iStrength Circuit, Set 14

iStrength Circuit Set 14

About me:

I am reviewing this workout after doing it just one time. I am an intermediate strength person, I do a ton of yoga at home and weights at the gym. I got this workout because I wanted something to motivate me through a strength workout at the gym, I move too slow on my own! Also, I started the "Look Great in 8" rotation so I thought it would be a good time to try some audio workouts.

What you will need.

A treadmill

A heavier medicine ball

dumbbells

a bench or step

something to jump over- I used a yoga mat

The Down low

This was a 50 minute upper body workout including a warm-up and the very briefest cool down/stretch. Coach Nick Narvaez guides you through seven circuits, some of which are only weights and some only cardio. It is an intermediate workout, although a motivated beginner could do it after practicing the moves from the PDF file that comes with the workout. I don't know if an advanced exerciser would fatigue their muscles from this one and it was somewhat incomplete but you might enjoy it for its fast pace and cardio effect. I did enjoy it, though, and it was great to have at the gym and get so much done in 50 min. You move really quickly between the exercise but I was able to keep up. He gives you enough time to move from the treadmill to set up your equipment which has been a problem for me in other audio workouts.

The Breakdown

Warm-Up -- 5 minutes of walk/ run intervals.

Combo 1 -- 3 sets alternating

10 reps reverse crunches

10 reps side plank raises on each side

Combo 2 -- 3 sets alternating

10 Squat with High Pull

10 Shoulder Press (Military Press)

Combo 3 -- 3 sets of 30 second lateral jumps

Combo 4 -- 3 sets alternating

8 reps Trunk Rotation with Medicine ball on each side

10 reps lateral raises (where you stay hinged at hips, and lift your elbows up to ear level)

Combo 5 -- 3 sets alternating

Reverse Bicep Curl Alternating with Regular Bicep Curl (did several reps on each side)

10 reps Close Grip Push ups on incline

Combo 6 -- Lateral Step on treadmill (standing on treadmill walk sideways at 2mph speed)

3 rounds of 30 second intervals on each side with a short break of walking between intervals

Combo 7 -- 3 sets alternating

10 reps each leg Step Ups with Weights

10 reps Chest Press

Then one extra round of this where you increase the weight for both moves and add 5 more reps

Stretch -- Maybe 1 minute, just 3 stretches

My impression

Overall I really enjoyed this workout. Nick had kind of an atypical voice and he repeated a lot of his comments but most of them were very useful, keep your abs in, keep your eyes forward etc. He got fairly enthusiastic during the workout, especially at the end. What I didn't like is that he kept saying "You know how many reps to do, I'm not here to count reps, I'm here to motivate you. It would have been fine if he had said that once at the beginning of the workout but he said it repeatedly in every circuit. I didn't find that statement motivating and would have preferred if he had at least counted down the last couple reps every time because I found myself behind sometime. Usually he would set the pace at the beginning of the combo but not every time. He did often say, "You should be at the halfway point" which helped put things in perspective. It seemed like there really wasn't any leg work except in the cardio portions but maybe that was done on purpose? I also would have liked more back work. I wish iTrain would give better breakdowns because I would have liked to have known all this info before I bought it and before I did the workout.The music was not my thing, I guess you would call it modern pop? But I did find Nick motivating, I found the combos challenging but doable and I kept my heart rate up through the most of it. It was fun to have something designed for gym use but you could easily do it at home, even if you don't have a treadmill, you could substitute another cardio move.