Lightweight and Heavyweight Workouts

I was able to purchase this DVD for $1 at the Dollar Tree; since I like boxing workouts, it seemed like a worthwhile gamble. ;)

This DVD from Gaiam contains 2 workouts that were originally packaged separately, Beginners Lightweight Workout and Advanced Heavyweight Workout. In truth, both routines are more in the beginning range, with the second having just a bit of a faster pace and less instruction (but virtually the same moves).

Two famous faces front these workouts, Laila Ali and Sugar Ray Leonard. In the routines, both are miked, but Ali leads, with Leonard chiming in only occasionally. The are jointed by 6 background exercisers for each routine, 2 of whom show lower impact modifications (although they are hard to see at times). The background exercisers actually seem very enthusiastic and upbeat! The set is spacious and bright, although the background boxing ring setup is obviously fake.

Ali starts each workout with the same basic 4 1/2 minute warm-up consisting of (mock) jumping rope, jumping jacks, jogging, and speed back, going through several sets. She finishes with several minutes of stretching. Everything is counted to an 8 count, with everyone chiming in on the counting--this is were it is very similar to Tae Bo, which I unfortunately don't like. Ali begins the main part of the workouts with basic punches and then works up to simple combinations. I found that the moves she included were fun and that some were a little different (e.g., a fly to the side). However, Ali's cueing is poor or non-existent--when she does cue, it is often late or incomplete. This made the workouts harder to follow and less enjoyable for me.

Each workout ends with some abs work on the floor, including planks and crunches. There are several bonus features, such as an overview of the moves ("Boxing Basics") with both Ali and Leonard, a short talk by Leonard on Staying Motivated, and a short talk by Ali on Proper Nutrition. The production values for the DVD are generally good. In the end, these workouts were not for me, but someone else who enjoys Tae Bo might like them more.