Get ready to Raise Some Bell in 2014!

Looking forward to 2014 and beyond. Thanks for all of your support in 2013.

Missy

Best of 2013 ….and the winner is…..

www.fitnessblender.com

MISTRANSFORMATION 2013 BEST OF WINNER:  FITNESSBLENDER.COM

I discovered FitnessBlender.com in the spring.  I meant to blog about it then but kept putting it off.  The site is great.  The variety of workouts is great.  There are workouts for all levels.  It is really a one stop shop AND the best thing about it is:  It’s free!  With all that it has to offer you really cannot find an excuse not to workout.

When I sat down to pick my Best of 2013 post I just couldn’t come up with a DVD I reviewed that really knocked me out as “the best of.”  There were great workouts for sure but a lot of it was the same old, same old, i.e., different moves but the same format.    The ones that did strike me as different just weren’t something that would appeal to the masses (Michelle Dozios’ BodyFit 360 – great advanced level barefoot fusion workout but I don’t think a lot of men would want to workout to that).

FitnessBlender.com workouts include:  Kickboxing; barre; kettlebell; cardio; hiit; low impact; pilates; yoga inspired; warm ups/cool down/stretch; lower body; upper body; weights including high reps and lower reps; 1000 calorie; bodyweight and they just included sandbag workouts.   You can find workouts for the beginner through advanced level (one of the kettlebell workouts kicked my butt!).

Kelli and Daniel (the creators of FitnessBlender.com and the trainers) are great to workout with and very knowledgeable about fitness.  They also happen to be husband and wife.   In addition to the workouts, there are different programs available for purchase on the site (these cost a small fee).

Please peruse this little gem.  You just might find something that you like!

www.fitnessblender.com

Please find them on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.  I would like to link to that but I’m not that inept on my blog.  Facebook Page:  FitnessBlender.com    Twitter:  @FitnessBlender
Pinterest:  FitnessBlender.com

Toby Massenburg’s Ignite Workout DVD Review

Ignite is another advanced level workout DVD that Toby released recently at the same time as AfterBurn.  My review of AfterBurn is a few posts back.  I liked AfterBurn but I LOVE Ignite.

Ignite is a 30 minute workout that is pure plyometric drills.  You will not need weights for this workout but you will need a step.  Toby uses a high step but I used my regular aerobic step for some of the drills and for the other step drills I used my Roughneck step stool that I substitute as a “high” step (I don’t recommend this to others as it is not really made for this and someday I’m probably going to sprain an ankle).   Not all drills are done on the step and I’m sure you could modify a drill and do it on the floor if you had to.

There are 21 drills in this workout.  Each drill is 30 seconds and you get 30 seconds rest before the next drill.  Other than repeating something on the other side (because you have two legs) there is no repetition in this workout and that is what I love.  Some of the drills may be similar to others but these drills are all different.  Don’t tell Toby this but if there is one drill that you absolutely hate you can always throw something in that you like (for instance I love lateral skater hops and since they aren’t in this workout I can always substitute a drill I do not like with this move).

This workout goes by fast.  It flew by for me and had me looking around at my clock like, “that’s it?”

I feel kind of guilty liking this one more than AfterBurn because of the length but I just do.  I can use this workout after a lifting session and get it all done in one day.

Five out of Five stars for Toby!

Cathe X10 Workout DVD Review

Cathe X10 is another release from her latest collection of workout DVDs.  If I had to label this something I would call this a ‘sampler.’  If I had a friend who has never done a Cathe workout DVD before and is unfamiliar with her I would definitely recommend this workout DVD to them.  This has a little bit of this and a little bit of that.  There are 5 separate workouts in total.  In original form each workout is roughly 30 minutes in length but Cathe has this well premixed and you can group these together for a 40 minute workout or do all of them together and have a 77 minute kick@$$ workout.

You will need some tools for some segments of this workout DVD.  A few sets of dumbbells, i.e., 5s 8s and 10s possibly just a little higher as these are fast paced strength portions.  A step and gliding discs (or paper plates) are also utilized.  The warm up and cool down are the same no matter how you group your workouts.

Workout One:  Step workout in the beginning and ending with strength.  This step program isn’t as complicated as some of Cathe’s step workouts so don’t be intimated by it.   It ends with strength.  The strength is compound movements and will keep your heart rate up.   It utilizes the step in the strength as well.

Workout Two:  Low impact.  No jumping in this one.  You are encouraged to keep your heels on the floor.  Anyone who has done Cathe low impact knows that low impact does not mean low intensity.  Again this ends with a strength segment of compound movements.  The discs are utilized in the strength portion of this workout.

Workout Three:  Hi/Lo.  Hi impact movements followed by lower intensity movement and finished with strength compound moves.

Workout Four:  All cardio blast.  Nonstop cardio drills. No weights needed for this segment.  I really liked this segment.  I thought the drills were fun.

Workout Five:  Aero/tone intervals.  Cardio drills/bodyweight/strength moves.  These are not separate portions.  Cathe labels this segment metabolic because you are maintaining your heart rate throughout the strength portions.  This segment has a dual bicep curl to overhead press with 32 reps.  Talk about bite!

My favorite move in the entire DVD is the side lunge raise to a tree pose overhead lift.  You have to see it to believe it!  It is in workout five.

The entire workout is fast paced and when Cathe says put the weights down for a break you get about a second and you pick them back up again so don’t think you are getting a rest because they are few and far between in this workout.

There is only one thing I wish Cathe would have done.  I wish that there was a premix for all of the cardio portions together and one for all of the strength portions together.  Maybe it wasn’t possible to do that but it would have added another benefit to the workout groupings.

I would rate this workout 5 out of 5 stars.

Fabulous workout!

 

 

Cathe Flextrain Workout DVD Review

Flextrain is from Cathe Friedrich’s latest collection of releases.  It is a total body toner.  It’s mostly lighter weights BUT for some back rows Cathe uses 25 pounds.   A lot of people are comparing this to Super Cuts from her Xtrain collection but that workout was much milder and I feel that Flextrain is way more superior.   Have you ever heard the saying:  What do you do for cardio?  Answer:  I lift weights faster.  Well, I would put this workout in that category.  This isn’t an aerobic dance workout but rather it utilizes weights and does get your heart rate up.

You need some equipment for this workout:  Loop strength band, multiple sets of weights (ranging from light to heavy), resistance band and gliding discs (or paper plates),

I think Flextrain would be a great workout for someone who is teetering on the intermediate/advanced level and hoping to progress.  This might just get you there.  It is also great for an advanced exerciser for those days when you don’t know quite just what kind of a workout you want to do.  This doesn’t have any “cardio” moves (I mean a lot of jumping around) but the beginning compound moves are going to get your heart rate up.  This includes some squat presses, curtsey lunge presses and sumos with a high pull.    This workout hits your entire body with both multi-muscle and isolated moves and is very efficient.  Cathe labels this a metabolic workout.  I’m not even going to try to define that for you.

I feel that this workout works the upper body a lot more than the lower body and my shoulders were burning.  I didn’t feel like the intensity was over the top during the workout but after the workout I had an endorphin rush and I slept really well that night.

If you want a great workout with low dread factor then Flextrain is for you!

 

STAY TUNED:  I got some more Cathe swag to review soon.