The Method Jab, Kick & Burn

I love this workout. It's easy enough for me to follow but difficult enough to break a sweat or two. It's not boring, and I don't stare at the clock to see when it's going to end. I don't really care about the count and other kinds of glitches this video has. The ultimate goal is for me to have a great work out. And that I found in this video. I love it!

Jab, Kick & Burn is a kickboxing workout which consists of three 14-minute kickboxing segments followed by a 10-minute abs-focused cool-down. British instructor Tracey Mallet has a high energy level and Barbie-like good looks; she definitely seems to be having fun during the workouts and encourages you to do the same.

The first kickboxing section was my favorite. After a brief warm-up which includes some slightly dance-y moves, Tracey moves on to some kicking drills. She then continues with some slow and controlled combos which were fun but which didn't raise my hear rate much, but the second half of the workout includes more jumping and increased cardio intensity. Although Tracey's cueing was sometimes a bit off, I was able to follow her in this workout. In the second and third workouts, however, the choreography was much more complex, and I found Tracey's cueing to be less than adequate. She began teaching each new combination slowly at first, but she does a lot of "take-it-from-the-top" instruction, and she frequently fails to cue things like number of repetitions, sequence changes, and left-right. Both workouts contain plenty of kicking: the second workout ends with a series of front kicks, and the third contains a segment which Tracey refers to as "chicometrics": basically, squats with a knee lift or kick and then a jump to the reverse side. There is no cool-down at all to the third kickboxing segment.

The final abs segment begins with Pilates-type movements, including a bent knee roll-up, toe dips, the frog, and crunches; there are then a few seated stretches such as a spine stretch forward. During the three kickboxing segments, there are several live drummers on stage, and Tracey instructs a class of approximately 6-8 others, but in the abs cool-down, Tracey works out alone to softer background music. I would definitely not recommend this video for those new to kickboxing, as there is no instruction on form and many of the moves are difficult to follow. This workout would probably be best suited to those who are familiar with the basics of kickboxing and who prefer complex, dance-y choreography.

This is a really strange workout. It reminds me of a deodrant commercial from a few years ago. It shows a group of women, obviously dancers, doing a dance number that has kickbox-y overtones to it. This really seemed like a dance- kickbox fusion, which may explain why there was no attention to form. There are lots of kicks and punches done at high tempos. Indeed, The tempo felt frenetic to me. I wondered if it was safe. I have a feeling that katalin zamiar, an exceptional kickboxing instructor, or keli roberts would absolutely cringe at this tape. They may, however, like the music, which I thought was good. Honestly, one of the strangest things about this workout is the set. I don't think its trying to push any philosphies, as another reviewer has said, but it is distracting because there is so much going on. The floor of the workout space has a giant yin-yang on it, then there are bridges and Japanese lanterns and a garden type of set in the background. Then there are zen rock garden type of troughs in the foreground. At times, I found myself checking out the set more than watching the workout, even while I was trying to do the workout. I wondered if they were trying to add some eastern type flourishes to the workout so people would think it seemed more eastern, as many people expect a martial arts inspired workout is. This is not really a martial arts inspired workout, it is more a dance workout with martial arts flourishes. i didn't mind some of the touches, the bridges were quite nice, I just thought there were too many of them. Overall this is a weird workout lead by a less than notable instructor.

Dance and kickboxing are both great workouts, and combining them may give great results. This just isn't the way to put them together for optimum results and safety.

The absolute worse kickboxing video available. It is clear the powers-that-be at the Method thought, "Hmm, kickboxing is big, but we do dance, let's cash in by meshing the two." The workout is clearly a dance workout with a kickboxing theme and looks like a dance recital with such a theme. There is no attention to proper form at all. There is a Method drum-style band performing in the background, one with a "guru" look to him. The emphasis on the New Age oriental feel really bugs this Catholic Christian who only wants a good workout, leave your different philosophies at the door thanks. The workout itself was not very challenging either. In case you can't tell, I hated this video after less than 15 minutes.

Tracy is a terrible actress. She looks 42 but is trying very hard to look 19 like the dancers behind her. She has an Australian ? accent and her intro is so forced and badly read I was standing, slack-jawed in shock as I listened. Also, in just the first 15 minutes workout (the tape runs 55 minutes) she said "puhhhfect" so many times that I considered that this is what Eva Gabor of Green Acres would look like if she did an exercise video, dahhhhling.

This is an addendum to my first review of this tape, which I submitted after viewing only the first 15-minute workout. Later I went back and courageously watched the rest of it (I must love self-punishment) and, hard to believe, but it is worse. During the aerobic part, she often says "How are you getting on?" I know it is a Britishism, but she says it in such an air-headed manner (sometimes even with a giggle!) that I almost wonder if she means something else. In the abs section, after telling us we would be doing six roll-ups, she does the first three and says, "That's three, three more to go," and honestly looks so proud of herself that she could do this difficult math problem. Moments later, there is a motion in which, while lying on her back she makes a circular move with her legs in air. She says it is either the Frog or Froglegs (don't make me go back and watch it again to verify) and then says, "I named it myself" and looks so very proud of it! I am blonde and it is presenters like her that give us all a bad name. I also resent having paid $10.96 for this. Stay away from this tape (unless you are looking for comedy!)