Review: Insanity Max 30 - Tabata Power

In my previous post, I mentioned that I was trucking along the Insanity Max 30 program, so now I'm back to review the second DVD in the set.

Tabata Power focuses on a "20 seconds on, 10 seconds off" pattern.  While that might sound like a lot of rest to some, those 10 seconds become much, much needed as things move along.

The workout starts with a five-minute warm-up, and then a series of lower-body exercises that follow the 20/10 pattern.  There are a lot of lunging/small jumping moves in this part of the workout, so those 10 seconds are great for a shake-out of the legs.

The second part of the workout focuses on the upper body, and I know I've probably mentioned this before on this blog, but upper body is definitely a weakness of mine, even though I've been doing a lot of kid-carrying this past year.  Shaun T leads you through a series of different push-ups, some of which are pretty much impossible for me to do at the moment, but I give it my best shot.  For instance, the first move is "plyo pushup," which basically means you "pop-up" when you are pushing up.  I do attempt it, but I find that I am really just popping one hand up at a time, but I think it's the effort that counts until I can actually do it, right?

The section ends with many, many tricep dips.  On the upside, I think my arms have benefitted in their tone from this and the push-ups.  Then, back to the lower body, including Power Jumps, which are NOT my favorite.

The next part is abs, which is mostly a lot of scissoring-type moves.  The last five minutes are a combination of everything I just described, ending with a whole minute of Power Jumps.  This is the part when I'm glad that there isn't an "Ab Attack" portion on this DVD.

My next review will be of Sweat Intervals, which is quite a beast, though I could say the same of pretty much everything so far. 

One thing I really like is hearing the cast members discuss their "max out" time at the end of the workouts.  During the workout, they run up to a blackboard and write down the time when they need a breather, so they can use that to reflect upon in that ending segment.  It makes them seem more relatable, even though they LOOK a lot more fit than the average person (ahem, me).  In Tabata Power, my first "max out" point is when they start the push-up portion, which is around minute 9.  I would be curious to see if I ever get past that point!


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FTC Disclaimer: I purchased this product and was not compensated to provide a positive review.  I am not affiliated with Beachbody in any way.