Ultimate Body: Challenging Workouts for Weight Loss

Meghan White
Year Released: 2004

Categories: Total Body Workouts


NOTE: I have only previewed these workouts.

There are two DVDs: Beginner's and Challenging. They have the exact same format. Sometimes the length varies, and when it does, I will note that.

The main menus have 4 sections: an interview, cardio kickboxing, cardio boot camp and strength training. The "interview" is just Meghan sitting there talking about what the workouts contain and giving tips about how often to do cardio and strength and reminding you about diet and drinking enough water.

When you click on the kickboxing, boot camp or strength training options, you are taken to another menu with four options each.

Cardio kickboxing. 4 options:
1) Kickboxing routine #1, 20 minutes: warm up, work out #1, cool down
2) Kickboxing routine #2, 20 minutes: warm up, work out #2, cool down
3) Full kickboxing, 40 minutes for challenging DVD, 35 minutes for beginner's DVD: warm up, workouts #1 and #2, cool down, abs
4) Kickboxing abs, 9 minutes

Cardio boot camp. 4 options:
1) Boot camp routine #1, 25 minutes for challenging DVD, 20 minutes for beginner's DVD: warm up, work out #1, cool down
2) Boot camp routine #2, 25 minutes for challenging DVD, 20 minutes for beginner's DVD: warm up, work out #2, cool down
3) Full boot camp, 45 minutes for challenging DVD, 35 minutes for beginner's DVD: warm up, workouts #1 and #2, cool down, abs
4) Boot camp abs, 8 minutes

Strength training. 5 options:
1) Upper body strength with hand weights, 12 minutes for challenge, 7 for beginner
2) Lower body strength with no weights, 9 minutes for both
3) Abs, 9 minutes for challenge, 8 for beginner
4) Total body strength, 30 minutes for challenge, 25 for beginner: upper, lower and abs
5) Total abs, 25 minutes: abs from boot camp, kickboxing and strength

There are two background exercisers, a guy and another woman. I didn't notice them modifying. All three are in a pretty bare studio with wood floors and fake-looking windows. Sort of like Slim in 6. I rather liked it. Very simple and calming. (I don't like busy sets with decorations.)
The strength training is pretty standard. The lower body reminds me of Tamilee Webb's in "I Want That Body"--it's unweighted but hard, with back lunge/front kick combos and lots of squats to the sides and middle.
The cardio boot camp looks cool. It combines a lot of sports drills and calisthenics. Now, I just previewed the challenging DVD, but it seems high-impact the whole way through (yet modifiable). Very easy choreography.
You get a whole lot, obviously, on each DVD. I'm looking forward to the workouts just from watching them, especially the boot camp.

Instructor Comments:
Her voice is not as annoying as everyone seems to think and it would be a shame to discount these workouts based on that reason. To my ears she is not nearly as annoying as Denise Austin, for example, or even as bad as Madeline Dolente's based on the Collage clip. She's a bit shrill but I doubt you'd notice during the workouts. Her navel piecing bothered me more than her voice.

AnnieQ

10/14/2004