Sports Circuit

This workout has already been broken down, so I won't do that again.

I really liked it.

I am a Cathe fan, as well as beach body fan (P90X is currently a fave). I also like dance workouts (salsa, funk, etc).

I worried I would find this boring, but I didn't. The cardio was simple, and athletic, which I really liked. It was a mix of high and low impact, and I enjoyed doing it.

It's an older workout, she talks about kickboxing being "all the rage now" and she does very simple kick combos, but overall the athletic drills just make this a fun and unique workout.

I will do it again, and I am going to keep it in my collection.

One thing - the back/abs section wasn't so hot. I would just as soon do P90X abripperX, or some such workout that really toasts my core.

Instructor Comments:
Mindy is terrific. VERY knowledgeable, approachable, friendly without being overly perky.

She's very talkative, but that doesn't bother me where she's concerned.

Leela

This workout is filmed outside and is similar in quality as Sport Step. (Just so you know, Sara City didn't produce this.) This workout is an hour long and consists of doing sport move based intervals and then a block of strength training. So, you have a warm-up, 4 interval sections and three strength training sections and then a cooldown. The workout layout is:

Warm Up- previews many of the moves that you will do throughout the workout. There are no stretches those are done at the end of the workout.

Cardio 1- One-minute jump roping sections interspersed with sport drills. The sport drills are run forward and pretend to swing a tennis racket, then run forward and squat jump three times back pedal back, a four corner drill where you run, shuffle, back pedal, shuffle in a shape of a square.

Leg Work- First you start out with squats, then squats that rise up to your toes and then squat jumps. Then a pinwheel series of lunges, (I call them a pinwheel, not Mindy.) where you lunge forward, then at a 45 degree forward angle, then to the side, then back. You repeat several times on one side then repeat the sequence on the other side. Then you do a series of squats with leg lifts as you rise, tubing for resistance. Then you do a long lunge sequence where you keep your back leg straight and only bend the front leg, using tubing for resistance. Mindy goes over various versions and what you can do using dumbbells, a body bar or even your pet.

Cardio 2- This cardio sequence contains a lot more jumping bounding drills as well as lateral speed drills. You also do a different box drill sequence where you stand in the center of the box and dash to a corner and back then to another corner, etc…

Upper Body and Arms- First you start off doing a pull up by setting up two sturdy chairs and laying a bar across the top. (Make sure it's secure) then you lay under this and pull up. Then with tubing you sit on one of the chairs, wrap the tube around the feet and do low rows then high rows for the back. A series of bicep curls using tubing (several other versions are shown) is done then push-ups and tricep push-ups.

Cardio 3- A kickboxing sequence.

Abs & Back- First you start doing work for the back by laying face down on the bench, floor or ball (choose one) and do leg raises. Then a series of crunches on the back, and then a few plank holds where you hold the lowered section of a push up.

Cardio 4- You do a variety of work with the step in a vertical set up. Military jogs, squat jumps from side to side, shuffles over the top, straddles up and down all at slow then high speeds.

Cooldown and stretch- ahhhh! Drip drip.

This is a great workout if you want a lot of variety but without a lot of complicated choreography. Anyone could give it a try, though I would think that it would be best for an intermediate or advanced exerciser, mostly because you need to make sure you don't over challenge your heart rate before you're ready. I also like the fact that because of the constant moving about you tend to keep in a cardio zone when doing some of the toning. I'm very pleased with this tape and was glad that I got it on a whim do to a tape special off her website. The sound is pretty soft in this type of program the music isn't really moved to so it's not such a big deal.

Instructor Review: Mindy is fun, humorous and great at motivating you to have fun while working hard. She also packs in as much variation suggestions to make the tape usable by those with little or a lot of exercise toys. She is quickly becoming one of my all time favorite instructors because she brings a unique program designed for athletes that can be done in the home. If you want more info on her, her website is: www.jumpincfitness.com

Lisa Kucharski