Crunch: Boot Camp Training

Sue Hitzman
Year Released: 1999

Categories: Circuit Training (cardio and weights)


I’m reviewing this workout after doing it a number of times since getting it at least 1 ½ years ago; I just did it today after not using it for several months.

General workout breakdown: This aerobic weight training-type workout begins with a 5 minute warm up consisting of step taps, lunges, squats, and similar moves. It then features about 20 minutes of weights work and toning, alternating between standing and floor work. Overall the workout is fairly evenly split between with upper (lots of work for the shoulders!) and lower body with only as small amount of abs work. The upper body work is all done with weights, except for the various push ups, but the lower body work includes a number of unweighted moves, some of which get your heart rate up (like jumping jacks into plyometric squats or speed skaters into jogging with high knees). The workout ends with 3 minutes of dynamic stretching (which Sue calls “active isolated flexibility”) for a total of about 30 minutes.
Although this is a strength workout, there are a number of moves that will get your heart rate up. This isn’t enough to count as a cardio workout, though. There are jumping and jogging moves, but lower impact modifications are shown. The warm up moves are a little tricky to pick up the first time around because Sue cues almost right on the move, but the rest of the workout seems much easier to figure out.

Level: I’d recommend this to an intermediate exerciser. Those brand new to exercise may find this too challenging at first, but an experienced beginner could use lighter weights and follow the modifications. On the other hand, those who work out with weights a lot (e.g. with Cathe) will find this too easy; most of the exercises don’t have a lot of reps, and the pace is probably too quick to go very heavy. I consider myself a mid-intermediate with weights and a high intermediate with cardio; I find this video gives me a good workout but isn’t too challenging.

Class: 6 muscular women and 1 man, with one woman demonstrating lower impact / less complicated moves. (Unfortunately the camera often seems to find the “pretty blond girl” rather than the modifier.) There is some class participation with whoops and groans—but just within my realm of tolerance.

Music / Set / Other Production Notes: The beat-heavy instrumental music isn’t exciting. The bright interior set, a typical Crunch affair, has a painted floor, brick walls, exposed steel beams, and a large metal fan on the back wall (which seems to be a Crunch studio trademark). The picture and sound quality are good.

Equipment Needed: sneakers, 1-2 pair(s) of dumbbells (your choice of weight).

Comments: This workout is compact in time and space! You should be able to lunge forward and back and take one big step to each side; on the floor you should be able to do push ups and lie down comfortably.
I usually combine this with additional abs work (e.g. Pilates or Tamilee Webb’s I Want Those Abs). The stretches aren’t enough for me, but I generally do yoga afterwards anyway.

DVD Notes: The DVD allows you to select your chapter, which you can use to skip the introduction, for example.

Conclusions: I think Crunch Boot Camp just may be an essential video for anyone who has ever run short on time. It’s not my favorite, most interesting, or most fun video, but it’s a solid workout, especially for half an hour. I personally wouldn’t expect amazing strength gains from it, but I feel I wouldn’t lose any strength by substituting it for my usual weights workouts.
My male significant other has done this one a few times. He found it OK, which is more than what he’s said for many of my other videos. It was a light day workout for him, though.
At times the “boot camp” theme gets a little cheesy. Sue wears a camouflage top and calls her students “soldiers” and “troops.” It’s not too annoying or over the top, though I think in this day and age her announcement that we have passed “boot camp” and can call ourselves “soldiers” may not be as politically correct as when this video was filmed.

Instructor Comments:
Sue cues moves well and offers a decent number of pointers on form (but not a lot of instruction, particularly with modifications). She is very enthusiastic and encouraging. It’s a breath of fresh air to have an instructor, particularly a woman, not obsessed with how many calories you’re burning or how this will make your butt look. Sue is genuinely interested in lifting weights for strength’s sake; her philosophy is “Fitness is not just a state of body, it’s also a state of mind.” She works both sides evenly and expects you to mirror her moves.

KathAL79

09/12/2005