Peak 10 Cardio Interval Burn Remix

I struggled for a bit with what rating to give this DVD. In the end, I was weighing complicated choreography and cueing versus how much my heart rate got up. And I decided that I *did* get a good workout, so I decided to go with a mostly favorable rating.I actually have a hard time tolerating this DVD for the full 50+ minute interval. I'm not sure why that is. I think there is a little boredom involved. But that is purely on me, and may have to do with the fact that I am getting tired of cardio after doing 75+ minutes of it a day, all year, in an effort to lose weight. (I've almost lost 40 pounds at this point, so my effort has been successful.)One other issue may be the organization. There is a short (3-4 minute) warm up. It is fine for me. Then there are 10 interval segments (5 are listed on the DVD menu; the other 5 are repeats of the first 5 but you use the other leg/arm). Between segments there is a "base camp" session which is just a minute or so. It is a good time to get a drink of water, and I do very much like the actual chance to get water during a workout (some DVDs don't make it easy). Then there is an "ascent" segment, a "climb" segment (technically, those words mean the same thing in this context...), and a "peak" segment; these are of increasing intensity. I guess my issue is, you finish one, and you're like, oh goodness, now I have to do 9 more of these? It just doesn't move as quickly as I would expect.Then again, this irritation with the organization may be peculiar to me. On the plus side, I can totally see myself using this for days when I've already done about an hour of cardio and just need something to get an extra 10-20 minutes in. So even though I don't want to do the whole workout, I can still get value out of the segments and use out of the DVD.As for the workout itself, I do feel that I got a good workout. There isn't much downtime at all, and I like that. The ascent and climb sections are nothing to slouch at. (I don't know that I found all the peak segments super challenging, but I am quite fit at this point. Burpees don't even scare me off any longer.) Perhaps because it was new to me, but I did break a sweat in under 15 minutes. I didn't have difficulty completing the DVD, but felt challenged. (If you find it too hard, just do one or two or three of the interval segments and then cool down. Work your way up to the whole DVD.)My other beef is with the choreography. This is far from the worst-choreographed/cued DVD that I've done lately, but I did find myself flailing a few times. If you have done workouts from The Firm, some of the moves will seem familiar to you. Like the dreaded "jazz box" (though I think the instructor here calls it something else). If I did not have that background from The Firm, I would've been hopelessly lost. I picked up *most* of the move sequences after going through the DVD once, but not all of them. Because the ascent/climb/peak segments are relatively short, you just don't get to go through the choreography enough to really learn it unless you do whole DVD a couple of times. (Or unless you are really good at picking up dance moves, which I am not.)Otherwise, I have no complaints. The instructor seems friendly and she is easy to hear. The other demonstrators are able to follow along with ease (no flailing from the demonstrators like with Tae Bo workouts...), plus they look fit. There are two men (who seem a little out of place, to be honest) and a handful of women. Ms. Dozois knows what she is doing and she doesn't hesitate. The music is standard workout DVD music, so nothing I recognize. I pretty much tuned it out, which I tend to do and which is fine for me. There are no 2-minute-long unskippable promo segments on the DVD (that really only happens with Gaiam productions, I think), which is appreciated. If you use a fitness tracker, you will get quite a lot of steps from this.In the end, this does get my heart rate up and is a good workout that can be used in various ways depending on your fitness level. I will use the DVD whenever I need 10 or 20 extra minutes of cardio (which is still very useful to me) but I probably won't be running through the whole thing all that often.

I really liked this workout. I'm relatively new to working out-- it's only been about 3 weeks-- and I'm not in the best shape (I'm currently 5'3" and 172lbs), so I tend to get exhausted very quickly when I do cardio. But I decided that 20 and 30-minute workouts weren't enough to help boost my stamina and lose weight, so I did a little research and found this video to be highly rated on [...] (but cheaper to purchase on Amazon). Last night was my first time doing it, and I managed to do the entire thing because I like Michelle Dozios' style of instruction. It is definitely high intensity, but there's a pattern to the routines, and a timer on the screen, so you always know what to expect next. It's very fast and the moves are a little tricky at times, but I feel she repeats them enough times for you to get it right and it's a definite self-esteem booster when you do. Also, I think many of the moves could be easily "downgraded" to low-impact if they're too much for beginners like me. While I did do the entire video, toward the end I didn't jump or lift my arms and legs as much, but I know that'll change the more I do it. The only reason this video isn't getting 5 stars from me is because I agree with another reviewer that there's a LOT of kickboxing and punching involved which probably should have been mentioned in the description. I found some of those moves a bit redundant, but I do appreciate the power those moves require and I look forward to seeing more definition in my shoulders and legs as a result. Also, I wish the cool down stretch focused more on the hamstrings and quads, but luckily I know to do those myself. Overall, this is a great workout and I'm glad I purchased it.

WOW! I work out a lot, usually 5 days a week, and I need a lot to challenge myself. I've tried Jillian Michaels, Alison Davis of The Firm, Cindy Whitmarsh, and Jessica Smith. Those DVDs get me to breathe a little faster, but this one actually worked for me. Even after the cool down and a shower my I can feel my heart beating faster.The DVD has 5 10-minute intervals; you do each twice alternating right and left sides. You start with a "basecamp" to get ready, then an "ascent" which gets your blood pumping a bit, a "climb" that ups the challenge with moves similar to those in the ascent, and a 30 second "peak" with high intensity moves. I love this sequencing. As soon as I started thinking "this is way too easy" in the ascent it was time for climb, and right when I got used to the climb and was thinking "this isn't so bad" it was time for the peak, which was so challenging I didn't have the time to focus on anything but getting through it. And I felt awesome when I made it through a peak! There are so few workouts where I actually feel proud of myself for being able to do them.This DVD differs from others in a few very important ways. For one, you do need the basecamp rest periods to collect yourself and get ready for the next interval. With other videos I get annoyed with the breaks because they interrupted my flow. Also, I've never come across a video where the music is uplifting and helps encourage me to move on and have fun. And finally, for once there is an instructor who takes appropriate time on a cool down! The workout is about 50 minutes and the cool down is 10 which is just as it should be. With others I always keep on stretching through the credits.One thing I wish this DVD had was a matrix so I could select to do a few of the workouts at a time if I don't have the time (or energy) for the full 50 minute workout. You can select to do one segment from the menu, but I don't see a way to create a sequence.

I own most of the Peak series by Michelle Dozois. I love that the time flies by and how hard I am working, but it's fun at the same time. She does a warm up, 5 peak blocks (repeating 2x eatch block and a cool down, totaling about an hour. She does have some choreography so its helpful to watch prior to doing it. I personally like the different movements so it doesn't get boring. I like the choreography in this one probably the best out of all the cardio interval dvds.