Workout at Home Tuesday: Turbofire Series Overview

(I reviewed this program in January, but I wanted to do a new, updated version of the program as a whole. You can still find some individual reviews in the archives).

Turbofire: The program
What is it?
Turbofire is a series of workouts that focus on cardio training, with some strength training included. The program also includes a nutrition guide, and a "5 Day Inferno" plan for rapid weight loss.

Turbofire is the next step up from TurboJam, a workout system released in 2005. Turbojam is the home version of Turbokick, which is a popular class taught in gyms and health clubs. I became a certified Turbokick instructor in 2003 and taught until I was pregnant with my son in 2007. It's been interesting to see it evolve during that time, and I also think it gives me insight into these new workouts. I am planning to attend a recertification for Turbokick in August, and to start teaching again- even if it's in my living room :-)

Fire: Fire workouts are based on the format of live Turbokick classes. They include cardio kickboxing, a little dancing, and "Fire Drills". "Fire Drills" (which are also known as "Turbos" in the Turbokick format) consist of short, intense drills where you work AS HARD AS YOU CAN, usually from 45 seconds to 1 minute. Fire workouts in this set range in length from 30 to 60 minutes.

Hiit: Hiit (High Intensity Interval Training) are short, intense workouts consisting of fire drills. These are designed to get you to work at your maximum capacity and then recover multiple times in the workout. The Hiit workouts range from 15 - 30 minutes.

Strength and Stretch: There are a few resistance workouts included with the program, some ab work, and stretching workouts. Resistance is not the primary focus of this workout (compared to something like P90X), so they are short and use light resistance (most of the time a resistance band).

Who is it for?
Someone who wants to put an emphasis on cardio would really enjoy Turbofire. The creator, Chalene Johnson, stated that she wanted to create a workout that anyone, regardless of their fitness level, could do. Each workout includes a modifier who does everything with low impact (but still intensely).

I do kind of a half-modified version. There are some moves I just can't do full out, so I do the modifier's version in those cases. On days when I'm tired, or injured, it's nice to have the low-impact option. I can still get a great workout without hurting myself.

The Fire workouts include an option called "new to class", where, before each section, you go through the choreography. I think this is a great idea for ALL fitness videos that involve choreography (you know, as opposed to 50 jumping jacks or something easy to catch on to). You can choose this option the first few times, or as long as you need, and review the choreography before the section, without a drastic drop in heart rate, and then you perform the section with more mastery. Chalene moves fast, which is great for keeping it exciting and intense, so this option insures you don't get lost.

The Good
The music is amazing. Ever since I received my first Turbokick Round (Round 13...I think they're on 45 now. That doesn't make me feel old-school at all...), I have been impressed with Chalene Johnson's ability to match music with movement. She does a great job of that here, as well.

The Not-As-Good
I hate to say there are any negatives to this workout series, but surely, it won't be for everyone. If you are focused on heavy strength training, this series (as is) is not for you. You can use the Hiit workouts to go along with an existing weight training or bodybuilding program, but the program as a whole is primarily for cardio conditioning.

What is the difference between Turbofire, Turbokick and Turbojam?
Well, absolute beginners should probably start with Turbojam. It's geared towards multiple levels, but the pace is much slower than Turbofire. The choreography is also much less intricate. There are also not as many workouts available. They are less intense, but can be modified to a higher intensity *to a point*.

Turbokick is the version of the workout that is taught by certified instructors in the gym. It is slightly more intense and possibly more complicated than TurboJam. Each round has a similar format. The music is often the current top 40 or hip hop hits. I highly recommend finding a class and trying it, provided you can find a good instructor (I'm kind of an instructor snob, and am very picky).

Turbofire is the only one of these programs that includes Hiit workouts. The pace is faster than both Turbojam and Turbofire, and (in my opinion) the music is better than Turbojam.

My personal favorites of the system:
Fire 45 (Love the music on this one) (Here's a link to a review)
Fire 30 (I reach for this often because it's short) (Here's a link to a review)
Hiit 15 (I combine this with a strength workout, or Fire 30. It has the best music of the Hiits, I think.
Remember, the best workout program for you is the one you will do!
Stretch 40- This is a good yoga style workout.

I like the others, too, but these are the ones I reach for most often.

Have any of you tried Turbofire? Do you have any thoughts? Anything to add?

Today's Workout, or "What a Monday Morning Looks Like"..

Since I can't run 4 days a week (at the moment), I decided I would benefit from replacing one of those runs with Turbofire.

The alarm went off at 3:45. Yawn. My daughter wasn't interested in letting me get up just yet (we co-sleep), and I could hear the cat messing around in the kitchen. I got nervous. Then, I heard a CRASH. Oh no. Even more nervous.

The cat came into the bedroom smelling of old coffee, and my worst fear was that she had knocked over (and broken) the French Press. The horror!

Finally, I released myself from my daughter's grip and went to the kitchen. Oh, thank goodness, the French Press was intact (although it was in the sink).

I knew my daughter would be awake within moments, so I made her a bottle, made coffee (thankfully), and got my DVD workout ready. I wanted to do as close to an hour of cardio as I could, so I picked Turbofire 55 EZ.


I was able to start the workout at about 4:45. My daughter lasted about 41 minutes.

I wanted to get a really good workout, but I didn't want to do high impact (I save my impact for running days), so I tried the workout with some weights. Beachbody makes some weighted gloves specifically designed for Turbo workouts, but I don't have any of them... so I used some "wrist weights" that (I think) weigh about 1 pound each. Dang! That made me work harder, for sure, so I think I'll be picking up some of the weights that are actually designed for this...

It feels good to get the workout done early in the morning, but it looks like today is going to be absolutely beautiful, and I really wish I could run today. Hopefully, it will still be beautiful tomorrow.

What are some morning routines that you have? Would you completely lose it without the ability to make coffee in the morning, or am I just ultra high-maintenance?

Finally... Happy Valentine's Day!

Sarah

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Turbofire Review Series: Fire 45

The following is part of series. For an introduction to the series as a whole, please see this post.

Fire 45 Description:

This is quickly turning into one of my favorite and most used Turbofire workouts. It contains 3 Fire Drills: One is kind of early on, and then the last two are back to back repeats of the same one.

Some of the memorable songs include: Boom, I got your boyfriend!(which seems to be everyone’s favorite with this one), Wiggle It (Just a Little Bit) and Proud Mary (Tina Turner version) in the second and third Fire Drill.

Honestly, I wasn’t familiar with any of the other tunes in this workout, but I did enjoy the music quite a bit. Once again, the music and moves go together really well.

Difficulty:

This workout is really not too hard to learn. The choreography is pretty simple, in my opinion.

Intensity (from 1: laying on the couch to 10: I’m about to puke in a bucket):

I have been doing my Turbofire workouts low impact most of the time, since I alternate them with running and feel like I need a little rest. I found that this one is kind of hard to keep intense while still keeping it low impact. There are a lot of jacks, air jacks, and ski/runs. It’s hard to keep the intensity up on ski/runs while just marching. So, I feel like I get a pretty strong, solid, workout, but I don’t feel like it’s as intense. So, I’ll say for low impact modifications, it’s about a 5 -7, and those who go full out can probably edge close to 10 during the Fire Drills.

Other thoughts:

My favorite part (as I’m sure it is for most people) is the Boom I got your boyfriend section. The music and moves go perfectly together, and I find myself singing along. (I do these workouts most of the time with my baby daughter in her exer-saucer in front of me, so I tend to ham it up to keep her entertained!)

Stay tuned for more reviews, and if you have done any of these workouts, please add your thoughts..

To your health,

Sarah

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(Originally published 1/25/2011)

Turbofire Review Series: Fire 30

The following is part of a series. For an introduction to this series as a whole, please see this post.

Fire 30 Description:
Fire 30 is a 30 minute Turbo workout following the typical format: Warmup (each Fire workout does the same warmup, just likeTurbokick and Turbojam); A few punching/kicking sections; fire drills; and a finale.
Difficulty:
This workout, like the other Fire workouts, offers the "New to Class" option. If you choose this option, after the warm-up, there is a seamless transition to a section where Chalene reviews the choreography for the upcoming section (If you're familiar with Turbokick, this is the way the instructor videos did the section reviews before the workout... at least back in my day...).
Using the "New to Class" option makes it more likely that you'll get the choreography, but even if you don't get it perfectly, you'll get practice. As Chalene says, "Practice burns calories!"
This moves pretty fast and is pretty intense. The fire drill consists of the same one minute drill, but it's repeated two times.
The cool down is pretty short. Each of the DVDs in this series includes a 10 minute workout called "Stretch 10". The user is encouraged to use this after as many workouts as possible. But there is a very short, very basic "get you back to where you were when you started" stretch at the end.
Some of songs include: Play That Funky Music, We Want the Funk, Proud Mary, Every Little Step (I found myself recognizing several sections and tunes from previous Turbokick rounds).
Some of the moves include: Fast feet/Football run (Flashdance), Clockwork, Hi-lo punches, Twist, and Fire Throw (a new move I hadn't seen before Turbofire that consists of contracting your abs, lifting your knee and acting like your throwing. Looking back on that, it doesn't seem right. It's very hard to describe.)
Intensity (from 1: laying on the couch to 10: I'm about to puke in a bucket):
Again, modifications are offered, and you can make it as hard as you like. I find that the speed itself makes it intense, so if you are modifying down, you might try making the movements smaller (when I did Turbofire 8 months pregnant I found that the speed was the most challenging element for me). So, I think you could probably work this from about a 5 - 8 or 9. (Remember, the goal is not to work at a 10 all the time).
Other thoughts:
Overall, I find myself reaching for this one pretty often. Part of it is the length- with 2 kids and a full time job, if I can do a tough workout in 30 minutes, I am happy. I would rather complete a 30 minute workout than get through 30 minutes of a 45 minute workout and have to stop (that's just me...).
Also, it's quite a fun one.
Stay tuned for more reviews, and if you have done any of these workouts, please add your thoughts, especially if you can help me explain "Fire Throws".
To your health,
Sarah
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