10 Minute Torchers

Posted on by 2lazy4gym in 10 minute workouts, B.J. Gaddour, Bodyweight Training, Cardio, Cardio + Strength, Fitness program, Shorter DVD Workouts, Split Series, Strength

torchers10 Minute Torchers was discovered completely by accident. First, I came across a forum post about a Men’s Health workout series called The Anarchy Workout. I was curious so I did some research on it. When I decided to spring for it, I was offered 10 Minute Torchers at the checkout. So, of course, before finishing the checkout process I did some research on 10 Minute Torchers. There wasn’t a lot of information on this little program but what I did find looked pretty cool. It looked like something both me and my husband might enjoy (so did Anarchy) so I ordered them both.

10 Minute Torchers consists of 12 ten minute workouts. The DVD case actually contains 3 DVDs; however, each DVD contains the same 12 workouts, they are just… structured differently–more on that shortly. The trainer is B.J. Gaddour. I’ve never heard of him. In his quote about this program he states that these 10 minute workouts are based on bootcamp classes. The idea behind this collection is “you can mix and match any routine for a seemingly endless variety of workouts. In fact, you can create 1,728 different 30-minute workout combinations!” And all you need for these workouts is your body and some dumbbells.

DVD #1 has all 12 workouts and you can pick and choose which workout you want to do. Disk #2 has the workouts set up in a 10 week rotation calendar. This is actually pretty cool. If you are completely out of shape or coming back to working out after an injury then start at Week 1. If you are already in shape then start at a later week. You just go to the day on the calendar and you click on it–and there is your workout for that day, already put together for you. Here is how the rotation calendar is structured: 1st 2 weeks you do 1 segment a day for 6 days; 2nd 2 weeks you do 2 segments 4 days a week and 1 segment 2 days a week; 3rd 2 weeks, you do 3 segments 3 days a week and 2 segments 3 days a week; 4th 2 weeks you do 4 segments 3 days a week and 2 segments 3 days a week; 5th and final 2 weeks you do 5 segments 3 days a week and 3 segments 3 days a week. The calendar already chooses which workouts you do each day, you just choose your day, click on it and workout. Disk 3 contains 25 different combos, combining the segments into different workouts ranging from 20-90 minutes. They each have a clever name to highlight their focus like the Stress Shedding Torcher (Fat Frying Flow and 6 Pack Super Storm), The Date Night Torcher for Men (Upper Body Blast and Arms & Abs Assault), The Beach Ready Torcher for Women (Dumbbell Dynamite, Belly Fat Broiler & Lower Body Crush), The Ass Kicking Torcher (Dumbbell Dynamite, Belly Fat Broiler, Upper Body Blast & Lower Body Crush), plus 21 more combos. I like that last one I listed btw–the Ass Kicking Torcher. Nice combo. Date Night Torcher for Men is another nice one–I actually used that one after doing RIPT90’s Arm Annihilator–and totally burned my arms out.

Even tho some of these are great little workouts, 10 minutes will never be enough to do any real muscle/strength building, but they are nice for add-ons and/or an effective metabolic/bootcamp workout when stringing them together. The level of the workouts varies, which makes sense. If you use the rotation calendar disk you would see that some of the workouts do not even appear until later weeks. If you take some of the more challenging workouts and string them together you could actually get a very intense metabolic strength workout. For instance, for a great 40 minute metabolic strength workout that is all dumbbells do Dumbbell Dynamite, Belly Fat Broiler, Upper Body Blast and Arms and Abs Assault (these are the only 4 workouts that use dumbbells). If you want to use all of the strength workouts and add 30 more minutes to your workout–add on Tempo Torchers, Lower Body Crush and Isometric Inferno–3 more strength workouts but no equipment needed. So it is entirely possible to get a 70 minute total body metabolic strength workout. And of course remove 1, 2, 3 or more of the segments to construct the workout you want and/or change the focus of the workout. You would of course need to add on your own warm up and stretch.

For the break down, I am not listing times because B.J. is consistent–every workout is 10 minutes. However, he does give a very brief explanation of what to expect at the beginning of each–generally it lasts about 20 seconds. There are no warm ups or cool downs. But at the end of every workout he usually yells “Done!” All of the workouts feature BJ only and are set in a huge empty warehouse. BJ himself is an odd man–he makes a lot of silly commentary that sometimes made me laugh and sometimes just made me roll my eyes. He did have a lot of energy, put together some great mini workouts and seemed to put his own spin on everything.

Workouts:

Tempo Torchers is a body weight workout, so no equipment. 10 exercises, 50 seconds of work 10 seconds of rest. The title means that each exercise is done very slowly. Also, you never totally come out of a move; for example, the first exercise is Tempo Squat; you squat very slow and deep and never come all the way back to standing, so there is always tension in the muscle.

Exercises:

1. Tempo Squat

2. Tempo Push Up

3. Tempo Split Squat

4. Tempo Split Squat other leg

5. Tempo Bridging

6. 3 Slow Squats/1 Fast Squat or Squat Jump

7. 3 Slow Push Ups/1 Fast Push Ups

8. 2 Slow Walking Lunges

2 Fast Walking Lunges

9. T Planks; alternate slow and fast

10. Alternating Fast and Slow Mountain Climbers (4 of each)

6 Pack Super Storm is a cardio/core interval workout and pretty cool, I really liked it. You do 30 seconds of cardio and 30 seconds of a core move (usually isometric). No equipment needed.

1. Seal Jacks

2. Forearm Plank

3. Traditional Jumping Jack

4. Left Side Plank

5. Split Jacks (scissor hops)

6. Right Side Plank

7. X Jacks (just cross feet when jacking in)

8. Hip Bridge

9. Predator Jacks (squat jack, except at bottom (when in wide squat) shift side to side before jumping back up)

10. Hallow (or banana hold–lay on back and lift feet, hands, head, shoulders 6-8 inches off ground and hold)

11. Back Foot Touch Skaters (low impact skaters)

12. Push Up Hold

13. Speed Skaters

14. Bird Dogs

15. Stick the Landing (skaters that you hop to the side and hold/balance)

16. T Push Ups

17. Elastic Skater Jumps (just fast full skater jumps)

18. Dead Bug

19. Fast/Slow Skaters

20. Slow Mountain Climbers

Dumbbell Dynamite: each exercise is done for 50 seconds w/ 10 seconds of rest. All of the exercises are done with one dumbbell; since you are only using one dumbbell, if the move focuses on one side of the body, halfway through the 50 seconds you change sides. I suggest using a heavy dumbbell. You do not do a lot of reps of anything as this only a 10 minute workout containing 10 exercises. I used a 25 pound dumbbell for a lot of the exercises I could probably have used a 30 pound dumbbell.

 

Exercises:
1. Pullover to Bridge (raise hips, then do pull over, then lower hips)
2. Goblet Staggered Squat to Reverse Lunge (hold DB in goblet position and slightly stagger feet; do a squat then reverse lunge; when coming out of reverse lunge raise knee then reset)
3. Uneven Dumbbell Archer Push-up (push ups w/ one hand holding DB and other hand further out than shoulders so it functions like a one arm push up)
4. Alternating Forward Lunges
5. Single Arm Spider Bicep Curls (concentration curls while in deep runners lunge)
6. High Pull Catch Squat to Lateral Lunge Combo (set DB on ground but on its end; squat to grab it in goblet position and come up quickly, squat, then side lunge each time and reset to repeat)
7. Single Arm Rotational Press to Push Press (pivot and do a one arm overhead press 2 times, 3rd time make it a push press)
8. Goblet Spider Squat to Squat Jump (hold DB in goblet position; squat deep, stand and raise one knee, squat, stand and raise other knee, squat and jump; repeat)
9. One-arm 3-way Bent Over Row (one arm bent over rows; each time you row you change hand position between 3 different positions)
10. Uneven Dumbbell Mountain Climbers (mountain climbers with one hand holding the DB)

 

Gorilla Gut Buster is an interesting and surprisingly challenging little workout. Each exercise is named (and apparently mirrored) after an animal. No equipment is needed. Each exercise is done for 40 seconds with 20 seconds of rest. Some of these exercises really challenged me and I felt them!

 

Exercises:
1. Spider Crawls (get into plank and bring one foot up to the outside of your hand, bring your other hand out further in front of you and lower upper body like a push up; alternate sides)
2. Monkey Lunges (basically you alternate side lunges, but as you change sides you kind of shuffle with hands on the ground)
3. Crab Walk (in crab position, walk around; he also shows you other movements you can do in crab position–so basically 50 seconds of doing all kinds of things in crab)
4. Traveling Ape (get into sumo squat then lower until hands on are on ground between feet and heels raised–hop forward and backward in this position)
5. Bear Crawls (walking around in quadruped)
6. Traveling Baboon (very similar to #2 monkey lunges, except the foot position is slightly different and he wants your knuckles to be on the ground)
7. Spider to Scorpion Push-up (very challenging–he starts you slow, progressing to hard variations of the movement which is basically doing a push up while bringing one knee to same side elbow then bringing that same knee up and over behind body)
8. Duck Walk (get into a deep squat and walk around in that position)
9. Alligator Push-ups (get into plank; walk one step forward in plank, push up, walk another step forward, push up, and so on
10. Frog Hops (squat down very deep (bottom lower than knees) onto the balls of feet, arms out straight in front of you and hop in that position–do not ever come to standing)

 

Lower Body Crush is exactly what the title suggests–a lower body crusher and in just 10 minutes. Now, my little disclaimer is that I did this workout immediately after completing RIPT90 Dead-Lift Killer, so my glutes and hamstrings were already burned out. This little workout really polished them off. I found it very effective and it was burning by the end. I don’t think it was only because I had just done a zillion deadlifts–BJ seemed to be in extreme pain by the end as well. This workout has 5 exercises, each done for 90 seconds. You get 30 seconds of rest/recovery between exercises. No equipment needed–bodyweight only.

 

Exercises:
1. Mechanical Change Squat (you do 3 different squats by changing foot position–wide squat, normal squat, narrow squat)
2. Mechanical Change Squat (similar to #1 except you do a normal squat, a one leg squat (staggered) and a reverse lunge (split squat)–45 seconds each leg)
3. Mechanical Change Lunge (4 lunges–reverse, forward, side and curtsy–45 seconds each leg)
4. Isometric Squat Ladder (hold for 1 second, then for 2 seconds, then for 3 seconds–all the way to 13 seconds)
5. Isometric Lunge Ladder (same as #4, but you end up only going up to 9 seconds on each leg)

 

Sweat Tsunami is an unusual cardio workout. It is primarily low impact and only one exercise has any impact. If you have a lower body injury then this is the perfect workout for you. That one exercise (the final exercise) with impact is easily modifiable–just substitute any of the exercises that came before it. Did I like it? Not really! I did work up a (unexpected) sweat–though hardly a tsunami, and I was even breathing harder by the end. But it’s definitely not a fun workout. However, I am glad to know it exists for days when my metal heels are acting up. I can still get in some cardio with zero impact. Each exercise is done for 20 seconds followed by a 10 second recovery. Every exercise is repeated once. If an exercise favors one side of the body, when repeated it is done on the other side of the body. The main movement that is done in almost every single exercise is running man arms–so you will be pumping your arms hard and fast; what changes is your lower body position; however your lower body is almost always held stationary.

 

Exercises:
1. Seated Stationary Running
2. Tall Kneeling Stationary Running
3. Split Kneeling Stationary Running
4. Parallel Stance Stationary Running
5. Staggered Stance Stationary Running
6. Split Stance Stationary Running
7. Deep Split Squat Hold Stationary Running
8. Deep Lunge Hold Stationary Running (do a front lunge and hold a few seconds, stand then lunge again–the whole pumping arms)
9. Running Lunge (reverse lunge to knee raise–you will not be pumping your arms)
10. Total Body Stationary Running (you actually run in place)

 

Isometric Inferno is a tough bodyweight strength workout. 10 exercises, each exercise done for 50 seconds with 10 seconds of rest. For the first half of the 50 seconds you hold the move at its lowest point isometrically then halfway through you start/moving/pulsing/whatever. Very nice little workout to fry your muscles.

 

Exercises:
1. Deep Squat Hold to Squat Jumps
2. Bridge Hold to Hip Extensions
3. Split Squat Hold to Split Squat/Lunges
4. Pushup Hold to Pushups
5. Split Squat Hold to Split Squat/Lunges, other leg
6. Pike Pushup Hold to Pike Pushups
7. Lateral Squat Hold to Lateral Squat/Lunges
8. Side Pushup Hold to Side Pushups
9. Lateral Squat Hold to Lateral Squat/Lunges, other leg
10. Side Pushup Hold to Side Pushups, other side

 

Fat Frying Flow is tough! It starts out seeming as if it will be relaxing but it gets advanced! This is a combo of yoga, pilates, flexibility and bodyweight strength work in the tradition of PiYo and BodyFit 360. 10 moves, done continuously with no break between. One of the main exercises you keep returning to is the “Dirty Down Dog”–it is dirty because a down dog is usually a relaxing move. BJ’s tweaks on the down dog are not relaxing! All of the exercises are flowing–so you are not holding any of the poses, you are flowing between two different poses.

 

Exercises:
1. Dirty Downward Dog (downward dog to plank or pushup–feet and hands are wide)
2. Sit-through Squats (get into very deep wide squat so you are pressing your arms against the inside of your thighs to stretch the inner thigh and move from plank to this squat)
3. Dirty Downward Dog Close Feet (same as #1 except hands and feet aren’t wide)
4. Lateral Sit-through Squats (deep side squats moving side to side)
5. Single Leg Dirty Downward Dog (same as #1 & #3 but one leg is raised; change legs halfway through)
6. Lateral Kick-through (start in quadruped and bring leg to opposite side, kicking under body so you are one one hand and one foot (very PiYo move!); alternate sides)
7. Single  Dirty Downward Dog (same as #5 but it’s the arm raised rather than the leg)
8. Pistol Sit/Kick-through (get into the same deep squat you started in in #2, but bring your leg around and kick forward, trying to keep the weight on the heel of the foot on the floor; you can assist with fingertips of one hand)
9. Single arm/Single Leg Dirty Downward Dog (see #5 & #7–very advanced)
10. Quadruped Kick Through (this exercise wasn’t actually “labeled” like the others so I made up that name–but you start in quadruped then kick through into a pistol squat

 

Belly Fat Broiler is a strength workout. You will need at least one set of dumbbells for this workout. I used several (15, 20 & 25 pounds dumbbells). This is a pretty neat little strength workout. Combining several of the dumbbell workouts could you get a decent strength workout. Each exercise is done for 40 seconds with 20 seconds of rest.
Exercises:
1. Dumbbell Wide Stance Front Squats 20 (hold dumbbells in front of you, just under chin)
2. Dumbbell Floor Press to Bridge 25 (narrow chest press while raising hips in bridge)
3. Dumbbell Walking Lunges 15
4. Dumbbell Isometric Bent-Over Row Ladder 25 (row and hold at top for 1 count, row and hold at top for 2 counts, keep going–he gets you up to holding for 8 counts in the 40 seconds)
5. Dumbbell Mountain Climber Complex (regular mountain climbers, wide/spider mountain climbers, angled mountain climbers)
6. Dumbbell Close Stance Front Squat 20 (same as #1 but feet are close together)
7. Dumbbell Pushup and Push Press Superset (20 seconds of push ups/20 seconds of push press) 15
8. Dumbbell Walking Lunges 15 (same as #3 except the dumbbells will be asymmetrically loaded: one dumbbell is held at shoulder and the other hangs at your side; switch halfway)
9. Dumbbell Clean Complex 15 (clean to shoulders 2x, step to each side into a sumo squat while doing a kettlebell swing, split jump clean–one each side)
10. Dumbbell “Puking” Push-Up 15 (renegade row, side plank each side bringing dumbbell overhead, walking plank, push up)

 

Fat Loss Free Style is an interesting little cardio workout that I’m not sure what I think of it. It got my heart rate up but it wasn’t as intense as I expected it to be. I am not going to break this wokout down because there are so many exercises–seriously, a lot is crammed into 10 minutes. The majority of the cardio and bodyweight moves have appeared in other workouts in this series. They appear randomly and non-stop, and you do each for 10-20 seconds. Some of the exercises: lunges, skaters, jacks, jog in place, push ups, mountain climbers, crab walks, downdogs, tuck jumps, squats and much more. Also, different versions of many of the afore mentioned moves appear; some are repeated, some aren’t.

 

Upper Body Blast is a surprisingly tough little workout. A perfect add-on to finish off an upper body workout. In fact, I did it after RIPT90‘s Arm Annihilator to burn my arms out. Now, the very first exercise is squats–but BJ says it is to warm up. You do the exercise drop set fashion; the first time you do the exercise you use 2 dumbbells and the second time you use one dumbbell. BJ only had one set of heavy dumbbells and he was struggling with some of the exercises. I, of course, had several sets. Since you do each exercise for 50 seconds with 10 seconds of rest, you can really burn your muscles out on the two dumbbell variety so when I went to the one dumbbell exercise I didn’t always use the same dumbbell I used for the two dumbbell version. I would go a little heavier–but still lighter than the exercise was two dumbbells. You do 5 exercises–but remember, you do each twice.

 

Exercises:
1. Front Squats
2. Overhead Press
3. Bent-Over Row
4. Overhead Triceps Extension
5. Hammer Curls

 

Arms and Abs Assault was not what I was expecting. I expected bicep and tricep exercises alternated with core work, and things like tricep kickbacks in plank. That is not what you get at all in this workout. You need one moderate weight dumbbell. You do one exercise and you change arms every 30 seconds. The only thing that changes is every minute you change position. What is working the core is some of your stances, plus the fact you are only working one side of the body at a time. The one move is bicep curl to overhead press. So I will not repeatedly write that below. All I am listing below are differnet positions your lower body will be in. You do each one for one minute, and within that one minute, each arm does a curl and press for 30 seconds. For all of the squatting/hinging moves you will touch the dumbbell to the floor then stand and do the curl to press. Another winner.

Exercises:

1. Split kneel
2. Double Kneeling
3. Standing
4. Deep Squatting
5. Two Leg Hinging (deadlift)
6. Staggered Squat
7. Staggered Hinging (deadlift)
8. Forward Lunging
9. One Leg Hinging (balancing one leg deadlift)
10. Seated (legs straight out in front of you)

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