Savage and Serene

As there is also a thorough review of the Savage portion; I'll focus on Serene which I did as a standalone PM stretch. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it.

Serene/AeroFlow is a 30m stretch session demonstrated by former Dance Theater of Harlem dancer Leila Fazel. It is recommended that you do this after the Savage workout, when your muscles are warm. The voiceover is done by Michael Olajide. She is wearing dark colored clothes in a small all white room.

Start standing: Neck rolls, Supported neck stretch, Lat stretch with side bend, Modified downward dog - Hamstring/calf stretch

Kneeling: Upper back/shoulder stretch, Forearm stretch, Biceps/Pec stretch, Triceps, Shoulders, Lats, Shins, Quads (camel)

Seated: Calves, Hamstring, Lower Back twist, Forward bends, Inner thighs

Reclined: Twists, Glutes, Hip Flexor, Hamstrings, Shoulder stand, Cobra

Ends with "Float" post or Rest

I’m going to focus most of my comments on the Aerobox portion of this workout (Savage).

For reference, I’m an advanced exerciser who loves Powerstrikes, Tae Bo Ripped Advanced, Cathe’s Kick, Punch and Crunch, and Tracey S.’s Sweatkick. Savage challenged me, but it didn’t wipe me out!

This workout has four rounds, with boxing, some version of squats, and jump roping in each round. Michael O. lets you catch your breath between in each round, so it’s intense but doable. In the boxing sections, he starts with slow punches and then increases the speed.

I can't use a jump rope because of my ceiling, but I used one pound hand weights and did all the jumping moves pretending I was jump-roping -- with the weights like handles in my hands. My biceps were screaming by the end of the workout! I tried to keep up with Michael's jump time and the types of moves (eg. ski jumps, high jumps, one legged jumps) -- and I think I did, except for one move where he does a kind of double whip with the rope in the air. I just jumped as high as I could. The varied jumps are interesting and fun - and you could easily just do the foot patterns and get a good plyo workout.

The boxing punches are basic, but the last sequence gets really tough when he speeds it up. [It's jab-jab-jab-uppercut-jab-hook, or something like this!] The odd-number count punch sequences (eg. 7 count) are a little awkward at first in that you end on the same side that you start the next sequence, but after a while it becomes natural. It will take a few times before I can keep up with Michael O’s speed. But, I just kept going at the speed I was able to maintain and I still felt spent.

I enjoyed this workout -- the three sections in each round gave enough variety, and the breaks between rounds kept it sane. And, if you want it less sane, you can jump during those breaks!

The 57 minutes went by fast for me. I got nice doms the next day - not killer, but I definitely got to know some new muscle fibers!

I did a portion of Aeroflow (Serene), but I didn't enjoy it as much. The background is all white, and Michael does a voice over while Leila Fazel does yoga type stretches. There are some good lat stretches, but this section didn’t click with me. It’s supposed to be a complement to the aerobox, but to me the ambience was just too dissonant. I’ll give it a few more chances, however.

Acescholar