GI Jabb: Kickboxing and Strengthening

I have worked out to videos since I moved to a small village with no gym facilities. My first videos were the "Firm Strength" and "Firm Cardio", "Step Reebok Power Workout", "Kathy Smith Aerobox" and "Ali McGraw Yoga Mind & Body". I still practice Kathy and Ali faithfully but now depend on Cathe's Pure Strength and Cross Train Express tapes for my cardio and strength workouts. My fitness is at an advanced level, but at 33 years old, my career takes up a lot of my time and contributes to stress. So, three months ago, I decided to do less high impact, especially step videos, and substitute kickboxing as an alternative cardio workout format. I am able to perform Kathy's Aerobox at the fast pace set by Michael Olajide (even the insane skipping speeds!), so I was confident in being able to keep pace with the G.I. Jabb series. This turned out to be true, except that Aerobox does not teach foot pivots, and learning to include them with my punches puts me at an intermediate kickboxing level.

This is a low-impact, moderate intensity workout. At least I find it to be moderate intensity because of the quick pacing. Katalin mixes up her segments cross-training style. For example, a kickbox combination of "shin block, cross, cross" might be followed by rubber band exercises of "15 reps of squats, then 15 biceps curls", then back to a "jabb, cross, hook" combo, then "15 push-ups", etc. The kickboxing combinations are medium-fast, giving me time to concentrate on form. If your form is excellent and you are going for intensity, you will want to work at a faster pace. The rubber tubing strength training segments are again, moderate intensity due to the high reps and no rest time but quickly moving from one thing to the next. For my heavy workouts, I do Cathe PS with a 45-lb. barbell or Cathe CTX with a 35-lb. barbell. The rubber tubing is comparatively light resistance. So I look forward to doing Katalin's tape on a recovery day, to give my muscles a light once-over and to enjoy practicing the kickboxing combinations. The strength training includes biceps curls, triceps extensions, squats, plie squats, lunges, fire hydrants (on hands and knees, lift leg up to the side), push-ups, sit-ups, back rows and spinal erector extensions, but the toning emphasis is on shoulders. If you carry tension between your shoulder blades this tape will help erase it. I think I prefer using rubber tubing rather than dumbbells for shoulders -- there are more angles you can work.

Although Katalin demonstrates perfect form and gives lots of form safety pointers, her instruction on technique for the kicks and punches isn't as detailed as on her other tapes. She peps up her cueing combinations by switching from "jabb, cross, kick! Uppercut!" to "jabb, punch him in the nose, kick him in the groin, cut under his guard!" She is petite and determined, and she will quickly gain your respect and admiration.

Please note that I've only done this video one time. However, I'm posting this since there have been people that are curious about this tape. I really like this tape but my feelings could change after I do the tape a couple more times.

This tape is a cross-training tape. It is 58 minutes. I would rate it as advanced. You alternate between kickboxing and strength moves. The strength moves are done with an exertube and an O-ring. Some moves can be done with dumbbells but some cannot. I did this tape yesterday and really feel my shoulders today.

The kickboxing moves are done fast. She only shows each combo once and then you move at a fast pace. She said that you must master her Level 1 tapes before moving on to this tape. I think the pace of the combos in the Warrior workout might be slightly faster but not much. Since I've only done each tape once, I might be wrong on this. Cadet training was on back-order at FWOnline so I can't compare it to that tape. The combos are simple not complex. It could something like jab, cross, hook, and upper cut with alternating arms. You will do ten on one side and then ten on the other side. Sometimes it can just be ten roundhouse kicks to one side and then ten to the other. After each combo, you do a strength segment.

Here are some of the strength moves that I remember. Exertube exercises are squats, lunges, standing butterfly chest exercises, bicep curls, rear deltoids with plies, standing shoulder presses, standing tricep presses, front and side lateral raises. Those are the standing exercises. O-ring exercises are done with moving plie squats (I really felt this one) and a unique exercise for the upper body. On the latter one, you have your arms in a position where it looks like you are about to shoot an arrow. You then move your back arm back so that if you were holding a bow, the arrow would be moving back. You then go back to the starting position. I actually lost my O-ring so I use a big exercise rubberband. You can probably tie your dynaband into a small circle and use that. For the rear deltoids, I used my figure 8 type band. You place it in front of you shoulder length, elbows out, and stretch out the band. Katlin folded up her exertube to do this exercise.

You will do lots of sets of each exercise but it is not boring. She super-sets the exercises. So on one strength segment, you might do squats, bicep curls, and shoulder presses. Then another segment, you will do squats, the arrow exercise, and lateral raises. I'm not sure if I got the order of the exercises right. I just want you to know that you do multiple sets of each exercise. And for each segment, you super-set with two or three exercises.

After the standing kickbox and strength sections, you will do floor work. You use the exertube to do back row pulls. You sit on the floor with your legs straight. You put the exertube around your legs and pull it back. She said that you can put the exertube around your legs twice if you want more tension. You do the rows with your palms up like a bicep curl and your palms facing each other. You also do a floor exercise where you place the O-ring around your feet. You move your feet in and out. She says this helps with ankle stability which is important for kickboxing. But you don't move your feet too much going outwards or else the band will go up. She mentions this. You will also go down on all fours and do round house kicks. You also put one leg out to the side and pulse it. The leg is straight out. This one hurts my buns but in a good way. Maybe, I should say effective instead of good.

There's push-ups and some lying floor work. You will lie down on your back and place the O-ring around your ankles. You will then move your legs out so that you are working your inner and outer thighs. I think you might do abs at one point doing this but I don't remember.

There is more ab work and the final stretch. I know that I probably missed a couple of the exercises. I just wanted people to get a feel for the workout. I really like this tape because I've been looking for an advanced kickboxing circuit tape. I like BodyBar Kickbox Circuit but felt that was more of an intermediate level tape. Both the kickboxing and the strength sections are harder on this tape. The only exercises that I think I will grab some dumbbells for are the squats and lunges. I felt the exercise using the exertube but I think I need more weight. I think using the tubing will give a person more cuts than working with free weights. I think it's because you can really feel your muscles working throughout the movements. Another way to increase the tension is when the tubing is under your feet, you place your legs wider apart. You can also loop the bands a couple times around your hands. But this feels uncomfortable sometimes.