The Hollywood Trainer: Ultimate Cross Training

I tend to like one type of workout at a time. When doing strength work, I generally don’t want to be doing cardio as well. When doing Pilates, I don’t add weighted strength work. Etc. However, recently, I also find there are weeks when I am tired or stressed and, although I have the energy to do something, I have a short attention span. It’s what I call “exercise ADD”. This workout seemingly will be a handy one for those types of periods.

The workout is filmed outdoors on what looks like a patio next to a building. There are two background exercisers behind Jeanette and she interacts with them throughout the workout. She gives time for transitions between moves that need it. There may not be enough time for some, but she doesn’t blow right through those times. Throughout the workout, there is an emphasis on balance moves and training, something I can use.

She starts with a relatively short warm up. Following that is the cardio sculpt section. There are mostly compound and combination strength moves at a pace that raises the heart rate. In this section, I used five-pound weights and that worked for me. For the Firm, eight pounds is my light weight. The music is instrumental with a definite beat. She comments that good cardio music is hard to find, so she chose her favorite track she uses for classes. She suggests, but doesn’t show, easier variations to what they are doing. The kickboxing segment is next and it is accompanied by driving instrumental music. She leads a couple of simple combos on both sides at a moderate pace. My heart rate got up and the speed was easily followed. In the yoga/Pilates section, there is a definite transition because the music is lighter and calmer. She suggests removing shoes and socks partway in. Most of the moves in this section are not explained. She calls for the move and they do it. She does give some form pointers, but it isn’t enough for a beginner to yoga and Pilates. The yoga was not that great, but I liked the Pilates section. I felt it in my core.

Overall, I liked the workout and there are specific days it will be good for. If you are looking for an intense strength workout, this isn’t it. I will use it on days when I want a strength workout, but don’t feel up to one of my normal weighted strength workouts. I’ll get a little bit in the weights department and my core will be worked out. And, the kickboxing is a good addition to those sections.

I found this to be a very good moderate-day video with 10 minutes of light weights/sculpting compound moves, 10 minutes consisting of two fun and simple kickbox combinations, then 15 minutes of pilates/yoga moves. The moves include arabesques with pulses, the 100, the scissors, bicycles, warrior stances and downward dogs. The music gets a little loud on my VHS copy; it's recycled Dynamix music. She moves quickly and efficiently through each section.

This workout is part of the Hollywood Trainer series. It is about 45 minutes long and features a weight work section, a kickboxing section and a yoga/pilates section. It is a good sampler of the other workouts in the series. I used it on a day where I was not sure whether I wanted weights or cardio and was not really in the mood for something killer. For this purpose, it worked just fine for me, but I would not choose this tape if I was in the mood for hard-core strength.

The weight section focused mostly on the lower body and involved various squats and plies done with arm exercises. Jeanette and her two background exercisers move at a brisk pace so I kept my weights light. It was fairly high-rep and a good lower body-focused endurance workout.

The kickboxing section was very similar to the work in Kickbox Bootcamp. It was a lot of fun; Jeanette is a great instructor, very motivating and high energy. The combos were simple and easy to follow. I worked up a great sweat.

The yoga section was very short and featured some variations on the sun salutation. It moved a bit too quickly for me. I have not yet tried the yoga tape in this series but I hope this was not representative. I did not love this section but it was fairly short and it was nice to get some proper stretching in.

The Pilates section was decent, I suppose. I am not a huge Pilates connoisseur, but what was here seemed as good as any other workout I have tried. It was fairly short too, and it ended with a short stretch.

Overall, I really enjoyed this tape. I am not sure how to classify it though. Not enough strength to be strength-building, not enough cardio to be cardio. I’m not really sure where it would fit into a rotation other than as something you do when you aren’t sure what you want to do. It would also be a good sampler for someone who wants to see what the series is like. I am not sure how regularly I’ll do this one, but when in the mood for it, I’m sure I’ll enjoy it and manage just fine.

Her website describes this as:

A routine that combines the best of the best put together in a time-saving workout that will give you maximum results in as little as 10 minutes a day.

My review:

The workout consists of Kickboxing, Cardio Sculpt, Yoga and Pilates and she suggests if you have time issues, you can do the first 2 sections in the morning and the second two at night.

I did it all at once - about 40 minutes.

The kickboxing was a blast. She has this great combo - a simple one - front kick followed by touching the ground. It is also pretty basic - round-house, side-kick and front kicks, jabs, crosses, hooks, uppercuts.

The cardio-sculpt was fun too. I didn't really enjoy the yoga and pilates as I did the othe sections, and honestly, I have enough *really* good yoga and pilates dvds that I almost don't even want to bother with these sections, but they were well executed.