Total Body Workout II

Tom Holland
Year Released: 2004

Categories: Total Body Workouts


Tom Holland's Total Body Workout II is a 20-minute circuit workout utilizing compound movements. I've come to use Mr. Holland's first 45-minute workout so often that I could not wait for this second release. Now that I've done it, I'm very pleased and am sure it will become another staple in my rotation. Keep in mind that this review is being written by an unabashed AWT (Firm/FitPrime)junkie.

The set is similar to Tom Holland's set in the first workout DVD -- white, with a bright blue mat on the floor, water bottles on a white cubicle, and a tomato red towel draped across another white cubicle. It's attractive and to the point, just like Tom Holland is. The music is different in this workout DVD, though. TBW2 features a soundtrack by Tom's brother, Joe. Joe Holland sounds like a subdued Dave Matthews. Someone else could probably characterize Joe's sound better than I can, but my point is that I enjoyed it. It's so much better than the canned music I hear on 80 percent of the other workout DVDs I own.

As with Tom's past workout DVD, you get to choose the sort of cardio you do here. Tom usually does jumping jacks, but you can jog, walk, etc. The workout consists of doing cardio spurts for 30 - 60 seconds in between a long series of compound movements. I won't break the workout down exactly, but basically it's 15 to 20 repetitions of each of the following compound exercises with a few cardio segments throw in:


Forward lunges & bicep curls
Forward lunges & overhead press
Alternate lunges & alternate side
and front raises.
Bent rows
Bent knee pull-ups for abs
Plank pose (30 seconds)
Child's pose stretch
Plie squats & bicep curls
Stationary lunge & overhead press
Stationary lunge & front raise
Squat & side raise
Two-armed tricep kick-backs
Bent-over flies
Raised bent-knees (abs-obliques)
Push-ups
Alternating dips with bicep curls, overhead presses, with front and side raises.
Bent row & tricep kickbacks
Squats


Some of you are really going to holler about this workout. Tom Holland does not begin the workout with * any * warm-up and stretch, nor does he end the workout with a cool-down and stretch. It's not a problem for me. I have plenty of other fitness DVDs from which I can pull stretches & warm-ups. Still, I wish he had included these segments on this workout.

People who dislike compound movements (FitPrime's Time Crunch comes to mind) won't like this one. And those who have knee troubles may want to modify this workout because there are a number of lunges. Finally, some of you may not like the fact that Tom Holland actually sweats a lot in this DVD. (A fan would have helped. Pun intended.)

I hate to throw a lot of disclaimers out there, because I really liked Tom Holland's Total Body Workout II a lot. It was worth the wait!

Instructor Comments:
Tom Holland is an All-American personal trainer who appeals to both men and women alike. He gets down to business right away. He offers lots of form pointers, too. Like Cathe Friedrich, he achieves that rare balance of being friendly & engaged with his audience while maintaining a no-nonsense professional stance. I've had two positive interactions with his company which suggest that he runs his busines the same way he runs his workouts -- friendly, to-the-point, and attentive. He does not use background exercisers, so there's no occasion for chattiness or goofiness here. I like that. Mr. Holland is one of my favorite instructors, and my only critique is that he does not produce his workout DVDs fast enough.

Michelle Easton

01/22/2005