Jessica Smith-Gomez Cardio Abs Workout DVD Review

I am absolute ecstatic and excited to finally be able to bring you a workout DVD review from one of my favorite people in the fitness industry – Jessica Smith-Gomez.  She just released a new workout DVD from her 10 Pounds Down series:  Cardio Abs.  Boy was I excited to get this one and I wasn’t disappointed in the least.

First a little about Jessica.  Besides working out with her on the old Exercise TV, my first experience with her was on the Women’s Health Train for Your Body Type workout DVD that I still enjoy doing down and again.  It’s a go-to workout DVD for when I go to my folks’ house. I also love her Boot Camp DVD from the 10 Minute Solution series.  I do the cardio segment on that frequently as a finisher to my gym workouts.  It is kick butt for sure!

Jessica is a girl’s girl.  She’s pretty but she’s not intimidating nor does she have an attitude or heir about her.  She’s down to earth and she also happens to be newly married to one of the hottest men in the fitness industry: Guillermo Gomez.  They have done some workout DVDs together as well.

You really should look Jessica up on Facebook.  I haven’t even begun to touch on the other things she is involved in.  She writes articles for various fitness magazines and websites, releases short exercise videos and gives tips on exercise, nutrition, etc.  She really is one of the best.

Cardio Abs (90 mins total) has three separate workouts and a short bonus workout.  It also has a downloadable meal plan in case you need some direction in that area.  You will need a set of dumbbells (for workout No. 2) and beginning on your level you really should try to push yourself in that area.  I used 10 pounds but I think I could have used 12 if I had a set of 12s.  I saw one page recommending 2 to 5 pounds and I really thought that was ridiculously low.

This is a solid upper intermediate workout that can keep even the most advanced exercisers happy.  With three solid workouts and the bonuses I really feel that you get your money’s worth with this one.

Cardio Abs (28 Minutes) – Is a fun kickboxing inspired routine. There are 5 separate segments and within those segments Jessica has a section to get the heart rate up.  She also offers power movements to keep advanced exercisers happy.  You also have the option to keep it low impact as well.  After completing the workout one time through and you become familiar with the moves you could just start off with the higher impact/power moves if you really want to kick it in the butt (I’m speaking to us advanced people).

Total Body Abs Transformer (28 Minutes) – In this workout you will use your dumbbells.  Remember ladies try to push yourself and go heavy.  I used 10s but wish I had a set of 12s.  I may try my 15s in the future.  This workout has 3 separate segments.  Each segment is repeated and also has a short cardio burst.  Jessica uses a 16 rep count for each of the moves and the movements are a bit dynamic.  You will feel the burn provided you are using heavy enough weights.  The workout is also done in a way that your heart rate is maintained throughout.

Concentrated Abs (26 Minutes) – This workout was probably the most challenging for me.  I definitely found where my weakness is.  I have a high cardio capacity and am very strong but my abs aren’t as strong as I thought.  I really felt it in the front of my abs the day after doing this routine.  It starts off with a balance challenge as the warm up which really is quite challenging for me.  I have terrible balance.  There is floor work that contains plank challenges, crunches, etc.  These aren’t your typical moves, however.  Jessica throws in some different techniques that may just kick your ab routine into gear.  She repeats each segment twice and uses the 16 rep count.  I can tell you that my abs burned after this.

Bonus Workout: Tabata Inspired workout (4 Minutes) – If you’ve been following my blog you know I’m a fan of Tabata.  A short four minute all out 20 seconds on 10 second rest protocol.  The movements that Jessica chose were fun and really get your heart rate up.  You will need to warm up and cool down on your own for this one.

I like stringing two (or three if I use the Tabata) of these workouts together or I use them as a finisher to my gym workout.