Quickies

Quickies is another Mindy Mylrea workout I got at her $3.99 sale. This one contains 12 mini workouts that are 4-9 minutes long (but average 6 minutes). You can go to each segment individually or you can do them grouped into workouts: Gliding Disks & Body Weight (37:30 minutes) and Bender Ball & Medicine Ball (45:30 minutes), or you can just click on “Play All” and do all 12 segments (plus warm ups and cool down/stretch) which is 80 minutes long. This is a bodyweight metabolic strength workout.

This workout is a tough one to review. Let me get it out of the way first. I didn’t like it. Zero fun or enjoyment factor. However, it is advanced and it is very challenging. So I certainly do not want this review to discourage people who want to do extremely challenging workouts that contain a lot of plank based moves. A lot. I have no problems with planks–but I just don’t want to do a workout in which a significant amount of the workout is done in plank. I do not like planks that much.

But I am getting ahead of myself. I workout for an hour every morning Monday-Friday (plus another 30 minutes in the afternoon) and on the weekends (and holidays or other days I am not going into work for whatever reason) I do a longer morning workout. So I had already slated this workout for today (Saturday) with plans to do the “play all” option and do an 80 minute workout. Then I previewed it. I could tell from previewing it I would not enjoy this workout, but I paid for it (true, only $3.99) and I could tell that whether I liked it or not, it would be a great workout, so I did it anyway. But in the days leading up to this workout, there was definitely a dread factor. So I will be honest, I came to this workout with a bad attitude. An attitude of dread. And during the workout, I glanced at the DVD timer (on my DVD player–no timer on the workout) a lot to motivate myself (you’re almost halfway through! you only have 20 more minutes!).

There are no complicated moves, but there are a lot of very challenging moves. There are balance moves, too, but they are very easy to modify. Now, you can do easier versions of many of the exercises. Mindy doesn’t necessarily show modifications to anything but she does sometimes build moves. So you can stay with an earlier version of the move. I did everything that Mindy did–so I went all the way up to the advanced levels she took this workout to (unless it was a balance move then I modified by either having a toe touching the floor or my hand touching the wall–something for balance purposes) and it wore me out. I burned 500 calories in 80 minutes and I was drenched in sweat. So please understand this is a very effective workout. And I usually love challenging workouts that wear me out, but as I mentioned above, this workout was zero fun. I didn’t enjoy it and I have to enjoy a workout, even if it beats the $hit out of me. There has to be something about it I enjoy in order for me to want to return to it. There is nothing in this entire 80 minute workout I enjoyed enough to motivate me to return to it. But peruse the 12 segments below. This workout might be something you enjoy. Of course, I could always return to it and do the shorter versions of the workout, or just pick and choose “Quickies” that I do like but that’s the problem. I didn’t like any of them that much. Some were better than others, but not a single of the 12 Quickies was that enjoyable to me.

The Gliding Disks & Body Weight workout is 37:30 minutes w/ a 2 minute warm up that uses the disks and a 3 minute cool down/stretch. It is made up of the 6 segments below.

Segment 1 (3:41 minutes): Uses sliding disks for for #1 only.

1. Sliding burpees; add sliding to side, middle, side before standing; add two “froggers” (sliding feet up into wide squat–feet/disks outside of hands–then slide back to plank); add two pike ups after froggers
2. Do the same thing you do in #1 but without disks, so there is jumping

Segment 2 (6:45): Uses sliding disks for #1 only

1. Sliding loaded lunge to unloaded lunge (you are doing 2 side lunges on same leg); changes to single leg squat sliding forward one heel on disk; lower hands to floor and slide one foot back into one leg plank then do one leg plank slide tuck in; add a push up after the slide tuck in; changes to slide one leg in and when you slide leg back out, pull other knee in under body toward opposite elbow; repeat everything on other side of body
2. Do the same thing you do in #1 but without disks, so there is jumping

Segment 3 (4:53 minutes): Uses sliding disks for #1 only

1. Snowboarding (feet about hips width apart, twist/slide hips side to side); changes to fast twisting while squatting and standing; changes to twisting down until hands are on ground then sliding feet back to plank while “snaking” feet then snaking them back in and standing while twisting; add figure 8 slides with feet while in plank
2. Do the same thing you do in #1 but without disks, so there is jumping (instead of twists you do moguls, instead of snaking in and out of plank you do mountain climbers aiming knees at opposite elbows)

Segment 4 (6:17 minutes): Uses sliding disks for #1 only

1. Sliding pendulum lunges; changes to curtsy lunge then slide leg out to side; changes to pulsing curtsy lunge; repeat on other leg
2. Pendulum lunges; add a hop; changes to runners lunge jumps; changes to kicking leg behind you then jumping w/ knee raise; changes top tapping leg behind you similar to curtsy lunge but you don’t squat w/ other leg and swing same leg out to other side–so swinging it side to side behind you

Segment 5 (6:42 minutes): Uses sliding disks for #1 only

1. Slide one leg back into lunge, pivot into plie squat, pivot back into lunge then slide back to standing; remain in plie squat and slide one foot across/in front of other foot then slide back to side and slide behind you into curtsy lunge; place hands on floor and slide feet out into side plank, while in side plank slide straight legs in, piking hips; add scissoring legs before piking hips; repeat on other leg
2. Do the same thing you do in #1 but without disks, so there is jumping; for the side plank, lower into a push up then return to side plank and lift top leg

Segment 6 (4:02 minutes): Uses sliding disks for #1 & 2 only

1. In straight arm plank, slide on leg out to side then slide it underneath you to other side, slide it back out to same side then slide so feet are together again; changes to circling the leg; combine the two sliding motions; repeat on other leg; circle both legs at the same time, bringing knees up to elbows then together underneath you and pushing back to plank; change the circle direction
2. Lay on back, disks under heels, hips raised, slide one leg in and out, alternate legs
3. Do the same thing you do in #1 but without disks so there is some jumping
4. Get into crab and alternate kicking legs

The Bender Ball & Medicine Ball Workout is 45:40 minutes long w/ a 2:30 minute warm up that uses the bender ball and 3 minute cool down/stretch. It is made up of the 6 segments below.

Segment 1 (5:58 minutes): #1 uses bender ball and #2 uses medicine ball

1. Place bender ball behind one knee and while balancing on one leg, raise knee in front of you then push foot behind you; add a jump when raising knee; do a one leg burpee w/ ball still behind knee; remain in plank and jump foot in and out while leg w/ ball still behind knee raises and lowers; still in straight arm plank do a push up while rotating leg w/ ball out and when you raise up, rotate knee underneath you; repeat everything on other leg
2. Place medicine ball on floor and place one heel on floor–do a one leg squat; pick up ball and do burpees with ball in hands; changes to mountain climbers with hands on ball; do push ups with one hand on ball, after each push up roll the ball to other hand; repeat on other side

Segment 2 (9:18 minutes) #1-4 uses bender ball and #5-8 uses medicine ball

1. Squat w/ bender ball between thighs; changes to pulsing squats; add little hops; add hips twists to hops
2. Lay on side w/ bender ball under waist, bottom leg bent and top leg straight, top hand on floor in front of you and bottom hand behind head–raise and lower head/shoulders/bottom elbow; raise top arm to ceiling and continue raising and lowering
3. Lay on back, bender ball between knees, one leg raised straight to ceiling and other foot on floor–raise and lower hips; add a hop w/ each lift
4. Repeat 1-3 (2 & 3 on other side of body)
5. Squat while holding medicine ball; hops while touching med ball to floor at when lowering into squat; changes to 180 squat hops, still tapping med ball to floor
6. In side plank w/ med ball on floor in front you and top hand on ball, do a push up then rotate back to side plank raising med ball overhead
7. Lay on back, both feet on med ball, raise and lower hips; raise one leg and continue raising and lowering hips
8. Repeat 5-7 (6 & 7 on other side of body)

Segment 3 (7:30 minutes) 1-3 uses bender ball and 4-6 uses medicine ball.

1. With bender ball behind one knee, other leg out straight in front of you w/ heel on floor, do single leg squats; changes to a deep static lunge w/ bender ball between thigh and stomach; start tapping back leg in and out; holding bender ball in both hands (still in lunge) lower, tapping ball on ground and raise up, lifting ball and back leg; changes to pulling knee in and tapping ball to knee then extending leg and ball (balance challenge); return to deep lunge and roll ball on floor around front foot; in a more upright lunge, place bender ball behind front leg and do pulsing static lunge
2. In plie squat, do figure 8 with bender ball
3. Repeat 1 & 2 (#1 on other leg)
4. Put medicine ball on floor and one heel on top of ball, do single leg squat while rolling ball back and forth w/ foot; lower into deep runners lunge holding ball on floor at front foot and bringing back knee in and out; continue bringing knee in and out but now also bring the medicine ball in and out, tapping ball to knee; changes to kicking leg behind you while hopping (still bringing all in and out and tapping to knee); static lunges while passing ball under front thigh; add a hop
5. In plie squat, do figure 8 med ball
6. Repeat 4 & 5 (#4 on other leg)

Segment 4 (4:35 minutes) #1-3 uses the bender ball and 34 & 5 use medicine ball

1. Lateral skaters, bringing bender ball from hip to hip; add tapping ball to ground w/ each skate
2. Alternating jump lunges bringing bender ball from hip to hip
3. In C-sit, row bender ball from side to side; raise legs off floor while continuing to row ball
4. Repeat #1 w/ medicine ball
5. In C-sit, pass medicine ball under knee, alternate knees

Segment 5 (6:17 minutes) #1-3 uses bender ball and #4-6 uses medicine ball

1. Wide squats while passing bender ball around legs in figure 8; add leg lifts after each squat/ball pass; changes to hop squats, still passing ball in figure 8
2. Fast alternating reverse lunges w/ passing bender ball under front leg; changes to alternating jump lunges while still passing bender ball under thighs; changes to jump lunge to jump squat, alternating legs on lunge and passing ball around leg on jump squat
3. Place bender ball between thighs, do one push up, turn over into crab and do tricep dip; keep alternating two moves keeping bender ball between thighs
4. Repeat #1 w/ medicine ball but do not pass ball around legs, just do figure 8 motion in front of body
5. Repeat #2 w/ medicine ball but do figure 8 bringing medicine ball to each hip rather than passing under thighs
6. Repeat #3 but hold medicine ball under one hand for tricep dips and do push ups w/ both hands on medicine ball

Segment 6 (6:23 minutes) #1-3 uses the bender ball and #4-6 uses medicine ball

1. Place bender ball between thighs, do squat thrust then flip over into crab and stand up then reverse this (sit down, go into crab, flip into plank, then jump feet in to hands and stand)
2. C-sit w/ bender ball at small of back, open arms wide and lift legs (modified boat pose) and lower one hand to floor while raising other overhead–keep alternating hand positions
3. Straight arm side plank w/ bender ball between ankles, raise and lower hips; repeat on other side
4. Holding medicine ball in both hands, do fast feet and drop into burpee when Mindy tells you to
5. In C-sit, toss and catch medicine ball; changes to one hand toss; changes to tossing ball from hand to hand; changes to passing under legs
6. On straight arm side plank w/ top arm holding medicine ball, med ball on floor–do side push up then push ball in front of you and bring top knee to top elbow (that hand is holding med ball); repeat on other side of body

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