As I have mentioned in earlier posts about my fitness level -- I am not an athlete. Far from it. However, I am a big fan of Beachbody programs. Over the past few years, I have sweated through 90 days of P90X and P90X3 and I am currently working on a 21-Day Fix. What I like about these programs is simplicity. The programs take the guesswork out of what you should be doing on a particular day, leaving you just having to "push play." While I have yet to try it, Beachbody announced an on demand version of their programs. Now you can log-in, pick a program, and push play as opposed to buying one program at a time.
I like to mix things up now that I have gone through a few of these programs. Below are my 3 favorites. Note that some equipment is necessary (dumbbells, a mat, etc) for these workouts.
1. Plyometrics, P90X
"Man, O' Manishewitz" this is an intense workout, but well worth it. Trainer and living legend, Tony Horton, leads this hour workout of jumping, squatting, taking air basketball shots all while burning a ton of calories. Plyometrics is referred to as "jump training." There are four blocks in this work out with 4 exercises in each block. Each exercise is done for 30 seconds (except the last one which is done for a minute). You get to rest after each block is complete. The final block is a "bonus round" where you get to try sport specific moves, like throwing a pitch and shooting a basketball. Not only are you getting a great workout, Tony has some great one-liners for you.
2. Total Body Cardio Fix, 21-Day Fix
This 30 minute workout gets it done. Like the name for the workout suggests, the exercises aim at hitting multiple muscle groups at one time. Take the first exercise for example: Surrenders. (See video below). After one minute of doing this exercise you may question finishing the rest of the DVD; however, as trainer Autumn Calabrese says at the very beginning, its the hardest move of the workout. The workout consists of 4 blocks. Each block has two exercises that last a minute. You complete each exercise twice with a short break after each exercise.
3. MMX, P90X3
As a former white belt in karate, I was excited about this workout when I first got the P90X3 program. This 30 minute workout has you kicking, punching, jumping, and sprawling the whole time. You will sweat a lot during this workout. Again, trainer, Tony Horton, brings some of his better one-liners to the workout. After a long day at work, there is nothing better than suiting up, and kicking and punching the air.