When I was first starting out with kickboxing, I enjoyed Turbo Jam Cardio Party, but as I became more experienced, I moved on to other things. However, I recently had the opportunity to re-acquire a used copy of the Turbo Jam set and decided to go for it. I definitely liked the idea of the Turbo Cardio 20 Minute Workout, as I'm often adding on cardio to my other fitness activities.

As usual, instructor Chalene Johnson is teaching in front of a large class, with Mindy and Anna-Rita showing modifications. The 3-minute Warm-Up segment is VERY similar to Turbo Jam Cardio Party--i.e., Johnson introduces the punch and cross punches, plus she does a dynamic stretch combo which includes speedbags, arm circles, and a hamstring stretch. The first combination segment is 3.5 minutes. Although the combos are fun, I found Johnson's cuing to be quite poor here, especially where she includes some moves not covered in the Learn & Burn DVD. The sequence starts with front-corner uppercut, front-corner hook, add a pump with jab, and then a high-low elbow. Johnson calls the next segment (4 minutes) the "party train." It starts with jab-cross-speedbags, then adds in a back kick-front knee.

Next is the "Turbo," a short (1.5 minute) higher energy, higher impact sequence (Mindy and Anna-Rita keep it low impact). The moves here include football drills, high jogs, and low blocks. For the 4-minute dance recovery, Johnson begins with uppercuts, moving into quick jab-crosses. She then adds a jab-knee-back kick, repeating the entire series on both sides. The 2-minute final stretch starts by going through some slow punches and then moves through a few quick stretches, including a hamstring stretches and side angle and triangle pose from yoga.

At first I was a bit disappointed in this routine, as it seemed SO similar to Cardio Party, yet with poor cuing. However, the combos are fun and different, and I loved the dance recovery music ("The Roof is on Fire"). So, in the end, I did find this to be a fun, enjoyable workout that I probably will do again when I am short on time.

Instructor Comments:
Chalene certainly has plenty of energy! I can take her in small doses, but she has a BIG personality that tends to get to me after awhile.

Beth C (aka toaster)