Amy Bento- Kickbox Surge
Equipment used: none
Level: Advanced
Bottom line: very challenging but fun and energizing kickboxing intervals will keep your heart pounding throughout the whole workout.
This one never disappoints me in terms of its intensity. Amy is a gifted instructor with so much pep and energy that you feel compelled to get through this workout- thankfully, because some of those surges will bring you to that “I’m about to collapse” anaerobic threshold.
The workout consists of kickboxing routines that are challenging aerobically in and of themselves, combined with shorter, higher-intensity intervals that are downright brutal. There is non-stop motion and a lot of jumping, kicking and turning, as well as Amy’s usual brand of complex choreography combined with sparse cuing. In other words, this is an excellent workout for an advanced-level exerciser. As an added bonus to the cardiovascular and endurance benefits of this workout, there is a lot of core and upper body work, both during the aerobic portion and in the core training section, which adds to the efficiency and intensity of the workout.
My only major complaint is that Amy dwells on the combinations longer than I would like, ultimately repeating them several times on each side after they are learned. After doing this workout for a while, I found that the repetition got very boring, causing me to drop this DVD from my rotation. I still pick it up occasionally and consider it to be an excellent workout, though.
Overall: this kickboxing workout really works your whole body and challenges the limits of your endurance. Amy’s motivating style combined with an energizing soundtrack will push you through to the end.
For a full break down of this workout, see Collage Video.