Quickfix - Total Cardio Kick

Rating:
Summary: Good workout - if you're not a beginner
Review: This workout has some potential. The instructor wasn't the best - I found it much easier to watch her exercise models. She didn't give much instruction on form or warning when exercises were going to change. It is a good thing that I am in good shape and familiar with the basics of the exercises from my Tae-Bo days. Overall, I liked the workout, and anticipate using it regularly, otherwise I would have to give it 3 stars for the not-so-great instructor.

Rating:
Summary: 10 Minute Kickboxing Segments Are Part Cardio, Part Toning
Review: Workout Description: four 10 minute aerobic segments w/ toning ("Focused Upper Body," "Focused Lower Body," "Cardio Kickbox Core," and "Kickbox Blaster"). N.B. The fourth segment is only available on the DVD.
Workout Level: mid-beginner to mid-intermediate; can be modified to be low or high impact; basic choreography
Instructor: Janis Saffell (certified personal trainer; IDEA World Fitness Presenter; and USGF certified Gymnastic Coach/Judge.). Janis is low key and friendly but not unnecessarily chatty. She cues well, focusing on form. She intends for you to mirror her movements.
Class: 2 young women wearing brightly colored outfits designed by Janis that show quite a bit of cleavage.
Music / Set: The beat-heavy synthesizer music is fairly typical exercise video stuff. The bright interior set with hardwood floors has minimal decoration.
Equipment Needed: sneakers
Caveats: If you are working out on carpet, be careful with your foot placement, particularly during the many small pivots; you may want to pick up your foot and step rather than turning. Pay attention to your form. Prior kickboxing or martial arts experience is helpful but not necessary. If possible, take a kickboxing class or work with someone experienced in martial arts to make sure you are performing the moves properly. If you can't, borrow one of the TaeBo instructional videos. There is very little warm up or cool down with each segment. Beginners especially should take care to warm up (perhaps by marching in place), and you'll want to do additional stretching when you stop.
Additional Comments: You need a bit of space for this workout. You should be able to take a small step and then fully kick to each side and to the front.
The QuickFix series are great for squeezing in 10 minutes here or there. (In fact, some recent studies have suggested that spreading out your exercise time is as effective, if not more so, than doing it all at once.) If you'd like to do more than one segment, you may want to skip the cool down minute and march in place or do a boxer shuffle or jumping jacks to keep your heart rate up. The "Kickbox Blaster" sequence is the most intense segment, so I would recommend doing that after rather than before the other segments. You probably won't get much toning from this video unless you don't normally do strength workouts, so you can consider this a cardio video. Intermediate exercisers can increase the intensity by doing more boxer shuffles or jumping jacks, which seems to make up much of the cardio emphasis.
This workout is comparable in intensity to any of the TaeBo Basic series, but Janis includes more combinations than Billy Blanks usually does. Janis also cues better than Billy Blanks and, due to her slower combinations, allows you to focus on form. If you like Janis, check out her Hardcore Kickbox Circuit once you've completely mastered this routine.
The DVD has the extra bonus workout, which you have to go back to the main menu to select (under "Bonus"). There is also a weblink to Current Video, the company that produces the QuickFix series.