What follows is a brief description about The Anarchy Workout put out by Men’s Health/Rodale, information about the program lead, Andy Speer, and a breakdown of the phase 1 Cardio workout.

The Anarchy Workout is the latest offering from Men’s Health/Rodale. The workouts are led by Andy Speer who was the winner of the Men’s Health America’s Next Top Trainer contest/TV show. The set consists of 2 DVDs that are divided into Phase 1 and Phase 2. In each phase there are 3 workouts titled cardio, strength, and endurance. All workouts clock in at around 30 minutes so they are great for people with time constraints on their workout time. There is also a bonus DVD which has a 15 minute ab routine and a 15 minute flow routine. The program is 6 weeks long with 3 weeks spent doing phase 1 workouts 3x per week and another 3 weeks doing phase 2 workouts 3x per week.

Who is Andy Speer? Andy Speer is a certified strength and conditioning specialist who has spent the past 25 years in the fitness industry. He was a tier 3 trainer at the renowned Equinox gym in New York before opening up his own facility, SoHo Strength Lab. He participated in and won the Men’s Health America’s Next Top Trainer contest which led to him putting out this DVD workout system. He’s not a stranger to fitness DVDs as he has been a background exerciser in both Beachbody’s Focus T25 and Insanity Asylum. He’s also a fitness model and can be found in the pages of most fitness magazines (he’s hot!). Good looks aside, he’s a man who knows what he’s talking about and is a great lead for these workouts.

Now it’s on to the review of Anarchy Workout Phase 1 Cardio (27:08).

Main Menu: Cardio, Strength, Endurance, How Anarchy Works. Once you select your workout you’re sent to a sub-menu which lets you know what equipment you’ll need and you can select music on or off.

Setting, Music, & Background Exercisers: The setting reminds me of a cross between a loft and a gym. There are brick looking walls with large windows in the background. On the floor is a very large black mat. Around the edge of the set are various pieces of fitness equipment (bench, locker, weights, etc.). The music is instrumental with a rock/techno vibe. It gets louder and more pumped during the work periods and backs off in the rest periods. It didn’t really register for me which means that it’s probably fairly benign and unobtrusive. Andy is wearing longer shorts and a tank top. He does the workout with two background exercisers, one male (Graham) and one female (Christina) who is the modifier for the workout. Graham is wearing shorts and a tee shirt and Christina is wearing shorts, a sports bra, and another top over that. She shows modifications for most of the moves and sometimes forgets that she is the designated modifier for the workout.

Equipment: There is no equipment needed for this workout. I would suggest having a towel and water nearby as you will sweat during this workout.

The workout consists of a brief warm up, the body of the workout, and a VERY brief cool down/stretch. The main body of the workout consists of 6 exercises that make up a round. These exercises progress in intensity for two more rounds for a total for 3 rounds. The work to rest ratio changes with each round and will be detailed below.

Warm Up (3:00): twisting reverse lunges, front lunges with Y arms, caterpillar to plank/knee tucks, run in place.

Main Workout (23:00)

Round 1 (30 seconds work/10 seconds rest or transition): 1-2 jab w/ fast feet, sprint starter drill (right leg, then left) on Andy’s count, plank w/ shoulder fly, lateral fast feet, t-stand (right, then left), rotational slam, plank to burpee on Andy’s count. 40 second rest break.

Round 2 (40 seconds work/20 seconds rest or transition): 1-2 jab/pogo jump, sprint start (right leg, then left) max reps, plank up w/ shoulder fly, pogo jump w/ split lunge, alternating t-stand, rotational slam w/ split squat, donkey switch. 20 second rest break.

Round 3 (40 or 45 seconds work/15 seconds rest or transition): 1-2 jab/upper cut, sprint start w/ a jump (right leg, then left) max reps, plank up w/ shoulder fly + spider knee, pogo jump w/ a sprawl, alternating push up/t-stand with knee drive, rotational slam w/ plyo split squat, donkey switch w/ one legged burpee. 30 second rest.

Cool down/stretch (1:08): hip flexor/groin stretch.

Overall Impressions: Because of the progressive format of this workout, it started out a little slow and really built to a great end. While there was plenty of cardio, I liked the addition of the plank variations to work the core. The exercises were really varied and some of them were just downright fun! For me this workout is a winner! As done by Andy I would rate this workout as high intermediate. You’ll get a thorough workout and you won’t feel destroyed. You can make it more advanced by going faster and adding in the plyo elements in earlier rounds. Beginners can stick with the variations shown in the first round or follow the modifier although, as I mentioned earlier, sometimes she forgets she’s the modifier and is going all out. If I have one criticism, it is the lack of cool down and stretch at the end. The workout ends at just over 27 minutes. It would have been easy to add on an additional 3 minutes of stretches and still come in at around the 30 minute mark.

Instructor Comments:
Andy does a great job demoing the movements and instructing the workout. He seems at ease in front of the camera and has good camaraderie with the two background exercisers. His talk focuses on form, on pointing out modifications, offering encouragement and some occasional good natured ribbing of Graham, the male background exerciser. I enjoyed him as a trainer.

Sabine Reuter