KBKB The Body Series Cardio 40/20

For information about the Body Series in general, about Dasha Libin, about the setting and music, please read my review for Limitless Legs.

This is a review for The Body Series Cardio 40/20 (33:50)

Main Menu: play full workout, play workout on mute, play workout w/ music only, play workout w/out warm up or cool down.

Background exercisers: Dasha does the workout with 4 women who are fellow KBKB instructors. Everyone is wearing bra style athletic tops or tank tops and athletic capri-style leggings or shorts. None of the background exercisers acts in an over the top fashion or mugs for the cameras.

Equipment: a kettlebell or one dumbbell is required. On the DVD, everyone is using a 15 lb. kettlebell although Dasha says you can use anything from an 8 -25 lb. kettlebell depending on your fitness level and familiarity with kettlebell training. A towel and water are also recommended.

What’s on the screen during the workout? In the upper left corner is a countdown clock for each exercise. On the bottom of the screen is a banner that shows the name of the exercise you’re currently doing. In the bottom right corner is a square that shows you in percentage format how far along you are in the workout.

Warm Up (3:20): torso twist, arm circles forward & back, arm raise w/ shoulder retraction, windmills, runner’s lunge, down dog w/ foot pedal, inner thigh stretch.

Main Workout: the general format is each exercise has a 40/20 second work to rest/transition ratio. There are a couple of exercises that do not use this work/rest ratio and they are noted below.

Exercises: jump rope (1 min), swing-swing catch-knee, alternating knees to sprawl, swing-swing catch-knee (other leg), alternating knees to double sprawl, clean & press (left, then right), jab-cross side thruster, killer combos (done 2x), reach over laterals, alternating clean & push press, alternating clean & push press w/ lunge, 3 way laterals, alternating warriors, bottoms up raise to goblet squat, SAQ drill, bottoms up raise to walking goblet squat, SAQ jumps to double side thruster, grip curl press & lunge (left, then right), jujitsu get ups (1:40).

Cool Down (4:00): forward fold, hurdle stretch, hamstring stretch.

Overall Impressions: This workout is not a pure cardio workout. Instead it feels more like a circuit/metabolic conditioning workout with a solid cardio emphasis. Everyone is going at their own pace and has their own way of doing the moves which Dasha celebrates. I felt at ease and like I was just working out with the crew. I’m new to kettlebell training and this workout was fun and made me feel successful in using this new-to-me piece of equipment. I really enjoyed the mixture of both kettlebells and martial arts moves in getting a great cardio workout. As demonstrated by Dasha I’d say this is a solid intermediate workout.

Criticisms: Dasha does not mirror cue so it’s up to you to either ignore her cues of ‘left’ or ‘right’ in order to mirror her or follow her cues and realize you won’t visually be matching her and the crew. Sometimes she is still explaining or demoing the move when the clock starts which eats into the work time. Lastly, Dasha talks pretty much non-stop! In a way she reminds me BJ Gaddour, only without the quirky and seemingly random comments. While I wasn’t personally bothered by it, some people may be. While some of her talk focuses on body image it’s not the main focus when she speaks.

Instructor Comments:
I'm not bothered by Dasha's chattiness! I find her warm, friendly, and engaging and someone who celebrates all women and the uniqueness they bring to training.

Sabine Reuter