RE: Bodymax2 Review(s) (long)
I loved this workout! It really flew for me. All 97 minutes of it. I thought the warmup with a little long but I loved the music. The choreography was moderate, easy to pick up. I did this workout on an 8" step and it really got my heart rate up. I burned 795 calories for the full workout. Some of the music is Jesse's Girl, Heaven is a Place on Earth, I'm a Man, Don't You Forget About Me. For anyone interested in the choreography, here is a short version plus the rest of the workout:
Combo 1: V step forward, then turn and V step to the back, alternate knees, power scissors on step (Cathe calls this move cross country), ponies side to side, reverse V, up lunge, push off corner 3x, walk back 3 steps, on 3rd step do a hop, walk forward 2 steps, on 3rd hop on to step, over the top, lunge.
Combo 2: With Left foot on step, do a right kick, turn to the back, lunge forward 2x, lunge back 2x, step, pivot, cha cha; hop on step with leg extension side to side 4x swinging arms side to side, jump rope around the world, basic, hop turn to back, outer thigh and straddle. Alternate knees.
Combo 3: Push off ste 3x, go over step, power skates, exit back (do this to both sides. Insoles corner to corner, reverse hop turn, charleston, knees around the world.
Power Circuits (Step combos are done 6x):
Step 1: Knee off side, bow & arrow, over step 2x, knee off back, over face in with a hitch kick, pump circle run. Alternate knees
Blast 1: Knee off side, go over step 4x (on the 4th, turn in), go over again 3x, knee off back, knee straddle; jump on and off step 3x.
Leg Drill 1: Alternating Lunges with 5# dbbls. Forward lunge 8x, side squat on step 9x, back lunge 8x, cross over step slowly lifting dbbls overhead.
Step 2: Alternate knees, 2 knee repeater, walk back and around, 2 knee repeater, walk back and around, full circle repeater; power jig 2x (this is really a rock forward and back).
Blast 2: Knees corner to corner, center knees, wide lunges 14x (foot goes out to corner behind step), exit knee off step, power 7s (R leg)arms circling overhead. Do again to other side.
Leg Drill 2: Squats with 35# bbl: 16 single squats, low ends for 4 counts (do this twice), 8 singles, low ends for 4 cts (twice); 15 count low end pulse.
Step 3: 2 alternating knees with a lift, double hop on right foot and step down, knee off side. Jump on to step, do 2 smaller jumps on step moving to the side, down tap, knee off back.
Blast 3: 3 power turning squats, rock back (2x); 7 turning squats, rock back; outer thigh jump straddle, 3 abduction repeater. (This is where my heart rate went to 101%!) Do again to other side.
Leg Drill 3: Plie squats with 35# barbell. 16 singles with underhand grip, 4 ct low ends (4x), 8 singles, 4 ct low ends (4x) and low end pulse for 15 cts.
Step 4: Mambo forward and back, go over step diagonally, knee off back, long hop turn (2x), knee off outside and tap, power turns.
Blast 4: 1 power turn, 3 plyo jacks (4x), power turn, 3 plyos, 4 air jacks, jump forward and back (2x). Cathe says this is the hardest blast although I found blast 3 tougher for me.
Leg Drill 4: Static lunges with 5# dbbls - 8 lunges with 2-2 count, 8 lunges with down 3 up 1 count, 8 singles, 15 low end pulses.
Upper body work: Cathe uses 5 and 15# dbbls. The upper body work moved very quickly.
Back: Double arm row on ball, pullovers on ball, rear flyes on ball (Cathe uses 15#)
Chest: Decline pushups on ball, wide stance pushups on floor, chest flys on ball (Cathe uses 15#) (Chest work was toughest for me.)
Shoulders: Seated overhead press (Cathe uses 15#) I used 10# here. That was enough for me for now; arm circles and side lateral raises(Cathe uses 5#).
Biceps: Seated hammer curls on ball, incline traditional curls and concentration curls.
Triceps: Dips on floor with 1 leg raised in the arm while holding 5# dbbls in each hand on the floor. Do 32 with each leg.
Seated overhead extension on ball; kickbacks.
I really liked doing the upper body work on the ball. It was a nice change.
Abs: Not the toughest ab workout I've done but a good solid ab workout. Rocket shoots (8), thrusts (16) (do 3 sets of these); reverse crunches (28), oblique crunches (24 to each side), 1 arm side plank (hold for 8), lower hips for 8, lift top leg in air and hold for 8 (This was tough.); traditional crunches, lift 3 levels and go down (4 reps), pulse high for 3 cts (8 reps), go up for ct 1, freeze on 2 and 3, go down on 4 (8 reps), V sit (split legs) reach through middle (32 reps).
Well, that's the entire workout. Sorry for the long post. I loved this workout. I probably won't do the entire workout too much but more likely the premixes or different portions. I loved all the music. I usually prefer more dancy choreography (like Rhythmic Step), but I liked the choreography and the music really helped. This workout is a real calorie burner. Hope everyone enjoys this workout as much as I did.
Marcy
