Walk On: 15 Minute Fast Fat Blasts

I bought a bunch of Walk On collections by Jessica Smith to help get me through chemo and yet I keep going back to the same ones–5 Fat Burning Miles and 21 Day Weight Loss Plan. I decided it was time to crack open a few of the others I purchased. So 15 Minute Fast Fat Blasts was the next one I tried. It’s not vastly different from 5 Fat Burning Miles but it does give you some variety. It contains four approx. 15 minute cardio walks (they are all just under 16 minutes). Each of these walks ends with a short cool down and stretch. None of them are super intense so they are exactly what I need in the days after chemo. For me at least, chemo appears to be cumulative and is running me down more each cycle and it takes me longer to feel better. So Jessica’s walking workouts are invaluable to help me get through it. And that’s what I used these for–doing something when I am too exhausted and run down to do much else. Like most of her cardio walking DVD workouts I’ve done, her mother Debbie is there showing easier modifications and Jessica’s friend Beth is there showing more intense variations. I was following Debbie because that was all I could manage when I did these workouts.

There is also a 1 minute intro in which Jessica previews each workout and gives suggestions on how to use them. She also gives her website info and shares that she has lots of free YouTube workouts you can also do (JessicaSmithTV).

15 Minute Fast Fat Burn (16 minutes; 1 minute cool down/stretch) Your basic cardio-walking workout. Here are the moves in the order they first appear, but you will repeat them all at least once: march variations, side steps w/ jack arms, hamstring curl variations, fast feet, jog in place (or march with Debbie), jack variations, cross-over kicks, side shuffle dance step, traveling jacks (two jumping jacks to each side), grapevine.

15 Minute Belly Blaster (16 minutes; 1:30 minute cool down/stretch) This walk actually does a really good job engaging your core and, because of that, I found it the most intense walk on this DVD. The other walks have the potential to be more intense if you are following Beth.

1. High knee marches w/ hands behind head bringing elbows toward knees when you raise them; changes to twisting elbow to opposite knee (standing bicycle crunch)
2. Step, cross in front and tap
3. Repeat #1 & 2
4. Skater taps w/ opposite arm reaches
5. V steps
6. March in place w/ hip swivel so knee cross in front of the other when stepping; changes to double side steps
7. Repeat #5 & 6
8. Cross front kicks
9. Repeat #4
10. Double knee pulls
11. Tap forward and back w/ “disco” arm movements
12. 3 steps + heel dig
13. Repeat #10
14. Front toe taps while tilting hips forward and also pulling clasped hands down from overhead to hips
15. Repeat #12 & #14

15 Minute Power Pick Up (16 minutes; 1:30 minute cool down/stretch) There are arm movements to accompany most of the walking variations. Moves: basic march, march variations, step out and in, hamstring curls, cross punches, side to side step tap, alternating knee raises, double heel digs, walking (or jogging) in a figure 8 pattern, reverse V steps, skater taps.

15 Minute Dance Party (16 minutes; 1:30 minute cool down/stretch) I did this walk the day after chemo. I wanted to do something since nausea hadn’t set in yet, but I was still feeling very blah . Since I had previewed all of the walks on this DVD I knew this was the easiest. It turned out to be a good choice. Nothing terribly intense but it gave me some mild exercise. No complicated dance steps, just some walk variations with arm movements. She adds claps to a lot of the walk variations. You will repeat most of the moves. Moves: march while punching arms up and down, side to side step tap, double side step, wide march w/ cabbage patch arms, march in place w/ various arm combos, cross-over step taps, hamstring curls w/ arm rows, shuffle step to each side, L steps that change to L hamstring curls, cross-over kicks.