Les Mills COMBAT

Whoa, guys. Sorry for that long blogging break! With both kids at school this year there were unprecedented amounts of holiday events, parties, concerts, etc. to attend. Then they came home and all semblance of a schedule was lost. Blogging was on the back burner and then a month went by.

To catch you up on what we're doing now, workout-wise:

COMBAT!

We pre-ordered this program a few months ago, and to be honest I was only half-heartedly excited about it. I LOVE Les Mills PUMP, but the idea of a mixed-martial-arts, kicking and punching program brought me back to these days:

Don't get me wrong...I loved me some Billy Blanks back in the day. Just ask my downstairs neighbors at my college apartment! But since then I lost the love for kicking and punching. Maybe P90X Kenpo had something to do with that.

Love ya, Tony, but I can't stand the Kenpo workout.

As Beachbody Coaches, I kind of feel obligated to be "in the know" about the programs in our library, so we went ahead and ordered the program knowing it would be popular. Our plan was to dabble in COMBAT for the last few weeks of the year on route to hitting Asylum 2 in January.

Then we started trying out the workouts and absolutely dug them. This ain't no Billy Blanks kickin' and punchin'...this is Dan and Rach kickin' and punchin', which is completely different.

These two are dynamos. Quite frankly, I'm a little scared of Dan:

Dude is hard core! He's also kind of a goober. I mean that in the nicest way possible!

When we found out how fun and challenging these workouts are, we decided to go ahead and complete the program. Zach has a 50-mile ultra marathon coming up on Feb. 2 (more on that later), so this program will be a great complement to his running schedule (whereas Asylum would probably be too much to combine with a ton of running).

We got the ultimate package, which contains 11 workouts, including two HIIT (high intensity interval training) workouts that are 30 minutes long and absolute killers. It also comes with these gloves:

In my opinion, these gloves are key to making you feel like a super cool fighter chick (or dude). I did a workout without them, and I didn't feel like I punched with near the intensity as when I have them on. I know it's all psychological but hey, whatever works, right?

If you want to get a flavor for the workouts, here's a clip of Zach and me doing one of the tracks from the COMBAT Live: 60 workout. (Shout out to my budding videographer Drew.)

(Side note about YouTube: I love how they say "We detected your video may be shaky. Want us to fix it?" Hah! Of course it's shaky...a 7-year-old is filming it.)

As always, if you're interested in this program you can buy it here and get Zach and me as your FREE coaches. Who doesn't love free stuff? And also, who doesn't love feeling like a super cool fighter chick?

Here's what comes in the ultimate package:

11 body-shredding workouts:

• LES MILLS COMBAT: THE BASICS. Master the techniques and movements you will use throughout all the LES MILLS COMBAT workouts.
• LES MILLS COMBAT 30: KICK START. A low-complexity but high-intensity workout, introducing you to the basic LES MILLS COMBAT combination moves.
• LES MILLS COMBAT 45: POWER KATA. This workout combines speed and power with cross-training for complete calorie scorching.
• LES MILLS COMBAT 60: EXTREME CARDIO FIGHTER. Challenge your endurance with a high-repetition sequence of moves that will have your muscles firing on all cylinders.
• LES MILLS COMBAT 60 LIVE: ULTIMATE WARRIOR'S WORKOUT. Upper body . . . legs and butt . . . core and cardio . . . this workout hits every muscle hard.
• LES MILLS COMBAT: POWER HIIT 1. High Intensity Interval Training uses short bursts of maximum effort followed by recovery to push you into muscle-conditioning overload.
• LES MILLS COMBAT: SHOCK PLYO HIIT 2. Uses propulsion exercises to improve athletic power and endurance, pushing you into peak performance mode.
• CORE ATTACK. The very best integrated and isolated exercises to help give you the ultimate core strength while chiseling and shredding a serious six-pack.
• INNER WARRIOR: STRETCH AND STRENGTH. Martial arts–based strength and flexibility training to enhance your balance, coordination, and strength.
• WARRIOR WORKOUT 1: UPPER BODY BLOWOUT. Combines weighted moves with body resistance moves to help seriously sculpt and define your biceps, triceps, shoulders, core, and back.
• WARRIOR WORKOUT 2: LOWER BODY LEAN OUT. Strengthen and lengthen your entire lower body—hips, thighs, buns, calves, and core—with this combination athletic/mixed martial arts training workout.

Plus, training tools for the Ultimate Warrior:

• LES MILLS COMBAT Training Gloves. Engage more muscles in your arms, so you can punch harder, strike with more force, and maximize your workout—building those strong and sexy lean muscles while incinerating calories.

Try it as your New Year's workout...I think you'll like it!

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Workout of the Day

Les Mills Combat 60: Extreme Cardio Fighter

Les Mills Pump is the Bomb Diggity

 

I consulted the Urban Dictionary for the definition of "bomb diggity," and you know what? It describes Les Mills Pump perfectly:



1. bomb diggity
totally the awesomest, no lie

2. bomb diggity
Awesomeness in its purest form.

3. bomb diggity
Totally awesome, the best, super!

4. bomb diggity
groovy, hip, happenin, now

First, the nitty gritty:

Les Mills Pump is one of Beachbody's newest workout programs, and it's based on the BodyPump format that is super popular in gyms around the world. It started in New Zealand, spread to Australia and beyond,
and has now expanded to more than 14,000 gyms and and 70,000 instructors worldwide.

Pump is built around "The Rep Effect," which has participants working with low weight and completing high reps of exercises with the major muscle groups. The routines incorporate upbeat music and high-energy trainers.

Beachbody produced a home-version of the program, which includes seven workouts, a bar, and two sets of weights in the base package. The deluxe package option gets you the base kit plus a step, some extra
weights, and three bonus workouts: Sports Attack, Combat, and Les Mills Step.

Now the review:

I. Love. This. Program!

I've been wanting to do a review for awhile, but I can't seem to put my finger on exactly what it is that makes me like it so much.

Is it the music? Yes.

Is it the team of trainers with cute accents and chiseled bodies? Yes.

Is it the way I feel super strong (but shaky-legged) after completing 800+ reps in one workout? Yes.

Is it the way the Step workout starts innocently enough but by the end of 30 minutes your legs are burning like the white hot heat of 1,000 suns? Yes.

This is a completely different way of working out. In P90X-land we're doing 12-15 reps then moving on. Here you're doing different variations of squats and other exercises for five minutes or more. Sometimes singles, sometimes slow tempo, sometimes fast then slow tempo, sometimes half-range motion.

And it's not just for chicks, either. Zach has really liked this program, and from the gasping and straining I hear going on behind me during the workout, I'd say it's tough for him.

The great thing about Pump is that it's for any level. Beginners can work with very little or no weight, while advanced fitness junkies can pile on as much weight as they can handle.

I can't recommend this program enough. When you're ready to try it, let me know and hit up my website to get your copy!

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Workout of the Day
P90X Core Synergistics

 

Went old school this morning in the last serious workout of the week before the Tough Mudder on Saturday. The next two days we'll be taking it easy in anticipation of the big day. I want to feel as strong as possible going into this beast of an adventure race! Full map of our course can be viewed here by clicking "Click to View Full Map."