Customer Reviews

Crunch - Boot Camp Training [VHS]

5 star:		(91)
4 star:		(32)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

"Remember, I would rather you gave me 4 excellent pushups rather than 12 sloppy ones!" ~Susan L. Hitzmann, M.S, New York Exercise Physiologist

Let's just say that this is one of the most difficult workouts I've ever tried. With that said, it was also an amazing challenge. I actually loved it. My husband even came in to see what on earth I was doing (the words "TROOPS" and "Are you guys ready?" had his attention). Then, he watched me do pushups. The first time he has seen me actually doing pushups. Normally he walks in when I'm doing yoga, so this was very interesting to him.

Susan L. Hitzmann is the perfect instructor to put you in the mood to really push yourself towards a higher level of fitness. She uses amusing army-themed phrases and encourages her "troop" to really get moving. Everyone in this workout group looks "pumped" and they all look like they definitely use heavier weights. The muscle definition is impressive and you will hear words like "dead lift" and "no break" which gives you an idea of the style and focus. You can definitely use heavier weights because you are not bouncing around while holding the weights. You alternate between high-intensity cardio and intense weight lifting.

You don't have to use heavier weights. I used 3lb and 5lb weights/dumbbells. They recommend 3-10 pound weights. I noticed this is an intense upper body workout. You will also notice all-over body conditioning and it is definitely a workout you will want to do again and again. You will feel the results, especially in your stomach and arms.

The pushups are fun and there are different varieties. Then, there are the situps. I could hardly do a pushup or situp for three days after attempting this workout. I mean, you really feel this workout in the days that follow. So, you might want to do stretching or yoga for a few days after this workout.

Crunch Boot Camp will keep you energized and highly motivated. It just takes hold of your mind and you can't help but do everything Susan commands. She is an excellent instructor/drill sergeant and she makes you smile while you are working out like you have never worked out before.

This was the most intense 35 minutes of exercise I've ever tried. It was also very amusing and I loved the entertaining theme. Even watching it again while reviewing it, I want to just go do the workout. The music alone makes you want to move. There are a few sections that also require excellent coordination and I'm still working on the fancy footwork at the start. I've learned that if you just keep moving, you can work through any fancy footwork. Fortunately, it is minimal in this workout.

Highly Recommended for Intermediate to Advanced. If you want a challenge, this will push you to your limits and you will actually love it. Lots of humor and definately a 10 star workout!

~The Rebecca Review

I love, love, love this video! Because it is a multi muscle workout you raise your heart rate while toning! I am a working Mom of 4 and I need for my time investment to pay off! This packs a punch for a 30 minute workout! I'm uncoordinated so I don't like a lot of dance/aerobic tapes. After the second try I had the moves mastered! (no easy feat for a someone with two left feet!) You can raise the intensity by increasing the size of your hand weights! When I complete this boot camp video, I am really sweating and all my muscles feel awakened! This is my new favorite home workout! There is an instructor who demonstrates a low impact version of the workout and she is visible to offer the low impact version of instructor Susan Hintzeman's high impact version!

I love aerobics the way a dog loves bones. Give me a dance-flavored cardio routine and I'll go 50-60 minutes or more. Strength training? Well. . .let's just say I have a short attention span fostered by years of uninspired gym classes taught by uninspired, unimaginative gym teachers. Forty minutes is about as long as I can go, and that includes warm-up, cool-down, and stretch. But this tape gets the job done in 30 minutes and I almost never look at the clock to see how much longer it's going to take. Even on the mornings I oversleep and am tempted to just bag the old exercise routine for the day, this tape gets me going.

For me, the drawing card of this workout is the circuit-style training Sue Hitzman leads you through. instead of spending five minutes on one body part, and then five minutes on the next, everything is mixed into 3 different 7-minute circuits. Every major muscle group gets some attention at some point--and as another reviewer said, you're often multi-tasking here, working more than one muscle group at a time. If you don't like what she's currently making you do, just get through this set and the next minute you have something different. The idea of doing three sets of pushups is much less intimidating when each set is several minutes away from the next one. If they were all together, I'd be hitting the FF button--especially since I'd just about rather eat nails than do pushups. But the way they're broken up here, it isn't worth the effort to FF ahead for 45 seconds, and guess what? If I'm going to play it through, I might as well do the darn push-ups. I don't love them, mind you. But I do them! If you ask me, they've got me figured out:)

I also love it that this routine doesn't take up a lot of space and all you need is a pair or two of dumbbells. While there may be other workouts out there that are more intense and maybe more effective, often they sit in my video cabinet undone because it's too cumbersome to haul the extra equipment in and out. (Some of the FIRM's routines come to mind here) What is it the experts say? The most effective exercise program is one that you actually DO. This one is the most user-friendly strength workout I own. Next time I go on vacation, this tape is coming with me:)

The Crunch Fitness franchise has been very successful nationally, and their tapes have sold well enough that they continue to produce new ones, but the earlier ones always turned me off because of the crazy camera work and what sounded like a pre-recorded soundtrack of people whooping. This tape is a tremendous improvement over the earlier ones. There's a lot of good-natured and genuinely fun banter between Sue Hitzman and the folks in the class with her, and that comes through when she's looking into the camera and "talking" to you, the viewer. Faith Scarinzi, who's starred in a couple of videos of her own, demonstrates lower-intensity, low-impact versions of many of the exercises here, and she's nearly always in view on camera. And while the music is not the absolute best I've ever heard on a workout tape, it's not cheesy or bad, and thank Heaven they canned the "canned whooping" track this go-around.

This is probably one of the best under-$15 workout deals around. If your life is as busy as mine--or even busier--this one almost says aloud, "Come on. . .all you need is 30 minutes and you'll feel good all day." I do. You will, too.

In less than 30 minutes, Crunch Boot Camp Training provides a very good full-body strength workout that moves quickly enough to give you some cardio benefit as well (my HRM indicated that I was in my zone for about half of the workout). It is led by instructor Susan Hitzmann in a "boot camp" style, which means you will use weights (Susan recommends between 3 and 10 lbs.) for traditional strength work in addition to non-weighted calisthenics. The workout is set in the usual Crunch studio with a large class, and one of the background exercisers, Faith, shows low-impact modifications.

The 4-minute warm-up consists of very basic moves such as marches and knee lifts, although Susan adds little twists that makes this segment kind of fun (although I did have a bit of trouble following her movement changes at times). She then has you pick up your weights to do a squat with a shoulder press, eventually upping the intensity by having you do the press from the squat position. Next comes an underhand row with a bicep curl, adding in dead lifts at the end. Then it's to the floor for your first set of push-ups: full push-ups with your hands propped on your weights (Susan encourages you to complete only as many as you can with good form). Staying on the floor, you'll do an abs crunch series, and then it's back on your feet for some jumping jacks, adding in a plie squat for more intensity. Next comes a pulsing lunge that gets REALLY tough when you jump to switch legs. Remaining standing, Susan goes back to the upper body for a front and wide bicep curl combo; she then does an inner bicep curl with a side plie squat.

Back to the floor--more pushups! This time, you'll do them from your knees, but they become pretty challenging when Susan adds a plank and a leg lift. She then does some standing abs work in the form of knee lifts. Toe raises holding the weights are next, eventually adding in a back lunge, a front extension, and a triceps extension. She then hones in on the triceps more specifically with kickbacks and an overhead french press. In the following series, you'll move into a one-legged squat position and do a rear tap, adding in a knee lift. You'll then perform several cardio moves--a skate slide, a knee hop, and a brief jog--add in some shoulder work (flies, rows, and a T move), and then repeat the rear tap on the other side. Susan ends with a final set of push-ups--triceps push-ups this time--and some additional abs work in the form of reverse curls. The 3.5 minute cool-down consists of moving stretches performed entirely on the floor, bringing the entire workout in at just under 30 minutes.

I consider myself to be about an intermediate level exerciser, and I found this workout to be sufficiently challenging, as I was sweaty and breathless by the end. I started out using 8 lbs. dumbbells, and although I was able to use these for most of the workout, at a few points, I needed to drop down to 5 lbs. If you are looking for a time-efficient strength routine that will provide an intermediate level workout as well as include some cardio benefits, I would definitely recommend this video.

Crunch's "Boot Camp" workout may seem a bit...OK, campy...but it is surprisingly challenging. The video is focused on the concept of interval training. As the Amazon.com editor has pointed out, each segment is about 7 minutes and each alternates between strength training and cardio.

The strength segments are good, with a lot of GREAT arm work using dumb bells (sorry, you have to provide these yourself). The only leg work involves lunges and squats, which may not be your cup of tea if you had bad knees. The abdominal exercises are good, but people with decently strong abs may find that there aren't enough reps to get a really good burn.

The cardio segments, at 7 minutes a piece, are for certain brief. However, they are a lot of fun and good breaks between strength training intervals.

I immediately noticed what one Amazon.com reviewer did; your "classmates" in the video are so smily you wonder if their plastic surgeons made a mistake. But, the instructor is just enthusiastic enough to keep you going and just non-perky enough that you don't feel like throwing your dumb bell at the tv.

In a total time of 30 minutes, you get a decent workout and have some fun. And for you people looking for an upper body/arm workout....you will REALLY enjoy Boot Camp!

I just recently started working out. I still have some of my post baby weight, five years later. It was hard for me to get motivated and stick with a video that wouldn't kill one part of my body from doing so many repititions at once. The instructor changes the routine around so much that you are done with the workout before you know it! It is very easy to follow though and the camera stays on the instructor most of the time. The jumping jacks are fun and the leg work has already made a difference in my legs and buns. You really feel it at the end...but even for people who aren't super fit...this is very doable! I've done it all week and look forward to doing it. For those of you with small kids...my five year old even tries some of the moves and has a ball doing it! You will need a set of 3 or 5 pound weights. Your whole body will get a workout. This is the best exercise video I've used. Can't say enough about it!!! Buy this tape, you won't regret it!!!

I thought that this video was ok. The title is very misleading, I thought. I was expecting a challenging workout but found that this was too short to effectively do anything. It was fairly entertaining but I didn't feel like I got a good workout. The Method Cardio boot camp manages to give you more workout in each of it's 15 minute segments, so I'm not sure what makes this video feel so rushed. Also, there is little discussion about form. If you are doing the jumping lunges, and you do it incorrectly, you could really hurt your knees and end up not being able to exercise for a long while. I didn't mind it for something new to do, but I needed to do another tape right after to feel anything. I will use The Method Cardio Boot camp when I want this style of exercise-it's much more effective and you have the choice to do any of the 3 15 minute workouts or two of them or all of them. You get much more out of your money that way. I'd say pass on this one.

I was very careful selecting this video. I am a couch potato and needed something to get me moving, but hated the floor covering steps of aerobics. This video strings good old-fashioned calisthenics together with vaguely aerobic moves, not a whole lot of space needed! Lots of push ups and sit ups! You will need dumbells - I started with 2lbs, and have moved up to 5! Very even workout without being a killer - just about the time I started hoping it would finish soon, PRESTO, she starts stretching. Easy to up the intensity or to lower it. If you couch potatoes (aka computer junkies) can get motivated enough to put in the tape, you won't regret it!

As an avid exerciser, I own over 50 exercise videos. This video is my absolute favorite by far. I enjoy the combination of cardio with strength training, which has proven to be extremely effective. I also like the energy that Sue and the other exercisers display in the video. It's a short, effective, fun workout! Doing the video at least 3 times a week has definitely increased my energy and strength. I can honestly say that I now love push ups. You will not be disappointed with Crunch Boot Camp!

This is a great intermediate-level tape that combines strength training with some aerobic moves to give you a complete workout in just 35 minutes. I've been doing video workouts for the past seven years, and have over 30 in my collection to provide variety, and I just love the Crunch videos. There is a ton of variety in the workout - lots of add-ons to a simple move building to a combo, and it got my heart pumping and raised a sweat. Highly recommended.