with tricep extension, side plank dips. (The first time I did the bicep curls with tricep extensions, my triceps didn’t feel “worked”, so the second time I did the workout, I did biceps during round one and tricep kickbacks during round two.)
Round two – leg raises, biceps & triceps, side plank dips
Burner – “duck squats” (get into squat position and walk in place – REALLY felt this one!)

Note: Caroline pops in between circuits for a quick pep talk: "You can do it!" :-)

LEVEL TWO
Circuit One: Round one – lunge pulses, push-ups to side plank extensions, roll-ups with overhead reaches
Round two – lunges, pushups, roll-ups with weights
Burner – plyo jumps

Circuit Two: Round one – bridge position pelvic tucks, parallel arm raises, reverse crunches
Round two – bridge pelvic tucks while holding weights overhead, lateral arm raises, reverse curls
Burner – Sprinter arms with weights

Circuit Three: Round one – plie squat to releve (lifting onto toes for calf raises), standing chest flies, crunch with punches (holding weights while doing sit ups)
Round two – plie squat to calf raise with weights, chest flies, sit up crunches while punching with weights
Burner – alternating froggers (from plank, bring alternating feet feet forward and placing them on floor near shoulder)

Circuit Four: Round one – curtsey lunge dips (pulses), overhead tricep extension (French press), plank position with alternating arm lifts
Round two – curtsey lunge dip with bicep curl, overhead tricep extension, planks with arm raises
Burner – jumps

LEVEL THREE
Circuit One: Round one – front lunges, diagonal pushups, planks with knees to elbows
Round two – lunges with weights, diagonal pushups, planks with alternating knee tucks
Burner – burpees

Circuit Two: Round one – one-legged hip lifts from bridge position, superman swim, reverse crunch with legs to ceiling (pole vaulter abs)
Round two – one-legged hip lifts, superman swim with weights, pole vaulter ab crunches
Burner – punches with weights

Circuit Three: Round one – side lunge with weights pressed forward, arm circles with weights, star sit-ups (sit up while lifting one leg and reaching opposite arm to touch lifted foot)
Round two – side lunge with weights, arm circles with weights, star crunches
Burner – move from squat to knees, repeat (Jillian did a similar move called “prisoner squats” or something like that.)

Circuit Four: Round one – lunge with a kick while holding weights, plank crawl from hands to elbows and back, side plank with overhead arms holding weight
Round two – lunge with kick and weights, plank crawls, side plank with weight
Burner – plank jump to catcher squats

Cool down: Chest stretch, tricep stretch, forward fold, standing quad stretch, side lunge stretch, spinal twist, glute stretch, hamstring stretch. These stretches felt GREAT after the workout, and they were held for a good, long time.

Instructor Comments:
The pace of the workout, coupled with the voiceover (and the accent) reminded me a little of Sylwia Wiesenberg’s first Tonique workout. Caroline says “good stuff!” and “great stuff!’ a lot! Also, I normally enjoy outdoor workouts, but this one made me feel hot – there is lots of white sand, but no water and no shade.

Debbie J