30 Minutes to Fitness: Build & Burn

I have been a fan of instructor Kelly Coffey-Meyer for some time now. Most of her DVDs have completely clicked with me, and she is my favorite video exercise instructor. Although I own at least eight of her DVDs (and have tried many others), I was interested in this new set (released last year) given that it contains three DVDs, offering a wide variety of options at a great price.

I will provide information on each disc separately, including the premix information as listed on the menu as well as my impressions of each workout. For the main routines, I have added times for the the workouts in parentheses; the times for the premixes are as given on Kelly's menus.

***DISC 1***

Main Menu:

*Introduction (same on all three discs; <2 minutes)

*Cardio Core (27:39)

*Upper Body Supersets (26:20)

*Premixes

*Credits

Cardio Core features background exercisers Lori and Tatum (Kelly's niece), and it uses a step. It includes a 3.5 minute warm-up and a 1.5 minute stretch. I liked this in general but found some of the moves to be a bit too wrist-intensive to me--for example, the kickouts with hands on the step to open the workout. There was a mix of pure cardio exercises, such as fast feet and hops (one foot on step) plus cardio/core focused strength moves like tricep dips with a leg kick. Personally, I preferred the "no strength" premix to get more of a cardio effect and less wrist intensity.

Upper Body Supersets is structured in rounds. For each round, you will focus on one muscle group, alternating between two exercises to form a set. Each exercise is 8 reps, and there are a total of 3 sets. Kelly addresses shoulders (using lighter weights), biceps, triceps, chest, and back. This workout also uses a step, and there were some moves I had never seen before (e.g., Tate press for triceps). Kelly concludes with a series of "burnouts," 30 seconds each of 4 different exercises performed quickly: upright rows, kickbacks, hammer curls, and pumping rows. The warm-up for this routine is 3.5 minutes long and includes plank work, which I did not like; there is a 1.5 minute stretch to finish. Exercisers joining Kelly here are Samantha and Zach (Kelly's son).

Premix Menu:

*Cardio - No Strength (21:40) ~I liked this better than the main workout

*Cardio - No Jumps (23:23)

Upper Body Mix - One Super Set (14:38)

Upper Body Mix - Two supersets (20:19)

Cardio Core with Upper Body Intervals (30:13) ~this was mostly cardio, with only 1 set of upper body work

Kickbox Moves and Burnouts (17:53) ~the sequencing of this one felt odd to me; burnouts were repeated

DBs & Body weight (chest, triceps, core) (17:25)

DBs & Body weight (back, biceps, lower) (18:10)

***DISC 2***

Main Menu

*Introduction

*Lower Body Tabata (26:31)

*Kettle Bell Kickbox Fusion (26:14)

Premixes

Credits

Lower Body Tabata features Samantha and Madeline (Kelly's niece). There is an almost 4.5 minute warm-up. Most of the exercises follow the format of 20 seconds per set for 4 total sets, with a brief (10 second) rest in-between each. Kelly uses an optional band for the first exercise (side-to-side steps). She mixes fairly traditional moves such as one-leg deadlift and squats with more dynamic movements, including a side lunge with knee raise and jump lunges. A 1-minute standing stretch (hamstrings, hip flexors, back) concludes this routine. Overall, I liked this workout a lot; it's a great lower body routine, and the dumbbells you select will greatly vary the intensity.

As the title suggests, Kettle Bell/Kickbox Fusion is a combined routine. Lori and Marcus join Kelly for this workout, which has an almost 5-minute warm-up (ending with halos) and a just over 1.5 minute stretch. I like both kettlebells and kickboxing, but Kelly moves FAST for the kettlebell work; I found that I needed to take significantly longer breaks than she does. I also thought that the kickboxing combos were short (just 30 seconds each, performed for 2 rounds), yet I love Kelly's kickboxing work and found the combos to be fun. I will probably mostly use the kickboxing-only premix on this disc, but the kettlebell moves were good too (one-arm swings, two-arm swings with step, Figure 8, etc.).

Premix Menu:

*Lower Mix One (18:35)

*Lower Mix Two (17:43)

*KB/KB - No Swings (20:43)

*Kettlebells Only (17:04)

*Kickboxing - No Kettlebells (15:57) ~I enjoyed this one for quick cardio; combos were 30 seconds each, 2 rounds

*KB/KB Timesaver One (18:04)

*KB/KB Timesaver Two (15:15)

*Legs & KB/KB Mix (34:16)

*Kelly's Mix (20:04)

*Legs & Kettle Bell (31:24)

***DISC 3***

Main Menu:

*Introduction

*Trim & Tone Intervals (24:35)

*Premix [sic]

*Credits

Unlike the first two discs, the third disc contains just a single main workout, Trim & Tone Intervals. This routine has Lori and Samantha as background exercisers. I found the warm-up (just over 3 minutes) to be very similar to the cardio on Kelly's "Start Here" DVD, as it is relatively slow, low-impact, and builds in an add-on format. The body of the workout alternates between 30 seconds of cardio and 30 seconds of strength work (weighted or unweighted); each cardio/weight set is repeated once, with 10 seconds of rest in-between. Kelly states that the cardio has a "non-frantic" pace, but I actually found some of the weights work to be almost frantic! The cardio moves include exercises such as skaters, frog hops, and fast feet (or what Kelly calls "icky feet" here). For strength, Kelly performs combined moves like bicep curl with overhead press and upright rows to bent arm raises. There is a 2-minute cool-down/stretch to finish this workout.

Premix Menu:

*Cardio Only (14:48) ~I enjoyed the cardio MUCH more in isolation and felt that I got a better workout!

*Dumbbells Only (15:06) ~weights are held the entire time (Kelly should have edited out "put them down" for this premix); I used 5- or 8-lbs throughout

***FINAL NOTES***

Although there were some things here and there that I didn't like (as noted), overall, I have really been enjoying these workouts. The incredible versatility of the premixes allows me to pick and choose exactly what I want to do on any given day! I also like that the 3 DVDs are packaged together in one regularly-sized case. On the case is also a "rotation"--Kelly simply suggests doing one workout per day in the order listed, so this would be a 5-day routine. She also included recommended weight ranges here. Inside the case, there is an insert with with a meal plan; in her Introduction, Kelly emphasizes that this is NOT a diet but rather suggestions for sensible eating.

Finally, although sometimes modifications are shown by one of the background exercisers (e.g., slightly different move or no weights), I would rate this set as very much intermediate level. Experienced beginners may be able to modify, and advanced exercisers can challenge themselves with heavier weights. This set is a great deal at an inexpensive price, and I would highly recommend it!