ACE HiiT Series: Upper Body HiiT

I was very excited to get this set as I am loving short (30 minute-ish) intense workouts. The DVD set has an upper body, lower body, total body, and abs HIIT workout one one DVD, and a bonus 10 minute ab and another 10 minute lower body workout, and a 20 minute yoga workout on a second DVD. For about $25 retail you get a great set.

Each workout is structured with a nice solid warm up of about 5-6 minutes, then five 4-minute Tabata circuits – four exercises for 20 seconds each (10 second rest), repeated twice, making up each 4-minute circuit. The first two circuits are repeated once (making up the first four circuits); the last 4-minute Tabata is not repeated. Lindsey provided a listing of the exercises in each workout.
I try to use as high poundage weights as possible (and Chris encourages you to do this too) and go high impact on the cardio, and always get a great workout.

The time flies by, Chris is enjoyable and encouraging, and all of the upper body muscle groups are hit nicely. I would say this is high intermediate but can be made low intermediate if need be (Chris provides plenty of easier modifications). I would definitely recommend this workout series to anyone! I would also say the upper body workout is my favorite and most used of the group. Grade A+!

Instructor Comments:
Chris is friendly, encouraging, and professional. Top notch instruction! Bonus that she coordinates her outfits (matching tops with her sneakers) and the high production value makes the workout visually appealing. Chris is inspiring and I appreciate that she wants you to push yourself and use heavier weights.

Emily B.

Chris leads this 30 minute upper body & cardio routine alone in a nice studio set, and provides plenty of modification options. You will need dumbbells for this classic HiiT workout- each exercise lasts for 20 seconds, followed by 10 seconds rest completed for 4 minutes followed by a 45 second rest. You perform 2 rounds of 4 exercises two times total, and then one final round of 4 different exercises.

After a warmup, exercises include: pushups, Mt. climber, tri kickback & toe tap, weighted jacks, renegade rows, burpee to overhead press, weighted punches, shuffle floor touch, side plank overhead raise, flying jacks, tri pushups, bi curl & knee raise, and a cooldown/ stretch.

I rate this a high intermediate. This workout packs a punch in only 30 minutes; you can really get a complete workout in 30 minutes. Lots of great combo moves and unique exercises! Chris is fantastic in this entire series, motivating, great form reminders, modifications, and cuing. Love the pace- not rushed but no wasted time. I received this dvd to review.

lindseylu