Video Fitness

Gotta Sweat: Kardio Kick

I had been curious about this video for a long time so I finally just ordered it since there were no reviews on it. I was really pleasantly surprised by this video. While the workout on Cory's Arms and Shoulders tape is great, I find her constant mindless babble irritating on that tape. In Kardio Kick, the person leading the workout is a guy named Gus Gates and I really liked him. Cory still makes comments here and there but she doesn't bother me on this tape. Collage rates this as an Intermediate/Advanced workout but I'd have to disagree with that assessment. I'd rate it more as an advanced beginner/beginning intermediate tape. I consider myself at the higher end of intermediate or lower end of advanced. There are 8 5-minute segments with the first being a warmup and the last a cool down, leaving 30 minutes of "cardio" work. While my heart rate was elevated, it didn't stay elevated and though I was not wearing my heart rate monitor, I'd guess I was at about 60% most of the time, sometimes slightly higher and sometimes at almost normal levels. That said, even though the intensity is lower than I would like, I will still keep the tape and use it occasionally because it was a lot of fun! There are kicks and punches but none of it is as fast-paced as the faster segments of Kathy Smith's Aerobox. I did feel like I got some good upper and lower body toning in although I am not sore today. If you're looking for the intensity of a live Kickbox Aerobics class, don't bother but if you are looking for a short workout that is a little different, this is not a bad buy at $12.95.

Instructor comments: Cory is less annoying in this tape than in others, mainly because she is not the one leading the workout and doesn't talk as much.

Dana Shepperd
6/98

Have you ever bought what I call a "sleeper" video? You know, a video that you don't expect much from it but you buy it anyway because maybe you're curious about it or the price is right. Well Kardio Kick is my "sleeper" video.

This video is 30-35 minutes of intense Kickboxing aerobics. It is filled with simple, basic boxing and kicking moves but these basic moves are guaranteed to make your heartrate soar. Gus Gates is the kickboxing instructor who leades Cory, Cameo (Cory's Sister), another instructor (did not catch her name), and a Fabio look-a-like (I think his name is Darren) through this workout. The workout is divided into 5 minute segments, giving you a total of 30 minutes of actual cardio work. I find this a particularly excellent video to do on those tough days (stressed out from work, kids, etc...) when you need an outlet. I have rid myself of a lot of stress using this tape and feel soooooo much better every time after I have used it.

The video production itself is a little on the cheesey side and the set is kind of dark. Also, all of the participants are not working out at the same time. In one of the segments, Cameo is just in the background lying down like she is going to take a nap or something. I did not understand the reasoning behind this at all. In another segment, Darren is not participating in the workout but is in the background just punching a punching bag. These shots of the participants not participating I found kind of anoying but funny. I could not help but laugh when Darren acted like he was punching the bag "really hard." But I think he got most of his workout in on this segment by just swinging all that long hair around. However, if you can get past the "cheese" factor in this video, You will have fun and get a great workout. For real added intensity for advanced exercisers, try doing this tape and a jumproping workout. I did this tape once and tacked on Aerojump at the end. I think I managed to do about 20 minutes of Aerojump before I had to stop. Talk about a great workout! That is definately a combo I will be using again and again.

Instructor comments: In this video, Cory is mostly a participant who occasionally gives some good form pointers. Gus Gates, who is a Black Belt Karate champion is the real star of this video. He makes the video fun and cues very well

Tiffanee Saunders
7/7/98

The video is about 38 minutes long with about a 3.5 minute warmup/stretch segment and then six approximately 5 minute segments with little reminders in between (i.e. 5, 10, 15, etc.) which I liked. I really loved the choreography in this tape, it was simple but with adding power to your kicks and punches you can really get a lot out of it. The only bothersome things were Cory incessant chatter (me me me is all I could think of) and this Fabiosque person who basically just bugged me whenever I looked at him, so I didn't. He seemed clumsy. Gus reminded me of Aaron Lankford from Power Kicks with his "kick in the knee" and "punch him in the nose" stuff. The set is typical Cory and the music I actually liked. This is a definitely keeper thanks Kathryn for recommending it!

Instructor comments: Cory was a little too chatty IMHO. She reminds me of the girl who has to comment on EVERYTHING! Gus was a pretty good instructor, I caught onto all the moves the first time.

Stephanie Bridges
01/05/99

Cutesy alliterative spelling in the title! I knew this would be goofy. In fact, if it weren't a little goofy, I suspect it would be very boring. This plodding, somewhat pedestrian kickbox routine is competent, but overall, unimaginative. After a stunningly brief warm-up of half-squats and a few leg stretches, Cory moves into the first of about 6 five-minute sections. At the end of each section, a screen appears counting down the time left, which is helpful. Cory begins each set with vague remarks about how we will be working out and how fun this is, but otherwise, the workout is continuous. Each interval has one main move such as front punches, side punches, front kicks or jabs that are performed first singly for one set, then with one or two variations. These variations are minor and remarkably unexciting: you pretty much spend the whole five minutes doing the same thing continuously e.g. front punch for one set, then front punch one arm at a time for a bit, then front punch alternating arms for a bit, then front punch with a kick for a bit, then the set is over. Then you go on to something else, like kicks, and do the same thing: one leg at a time, then alternating, then adding in a punch.by the end, you could predict what the next move would be fairly easily.

There seem to be about five exercisers. Cory has this guy Gus with her (the box says he is a black belt in kung-fu) and he is the only one in all the sets. The others, including Cory's sister and some kind of Fabio-dude who alternately has a shirt and does not seem to wander in and out of each set. At one point, Fabio spends the whole set throwing little punches at Cory, who is easily distracted and giggles as she dances away from him. At another point, the one who is out for the set wanders to the back of the room, lies down on a towel and falls asleep---on camera. There is also a motorcycle present for some reason, and over the course of the workout, Fabio-due sheds his clothing and uses the motorcycle for storage. It was very strange.

So would I recommend this workout? Well, it is definitely going to be far too easy for anyone who can handle Cathe's kickboxing, or Tae Bo advanced. But for a light day, or a short cardio workout, or an add-on to something else, it's all right. And if you need to practice your form in a slower-paced drill-oriented way it is competent enough. This tape didn't leave me blown away by its imaginativeness, thoroughness or difficulty. But I have definitely seen and done worse.

Joanna C 6/2/01

A great tape for beginners who haven't had any experience with kickboxing, it's also good for intermediates and advanced on a light day (or if you're getting back into working out after a couple of surgeries, like me).

To break it down:

Warm up: Front punches (excuse me if I don't use the correct jargon!), hooks, walk forward using hooks, walk back with front punches (count of 4 on the walks), calf stretches, hip flexor stretches, hamstring stretches, then arm & tricep stretches.

5 Minutes: Knee-pulldown (like you're breaking a board on your knee), then front kick is added on. (Gus Gates, who leads, miscounts at one point.)

10 Minutes: Jabs, front kicks, front kicks on toes (switching from side to side).

15 Minutes: What Gus calls a slip punch (front punch), skip to side punch, punch/knee-pulldown to side, punch/back kick to side, slip punch.

20 Minutes: Jabs and front punches ("the old 1-2"), jab/front punch/front kick (switching sides).

25 Minutes: Walk forward/front kick, walk forward/front kick/side kick, walk forward/front kick/side kick/punch, then the last series on toes.

30 Minutes: Front kick, front kick/jab, front kick/jab (on toes).

Cool down: Same stretches as in warm up but adds on tai chi moves which are quite nice.

Techno music, with a pastel boxing-type gym set. I never did get why they had Cameo feigning a nap during one set and had the Fabio-type guy "boxing;" it's annoying at first, but it's not too bad.

For me, as a low intermediate or advanced beginner, I prefer Kathy Smith's Kickboxing Workout (love it and it really gets my heartrate going) or either Aaron Lankford's kickboxing tapes (same as Kathy's tape, but they're longer).

Instructor comments: She's just a participant on this tape, throwing in some corny jokes from time to time. Gus Gates actually leads this and is a very likeable instructor, with good pointers at times.

NanB

6/4/2002

Kardio Kick Aerobics is the fourth volume in Cory Everson's "Gotta Sweat" series. It is a unique video consisting of a series of six total kickboxing segments, each 5 minutes in length. Although Cory, a six-time former Ms. Olympia champ, receives top billing, the workout is actually led by Gus Gate, a black belt in Kung Fu. In addition to Cory and Gus, there are three background exercisers--Michelle, Cami, and a Fabio look-alike--but only one of them works out with Cory and Gus at any given time.Prior to the start of the workout, Gus briefly reviews technique for 3 punches--jab, hook, and uppercut--and 3 kicks--front, side, and back.

Gus begins the workout with a 4-minute warm-up which consists of simple punches with a side step and then lower and upper body stretches. The first kickboxing segment doesn't contain any punches: Gus introduces a rock step (used frequently throughout the workout in place of the boxer shuffle) with knee lifts and then a knee-front kick combo. You do seemingly endless repetitions on one side before moving on to the other--I was already feeling pretty worked out by the end of this segment! Segment 2 uses the rock step for rock and punch, then rock and kick, and then a jump turn with the kick. The third segment introduces a skip to the side: you'll do a skip with a punch, then a knee lift, then a back kick. At the halfway point, the kickboxing combinations begin to get slightly more complex. In the fourth segment, you do a march with a jab-cross punch combo, then add a front kick and finally a jumping side switch. Segment 5 starts with a walk forward and front kick, adds a side kick and then a front punch; the entire series is then repeated on your toes (more of a shuffle forward then a walk forward). The sixth and final kickboxing segment consists of a front kick-front punch combination which is again repeated on the toes to increase the intensity. The 4-minute cool down repeats most of the stretches from the warm-up plus adds some Tai Chi type moves at the end; the latter were performed much slower than in Tae Bo and seemed more relaxing as a result. With the warm-up and cool-down, this workout clocked in at 38 minutes.

This may very well be my new favorite kickboxing video--I enjoyed it for so many reasons! First of all, I LOVED how the rock step was substituted for the boxer shuffle throughout; not only did this keep the workout more low impact, but also it made it easier to concentrate on the form of the punches and kicks. Plus, the rock step is FUN, as it's done to the beat of the music and adds sort of a funky dance element to the workout. I also enjoyed the heavy emphasis on both knee lifts and kicks: the knee lifts really worked may abs much more than most kickboxing vidoes, and all of those front kicks meant that I could feel it in my hips and buttocks the next day! Finally, I loved that the combinations were simple yet still fun--combined with the breaking down of the workout into 5-minute segments, the time just flew by! I can only think of two minor downsides to this video. First of all, in the final three kickboxing segments, the two background exercisers who are not participating are just sort of hanging around the set, which seems a little odd; at times, the ersatz-Fabio is working out with a punching bag, and the shift in camera to focus on him is a bit annoying. Secondly, I would have liked to see a greater variety of punches and kicks used during the workout: side and back kicks are only featured in one segment each, and the only punches used are jabs and cross (hooks are used during the warm-up only). Still, I felt I got a great workout from this video, and given how much fun it was, I know I'll reach for it frequently in the future.

Instructor comments: Cory does not lead the workout, but she adds form pointers during the warm-up and cool-down and makes little jokes throughout; she's down-to-earth but may come across as too ditzy to some. In addition, her form for the punches and kicks is sometimes a bit lacking. Gus, on the other hand, displays excellent form, and he leads the workout with a level of intensity and seriousness.

Beth C (aka toaster)

January 20, 2005



Video Fitness copyright © 1996 - 2024 Wendy Niemi Kremer    All rights reserved