Results Fitness: Boost Your Metabolism

This was my first time doing this workout, I think there is another Results Fitness Boost Your Metabolism workout with Cindy Whitmarsh, but this is the one with Tracey Staehle. It clocks in at about 55 minutes and is a circuit style workout with weights intermingled with cardio. Each cardio set is built from a level one move to a level 2 with some impact, then on to the next move at level 1 and then level 2. Eventually stringing the cardio moves together at the level 2 intensity. Then it's on to the strength portion, first at level 1 with one move usually upper body, and then level 2 which is the compound move combining upper and lower body moves, then on to the next exercise. The strength sections all focus on the same body parts. For instance all back and hamstrings in one section, and shoulders and quads in the next. I liked this one quite a bit, I found the choreography to be athletic and easy to follow. Some of the compound moves felt awkward at first to me, but I got used to them eventually.

The DVD is a 55 minute long AWT workout with strength and cardio intervals. The exercises have already been broken down nicely so I'm just going to add my opinions. Tracey leads alone in a large workout area, using two sets of hand weights (lighter and heavier set). I used several sets ranging from 5# through 15# to get the most out of the workout. She tended to do a LOT of reps per muscle group so I was forced to go lower than I would in say, a Firm workout. A lot of people have said this is just like another Pink Firm, but I think this workout is unique from those in that it fatigues each upper body muscle group at a time (the legs are worked throughout) which really ups the challenge, and if I may say, the DOMS factor! The production quality is high and the music is recognizable, which is great! The DVD menu allows you to play the entire workout, and it is not chaptered. If you really wanted to, you could manually skip through the cardio or strength sets to make it an all strength or all cardio ~30 minute workout. I tend to do the workout in entirety. Each interval lasts about 6 minutes (strength then cardio). The warm up and final stretch were also about 5-6 minutes.

On the whole I am very pleased with this workout and should really do it more often (as it is, I might pull it out once every 6 months!) However, I would have liked to see Tracey do more for the abs. I had assumed that the last set (which included chest) would have been paired with the abs, and instead it was paired with glutes (legs already having been more than adequately covered already). Tracey kept saying through the workout "do this move now and we won't need to do crunches!" which was okay except that the majority of the exercises didn't really engage the core in a functional manner (so no preexhaust in the abs), and no crunches is fine, but why not some plank work or other alternative? I just did some freestyle ab work with the chest work instead of the bridge work for the glutes. Secondly, I thought the standing leg work towards the end was somewhat overkill (again, we had already worked legs throughout with the combination work), albeit it was intense when I added ankle weights. I generally prefer to do that kind of work on the floor and will either do that, or skip it next time around.

I would say this is a good intermediate to high intermediate workout (if you choose heavier poundage and high intensity moves during the cardio, it's high int - you could even go low advanced if you learned the whole workout and did Level 2 throughout), and while the time didn't just fly by, I definitely felt VERY worked out by the end! My upper body was especially fried but my lower body was really feeling it too. The 7-day diet plan suggests about 1,400 calories per day and includes foods like shakes and protein bars for those who are curious. The high impact can be kept low (Tracey demonstrates an easier move first before escalating) but because of the choreographed moves, I felt it didn't adapt well to the rebounder. My pedometer showed I got about 2,200 steps. All in all I would recommend this for intermediate-level exercisers (beginners can use light weights and keep it low impact) who are fans of AWT training. Even with the unique flair, it did have a somewhat Firm-like style, to give you an idea of whether you'd like it. All in all it was a very good production. Grade B+.

This is a 52 minute cardio and strength interval workout. She does 5-8ish minutes of cardio and then 5- 8ish minutes of strength and goes through the dvd in that fashion. Some of the strength moves will also get your heartrate up due to working large muscle groups and because she works multiple muscle groups at the same time. For example-she will do a lunge with a back row.

I got this dvd when it first came out so Ive had it for over 2 years. I did it once when i first got it and promptly forgot about it. I saw it in the back of my collection this morning so I pulled it out to give it another shot. I now know why it went to the back of the dvd pile-I didnt like it. While I really enjoyed the cardio moves, the strength moves were awkward and thrown together with another awkward strength move.

She did a squat with an overhead press-but instead of pressing overhead while coming up in your squat-she has you lifting over your head while your going down in your squat. It was awkward and I couldnt lift my normal poundage because it put a wierd strain on my neck. She did that on multiple occasions and none of the strength moves clicked with me at all. I didnt even finish the dvd this morning. I pulled it out about 1/2 way.

Like I said, the cardio is solid. I enjoyed it and will probably keep the dvd just for the cardio. Unfortunately there are no premixes on the dvd, but I will just push "skip" through the strength sections. I would say this is an intermediate workout that utilzes more light weight, hi rep type training and athletic non-dancy cardio.

Boost Your Metabolism from Results Fitness is about 53 minutes long, with a 6 minute intro and warm up and a 5 minute cool down/stretch. This workout is led by Tracey Staehle, and I've really enjoyed the other workouts from her that I've tried so far. I liked her in this workout too, and she cues well, offers some good form pointers, and is encouraging throughout. This workout does have a bit of a different feel, since Tracey is by herself in this one and I'm used to her working out with background exercisers. The set is nice, if plain, and it reminded me of the set used in many of the 10 Minute Solution workouts. The equipment requirements are light for this one, with two sets of dumbbells (one light, one heavy) being the only necessity. Tracey also suggests a mat for lying on the floor, and a chair - but the chair is only used for balance, so anything you can rest your hand on while standing will do, if needed.

Tracey cues well in this workout, and offers lots of helpful suggestions throughout. She also starts each exercise (weights and cardio) at an easier level (level 1), then does the exercise at a higher level (level 2). This was a nice way to make this workout useful for many fitness levels. I really enjoyed the 3 part biceps sequence, and I liked the balance work she added to most of the weights circuits, too.

I liked this workout pretty well, though at times I did find weight selections a bit unbalanced. For example, at one point Tracey tells you to grab your heavy weights, which worked well for the back rows. But then, she also does some exercises that hit the upper back and shoulders - which I need to use much lighter weight for. Also, I use lighter weight for triceps kickbacks than biceps curls - and biceps and triceps are worked together in the same segment. But, had I known what was coming up for each exercise, there is enough time to switch weights. Sometimes Tracey didn't always tell you what the exercise was going to be until after you started. And while circuit workouts aren't usually my favorite, I did enjoy this one - and it felt like a good balance of cardio and strength for a day when I wanted to do a little bit of each. And, the cardio was pretty easy follow, and some of the songs had a great beat, too!

The breakdown:

Warm Up

~5 minutes, easy to follow exercises like step touch, kicks, hamstring curls, knee lifts, and squats - all with various arms

Weights 1: Back & Legs

Lunge with a back row, reverse lunge with a reverse press, reverse flye on one leg, bent over row

Cardio 1

Cha-chas, lunge into jogs, squat jumps, pulsing squats, leg lifts, punches and kicks

Weights 2: Shoulders & Legs

Shoulder press with elbows in front and palms facing each other - with a squat, delt raise - flipping the dumbbells up at the top - with a squat

Cardio 2

Side to side hops with a twist, side to side shuffles with a jump and side lunges, speed bag arms with jumping jacks, scissor legs with squats, side lunges with a hand touch to the floor

Weights 3: Biceps & Triceps

Overhead triceps extension with a squat, side lunge with triceps kickback into a knee lift, biceps curl into a hammer curl into a reverse curl with a plie squat, reverse lunge with a biceps curl into a knee lift

Cardio 3

Side to side squats - tapping the floor in the center, side to side hops with a kick, jump rope drills

Weights 4: Leg Balance

Standing leg work - leg lift with heel facing forward, side leg raise, leg kickback

Weights 5: Chest, Glutes, & Hamstrings

Chest press with toes raised and a hip lift, chest flye with hip lift, chest press and reach toward the opposite corner, push ups,

Cool Down/Stretch

~5 minutes, a nice mix of full body stretches