As Strong As Possible: Band Camp

Full disclosure: I received a free review copy of this workout.

Finally! A workout by Paul Katami that I enjoy and will keep. I have tried one or two of his other workouts and found well done, well planned workouts that were simply more advanced than I want to do. They left me feeling more beat up than I wanted.

I read that this workout is more intermediate and decided to try it. There are some things I really enjoyed about this workout:

1. I didn't have to modify on my own at all. There aren't high impact moves and he gives the minor modifications - like keep your other foot down if you don't want to balance on one foot - things I probably could have figured out on my own.

2. The workout is moderately paced and I had the time to shift the band and/or ring into new positions and be ready when they were. In some band workouts, the transitions between moves and/or positions are so fast that I am constantly stopping the DVD and then restarting once I'm in position.

3. He seems to use just enough reps. There are enough to fatigue my muscles, but not so many that it seems endless.

4. There is a modifier that shows the easier versions of the moves, when he gives options. She is on the front row and on the/my right side of the screen. She is usually on the screen when I'm looking for an option.

5. There are a lot of combination moves, upper and lower body at the time, in this workout. If you don't like them, don't try this workout!

For this workout, you need a band and a foot band, or ring. I ended up using my lightest band, because I had trouble with shoulder moves with the medium strength. That meant that I majorly choked up on the band for most of the other moves - biceps, triceps, etc.

The workout has the following sections:

> Upper body moves with the band

> Lower body moves with the ring/foot band

> Strength moves with using both the band and the ring/foot band.

> Standing core moves. You replace the ring with the end of the band wrapped around your foot.

> Back pulls on the floor

> Core on the floor - mainly crunches with counter moves with the band wrapped around the foot.

I tend to stop before the core on the floor because I HATE crunches. Fortunately, there is enough standing core work that I feel like I get the core work I want before that section. Keep in mind that core work is one of my least favorite types of fitness moves unless it's standing.

Just to let you know a little about me, I'm a 48 year old intermediate and long term exerciser who has bad hands, wrists, and feet (psoriatic arthritis) and bad knees (osteo arthritis). Consequently, I look for low-impact workouts - or workouts that I can modify easily - that don't require body weight to be supported on my hands/wrists.

I have been looking for workouts that are a change up from heavy lifting. This certainly fits the bill. As other reviewers have already noted, the workout uses only tubing and a leg band.

I found this video provided a nice workout that got the job done. I have only very heavy tubing so I had to use bands which worked too and was very easy to substitute - except for the move with the side planks. Overall, I felt nicely worked out, but didn't experience overkill nor did I feel "repped to death." The workout as was about 45 minutes or so and the time flew by for me.

The music was very bland and uninspiring.

Paul's voice seemed to fade out a couple of times, but it was only a slight distraction and I could still hear him, and the fading only seemed to last a few seconds.

The set was fine. The workout was in front of a large window covered brick wall. Outside the window it seemed to just be foggy.

Band Camp is another great addition to the A.S.A.P. Fitness video library. This workout, which is approximately 46 minutes total, only uses resistance bands. You'll use handled tubing and foot bands throughout. Anyone can do this since you choose the level of resistance and can lengthen or shorten the band as needed.

A non weighted warmup performing moves similar to what you'll be doing begins the workout. Very unique exercises are demonstrated. (many work more than one body part at a time) Paul goes quickly from one exercise to another creating a small cardio affect. Great cues and instruction ensure safety. This would be an ideal take along workout for travel, since bands/tubing are easy to pack. Bands provide resistance both on the concentric and eccentric parts of the move. (which can make the exercise harder) The moves have a functional feel to them, such as the move Paul does called Golf Swing which will help you in your game. Paul ends with floor work such as rows & crunches. You'll still use the bands for innovative moves for the entire core region. (some moves are tough such as side plank with tubing around top foot and you'll push the other part of the tubing up and over to the side while remaining in the side plank) A quick stretch wraps up the workout.

This is a total body muscle conditioning workout using tubing with handles and a foot band (a large, thick rubber band). It’s 45 minutes long. The setting is a large room with brick walls and a bare, gray floor. There are five fit-looking background exercisers - two men and three women. The music is just there to keep everyone on the same beat, nothing special.

Breakdown:

~ Warmup - simple movements to get the blood flowing; very short, less than 2 minutes.

~ Using the tubing:

- Core rotation & shoulder lift

- Front lunge with overhead shoulder press

- Skater lunge with lateral shoulder raise

- Side-to-side lunge with biceps curl

- Triceps press and kickbacks

*Repeat sequence with tubing under the other foot

~ Using the foot band around feet:

- Side steps

- Staggered steps

- Knee lifts

- Standing leg extensions

- Skate extensions

- Tick tocks (standing side leg lifts)

~ Using both the tubing and the foot band:

- Biceps curls with hamstring extension

- One-arm biceps curls (both handles in one hand!) with hamstring curls

- Front shoulder raises with rear leg extensions

- One-arm biceps curl with split squat

- Double time one-arm curls to the front, inside, outside (my biceps failed during this one!)

*Repeat sequence on other side except doing lateral shoulder raises instead of front raises

- Lat pulls from various angles with side steps

~ Using the tubing only:

(the following exercises are functional, whole body moves)

- Golf swing

- Standing oblique crunch

- Chest lift

- Cross lift

*Repeat on other side

- Seated rows from various angles

~ Abs:

Using foot band around feet:

- Basic crunch with leg abduction

- Oblique crunch with knee-ins

Using tubing around foot and hand:

- Long lever crunches

- Side planks

*Repeat on other side

~ Cool down - static stretching for the major muscle groups.

Overall, I liked the workout. It would be great for travel. It really hit my shoulders, biceps, core, outer thighs, and sense of balance. Chest was a little lacking however. Paul is an encouraging instructor who I didn't find annoying in the least, but he could have offered a few more form pointers; I wouldn't recommend this workout to a beginner. I do not regret buying this dvd and I can see myself using it when I want a total body, moderate rep workout that's challenging but not dread-inspiring.