Bosu Cardio Fusion

I’m reviewing this workout after doing it once.

General workout breakdown: This 57-min. cardio workout uses the Bosu. Kathy’s already described the workout. I’ll just add a few things: warm-up = 9 min., cardio portion = 37 min., and cool-down = 5 min. (taking some of the moves from the warm-up but slowed down and challenging your balance a little more), followed by a total body stretch = 6 min. (which uses the Bosu with the dome side down).

Level: I’d recommend this to experienced exercisers at the very least at a solid intermediate level and comfortable with at least basic step aerobics. This is best suited for those around the intermediate / advanced level, at least IMO. Because Rob takes time in the warm-up to get you acclimated to the Bosu, this works well to introduce regular exercisers to working out with the Bosu.

I consider myself an intermediate + to intermediate / advanced in cardio, and I have little trouble with all but the most complex (or poorly cued) choreography. I picked this choreography up without too much effort. That said, I found this quite challenging for my poor little cardiovascular system. I’m going to blame that on the fact I’m so new to the Bosu plus still relatively new to step aerobics. ;)

Class: As Kathy mentioned, Gay Gasper and Chalene Johnson join Rob, who instructs live. Every once in a while one of the woman demonstrates a modification, either up or down.

Music: upbeat instrumental music, pretty standard stuff for exercise videos. It’s not bad.

Set: the 2003 CIA set with Joan Miró and Mark Rothko (well, Rothko-esque) posters plus brightly (primary) colored funky furniture and accessories off to the side.

Production: clear picture and sound, helpful camera angles. (It’s what you’d expect from CIA productions.)

Equipment: Bosu and supportive sneakers (Rob mentions the need for lateral support, which crosstrainers provide). If you sweat a lot, you might want a towel nearby to wipe off moisture that could make you slip.

Space Requirements: enough space to move around the Bosu comfortably, with a little more space behind the Bosu, especially to the side.

DVD Notes: You can skip the Bosu series introduction. The main menu’s options are Intro to Workout, Start Workout, Mix and Match (i.e. a list of the segments), Products, and Credits. In a cute touch, the icon in front of each choice is a little Bosu. My laptop’s DVD player found a few additional chapters within the main cardio segments.

Comments: There are some higher impact moves (e.g. jumps, running, “sticking” hops), but these are done on the Bosu, which absorbs some of that impact. The pivots and other turny moves are minimal, at least in comparison to Rob’s usual cardio, although if your knees are bothered by torque you’ll want to be careful with the squats, moguls, etc.

Bosu Calorie Combusion vs. Bosu Cardio Fusion: Combustion is basically a shortened version of Fusion; the moves and combos are very similar and in some instances nearly indentical, with the Fusion having the expanded versions. Personally I’m going to keep Fusion and pass along Combustion, as I’d rather have the chapters on Fusion and thus the option to make the workout longer or shorter, depending upon my needs or mood that day.

Bosu Cardio Fusion

A few words to start. This was the first of the Bosu Pro Series DVD's I tried. I had never tried a Rob Glick workout previously, and the only other workout I had used with my Bosu previous to this was Firm Super Cardio Mix. After trying things
both ways, I highly recommend Bosu-specific workouts to Bosu owners! Alternately, now that I have been using Bosu-specific workouts, it will be easier to learn to modify my non-Bosu workouts, which increases my options with the Bosu. But so far I am having a blast with the Bosu-specific workouts!

This workout is organized into 5 segments. Warm-up and Acclimation, Fusion 1, Fusion 2, Fusion 3, and a Cool Down.

The warm up gets you acclimated to the surface of the dome as well as moving on, off, and around the dome. Also exercises are performed with lever movements for your arms, getting used to the Bosu spacially.
The First section is an add-on cardio routine, pretty simple athletic-type moves. It is really fun routine, and the bosu adds a whole new dimension to the moves performed, so while the moves may be simple, you are working hard balancing, jumping, stepping on and off the dome. Rob adds on a new move, then demonstrates the evolution of the move from very basic version, to what becomes the standard move, then finally adds power to the move, all evolving each time he takes it from the top (sometimes he takes it from
the top of the particular move, sometimes he takes it from the top of the whole routine). This section gets my hr up too. It may not feel like it at first, but a glance at your hr monitor tells me I am working hard as well as consistently!

The second section has you performing sports drills. The first drill is on performed top of the bosu we walk six times, then run, then knee-up run, finally football-drill run. There are other drills, each drill treated as it's own block and not repeated when you move on to another drill. some of the moves are lateral lunges evolving into jumps, side leg raises. A cool one where you alternately cross-country ski and mogul ski. Fun. Another where you power jump 45 degrees, then 90 degrees, and land the squat softly ('stick').The drills really get your heart rate up, and they are a lot of fun too. This section is about 10-12 mins.

The third section is a more dancy-type routine, which is done in add-on style as well, following the same pattern as section 1. There is some turning and moving around the bosu, lunges off the bosu, cha cha and mambos into a 'revolving-door' move over the Bosu. This was the most complex section and I did not get all the moves right off the bat,
But I am a slow learner, so YMMV. In the middle of this routine, it hit me that I really felt like I was dancing, and it is just really
fun, you can't help but smile. Rob's choreography is just so fun and flows so well. I noticed that while I have all of the moves down now (my third time through) I sometimes find myself on the wrong foot, but for now while still learning the routine, I try to just have fun with the routine and get a good workout, and not worry too much about the right-or-wrong foot issue (for me, that issue always seems to fix itself as I get the routine down.)
Definitely a keeper. A+.