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 (Turbo Jam: 5 Rockin' Workouts) and decided to go for it.

TURBO SCULPT is the strength-focused workout from this set. As with all of the other Turbo Jam workouts, instructor Chalene Johnson teaches in front of a large class. Her usual modifiers, Mindy and Anna-Rita, perform the routine without weights. The only equipment used is a single set of dumbbells (more than one set would be helpful, but Johnson does not allow time to switch weights) and a mat for the floorwork at the end.

This workout starts with an approximately 3-minute warm-up. Johnson does moves such as slow lunges to the side, and she does incorporate the weights here, including some overhead presses. She also briefly does a few dynamic stretches for the hip flexors and hamstrings. Keeping hold of the weights, Johnson moves into the first series, a lunge-focused sequence (7.5 minutes). She begins here by doing lunges with bicep curls, moves into lateral raises with leg abduction, curtsy with bicep curl, plie with lateral raise, and bicep curl with both rear leg curl and rear leg lift. She then repeats the entire sequence of moves on the second side, finishing with additional overhead presses. The second series (7 minutes) is a squat sequence. Johnson first cues narrow, medium, wide, and plie squats, taking these into pulses. Next, she performs triceps kickbacks, also adding pulses here. There are also bent over rows, additional plies with lateral raises, and additional lateral/front raises with one leg balance work.

The next standing series is 6.5 minutes long and involves traveling lunges. Johnson takes the lunges forward, back, and then performs a tapping version. After brief stretching the hamstrings, she alternates a one-arm row with a posterior delt row. There is some VERY brief standing core work with a single weight, including a move called "water toss" and then a row; finally, Johnson does a pulsing lunge to the center and to either side. Before moving to the floor, Johnson concludes the standing exercises with some inner thigh work (5 minutes). She starts with plies, adding in variations and an overhead press. The last move is a single leg squat variation. With 7.5 minutes left, Johnson moves to the floor. There is a short (1.5 minutes) sequence of chest flies followed by about 3 minutes of abs work (plank, side crunches). Johnson concludes with a quick 2-minute stretch, bringing in the total time for the workout at just under 40 minutes.

This was a decent routine that did start getting my heart rate up a bit towards the end of the standing work. I did think that it over-emphasized the shoulders--there are A LOT of shoulder presses! I would have liked to have seen a bit more focus on the glutes/hamstrings. Another negative was not being able to switch to different weights for different exercises (if you want to do this, you're probably going to have to pause the DVD). In the end, if you are looking for a relatively short, full-body strength routine using light weights, this might be a good option.

Instructor Comments:
Chalene has a lot of enthusiasm, but I find her a bit corny and over-the-top. I can take her in small doses, but she does annoy me after awhile.

Beth C (aka toaster)