I’m reviewing this workout after doing the whole thing several times.

General workout breakdown: My hat’s off to ddj for her great breakdown of time and moves.
A few comments:
- This has a strong cardio component, even without the added floor cardio segments. As you can see from ddj’s breakdown, you get swings in every workout, for example. The repetitions for strength moves are on the low side, although you generally do 3 rounds, but the pace is quick enough that it’s tempting to grab a slightly lighter bell, especially if you’re doing more than one workout at a time. That said, you’re likely to feel this one in your core, even if you don’t add on the abs portion, thanks to all of those overhead swings and a number of unilateral moves.
- I agree with Emily that Amy moves quickly through some moves, especially in the warm-up (I took some of those moves at half time). I move at my own pace during kettlebell workouts rather than trying to match the instructor move for move, so I’m not bothered by Amy’s pace during the moves themselves (most of the time I’m not far off, anyway). Still, I agree it’s not the easiest to make sure you do 5 reps in roughly the same amount of time that she does 5 reps. (This is one reason I prefer timed intervals rather than specific rep ranges when working along with a kettlebell DVD.) I will note that there are some short pauses in between moves during the actual workouts (not necessarily a bad thing because it allows you to swap out weights if you so choose), but those who love non-stop workouts may find them slightly annoying.

Level: I’d recommend this to experienced int. to adv. exercisers with a solid background in standard kettlebells (meaning you’re used to working with 8 kg rather than 8 lbs.); ideally you’d be at least at an intermediate level of kettlebells, but if you’re knowledgeable enough even though you’re still working up to the full int. level you can find a way to make this work. (If you need ideas, do a search on the forum; you may find jessicavi’s post on the thread “Kettlebellers=Why is Amy's "Advanced"?” a great starting point.) Something to note about the “advanced” label: no matter how advanced of an exerciser you are, this is not suitable for those new to kettlebells or new to standard (as in non-kettlebell lite) workouts, and there are better workouts out there for those of you looking for your first kettlebell or “real kettlebell” workout (try Lauren Brooks’ The Ultimate Body Sculpt and Conditioning with Kettlebells, Vol. 1, for example). The tutorial here only introduces a few uncommon moves and will not teach you the basics. And you must have the basics – as well as some intermediate progressions – down before you tackle this one.
I consider myself an int. / adv. exerciser who’s probably a low intermediate when it comes to kettlebells. I’ve been working with them for almost two years now, but I don’t use them as my primary exercise regime. I regularly use 15, 20, and 25 lb. kettlebells and am overdue for a 35 lb. kettlebell. My most used kettlebell DVDs are those by Lauren Brooks, followed by The Kettlebell Ways (Beth Chamberlin with Anthony DiLuglio). I also have Sarah Lurie’s first Iron Cores, one of Steve Cotter’s, Keith Weber’s two kettlebell cardio DVDs, and Andrea DuCaine’s Kettlebell Goddess. I’ve actually spent more time doing kettlebells in class (RKC / AOS-style) and by myself than with DVDs, however. I guess you could say I’m more of a kettlebell purist because I favoring RKC but also AOS and IKFF instructors and am not into the kettlebell lite workouts (Kettleworx, Kettlenetics, or the versions put out by The Firm, Kathy Smith, etc.). Anyway, as comfortable as I feel comfortable with the basics and beyond I am not yet ready to tackle some of the trickier and more advanced moves. As a result, I substitute or modify some exercises here, although I don’t always mind because my versions also better take into account my physical and space limitations (it’s hard to fit the running swings, aka the “jackrabbit” move, in my little attic room, for example).

Class: Amy alone, instructing live.

Music: upbeat beat-heavy mostly instrumental stuff. It’s a somewhat better than the average kb workout soundtrack, especially since some songs are remade real ones, like “My Sharona,” which plays during the warm-up.
No, Amy’s not always moving to the music, but in a workout like this that’s necessarily not a bad thing. Here’s the tricky thing about music for a kettlebell class or video: it’s best if you move to your own natural pace and not try to force your moves to match a beat, and yet many people want music to motivate them as they work out. I actually tend not to use music when I do kettlebell stuff on my own and would have liked a Music Off option on this DVD.

Set: the 2009 CIA set with yellowish walls and red and blue accents plus, as per usual, a few knickknacks, pieces of furniture, and potted plants neatly arranged around. It’s one of the more visually appealing CIA sets, IMHO, because it’s relatively uncluttered and harmonious in its color choices.

Production: clear picture and sound, helpful camera angles – the usual CIA production.

Equipment: Amy has four kettlebells: one 15 lb., two 20 lbs., and one 25 lbs. She predominantly uses one 20 lb. kb. You can do the entire workout with one kettlebell, although it’s not a bad idea to have two kettlebells of different weights, especially since you can do the double kettlebell moves with uneven weights, switching sides halfway through. I was able to match Amy for most exercises, as I have pairs of 15s, 20s, and 25s. Of course, individual or pairs of 8 kg and/or 12 kg kbs would work for this, if your kbs come in metric measurements. More experienced kettlebellers will find themselves reaching for 30 and/or 35 lbs. or 16 kg, I suspect.
You may want a mat for some moves and the abs section, depending upon your flooring.
Amy does the workout barefoot, as do I. If you feel more comfortable with shoes, wear flat-soled sneakers. (Vibrams Five Fingers are another option for footwear.) You really don’t want a crosstrainer or other cushy-soled shoe, as it’ll make it harder for you to grip the ground appropriately and your foot may even be tilted forward, making it difficult to keep your weight in your heels.

Space Requirements: This requires more space than the usual kettlebell workout. In addition to clearing your surroundings of people, pets, and other things which you’d rather not have a kettlebell fall on or hit (just in case), you’ll need to make sure you can take several big steps from side to side, take a big step back as well as come to the floor for a plank, and lie down with arms and legs extended. If you’re tight on space, you’ll have to keep some moves in place. Oh, and make sure you have room overhead for the overhead swings and snatches.

DVD Notes: The main menu options are Introduction, Preview Moves, Chapters (Warmup; Workout 1 – Combo 1, Combo 2, Combo 3; Workout 2 – Combo 1, Combo 2, Combo 3; Workout 3 – Combo 1, Combo 2, Combo 3; Abdominals; Stretch), NRG Mixes, and Credits.
As Emily noted, there is oddly no premix that includes the warm-up, Workout 1 and/or 2 and/or 3, Abdominals, and Stretch, and there is no way to program the DVD to play in this manner. There’s also no Play All mode. If you want to do the Workouts as originally filmed rather than via premixes, you need to go through the Chapters menu and have your remote handy. This DVD is just crying out for a programmable matrix so you could mix and match to your heart’s content.
I have never done one of the premixes. While the premixes are a great idea, upon preview I can tell that Emily is correct about the choppy editing.

Comments: I’ve read mostly good things about this one on the forum, and I understand why this has many fans. First, it includes some moves not found in many, if any, other kettlebell workouts, even on many of the other intermediate to advanced kettlebell workouts available to the home exerciser. Second, those who like cardio and weight circuits or who just want a little extra cardio get that here. Third, the multiple workout options allow you to get a solid workout in less than half an hour or go for longer, and the premixes remix the combos to keep things feeling fresh. (As mentioned, it’s too bad the CIA hasn’t fully embraced DVD technology and jumped on board with the programmable matrix feature to make the options even more user-friendly.) And, fourth, this is one of the few kettlebell workouts that feels most like a regular, proper exercise video with a charismatic fitness instructor. For those who complain that too many kettlebell workouts are too expensive for what you get with instructors who are too serious (and not mirror cuers), backgrounds that are too dark and dull, and music that is too repetitive, this is a breath of fresh air.

Personally I like but don’t love this workout. As mentioned, I find myself modifying and even swapping out exercises, and I’ll admit one or two of the exercises feel a little too close to being neat tricks rather than functional moves for my tastes. But modifying and substituting seems par for the course for me with Amy’s workouts of almost any genre. I’m willing to do that with her stuff because I enjoy working out with her, and this is no exception. KBD doesn’t have the huge fun factor for me that it has for other folks, but overall I find it enjoyable to do rather than a chore to slog through. I’m ambivalent about the format, which I know some people love because it includes extra cardio, as I tend to favor kettlebell workouts that are primarily exercises using the kettlebell, perhaps because I don’t do kettlebells all that often and because I’m not the biggest cardio & weights circuit fan to begin with. But I’ll keep this one because it does bring something different to the table and provides for a nice change of pace, even if it’s not the first one I’ll reach for on my shelves.

Instructor Comments:
As noted, Amy does not provide a lot of instruction, and what she does give assumes you already have a sense of what you’re doing. IMHO her cuing and instruction aren’t terrible, but I’d willingly concede they’re somewhat inconsistent and neither as clear nor as copious as they could be. She does mirror cue, meaning when she says “right” she means the viewer’s right, not hers. Amy offers some suggestions for modifications, sometimes doing a quick demo of them (especially the lower impact version of the cardio moves). She’s slightly more serious and less talkative than she is in a number of her other videos, but she still exhibits her usual upbeat, encouraging personality.
Amy developed this with Phil Ross, an RKC. Not only are the exercises and form more in line with RKC principles here, in general she’s cleaned up some issues from her Absolute Beginners: Kettlebell 3-in-1 release, where trying to keep up with the beat and using too light of a bell caused more problems than they solved. To this improvement in kettlebell form and knowledge Amy brings her experience as both a group fitness instructor and an exercise video instructor, which you can see especially in her use of mirror cuing (something not often found in kettlebell workouts), her warm-up that fuses typical workout warm-up moves with the joint mobility-type work favored by some kettlebell instructors, a quick cool-down with a few moves to lower the heart rate followed by athletic stretches, a separate short abs segment, and also the athletic cardio segments between the kettlebell exercises. There’s just a general feel of this being a standard exercise video; it’s kind of hard to explain, but those who have workouts both from experienced exercise video instructors and from instructors new to filming videos will have an idea of what I’m talking about, especially when it comes to Amy’s camera presence and style of presentation. I believe this is one reason this workout has so many fans, because it smoothly combines the two worlds: solid kettlebell workouts presented in a solid exercise video by a solid fitness instructor.

KathAL79