Paul Katami is a slave driver! I was so impressed with his Burn & Build I decided I needed to sample more of his offerings. So A.S.A.P Hollywood Bootcamp 4×4 was the next one I chose. WOW. Another super tough metabolic weight training workout. I especially needed something like this today–the day after Thanksgiving when I had a little (too much) of everything! I did it first thing this morning and I am currently writing this in the afternoon but I am still feeling this workout especially in my lower body. It is a total body cardio + strength circuit workout, but I think it hits the lower body the hardest.
The 4×4 in the title refers to how the workout is structured. It is set up in blocks. Each block lasts approx. 10 minutes except for the final “bonus” block which is only about 5 minutes. Let me break a block down. 1 minute of cardio, 1 minute lower body strength, 1 minute upper body strength, 1 minute core. 30 seconds recovery. Repeat the 4 one minute exercises again. That completes one block. Each time you complete a 4 minute block you get 30 seconds of rest/recovery. And of course as the workout progresses you value those recovery periods more and more.
Paul and crew (2 women) have a mat, a towel, a water bottle and one set of weights. Their weights look pretty light–maybe 5 pound dumbbells. I recommend a variety of dumbbells to get the most out of this workout. I used 5, 8 and 10 but in the future I will also include 12 pound dumbbells. And I will use them all. This is a high rep/endurance workout, so you cannot go super heavy. However, Paul does tell you form is paramount and to go at your own pace during the minute allotted for each exercise. That is hard for me to do however, especially when him and his crew all stay on the same count and he is cuing. There is a timer in the left hand corner of the screen, so you always know you are going for 60 seconds and you can check how much time you have left–which is good for some exercises! They start burning but the timer helps you push through until the end of the time limit. Note that this workout can be modified to fit your fitness level. He does show some beginner modifications, but you can use light weights for every exercise and, as he mentions, go at your own pace during the 60 second exercise periods. So it doesn’t have to be an advanced workout. You make it more advanced by going at the same pace as Paul, using heavier weights, and using the most advanced version of each exercise.
I really like Paul Katami. Not only does he put together very tough, very effective workouts, but he has a good presence. He cues well, gives very good form pointers and has a good sense of humor without being silly or stupid. Very likeable trainer. I will be perusing more of his workouts!
4×4 Bootcamp is a 72 minute total body cardio + strength metabolic weight training workout. Warm up 6 minutes, 59 minute training time and cool down/stretch 7 minutes. The warm up is pretty simple and he starts you right away with the timer and 60 second blocks–so you are doing each warm move for 60 seconds. They consist of knee ups, jogs, squats, jumping jacks, shuffle feet, front lunges and back lunges.
Remember, each move is done for one minute then you get a thirty second recovery and repeat the 4 exercises. That is one block.
Block One:
Cardio: double rope hop/run to Heisman runs to high knee runs
Lower Body: progressive front lunges (dumbbells); progressive means you do three lunges each leg (and keep alternating sides for the full 60 seconds) and each of the three lunges is at a different level with the third lunge being the deepest.
Upper body: bicep curls (dumbbells); you do different curls, each for 10 seconds.
Core: squat rotations (dumbbells); very challenging move–hold one dumbbell over head and the other is held down between legs; now squat–not changing your arm position at all.
Block Two:
Cardio: burpee/mountain climber combo
Lower Body: squat/front lunge combo (dumbbells)
Upper Body: Iron Cross (dumbbells); you’ll want to go light here–5 or 8 pounds
Core: forearm plank
Block Three:
Cardio: Starter block; lunge and touch the floor with finger tips and jump up, other arm reaching overhead as you jump
Lower Body: lateral lunge (dumbbells)
Upper Body: 4×4 push up/run; this one brings back Insanity flashbacks–you do 4 mountain climbers and 4 push ups and keep doing them for 60 seconds.
Core: crunch with side-to-side twists at top of move.
Block 4:
Cardio: squat jack/air jack combo
Lower Body: 1-2-3 booty (dumbbells); this is a progressive rear lunge–3 rear lunges, each one goes deeper than the one before. The advanced option has you lifting the back leg up on the third lunge.
Upper Body: renegade rows (dumbbells)
Core: Chaturanga climbers; very challenging. He starts you out in high plank and has you do the climbers (raising knee to elbow to work core) then he has you lower your upper body as if doing a Chaturanga but holding it at the low end (NOT forearm planks) and still doing climbers. I’ll be honest–I couldn’t do it for 60 seconds. I went back up to high plank to finish out the climbers.
Block 5:
Cardio: double run into squat, alternate lead leg; this is more of a “higher” jump lunge into a jump squat.
Lower Body: squat, knee lift, curtsey lunge, knee lift-keep repeating (dumbbells)
Upper Body: skull crushers (dumbbells)
Core: X Factor; laying supine have arms and legs out so that you form an X–but legs and arms are lifted off the ground. Raise body into full (or double) crunch, bring knees into chest (raising shoulders) and hands to knees.
Bonus Block: The bonus block is only done once. Each exercise is done for 60 seconds.
Squat crawl to push up
Squat, overhead press to tricep extensions (dumbbells)
Hover squat with front raise (dumbbells)
Plie squat with bicep curls
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