I have done many Turbo Jam videos in the past, including the entire basic set. More recently, I picked up Turbo Jam Punch, Kick & Jam, which I loved, and this video, CARDIO PARTY MIX 3. Unfortunately, although I loved Punch, Kick & Jam, I was more disappointed in this workout for the reasons described below.

As with all of the Turbo Jams, instructor Chalene Johnson is teaching live in front of a large class. Here they are located in a brick loft with windows, and although Mindy still modifies the impact, there aren't any exercisers featured on platforms like in the original Turbo Jam workouts. No equipment is required for this workout, although Johnson and several others are wearing weighted gloves to up the intensity. I have described each segment of the workout below, including approximately times.

Warm-Up (5.45 minutes)
All of Johnson's TJ warm-ups are basically the same, as she goes through side-to-side steps, practices the basic punches, and combines a hamstring stretch with a lat pull-down. I found this warm-up a bit more dancey than her others; I don't mind the dance elements of TJ, but what I didn't like here was that the dance bits seemed to be thrown in completely randomly.

Punches (6:35 minutes)
I really did like this segment at all, partly because it was all punching, no kicking, and partly because it seemed unnecessarily complicated. Johnson begins with an upper-jab combo (same arm) first to the front, then to the side. She then does the twist (which reappears MANY times in this workout!) and a triple jab to either side. After practicing this several times, she adds in an additional element which is confusing because it has a rotational aspect: it starts with uppers to the front, triple side, speed bag back, and then jabs down. Eventually, the entire sequence is repeated on the second side.

Punches & Kicks (6:40 minutes)
I liked the capoeira elements of this segment, but the pace felt much too frenetic to me, and the sequencing of the moves seemed awkward. Johnson starts with a march that she increases to the run with knee. Next is the twist (again!) which moves into jenga, followed quickly by a roundhouse/side knee combo (one of the awkward transitions). Adding on, Johnson performs front push kicks and the wheel to finish.

Core & Kicks (7:22 minutes)
This segment was VERY similar to the third cardo segment of the original TJ Cardio Party. One difference was the music which I liked much better on the original ("Momma Said Knock You Out"); in fact, I didn't really care for any of the music on this DVD, as it was bland and unrecognizable, at least to me. Like the original, this section starts with side speed bags into two upper cuts and then front knee/back kick. However, instead of knees to either side next, you'll do the row. The music then changes to the same music as the original, but instead of getting down into horse stance, you'll do four upper cuts, two knees to either side with double punches down, and then a run-run-run-run-run. Of course, everything is repeated to the second side.

Turbo (1.30 minutes)
This is a short burst of high energy cardio. Johnson uses moves that she has used in other workouts--e.g., jab-knee, jacks, leaps--plus some new moves (sort of a rocking horse?), but nothing is cued particularly well.

Cardio Recovery (7:05 minutes)
This section features a lot of twisting moves, which may be difficult for those exercising on carpet. It begins with speed bag into a turning upper cut, adding howzit with jab and then a elbow high-low. Next, there are fast jabs to either corner plus the twist (again), which feels very repetitive; plus, the choreography here again felt unnecessarily complicated to me.

Finale (4:30 minutes)
This is the final cardio burst. It includes two crosses, two uppercuts, and two knees followed by a back kick and a palm/elbow move. Again, the cueing was poor.

Cardio Cool-Down (2:16 minutes)
This brief segment is intended to slow down the heart rate. It actually felt sort of like a warm-up in that Johnson goes through slower versions of all of the punches plus a few kicks--e.g., low side kick, side roundhouse, and back push kick.

Finesse (4:44 minutes)
This really is a continuation of the cool-down with some "stylized" kicks and punches. There is a hitch kick front, back kick, hi-low side kick, and knee/crescent kick. It helps if you already know these moves, as Johnson provides almost zero instruction.

Tai Chi Cool-Down (3:25 minutes)
This final segment continues the cooling down process with some basic Tai Chi moves such as sinking chi, supporting heaven, cloud hands, and bow and arrow.

As noted, there were many things I didn't like about this workout. I didn't enjoy the music, which was too generic and pop-ish for my tastes. I found the choreography too fussy, especially with Johnson's poor cueing (she is not the best cuer, but I thought that she was worse than usual here). I found the moves themselves overly repetitive, and I missed doing kicks, as there are very few here. I still rated this DVD 3 stars because it is well-produced, and others who enjoy TJ in general may like it, but it was not for me.

Instructor Comments:
In general, I find Chalene over-the-top and can only take her in small doses. I also tend to think that she is a poor cuer, although I found her especially bad here, probably because the choreography was a bit trickier (at least for me) than in some of the other Turbo Jam workouts.

Beth C (aka toaster)