Tell me about Power Hour please

[Vee]

I dont have Power Hour. I have Jari Love's Slim and Lean (which I like) and Ripped & Chiselled (which I like less).

For high rep training, I like Jari's approach of doing a single exercise for a whole song at different tempos for endless reps, and I also like Kelly's approach to doing different exercises for the same body part continuously for less reps per exercise.

Can anyone who has Power Hour tell me how it compares or what the format is like?

 

[PhyllisG]

It is a total body endurance workout that is pretty straight forward. You work one muscle group at a time. I think you need a barbell and some dumbbells. I really liked this w/o and did it often. It comes on a DVD along with MIS and BodyMax. I believe that one of Cathe's new series is a modern retake on Power Hour so you might want to wait for that. I know I am looking forward to getting it.

 

[jbliff]

Power Hour is pretty tough. IMO it is harder than Jari's workouts. You do work one muscle group at a time, but IIRC Cathe does use different tempos, and some body parts have a couple of different exercises for lots of reps.

 

[Mckmain]

I agree that Power Hour is tougher than any of Jari's workouts. You can see a clip if you go to the DVD section. Power Hour is a fun high energy, high rep, total body workout. What I really like is the exercises are choreographed tightly to music and that makes the workout fly by IMO...

 

[lisa_la_machina]

If you like S&L, I think you will like PH

I think PH is closer to Slim & Lean than it is to Ripped & Chiseled, in terms of movement and difficulty. IIRC, R&C is a compound workout. PH is more like S&L b/c you work on one body part at a time--although this is not a perfect comparison b/c in S&L (for example) Jari has you do push ups followed up by rotator cuff work in the same track, and with PH Cathe focuses on just chest for 6 or so mins, then just back for 6 or so mins, etc.

Within each body part, Cathe does provide more variety of moves in PH than Jari does in S&L. For me, this means I can go heavier in PH. I know previous posters have said they don't think S&L is as tough, but I get a good burn with both S&L and PH. To me they are both good and effective workouts, so if you like S&L I think you will like PH.

 

[Vee]

Thank you so much for the replies. They were all helpful.

 

[Miss Lee]

Hi Vee! Power Hour was my first Cathe DVD and it's a sentimental favorite! I haven't done it in ages so when I saw your thread I popped it into the DVD player to refresh my memory.

I'm not familiar with Jari's R & C and it's been ages since I've done S & L so I don't want to make comparisons, but PH is a GREAT workout! Cathe and crew (with Rhonda - Lorraine isn't in this one) are at their best. Everything from the production value to the cuing is impeccable. It's like a body pump workout; there are 10 songs and you work one body part per song, and there's a lot of variety in tempo and rep patterns. It looks like this:

1st song - full body warm-up with BB
2nd song - BB squats -- regular and wide stance
3rd song - Chest - push-ups, DB flys, BB bench presses
4th song - Back - dead rows and dead lifts with a BB; DB rows
5th song - lunges with BB and DB's
6th song - Shoulders - front raises with a BB plate; side lateral raises and rear delt presses with DB's; overhead presses with BB
7th song - Biceps curls with BB
8th song - Triceps - Lying extensions with BB; DB kickbacks
9th song - Abs - variety of crunches and planks
10th song - cool down and stretch

There's a short break between each song where Cathe gives form pointers for the next exercise. It's very well done, but I'm looking forward to the updated workout with premixes!! There are no premixes in PH. HTH!!

 

[PhyllisG]

I had and did all of Jari's but ended up not keeping them. I liked Power Hour much more. It is a great workout. But remember Cathe is putting out a modern remake of this. Are they aiming for an Oct release? Did I see that somewhere or am I fantasizing?

 

[Vee]

Wow! Thanks michele. I was wondering if it may be fun to get a download of power hour until the updated new workout comes out and your response is convincing me this is a good idea! I no longer have a barbell, but I could do all the moves with dumbbells, or take the workout to the gym on my iPod.

Phyllis, the updated version is indeed coming out in October. The presale is on right now.

 

[Miss Lee]

Wow! Thanks michele. I was wondering if it may be fun to get a download of power hour until the updated new workout comes out and your response is convincing me this is a good idea! I no longer have a barbell, but I could do all the moves with dumbbells, or take the workout to the gym on my iPod.

Phyllis, the updated version is indeed coming out in October. The presale is on right now.

You're welcome, Vrinda! For me, PH has a very high fun factor so I think you will enjoy it. If you decide to get it please let me know how you like it!