Happy Friday all! This is my last weekend of summer! HOW did that happen? I promised I’d write up a review to Bob Harper’s DVD, so here it is!
I tried out Bob Harper’s Pure Burn Super Strength DVD Wednesday with the expectation that is was going to be hard, I mean have you seen the trailer?? I knew what I was getting myself into, but it’s exactly what I was looking for. I love doing workout dvd’s a couple of mornings a week before work, when I can’t or don’t want to get to the gym. The elliptical gets boring for me and dvd’s are a great way to switch it up. For a long time last year I switched between Jillian’s No More Trouble Zones (weights) and Boost Your Metabolism (cardio) dvds, which are both great too. I probably will still go back to them occasionally, but these new workout dvd’s are on another level.
What I liked right off the bat about the DVD is that there are 2 workouts on the dvd, one that’s 60 minutes for people who regularly workout and a second workout for beginners that’s 20 minutes. In both workouts, I noticed that it had a countdown clock in the lower right corner, which I love. It lets you keep track of how much time is left, you can pace yourself and take breaks if you need to by pausing the dvd. (Don’t tell Bob.)
The 20 minute workout is really for beginners. I just watched it to review it. It starts out with stretches to warm up for 3 minutes. Then he takes you through a series of squats, where you can use or not use weights. Bob goes over what it means to have good form in each of the exercises. Bob takes you through bicep curls, tricep extensions, tricep kickbacks, alternating lunges, front raises, lateral raises, shoulders, dead lifts, bentover wide row, and then some pushups and ab work. Each exercise just focusing on one movement, there are no combinations. It is a great starting place for someone who hasn’t worked out or lifted weights.
Now onto the 60 minute workout…
The dvd starts out with a motivating speech by Bob and then gets right into it. The clock starts with 66 minutes, o boy. He starts off with a stretch and warm up. After a couple of minutes of warming up, there is no time wasted, which is pretty much the theme of the dvd. Bob goes right into pushups, alternating with a runner’s stretch. This is probably the easiest part of the dvd, no joke. The whole workout keeps going for 66 minutes, with 2 water breaks. I paused it a couple of times to get a drink and rest for a couple of seconds before I went on.
What I like about the dvd is that you can go at your own speed. Bob doesn’t really give you an amount of reps to do, he sets the pace and then counts down from a certain number of seconds. He tells you to basically work at your own pace and you pick your weights. He also tells you if you need to drop your weights, then do it. I mean, I feel like that’s obvious, but its still good he tells you. I used every weight from 10,8, 5 and 3 pounds. Sometimes I would switch in the middle of an exercise if it really got too hard.
You can clearly see that the people in the video are working hard. They need to take breaks also. For some reason I felt better that I wasn’t the only one busting my butt. The workout is set up so you do a series of exercises and then you repeat it once. I had to take some modifications, especially at the end. I was doing pushups on my knees by the end because there were so many. The workout goes the entire 66 minutes and only takes about a minute or two at the end to stretch.
This is an amazing full body workout. I felt it the most in my triceps, back, shoulders and butt. I went a little conservative because it was my first time. I know after a couple of times doing this I will be able to do more reps and maybe even heavier weights.
I honestly, can’t think of one thing I didn’t like about this dvd. I think Bob is extremely motivating and I loved it. I can’t wait to try the other 3. Maybe one thing would be is that I could have used one or two more exercises for legs, but that may be just because I didn’t use heavy enough weights on my legs, so I’m not sore there. I highly suggest that you guys get out there and buy this dvd. If you go on his website, I bought all 4 for $35 (with my own $$$) . I thought it was a steal and couldn’t pass it up. Bob also has a ton of workout clips and challenges on his youtube channel.
I know I posted this video already, but it gives you good insight to the Pure Burn Super Strength DVD.
So get out there and get going!
Have a FABULOUS 3 day weekend!
