Since the details of CLX have already been posted, here's two cents from someone who went through the program. As a background, I’m a guy in my 40s who is somewhat overweight but trying diligently to lose the excess pounds.


The Good
There were a lot of pros in CLX. Overall, I really liked the workouts for a variety of reasons.

Muscle Definition – I saw quite a bit of muscle definition, especially in my shoulders and arms. I didn’t measure prior to starting the program, but the results were noticeable. I’m bigger all the way around and even though I had been working out prior to CLX, my muscles are bigger and far more toned. As such, the program really delivered here.

Cardio – There wasn’t much cardio in the program, but I did do the Burn Intervals workout every week. Those who skip it are making a mistake in my book. Not only do you build up your muscle endurance, but it’s a great cardio workout as well. I saw increased results on my elliptical that I’m chalking up to Burn Intervals.

Explosiveness – Again, I think this is partially due to Burn Intervals, but I’ve noticed a definite improvement in my “twitch” muscles as well. My 10 year old son pointed out that I’ve gotten faster and quicker while we’re playing football. I’m bigger, stronger and faster. Good stuff.

Sets – The background sets were pretty decent, well lit and pleasing to look at.

Background exercisers – I really liked the background exercisers. The chick with (supposedly) 7 kids is an absolutely beautiful woman and there were a variety of folks to draw inspiration from (like the 60 year old woman in amazing shape).

Chalene – Some folks find her annoying, but I didn’t at all in my first Chalene experience. She provided good tips, was good about reminding the audience to use good form, rarely missed a count and usually let the audience know what she was lifting. That little woman can lift quite a bit and I was extremely impressed. I was exceeding her weights by the end, but there’s no doubt that knowing what she was lifting spurred me on to try bigger weights. Big props for Chalene.

Music – It never got annoying, which is pretty good for any workout. I can’t say it ever pumped me up and most times I didn’t even realize it was playing.

Enjoyment factor – This is a pretty big key. The workouts were somewhat enjoyable and weren’t so torturous that it made me want to stop. It’s just not as grueling as P90x or Insanity and therefore much more geared to beginner/intermediate exercisers who only have 45 minutes to work out and don’t feel like being punished.


The Bad

Weight loss – I’ve slowly lost a total of 35 pounds since March, but my weight loss rate was really reduced in CLX. I lost only 10 pounds in 3 months, which is very disappointing. Considering that I want to lose another 30 pounds or so, it gives me pause on whether or not I should try CLX again.

Missing day – The CLX workouts are on days 1, 3, 4, 5 and 6 (no day 2 or 7) but I work out on Monday through Friday. The Day 6 workout wasn’t well situated to being a Tuesday workout, so I had to sub something else in there. As such, I only did the Day 6 workout once in 3 months and it felt like a waste.

Lack of abs – Yeah, there’s an ab workout, but it’s a 15 minute add-on to Burn Intervals. Well, Burn Intervals is already 48 minutes long and very tough. I was simply too tired and out of time to do the ab workout. As a result, my abs haven’t seen any work in 3 months and there’s a noticeable lack of toning there now. Given how much you need your core for the Lean Circuit, it seems very shortsighted to want someone to do abs when they’re wiped out. Not to mention that Burn Intervals is already the longest workout and there’s that “missing” day 2 workout. It would have been far smarter to create a cardio/ab workout for day 2.

Too many squats – I get that my quads are huge muscles and therefore need to be worked. But there are sooooo many various squats in CLX that my knees would be fatigued by the end of the week. I don’t have knee issues, but those that do might have a much harder time with CLX.

Overall
A big thumbs-up for CLX. It’s not perfect, but it’s a darn good workout and suitable for most folks out there. It’s pretty enjoyable, fairly effective and different than many other workouts out there.

Side note: I did buy the Bowflex SelectTech weights and I’m very pleased with them. One of the two has a small “wiggle” in the weights, but that’s nothing serious. They’re really a space saver, easy to use and change quickly. I used the 2.5 pound differential much more than I ever expected. I highly recommend them for everyone out there.

Blackadar