I am a huge fan of Kelly Coffey-Meyer, and I really enjoy her 30 Minutes to Fitness series; so far, I have Weights, Kickboxing, and Muscle Definition from this series, with my favorites being the latter two. I was interested in Circuit Burn as well, as I really enjoy cardio/weights circuit workouts, although I had a little bit of hesitation on this one because 1) I don't like high-impact cardio, and 2) my favorite part of kickboxing tends to be the kicks, and I knew this workout featured "shadow boxing"--i.e., punching only.

As it turns out, I needn't have been concerned; this is Kelly, after all! In her brief Introduction, she states that the workout combines athletic cardio with compound moves, shadow boxing, and weight-bearing work for the legs and glutes. These moves are performed in rounds: for each of the two workouts, you will run through a set of each of the above types of exercises, and then the entire series is repeated once. I have broken down the two workouts in detail below. Kelly is working out with four background exercisers: Lauren, her usual modifier; Sam; and two new faces, Jen and Laurie. They are in a bright studio featuring big windows with curtains, and they are exercising to upbeat, motivating music.

The chapters on this DVD are as follows: Introduction--Warm-Up--Workout One--Workout Two--Abdominals--Pre-Mixes--Credits--Music On/Off. Please noted that become the 3.5 minute Warm-Up is chaptered separately, you will need to select this independently of the two workouts (you are then taken back to the Main Menu). The Warm-Up consists of moves such as side steps with single and double arm raises and light impact work including jogs and jacks; the sequence is repeated once.

Workout One is 29.5 minutes long. The cardio consists of a one-footed leap front and back, then side-to-side. For the full body weights work, Kelly combines a lunge with a reach and a knee-up with shoulder work. The shadow boxing alternates four punches with four upper cuts. Finally, the lower body work involves an unweighted squat with a low curtsy and an optional jump. As noted above, the entire sequence of moves is repeated once. The second cardio segment starts with jump rope and moves into jacks and lunges back. For the weights work, Kelly uses just one heavy dumbbell for a unique compound move: she performs a side lunge with a sort-of double arm row (to one side), does a standing lat pullover in the center, and the repeats to the other side. The boxing involves two uppercuts followed by four quick jabs. Finally, Kelly calls the lower body work "complete lunge steps," which are basically static lunges. Again, the sequence is repeated.

For the 3.5 minute stretch/cool-down (note that the exact same cool-down appears in both workouts), Kelly focuses mainly on holding longer stretches for the lower body muscles, including the hamstrings, hip flexors, and quads; the upper body stretches felt much more perfunctory.

Workout Two is 29 minutes long. The first cardio segment begins with a high knee jog, then moves into a knee hold to either side and finishes with a hop side-to-side. For the full-body weighted work, you will use one heavy weight to perform a unique rolling move to the front; Kelly states that this works all of the small muscles of the upper body. The boxing is especially fun in the second workout: the first series consists of four punches, then four twists and four body shots. To finish this sequence, Kelly picks up heavy weights for deadlifts and squats right/left. After repeating the first sequence, Kelly begins the second sequence with split run cardio (similar to a cross-country skier move) which ends in split jumps. Again, the boxing series is fun and upbeat: you'll do a jab-hook combo followed by a flurry and then finishing with a duck, adding in an optional jump before standing (fun if you have the energy!). The last move for this workout is an unweighted squat: Kelly stays low and pulses these while the rest of her crew comes to standing in-between reps. As mentioned above, Workout #2 concludes with the same 3.5 minute cool-down featured in the first workout.

This DVD includes several additional features. First, there is an Abdominals chapter that is just under 6 minutes. Kelly is alone here for this short but intense abs set. The moves included are quick crunch, knee crunch, leg lift on elbows, leg circles, Turkish situp (using 1 heavy dumbbell), knee drop (with the dumbbell between the knees), and bicycles, concluding with a brief stretch. Finally, for even more variety, Kelly offers a total of TEN premixes! These are listed on the Pre-Mixes menu as follows:

30 Minute Total Circuit Burn Mix (32 Min)
Combined Workouts (59 Min)
Cardio & Sculpting (32 Min)
Boxing & Legs (32 Min)
Cardio & Boxing (31 Min)
Sculpting & Legs (33 Min)
Sculpting & Boxing (32 Min)
Cardio & Legs (33 Min)
Cardio, Boxing, & Sculpting (46 Min)
Sculpting, Legs, & Boxing (45 Min)

Overall, I am extremely happy with this DVD, and I know that I will get a lot of use from it, especially with the included premixes. The workouts in Kelly's 30 Minutes to Fitness series, including this one, are probably most appropriate for intermediate and above exercises--although Lauren does an excellent job at showing modifications, she modifies more for impact than for intensity. This is another winner from Kelly; highly recommended!

Instructor Comments:
I admit it, I am biased--I love Kelly! She is probably my favorite non-yoga instructor. Some people complain about her cuing, but I've never had any problems following her, at least not in any of her 30 Minute to Fitness series workouts. Here, she often briefly tells you what you will be doing first, then shows you the move, which I find helpful; she also mirror-cues.

Beth C (aka toaster)