A Review: 10 Minute Solution Kickbox Bootcamp

This is a great fat burning low impact workout, since there's five individual 10 minute workouts they can be easily fit into anyone's schedule.

I've been exercising regularly for close to a month now. One of the things I did beforehand was browse for workout videos since it's too cold and gross outside to do any outdoor activities. Kelli Roberts instructs this "10 Minute Solution: Kickbox Bootcamp" workout video, you might know her from way back when she led Cher's (yes, the singer) A New Attitude step aerobic video.

I haven't done any kind of kickboxing for more than two decades and still the moves weren't too difficult to pick up. The instructor moves fast, these are short workouts and she definitely wants you to get the most out of it. Even though the exercises are low impacting (except for burpees), meaning one foot stays on the ground at all times, they're intense, focused, and you do feel your muscles working.

The Basic Training section gets you familiar with her cuing style and she builds you up to the usual kickboxing moves. It's still a good workout, but a person unfamiliar with kickboxing will probably have to watch it through before trying it out.

Burpees are new to me and they can be found in the Fat Burning Blast section along with other exercises. They mainly consist of squatting with hands on the ground, jumping back into a plank position, jumping back into a squat, and then standing up. Definitely a muscle building kind of exercise that works all the major muscle groups.

She also incorporates a couple exercises in the Washboard Abs section I've only seen in men's fitness magazines, a pretty hardcore workout for being only ten minutes. It's a nice change of pace compared to doing 300 of the usual variations of crunches.

The Arm and Shoulder Sculptor section is great. I didn't have any free weights, but still found the exercises effective. There are a few variations of the pushup/plank type of exercises which are also great. Who doesn't like pushups?

Ultimate Buns and Thighs is also excellent. There's a few good kickboxing moves here, and she also includes squats and side lunges in some interesting combos that still remain low impact while being highly effective.

Normally I prefer long high impact workouts involving lots of cardio, but these little workouts are great for those days you don't have much time. I usually do 20 minutes of this video twice a week.

The only downside to this video are the short warmups and stretching. The instructor does try to incorporate stretching as part of the warmup and cool down for each section, but for the most part she usually just jumps into the exercises. I definitely do more stretching of the neck and arms after the Arm and Shoulder Sculptor section.

I'll be doing different reviews of workout videos from time to time. Most I purchase, but a couple are available online.

When You Feel Like You're Starving All The Time

This is me usually. I don't get that full/sick feeling that most people get, I can keep eating until it's putting pressure on my diaphragm and I have problems breathing. So normally I gauge myself in relation to another person, I stop eating when they do, but that becomes a problem when the person I mainly share meals with is almost 10 inches taller than me. My stomach gets stretched out because I'm eating so much, and then I'm just hungry all the time.

The only way I combat this constant hunger is by shrinking my stomach. I eat much smaller meals and try to eat dinner around 5 or 6 pm. Eating a small dinner really early makes a huge difference towards shrinking my stomach, so I don't get that whole, my hunger is a living being devouring me from the inside out feeling during the day.

And if I start to get really hungry between meals, I try to eat an apple and cheese stick. A little protein and a little fiber is always a winning combination. Another good snack is celery with natural peanut butter. My husband's favorite snack lately has been yogurt with homemade granola (which is what I normally eat for breakfast), he says the granola makes it a desert.