I found out about Rushfit in a somewhat roundabout way. I saw a commercial on TV for the Tapout program and started reading reviews. A few compared the Tapout program to Rushfit, so I started reading about the latter. I liked what I read and the flexibility of the program made sense to me. After reading through the reviews on Amazon, I decided to order it.
Just to set the stage, I've been doing my own workouts for about three years. I've tried different approaches such as sandbag workouts, kettlebells, some dumbbell/barbell work, sledgehammer workouts, bodyweight exercise, and cycling. Most of my workouts revolved around bodyweight or "body movement" workout which is basically bodyweight exercises with a weighted pack or vest. In the past couple of years I had refined it to routines based around a few key types of movement - horizontal push, horizontal pull, vertical push, vertical pull, squat, and lunge. Overall I've always favored the mentality of military-style training that is focused on basic movements and fitness so that you're not dedicating too much time to being either a "musclebro" or "cardio bunny." But, things were getting a bit static doing my particular workout three times a week and cardio three times a week. I put on about 4 pounds during the winter due to holiday eating and decided I'd try a program that was more about getting lean. I have tried P90X and Insanity in the past and didn't care for either of them. Insanity was too focused on cardio for my tastes and P90X took up way too much time and left no room for individual fitness interests like cycling, rowing, or such. Rushfit seemed like a balanced approach.
I would be into about halfway through the beginner program (I just decided to start at that level) but have abandoned it due to what I believe to be overtraining. You could also look at overtraining as "under-recovering." I think the blame could be shared between myself and the program's design. I was putting 110% into each workout. It's almost hard not to because they are quite enjoyable, even when you're suffering. I was also probably putting more into my cardio days than I should have, but it can be hard to keep your intensity down if you're enjoying your workout (or ride in the case of cycling). I did use some cardio days as rest days, though. About 3 weeks in I was showing signs of overtraining including persistent headaches, intestinal upset, trouble sleeping, and a feeling of just being "off" moodwise. So I will say that some of it was on my head because I was perhaps putting too much intensity into the workouts. But if I did any less I'd feel like I was cheating on them and not deriving the full benefit. It should be noted that Rushfit, like P90X and Insanity, are based on the idea of high-intensity interval training (HIIT). HIIT workouts are definitely effective for conditioning and fat-burning, but can be very hard on a person if done on a daily basis.
In terms of the program, however, I think the design doesn't allow for sufficient recovery - especially as you go later into program. You almost always have two cardio days per week, but they are scheduled irregularly. Some weeks you have the "Strength & Endurance" workout followed by "The Fight Conditioning" the next day. Or you may have "Abdominal Strength & Core Conditioning" followed by "Full Body Strength & Conditioning." You even occasionally have "Strength & Endurance" followed by "Full Body Strength & Conditioning." There is enough overlap with the muscles worked in these workouts that putting them back-to-back on subsequent days can be a bad idea. Strength exercises generally require 48 hours of recovery before you work the same muscle group. Some people get around this with split training with "push-pull-rest" or "upper-lower-rest" setups (ABxABxx or ABABABx for a week's schedule). What happens in these schedules is the person may work pushing muscles like triceps, chest, quads one day and pulling muscles like the back, biceps, and hamstrings the next. This allows them to work out most days while letting one set of muscle groups recover the day they work other sets.
The Rushfit scheduling doesn't do a great job of taking this into account. Most workouts involve use of all of the major muscle groups. The "Full Body Strength" and "Strength & Endurance" workouts do this most notably. The Ab Strength workout engages a lot of those muscles as well as support for the core-focused movements. "The Fight" is not as bad since it is more of a cardio kickboxing style workout. The problem with the scheduling of these workouts is it does not allow for decent recovery if you're really putting you're all into them. That's not to say it's impossible, but you definitely have to be getting plenty of rest and eating the right foods for recovery. On top of that, the cardio days are supposed to be done at 70-80% of your max heart rate (the "aerobic zone"). Depending on what you do, you may still be taxing the same muscles more than they should be for "active recovery."
Now, all of that said, I really do like the workouts. They are fun in a way that you can still enjoy them even when you are grunting and huffing in agony. They also leave you feeling pretty good at the end. You will be tired and sweaty (I was even sweating working out in my garage in 20-degree weather), but still feeling good. I rarely had any issues with undue soreness the next day. I did have soreness that persisted for 2 or 3 days, but nothing unbearable. So it's not the workouts so much as the scheduling of them that I would call into question. The only other thing I would fault the workouts for is a lack of sufficient upper-body strength building. While this is not as strength-focused as P90X and is not designed to get you looking like a body builder (you won't even look like GSP unless you add lifting as his training includes Olympic-style resistance work such as deadlifts, presses, etc. for high-weight, low-rep sets) it does neglect strength enough that those looking to offset sarcopenia (loss of muscle mass as you age) might need to supplement their training. I did find the movements added to the development of stabilizer muscles in my shoulder, which actually helped rehab an injury from a bike crash I had a few years back, but at the same time I really wish there were more pushups in there. There's also not a lot of pulling movements. I supplemented the workouts by adding chin-ups and pull-ups. I'd pause the DVD at the end of a round and crank a few weighted pulls/chins out then start the DVD back up for the rest period and following round.
I like that the nutritional plan is rather vague. If you want to develop good habits for a lifetime, you need to work on understanding nutrition and develop long-term eating habits rather than following an 8-week diet plan or something. The nutrition guide lays a good groundwork that can be built upon rather than outlining a set of dictatorial short-term guidelines.
In the end, I am happy I bought the set. I plan on keeping them and using them in my own setup. My present plan will involve my own resistance workouts on Monday and Friday, moderate rowing on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and one of the Rushfit DVDs on Wednesdays for a conditioning workout. Saturdays will be an activity of my choosing, be it biking, hiking, hunting, yard work, etc. I may occasionally swap out my own resistance work for a Rushfit DVD on days I want to keep my workouts short.
I have the program 4 stars because I think it is good, but the scheduling could use work. Going "high intensity" so frequently can present a real risk for overtraining. All of these programs are kind of based on the "more is better" mentality for fat loss and fitness development when sometimes more is too much. I'm somewhat disappointed that I won't be following the program - that's how much I like the workouts - but I don't enjoy having constant headaches, digestive issues, sleep issues, and mood problems. (Incidentally, I'm writing this the day after I decided to stop following the schedule and did my own usual circuit workout. I feel MUCH better today, so I do think I was on the cusp of overtraining.)
In summary:
PROS
-Good workouts with good intensity, good recruitment of all major muscle groups
-Workouts really tax you, but not in ways that leave you crippled for the rest of the day
-If done smartly, the exercises involved allow you to challenge yourself without risk of injury
-Exercises take you through different ranges of motion and contribute to a good base for "functional" fitness (a misleading buzzword but it's one folks are familiar with)
-Suitable warm up and cool down
-Cardio days let you incorporate your own recreational interests
-Workouts are good length without being too long
-Not as expensive as the others while, IMO, being better
CONS
-The scheduling may present problems with recovery, leading to a risk of overtraining - a bit too much HIIT involved instead of intermittent HIIT with other workout styles that can still elevate the heart rate while not being as active (seriously, do a set of 10 weighted Bulgarian split squats per leg.. even slowly.. and see if your heart isn't pounding like a jackhammer)
-Not enough horizontal pushing motions (i.e., needs more pushups... you can always add some more yourself, though)
-Insufficient pulling motions (at least more rows if not encouraging you to add pull/chin ups to your routine)
-It would be nice if it was built around allowing the sixth day (probably Saturday for most) to be your choice of activity since many people prefer to get out to be active on weekends instead of doing a DVD to keep on schedule
-Progression can be difficult. You can increase your effort, and increase weight some, but progression is not quite as easy once you hit good level of proficiency like you can with exercises where you increase weight, add reps, or shift to a harder variation.
Personally, I would see the ideal setup as being DVD-cardio-DVD-cardio-DVD-cardio-rest. And you can certainly buy the set and use the DVDs for such a setup if you like. I think the workouts are good enough to stand on their own and are worth buying even if you don't follow the set schedule.
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The workout is challenging, more so than Insanity, but all in all, that's what's expected from the reviews it has received. There's one slight variable that minuses the additional star, and that's the Explosive Power Train DVD case. Upon opening each case to observe the contents, this case's shell cracked like stepping on potato chips. I'll notify the seller ASAP and update what happens.
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