In less than 30 minutes, Crunch Boot Camp Training provides a very good full-body strength workout that moves quickly enough to give you some cardio benefit as well (my HRM indicated that I was in my zone for about half of the workout). It is led by instructor Susan Hitzmann in a "boot camp" style, which means you will use weights (Susan recommends between 3 and 10 lbs.) for traditional strength work in addition to non-weighted calisthenics. The workout is set in the usual Crunch studio with a large class, and one of the background exercisers, Faith, shows low-impact modifications.

The 4-minute warm-up consists of very basic moves such as marches and knee lifts, although Susan adds little twists that makes this segment kind of fun (although I did have a bit of trouble following her movement changes at times). She then has you pick up your weights to do a squat with a shoulder press, eventually upping the intensity by having you do the press from the squat position. Next comes an underhand row with a bicep curl, adding in dead lifts at the end. Then it's to the floor for your first set of push-ups: full push-ups with your hands propped on your weights (Susan encourages you to complete only as many as you can with good form). Staying on the floor, you'll do an abs crunch series, and then it's back on your feet for some jumping jacks, adding in a plie squat for more intensity. Next comes a pulsing lunge that gets REALLY tough when you jump to switch legs. Remaining standing, Susan goes back to the upper body for a front and wide bicep curl combo; she then does an inner bicep curl with a side plie squat.

Back to the floor--more pushups! This time, you'll do them from your knees, but they become pretty challenging when Susan adds a plank and a leg lift. She then does some standing abs work in the form of knee lifts. Toe raises holding the weights are next, eventually adding in a back lunge, a front extension, and a triceps extension. She then hones in on the triceps more specifically with kickbacks and an overhead french press. In the following series, you'll move into a one-legged squat position and do a rear tap, adding in a knee lift. You'll then perform several cardio moves--a skate slide, a knee hop, and a brief jog--add in some shoulder work (flies, rows, and a T move), and then repeat the rear tap on the other side. Susan ends with a final set of push-ups--triceps push-ups this time--and some additional abs work in the form of reverse curls. The 3.5 minute cool-down consists of moving stretches performed entirely on the floor, bringing the entire workout in at just under 30 minutes.

I consider myself to be about an intermediate level exerciser, and I found this workout to be sufficiently challenging, as I was sweaty and breathless by the end. I started out using 8 lbs. dumbbells, and although I was able to use these for most of the workout, at a few points, I needed to drop down to 5 lbs. If you are looking for a time-efficient strength routine that will provide an intermediate level workout as well as include some cardio benefits, I would definitely recommend this video.

Instructor Comments:
I liked Susan; she provided good mirror cueing and was very encouraging, although she was a bit over-the-top with the boot camp theme at times (eg, repeatedly calling the class members "soldiers"). I also liked that everyone in the class was quite buff, even the women who were on the thin side.

Beth C (aka toaster)