PrayFit: 33-Day Total Body Challenge

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

I enjoy trying well-done Christian exercise routines that combine spiritual concepts with workouts that encourage me to get in a good workout. Over time, I've become a little doubtful of how good these workouts will be because historically so many of them have been lame and/or total beginner workouts. I'm happy to report that this workout is one of the solid, well-constructed, challenging workouts. I would rate it as intermediate, give or take, depending on how much you put into the workout and whether you do high impact or keep up with intense low-impact options.

There is one workout that lasts about 30 minutes. Jimmy Pena is the leader of the workout and his concept is that you should do this workout for 33 days. That way you can see gains and improvement. Throughout the workout, he encourages you to keep track of how you do with something so that you can do a little better tomorrow. The workout is comprised of bodyweight moves, so no equipment is required. There are four short sections to this workout: strength, cardio, abs, and flexibility. The strength section has a handful of moves like squats, lunges, push ups, and side lunges. You do them once and then repeat. Then, the cardio section follows with several calisthenics type moves (jump rope, jumping jacks, running high knees, etc.). There is a modifier that shows low impact options. Again, you do the moves and then repeat. The abs section is comprised of different types of crunches. The flexibility section is a stand-alone section, rather than 2 minutes tacked on the end as in many workouts. He doesn't stretch every part of the body, but he hits several stretches, some on both sides of the body, and holds them for a decently long stretch.

Jimmy Pena talks almost non-stop. Most of his talk is either fitness related or spiritual concepts tied to fitness. For those that don't like a lot of spiritual talk in your workouts, this DVD isn't for you. There was nothing he said that I disagreed with. Overall, I found his talk fairly motivating. He encourages you to do the best you can and track what you do (when doing a blast based on time) so that you can do better tomorrow. There is a music-only option, so you can play the workout and not have to listen to him. He generally does the workout as he leads it. He goes and comments on backgrounders form only a time or two or three - not often.

He is backed up by four exercisers, one of which shows modifications. The workout looks like it is set in a gym. They work out on what looks like a gym floor with lots of windows in the background. So, the set is pretty light and airy. I do not remember anything at all about the music. I couldn't even tell you if there was music (although I probably would have noticed if there were none). I guess I can say it wasn't very memorable!

I would rate this workout as intermediate, maybe on the lower end. Keep in mind that I did the low-impact version of the moves. It obviously would be harder if you did higher impact.