Knockout Workout

Well, as this is *sort of* an older video (1993), it has many other reviews, but I just wanted to add my experience with it. I bought it probably 5 years ago and it is a video I still do. Not every day because that would probably get boring, but is great for days when I want to let out some steam by punching and kicking. I feel it is great for this purpose because once you learn the moves they are repeated throughout the entire tape, so you can pretty much zone out the video and punch and kick and do your own counting and it is great for me.
Others have mentioned the routines being difficult to learn, but for me it was much easier than say Aerobox(which I still don't get all that choreography). One not, a friend of mine who is a black belt in Tai kwon doe(I do NOT know how to spell that), says to make sure on the kicks where you rotate to not rotate too far, which is why some people may complain of knee pain, they may be rotating too much. In the video you can't really tell how much Stephanie is rotating.

This workout is an interesting workout and fairly intense. It is basically low impact and it is non contact. It does include a couple of minutes of twisting side to side in the warmup. The other warmup moves are low impact lunges, marches, two steps to each side with a kick. Stephanie breaks the tape into 3 segments for beginner,intermediate, and advanced levels. I would not recommend it for a beginner level. The workout is broken into fast and slow intervals. The slow intervals are for recovery and working on your form. The fast intervals are combination routines. There are a couple of routines that I still can't keep up with.(I've done the tape 3 times.) She uses about 6 moves for the tape, i.e. front kick, roundhouse kick, jab, cross, hook, undercut. The roundhouse kick involves pivoting so I would recommend going easy on this one until proper form is learned. She doesn't really discuss using moves for defense and basically its an aerobic workout.

Stephanie Steele's Knockout Workout is a basic kickboxing workout. "Basic" does not mean easy. While the variations of punching and kicking she puts you through may not be complex, you will feel it both aerobically and in your muscles. If you maintain a deep stance (knees bent) during the punching routines, your legs will let you know they're working as hard as your arms.

I like this video a lot, but have to feel very self-motivated to do it, as Steele's no-frills style doesn't give that added push. Steele is no-nonsense and to the point. She gets down to business and gives you a great workout, but if you need constant, "Hey, gang! Lookin' good out there!", she may not be for you.

I thought the video was pretty good. I am a beginner on kickboxing. So I liked her how she explained each move and showed how to do it slowly. I was thinking about buying the Tie Boe video but thought about the price. I picked up Stephanie Steele's video and figured for 12.00 I can't go wrong. Than I found out it was on sale for 7.00. A better bargin. I took it home tried it one time and loved it. I called my sister and my mom about it and now they own it too.

The quality of the video is such that one might think she took a home camera and filmed herself, and since I can't imagine anyone else liking this workout, I think she must have done just that. She also has the world's worst taste in music - bland, uninspiring jazz. She could cure insomnia with her set and music.

After reading the initial reviews of this video, I ordered it anyway. I shouldn't have. When people said she was stern, I thought they just meant no-nonsense like Karen Voight. When people said it was boring, I compared it to people who said TaeBo's punching repetitions were boring. Besides, I figured, I have liked every kickboxing video I have tried, even cheesy ones like Cory's Kardio Kick. I figured as long as kicking and punching were involved, I'd love it.

First of all, don't even think about getting this video if you exercise on carpet. She expects you to swivel on your foot for a roundhouse kick. First of all, this places your back to the television, making it hard to watch the video. Second of all, with thick carpet like I have, I usually have to make modifications - instead of swiveling on a foot, I usually pick it up and turn it. For most videos, this is no problem. For this video, it's impossible.

Her technique is horrendous, in my opinion. Hard knees? You want a knee injury? I kept soft knees, as Tae Bo encourages one to do, and my knees STILL hurt after that video.

The camera angles are awful. You can't tell which side she is doing, and unlike most instructors, she does not mirror you. The camera angle keeps switching, so you get confused about what side you were supposed to be moving.

The instructionals. Maybe she gets beyond this. I dont' know. I couldn't get past the third instructional without screaming in frustration and throwing my remote control at the couch. After writing this review, I'm going to do a different kickboxing video and put this one up on the exchange. THANK GOODNESS I bought this one on sale.

So, as I was saying, the instructionals. She teaches you so slowly, your heart rate could hardly elevate. Unfortunately, in order to get to the regular speed combinations, you have to watch and participate in each painstakingly slow example. I'm not sure how Collage rated this video as Intermediate/Advanced, because it does not challenge your heart rate at all.

In summary, this is the worst exercise video I have ever been subjected to...worse than 1982 Jane Fondas!

Rachel Hunter and Ed Monaghan, and Stephanie Steele respectively: Rachel Hunter Kickboxing Cardio Workout & Knockout Workout with Stephanie Steele

The best way that I think to review these videos is I believe by comparing them. And in my mind, the Rachel Hunter video is in most ways, believe it or not, the better kickboxing video.

One would think that the Stephanie Steele workout would be better, because first of all, Steele is a professional kickboxer and she looks a whole lot more athletic than Hunter. However, Hunter doesn't do much instruction on her video she wisely leaves most of the instruction to Ed Monaghan who is also a professional kickboxer, who looks extremely athletic (his physique could give Van Damme a run for his money). Having two instructors works well on the Hunter video. Not only do Hunter and Monaghan seem to have an easy rapport, but Monaghan gives Hunter tips on improving her sometimes less than perfect form, which I find very helpful.

Hunter's video is also less expensive. I was able to find the Hunter video as part of a two video set with her bodyshaping video for $5.00 at Target! I paid close to $20.00 for the Steele video. I think the Hunter video would have sold better if it had given Monaghan bigger billing, since I thnk many potential buyers were probably thinking, like me, "What would a supermodel know about kickboxing". Another factor in slow sales for the Hunter video may have been that Hunter has a less than perfectly buff body. In a way, that works to her credit for me, she seems to have other more important and interesting things in her life (her family, hobbies?) than spending hours a day at the gym. (A lot of the musclebound/close-to-zero-fat video instructors seem dull and self-absorbed to me for that reason).

Another reason why one might expect the Steele Workout to be better is that Collage Video for reasons unknown to me gives the Steele Workout a descriptive blurb without doing the same for the Hunter tape.

The most important reason why I think the Hunter tape is better is it seems to me to be a whole lot safer. For example, Steele actually instructs you to lock straignt your base leg and to "snap" your kicks, while Monaghan on the Hunter tape is constantly reminding Hunter to keep her base leg soft and to NOT "snap" her kicks or punches. I'm no kickboxing expert, so I don't know which form is "purer" kickboxing, but I do know that after following Steele's instructions locking my base leg and snapping my kicks, the backs of my knees hurt like the dickens, but after using the Hunter tape I feel great -- relaxed and energized.

I also think that the Hunter tape is easier to follow because it uses a better camera angle: Monaghan and Hunter face forward which makes them easy to follow facing forward and looking at the T.V. Steele faces to the side (switching sides), which makes it hard if not impossible to do the routine and watch her at the same time: the routines require a lot of balance and when I crane and turn my head to look at her on the T.V. , my balance and my form is thrown off more often than not.

The format of the Hunter video also seems to make it a better cardio workout. The Hunter tape has an introduction to all of the moves at the beginning of the tape, so that when you've mastered them, you can simply fast forward through that section, and do all of the routines one after another and keep your heart rate up. The Steele tape has introductions to a few moves at a time interspersed throughout the tape, so that as soon as you've done one heart pumping routine for a minute or so, you have to slow down to a snail's pace to learn the next few moves. It gets frustrating because the quick routines are much faster and more challenging on the Steele tape than on the Hunter tape, but they're too short lasting. And if you've mastered the moves well enough to follow the fast routine, the introduction to it will seem painfully slow -- also if you're enough of a beginner to find the introduction to be at the right pace, the routine that follows will then be way too fast for you to keep up with. The Hunter tape gives you more constant motion, albeit not as intense as on some of the Steele tape's quickest routines.

Also, on a much more minor level the Hunter tape has the much prettier background of a secluded beach. The Steele tape has a spartan gym type background. Also Ms. Steele's exercise gear is very pedestrian and unflattering on her -- it shows off her enviable abs but the just above knee bicycle shorts make her what must be powerful muscular thighs look fat.

Almost all of the kickboxing moves are the same on both tapes with one exception. The Steele tape includes roundhouse kicks which the Hunter tape doesn't have, and the Hunter tape includes crescent kicks which the Steele tape doesn't have.

The video itself was a dissappointment. It is not a purchase a fitness instructor who is teaching cardio box based fitness classes should make. A girlfriend and I (another boxing instructor) purchased the video separately and unknowingly of one another, and were both appalled. I thought I was buying something I could actually use in a class setting for my cardio box workout. I need an aerobic, not an anaerobic workout. Stopping and starting is not the type of "cardio aerobics" class most people who are interested in "trying" a box based aerobic fitness class are looking for. Remember, most participants are not boxers nor are the instructors who teach these classes. We (usually) don't have access to gloves and tape, so it's all for fun really. This is not fun. Although she did break down the basic moves clearly, it wasn't what I needed to teach a cardio boxing type group fitness class.

I believed myself to be an intermediate exerciser. After using this tape a few times, I'm now getting close to that status. I'm very happy with the results. I think of myself as "Rocky" as I sweat through the routines. If you want a great workout without all the peppy side talk, this is the one I'd recommend. Don't get me wrong. I LOVE peppy side talk with dance videos. But this feels more masculine. Find the male inside of you!

I've used this video 4 times in the past month...currently it's in my heavy rotation though I plan to cut down on its use soon...I consider this to be an advanced beginner-intermediate video...the warm up and cool down are each about 5 minutes long while the exercise routine is about 30 minutes...it's broken down into beginner, intermediate and advanced though I don't really think the advanced section is all that advanced...it's just more difficult concerning the routines...Stephanie teaches the basics of kickboxing and boxing (roundhouse kick, the jab, the uppercut, etc...)...

Stephanie is a very dry instructor...she does not offer much personality to the program or much encouragement...I would only suggest this video to someone who is interested in learning how to box (like I am)...I think this video is only fun for someone who has the inner urge to learn it all and likes doing it...otherwise, an exerciser would just be bored after a few workouts...

It takes a few workouts to learn the routines...and Stephanie isn't always the best cuer...

I give this workout a B for someone who wants to learn kickboxing and boxing but a C- for anyone else...