Bosu Calorie Combustion

I’m reviewing this workout after doing it once.

General workout breakdown: This 33-min. cardio workout uses the Bosu.

After an intro from Rob describing the Bosu’s benefits, providing an overview of the workout, and giving you some guidelines for a safe workout (3 min.), the warm-up & acclimation (6 min.) helps you get comfortable with the Bosu, moving you from tapping the Bosu to moving on and off the dome; you also stand on top and practice balancing. The moves here are very simple so you can focus on getting used to the uneven, wobbly surface. The warm-up also includes a few dynamic and static stretches for the lower body.

The cardio portion (22 min.) is divided into two segments. The first begins with step aerobics (with moves like the basic, run, alternating knees) before moving onto more athletic moves like running, high knees, football drills, squats, cross country, and moguls. Marches and bounces serve as filler moves during a few down times. The second is more choreographed, building up a few small symmetrical (i.e. done on both sides) combos combining step and dance (including some hip shakes, as demo’d by Jules) aerobics with sports and other athletics (including a few punches, as demo’d by Chalene).

The final quick cool-down and stretches (5 min.) uses some of the moves from the warm-up, this time slowed down, to bring the heartrate down before flipping the Bosu over to sit on it for spinal lengthening, outer hip & hamstring stretch, spinal twist, and some quick arm and torso stretches.

Level: I’d recommend this to experienced exercisers at the very least at a solid intermediate level and comfortable with at least basic step aerobics. This is best suited for those around the intermediate / advanced level, at least IMO. Because Rob takes time in the warm-up to get you acclimated to the Bosu, this works well to introduce regular exercisers to working out with the Bosu.

I consider myself an intermediate + to intermediate / advanced in cardio, and I have little trouble with all but the most complex (or poorly cued) choreography. I picked this choreography up without much effort. That said, I found this quite challenging for my poor little cardiovascular system. I’m going to blame that on the fact I’m so new to the Bosu plus still relatively new to step aerobics. ;)

Class: Chalene Johnson and Jules Arney join Rob, who instructs live. Every once in a while one of the woman demonstrates a modification, either up or down.

Music: upbeat instrumental music, pretty standard stuff for exercise videos. It’s not bad, but it’s not great.

Set: the 2003 CIA set with Joan Miró- and Mark Rothko-esque posters plus brightly (primary) colored funky furniture and accessories off to the side.

Production: clear picture and sound, helpful camera angles. (It’s what you’d expect from CIA productions.)

Equipment: Bosu and supportive sneakers (Rob mentions the need for lateral support, which crosstrainers provide). If you sweat a lot, you might want a towel nearby to wipe off moisture that could make you slip.

Space Requirements: enough space to move around the Bosu comfortably. (At 5’8” with a full-sized at home Bosu, 6"x 6"works for me.)

DVD Notes: This DVD has no menu and no chapters, which is annoying because there are two introductory segments (the Bosu series, then Rob speaking about the workout). You’d almost be better off with the VHS version at this rate.

Comments: There are some higher impact moves (e.g. jumps, running, “sticking” hops), but these are done on the Bosu, which absorbs some of that impact. The pivots and turny moves are minimal, although if your knees are bothered by torque you’ll want to be careful with the squats, moguls, etc.

Bosu Calorie Combustion vs. Bosu Cardio Fusion: Combustion is basically a shortened version of Fusion; the moves and combos are very similar and in some instances nearly indentical, with the Fusion having the expanded versions. Personally I’m going to keep Fusion and pass along Combustion, as I’d rather have the chapters on Fusion and thus the option to make the workout longer or shorter, depending upon my interests.