10 Minute Solution: Knockout Body

I do these 10 Minute Solution DVDs in sections, and then review each one as I go and I started getting better at writing these as I went along, so here is my breakdown please bear with me :)

Knockout Body Blast

This was fun kickboxing cardio, Jessica does a great job cuing and I enjoyed her style throughout.

Fat Attack

Some of the footwork in this one didn't flow as I would have expected for kickboxing, at 4:50 AM that can really throw you for a loop, but Jessica was great as always and this straight cardio routine was fun as well.

Kickbox Cross Train

I did this one, led by Jessica Smith this morning before an early meeting. I'm not sure where the cross training comes in. All of the traditional punches were run through in a stationary position, then a few kicks and squats and lunges. More squats and lunges than I would have expected. There was a weird combo of plie and what would have been a tricep move overhead (is this a French press?) had I been holding a weight, at the speed it was done here, it felt a little awkward.

Upper Body

Though I did not acquire this workout with the weighted gloves that came with some versions of it, I wore my regular Turbo Jam weighted gloves as I figured the upper body component of this would require the weight. Lots of punches which is to be expected, though not many combinations of punching patterns. Typically in a kickboxing workout (or any boxing workout) the combo is Jab, cross, hook, uppercut. This one is Jab, cross, upper cut, hook, and it took me longer than it should have to grasp that change. She wraps it up with bent over flies (no weights, just the gloves) and pushups which I actually enjoyed with the gloves on. The cushiness was nice and it took some pressure off my wrists. Might invest in some of those yoga jellies that were all the rage awhile back.

Fierce and Fabulous Abs:

Let me preface by saying I really hate working abs, I feel like I get no payout for the hard work, but maybe that's because I don't do it enough (or I eat junk LOL). I wish this had been all standing abs, because that's my preference. That being said there were some innovative floor ab moves (mentioned in the other reviews) and it was only 10 minutes, so I couldn't hate it that much for long :)

This dvd has 5 ten minute segments and includes a pair of pink weighted gloves. The gloves are 12 oz each. The gloves are adjustable and fit fairly well. They shift a tiny bit while working out, but not a big deal. All the segments have a lot of "new" unique moves and are a lot of fun. I am liking the newer 10 Min Sol alot more than the older ones! The dvd is fully customizable and you can mix & match to create your own workout.

The first segment is: Knockout Body Blast and is a combination of cardio and strength. It includes bob and weaves with punches, a (mock) jump roping segment, jack-X-punch combo, kicks with a squat, and some punch kick combos.

Fat Attack: it is the most cardio of all the segments. There are alot of lateral movements-bob and weave, side step, etc. She does a jack punch combo, and a punch kick combo.

Fierce & Fabulous Abs: This segment is 1/2 standing and 1/2 floor ab work. The standing work includes twisting, balance work and kneep pulls and is alot of fun! The floor work includes a V sit with a punch, a unique plank -turkish getup variation set, balance work, crunches, and spinal extension work.

Ultimate Upper Body: Obviously has a lot of punches. I like this as a nice addon to another upper body workout. She does some pushups and back flys as well. There is some cardio in here as well.

Kickbox Crosstrain: Includes a punch & squat combo, squat with overhead tricep extension, a balance move where you lift your leg and twist in (hitting the abs and hips), a balance tap move, and some kick sqats. This one seems to target the lower body.

I would rate all these as intermediate. She does do at least one round of the routines slow at first which does allow the heartrate to drop a bit.

Sara already provided a breakdown of the DVD so I am just going to add my own opinions. This workout is the second kickbox inspired workout issued by 10 Minute Solution, the first being Kickbox Bootcamp with Keli Roberts which I have not tried yet. I have many 10 Minute Solution workouts (primarily their Pilates but also a couple of their aero/tone workouts) and have enjoyed them all. Like all 10MS videos, there are five 10 minute workouts, which can be played alone, in sequence, or in any combination, and each section focuses on a specific goal. The DVD came in a package with pink weighted gloves, but I bought the DVD second-hand and cannot comment on the gloves. I use 1# wrist weights I already had and these work great. The five workouts are as follows:

(1) Knockout Body Blast, sort of an introductory kickbox workout where she moves the slowest with the moves. She intersperses cardio (jumping jacks, jump rope, etc.) with kickbox combos. This has a great fun factor and is easy to follow, and gets the heart rate up there.

(2) Fat Attack is the all-cardio section of the DVD. Frankly I found the choreography to be confusing and after a couple of tries I gave up on this section. Thankfully I liked the other sections so the DVD still proved to be a good purchase.

(3) Ultimate Upper Body was the only section I was not interested in, and cannot comment on because I did not try it.

(4) Kickbox Cross Train works at a much slower pace to really get a toning and balance element. This is an excellent section, and after Knockout Body Blast with pre-exhausted abs and legs, this is a challenge!

(5) Fierce & Fabulous Abs works the first 5 minutes standing with lots of twists (think Tae Bo!) to even further work the abs that have already been worked the rest of the video, followed by a killer floor segment. She really works the lower abs here, and maybe it just seems excruciating due to pre-exhaust in the abs, but this is really hard and I usually have to rest. This is a very challenging abs segment.

This DVD and kickboxing in general has so much strength work incorporated into the kicks and twists that it is sometimes hard to determine where to place it in a rotation, but I would still consider it cardio over strengthening. I have grown fond of adding the Knockout Body Blast, Kickbox Cross Train, and Fierce and Fabulous Abs (30 minutes total) as an add on after Firm Maximum Cardio (which if only doing the aerobic portions is also 30 minutes) for an overall cardio workout. Even though I have only grown to like and use 3 out of the 5 chapters, I would still consider this an excellent purchase because those 3 chapters are really good. Fun factor, fast music, great instruction. If you like 10 Minute Solution workouts, Jessica Smith, are at an intermediate level, and/or enjoy not-too-complex but still entertaining choreography, this is the workout for you. This might bore or be too easy for people who are used to advanced kickbox workouts from Cathe Friedrich, Amy Bento, or the like. Grade A.

This is from the 10 Minute Solution series - it's called KnockOut Body, and is led by Jessica Smith. It comes in a kit with the same one pound each, pink weighted gloves that Leslie's Punch Up Your Walk kit has. I used my own gloves for the workout though, as I'm used to them and I like them.

As usual with these workouts, it contains 5 different 10 minute segments:

Knockout body blast

Fat Attack

Ultimate Upper Body

Kickbox Cross Train

Fierce & Fabulous Abs

Knockout Body Blast and Fat Attack are all kickboxing, with various combos. Jessica cues well and builds the combos slowly, so I found it most of it easy to follow - even though I consider myself rather beginner when it comes to kickboxing. I did get mixed up a few times during Fat Attack, as she has some combos that involve turning backwards and moving around the floor in an L shape. I'm pretty choreography challenged, and as soon as there is turning around involved I'm likely to get lost. But I just kept moving to keep my heart rate up and followed along the best that I could.

Ultimate Upper Body is more boxing, as I don't think it had any kicks at all. There are different sequences of jabs, hooks, punches, upper cuts, crosses, and high to low punching. And she adds a couple sets of back flyes and push ups at the end (very few of each, though).

Kickbox Cross Train is mostly "sculpting" with kickboxing flavor, with more focus on the lower body. There are some interesting combo moves, like a leg lift with an elbow thrust and a slow side leg lift into a roundhouse kick. The nice thing about the slow pace of this segment is that it lets you concentrate on form - a bonus for someone like me who's newer to kickboxing. I think I'd like to do this section earlier in the workout next time.

Fierce & Fabulous Abs also has a bit of a kickboxing flavor, as she uses the weighted gloves, and also adds punches to a bicycle crunch. There is also standing twists - which are intensified a bit by the weight of the gloves, standing crunches, different types of planks, and a few more twists on crunches.