Video Fitness

Kickstart Your Metabolism

Chris Freytag

I have all the Prevention workouts and this is by far my favorite. It may be partly because I am partial to cardio kickboxing, and this is Chris's first real KB workout that I know of. I believe it's also probably the toughest of all the Prevention workouts -- solid high intermediate.

Chris and the Prevention girls work out in a room blandly outfitted with standard warm wood floor, ecru prefab walls and a "doorway" behind them that offers a view of a concrete block wall. They wear black pants and light blue tops.

The 15-minute cardio workout is simple and straightforward, but with enough reps of each drill so that you get a decent sweat going. You do side to side shallow squats with elbow strikes, the standard punches and then simple combinations. One is two squats to the side with speedbag, then side kick. Another is jab cross front hook, back hook, back knee, back kick, front knee, front kick.

The ab workout is mostly standing, and still gives a moderate cardio effect. You do figure 8 arm swivels, torso twists slow-time and double-time, and the same standing side crunches that Taebo utilizes so much. Also knee raises slow and fast, and side kicks with arm extensions. (I didn't see how that was specifically ab work, but it's ok with me). The floor work includes side lying knee raises, first one leg, then both bent legs then both legs straight. You finish with planks and planks with side to side waist dips.

The strength workout was mostly compound and I thought it much tougher than expected. You do back lunges, then with knee ups, then with kicks and opposing arm "punch" holding a light weight. The lunges are pretty fast so your heart rate gets up there. It reminded me of the lunges in Tone It Up.

Other moves include plies with shoulder raises, side lunges with "slow punches" (really a lat row and a high shoulder raise), biceps with standing glute squeezes, and tricep kickback while on all fours, extending the opposite leg to work the glute.

There is an 8-minute express workout that includes shuffles with fast punches, squats, and kicks, running in place and elevated speedbag (over your head); also shuffle forward, cross, two steps back; then squats and roundhouses.

When done all together, it provided me a solid sweaty hour that satisfied me without killing me.

The music is sort of like Dynamix greatest hits. I recognized music from Larry Lam's XKO workout of almost a decade ago, plus other lively if somewhat generic workout tunes. It actually wasn't bad at all, IMHO.

If you at all liked Chris in any of the other Preventions, and you like simple kickboxing drills as a form of cardio (her style is remiscent of Gilad's) then this might be a good bet.

Instructor comments: I like her better and better with each subsequent Prevention workout. She is professional and brisk, not a lot of bantering but warm and encouraging. She sometimes repeats some of the standard platitudes (burning fat, raising the metabolism) but it didn't bother me. At one point she says of the metabolism-boosting: "That means you can eat more. I like that!"

acey

8/10/08



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