Lifetiquing Reviews

Equipment needed: step (optional), various dumbbells (I used 5, 8 and 10 lbs, but you’ll need at least one light and one heavy pair)

New! See list of exercises in this workout

Level: Intermediate/advanced

Bottom line: Compound exercises combine with slow and steady pacing to form this pleasant and highly customizable strength circuit program that may also have a cardiovascular component depending on your modifications.

I’ll admit, my first impression of this workout was that it is mediocre. It incorporates high repetitions and compound exercises, as do many of Jari’s other workouts,  so at first glance it seemed to be simply another incarnation of Get Ripped 1000 (without the cardio intervals) or Get Ripped & Chiseled (without the supersets). Well, I should have heeded my own advice, because I recently retried the workout with heavier weights, and it was a completely different experience. Using sufficiently heavy weights (in most cases, the same as Laurie, who used heavier weights than Jari), I found that I really enjoyed this workout.

Unlike the other Get Ripped workouts, this entire workout is is comprised of compound exercises, causing it to be ultra efficient. All major (and many minor) muscle groups are worked in only 50 minutes of actual workout, and the heart rate is elevated significantly, although the stretching breaks between the segments minimize the cardiovascular component. I could have done without the constant emphasis on calorie burn, and the calorie burn estimates listed on the screen are almost certainly greatly overstated. Still, this workout is well sequenced and challenging if appropriately heavy weights are used.

Although I’ve read reviews complaining about the length of the breaks (which are on the long side, but not unreasonably so), saying that they make the workout too “easy,” my guess is that these comments are coming from cardio aficionados. In terms of a strength training circuit, having a moment to rest is important because then heavier weights can be used in the next segment, leading to strength gains. At the same time, I found that this workout did keep my heart rate elevated throughout- not at an aerobic training level, but at a level that made the strength training more difficult. For me, the balance between the two was excellent. Again, though, this workout is very customizable. Since several muscle groups are worked by each exercise, by following the highest level on each exercise (demonstrated by Ben, in the back), lightening up the weights, and doing some light jogging between the segments, this workout could easily emphasize cardiovascular training instead.

Overall: This is a very good and efficient total body toning workout that I’d recommend for a wide range of levels from intermediate to advanced, as long as sufficiently heavy weights are used, and I think it would yield excellent toning results if done regularly. With some modifications, it could also be a cardiovascular workout.