10 Pounds Down: Better Body Blast

10 Pounds Down: Better Body Blast contains 3 approx 20 minute workouts that you can play by themselves or play all of them for a 66 minute total body workout. This is another excellent workout DVD from Jessica Smith. The upper body and lower body workouts in particular were tough and challenging and very metabolic, so you are getting cardio with your strength training. The abs segment is excellent, too, but I am not a fan of super long core workouts and 20 minutes is longer than I want to spend doing mat core work, so I doubt I will return to that very often. When I did these workouts I did them as doubles workouts or add ons, to finish off another workout. I will continue to use them that way and I will also pair up 20 Minute Arms and 20 Minute Legs (46 minute total) for a longer total body workout then I can add something onto the end to equal my hour. Maybe one of Jessica’s short YouTube cardio workouts or maybe a long stretch. However I use it, this is another excellent collection of short and super effective workouts.

20 Minute Arms is 22:30 minutes; 1 minute warm up and 30 second cool down/stretch. Equipment: dumbbells (Jessica uses 5 pound dumbbells) and a mat. Wow! What a fast paced and intense workout! I used heavier than 5 pound dumbbells and I was working very hard. My muscles were burning out and I was breathing hard so I got some cardio with this workout, too–and that’s from the strength work! There are cardio intervals, too! Excellent, excellent workout. Jessica crams a lot into only 22:30 minutes. My upper body felt well worked when it was over. The dumbbell weights listed below are what I used. This is a very high rep workout, so even though I used heavier than 5 pound dumbbells I still couldn’t lift heavy dumbbells. I also used 1 pound boxing grips for the cardio intervals.

1. Start holding DBs, overhead alternate pressing DB down and extending behind you in a straight arm tricep press then pressing back up; add tapping opposite foot behind you when pressing DB back; tap changes to a lunge (8# DBs)
2. With legs wide and toes turned out, do basic bicep curls; add plie squat; add a torso rotation to each side as you curl (11# DBs)
3. Hinge forward and do tricep kickbacks; add pushing hips back/to side as you kickback (alternate sides); hip push changes to stepping side to side (while still pushing hips to side); step changes to hop (8# DBs)
4. Hinge forward and do wide rows, bringing DBs to shoulder; balance on one leg and alternate rows; ends with double arm rows w/ feet together (9# DBs)
5. Cardio interval: alternating front jabs; changes to speed bag arms while jacking feet; alternating upper cuts; changes to double upper cuts; speed bag arms w/ jacking feet
6. Kneel on mat and hinge forward, raise straight arms up beside head in a Y, then raise them out to sides in a T, then raise them straight behind you (hinging forward the entire time) (5# DBs)
7. Tricep push ups on knees
8. Repeat 6 & 7
9. Lay on back and do narrow chest press to wide chest press; raise feet off floor; add an upper body crunch with each press (18# DBs)
10. Lay on stomach with legs open wider than the mat width, hands behind head with elbows extended, raise and lower chest and when you raise your chest, bringing arms behind you and when you lower chest bring hands back behind head; add turning head as if looking over shoulder as you raise chest
11. Push ups on knees or toes
12. In forearm plank, push up into pike then back to plank (flow between these two moves–called dolphin pike)
13. Repeat 10-12
14. Cardio interval: alternating hook punches; one arm speed bag shuffles; high low punches; repeat the cardio interval exercises

20 Minute Legs is 23:30 minutes long; 1 minute warm up and 30 second stretch. Equipment: dumbbells and mat. Jessica uses 5 pound dumbbells for everything. This was another excellent and challenging workout. Just like in 20 Minute Arms, Jessica crams a lot into 23 minutes. I used 15 pound dumbbells for everything and worked hard in a short amount of time. Just like the upper body workout, this is high rep and moves at a brisk pace so you are getting cardio with the strength work in addition to the cardio intervals.

1. Alternating rear lunges (pulse 3x while in lunge); add a hinge forward on second pulse; add hinging forward lower (tapping DBs to the ground on either side of front foot) (15# DBs)
2. Squat/deadlift (15# DBs)
3. Side lunge; add raising knee at top of move while drawing knee across front of body; changes to stationary side lunge; add a push off when raising from lunge, raising foot off ground (15# DBs)
4. Repeat #3 on other leg
5. Repeat #2
6. Cardio interval: lateral skaters; alternate raising one leg out to side while squatting slightly on other leg and reaching arm downward; pulsing lunge; add jumps
7. Single leg deadlifts; add raising leg behind you as you hinge forward; remain hinged forward and raise and lower straight back leg; hold leg at top and pulse (15# DBs)
8. Repeat #7 on other leg
9. Start standing, step one foot back into low lunge, placing DBs on floor (still holding them), bring other foot back so you are in plank, bring other leg forward into low lunge then stand, keep repeating; hold plank (15# DBs)
10. Cardio interval: squat jacks; return to plank and hold; stand and repeat squat jacks; low impact half jacks; changes to full jumping jacks
11. Lay on side, hips stacked and extend top leg straight in front of you, raise and lower straight leg
12. Lay on stomach, arms folded in front of you and forehead resting on hands, open legs, bend knees and bring soles of feet together, lift and lower knees/thighs; changes to criss-crossing ankles with knees still lifting (legs still in same position)
13. Repeat #11 on other leg
14. Repeat #12

20 Minute Abs is 20 minutes long; no warm up and 1 minute stretch. All you need is a mat. This was tough! As I have mentioned in other workouts, I dislike long abdominal mat workouts so this definitely wasn’t fun, but it did do the job working your abs and obliques well with some cardio bursts worked in. I will note that I used this as an add on after doing a long Fit Body by Julia workout, so I was already worn out when I came to this workout and it continued to work me hard.

1. Basic crunches; crunch turns into circling the upper body when crunching; return to basic crunch but straighten one leg and raise and lower it as you crunch; cross elbow toward leg as you raise it; changes to raising straight arm out past knee as you cross crunch up; repeat all crunch variations on other side of body
2. Raise up onto elbows and raise legs, knees still bent, rotate legs side to side; lean onto one glute and same side elbow, raise other arm overhead and lower legs then raise legs bringing elbow to knees; straighten legs while doing same move; return to rotating legs side to side then lean on other glute and repeat on other side
3. In elbow plank, twist hips side to side; alternate bringing knee to same side shoulder
4. Cardio interval: in straight arm plank, walk feet in under body then back out to plank, keeping hands on floor; changes to jumping feet in and out
5. Get on all 4s then bring one hand behind head, extended opposite leg out straight behind you then bring knee in under body; add raising and lowering elbow; repeat on other side of body
6. In straight arm plank, bringing knee in under body, while leaning head down, bringing knee towards nose, alternate legs
7. Modified/bent leg boat pose, straighten one leg while leaning torso back, alternate legs; changes to pushing both legs in out while also leaning torso back; add raising arms overhead when leaning back
8. Lay on back with legs raised and together, and knees bent, twist feet side to side while keeping hips stationary; add a cross crunch; add reaching arm toward opposite ankle while continuing to cross crunch
9. Reverse crunch; straighten legs and raise them to ceiling while continuing to reverse crunch; add twisting hips side to side as you reverse crunch
10. Cardio interval: in straight arm plank, step feet up and to side (near one hand), step back to plank then step feet up to other side, keep alternating sides; changes to hops (plank moguls)