Michelle Dozois has designed an excellent circuit training workout by alternating short, high-energy cardio intervals with slightly longer strength training supersets. Six cardio/strength circuits are followed by an ab superset to provide an efficient total body workout in under an hour, including warm up and stretch. A second Express workout uses 4 of these circuits for a compact 35-minute total body workout. Michelle encourages the use of medium to heavy weights so that intermediates and advanced will challenge themselves enough to effect changes in body composition--i.e. build muscle to boost metabolism. Whichever version you choose, you'll find that Michelle's positive energy and inventive circuits will set you on the road to developing your best body.

Workout Type		circuit training: floor aerobics & weight training
Workout Time		57 minutes 5 warm-up 6.5, 6.5, 6.5, 6.5, 7.5, 7.5 cardio & strength circuits 6.5 abs 4.5 stretch
Equipment		dumbbells, resistance band, floor mat
Fitness Level		intermediate/advanced 140 -142 bpms for cardio
Instructor		Michelle Dozois
Copyright Date		2007
Rating

The cardio combos are about 2.5 minutes each, and Michelle's novel approach is to split three combos over six circuits. This means you learn a short, energetic combo with high and low impact options, TIFT it twice, but don't repeat it on the second side until the next circuit. Somehow, taking a break for strength training makes the combo seem new all over again on the second side.

Michelle sequences the upper body work in alternating push-pull supersets, working back and biceps together, then chest and triceps -- twice each. Next, shoulders are paired with legs, and in the sixth circuit legs get all the attention. Michelle adds occasional balance challenges and rotational movements for the core, as well as sometimes combining lower and upper body exercises. The strength circuits vary from 3 to 4 minutes and include four or more exercises. Sets vary in length. In sets where heavy weights are used Michelle often varies the lifting tempo.

Equipment
You'll need the band that's provided with the workout, at least two sets of dumbbells and a floor mat. Michelle encourages you to lift as heavy as you can safely manage, so she alternates between medium and heavy weights, but light and medium will obviously work fine too.

Blue bands are used on the DVD, which seem to offer less resistance than the heavy purple band that came with this workout. Most of the bands that I've received free with DVD workouts have been green and of much lighter resistance than this purple one. It worked ok for the chest, back and leg exercises, but for the straight-arm shoulder raises I used my lighter resistance green band.

I purchased my DVD through CollageVideo.com and queried them about the band. They stated: "Demand for this workout was greater than anticipated and the manufacturer ended up purchasing bands from more than one supplier. Both bands do have the same intensity--only the color varies." I have lots of light to medium resistance bands, so I'm happy to have a heavier band, but I think it's pretty tough for someone who's never used a band before. I assume Michelle chose that heavy resistance because she designed this workout for experienced band users.

Who's it for?
Intermediate to advanced exercisers who are comfortable with upper/lower combo exercises, like the nonstop quick pace of circuit style workouts, and want a fresh approach to classic strength exercises and lively, inventive cardio combos.

Best features
Stimulating variety of innovative dumbbell and band exercises, topnotch instruction, challenging sequencing, fast-paced motivating music, and a reality cast of everyday exercisers, not fitness professionals, of all shapes and sizes.

What needs improvement?
Nothing about the workout. However, one more chapter marker at the beginning of the strength portion of each circuit would allow you to skip over the cardio quickly and turn this into a 42-minute strength-only workout. As it is now, you can easily skip over each strength section to get right to the next cardio burst, which results in a short but intense 20-minute cardio workout. Even adding the ab section you can be done in half an hour.

How's the instruction?
Excellent! Michelle is a wonderful cuer, and explains clearly and quickly. She offers many pointers and tips as the sets progress, and plenty of motivation too. She's cheerful, down-to-earth, sincere, and polished and professional in her delivery.

She sets up new exercises quickly and succinctly, assuming that she's talking to an experienced exerciser who want to work through a plateau, or reach for the next level of training. You need to be especially quick with the band set ups.

Michelle always mentions when Mimi on screen left is showing a modified version of an exercise, although she is not always visible on screen.

Will I do it again?
Absolutely and I can't wait to see the other workouts in this series: Rockin' Body Cardio Jam and Slim, Strong and Sexy Body Sculpt. The sculpting workout will be divided into two 30 minute workouts, one for upper body and core, the other for lower body and core. Both DVDs with have a shorter Express workout like this one.

Workout Details - 57 min.

Warm Up (5 min.) -136 bpms
step-touch with punches, double step touch, ham curls, slide to side, knee lifts, squats, calf raises, plie squats 4x
side lunge with overhead arm sweeps, reverse lunge & ham stretch

Circuit 1 (Back & Biceps 1) 6.5 min. (2.5 cardio - 140 bpms)
cardio: step touches, side hops, elbow to knee, lunge & punch, plie squat, ski squat

strength:
side lunge with 2 lat rows, transition via one-legged squat into shallow lunge with 2 biceps curls, continue alternating these two moves
lat rows
biceps curls with tempos changes
standing bow & arrow row with band while performing plie squats

Circuit 2 (Chest & Triceps 1) 6.5 min. (2.5 cardio - 140 bpms)
cardio: repeat cardio 1 on other side

strength:
chest: push-ups with alternating double knee drop (and torso twist), push-ups only, push-ups & double knee drop
chest press (heavy) (elbows wide in goal post position) different tempos
triceps overhead extensions: kneel on band
standing chest press with alternating side lunges, band behind back, triple pulses center,

Circuit 3 (Back & Biceps 2) 6.5 min. (2.5 cardio - 142 bpms)
cardio: jump rope forward and back with jack at each end, alternating side lunges, jog forward & back, scissors, alternating forward lunges, atomic lunge (optional)

strength:
reverse lunge & lat row, alternating legs, next hold a lunge for 3 rows, then 7 rows
biceps curl with band holding shallow lunge position, both arms, alternating arms, both arms
standing on band, rear-delt row (elbows wide, inverted goal post)
sit, wrap doubled-over band around feet, lat rows

Circuit 4 (Chest & Triceps 2) 6.5 min. (2.5 cardio - 142 bpms)
cardio: repeat Cardio 3 on other side

strength:
"pull the sword" with torso rotation with band (works rotator cuff too), hold at top for triceps extensions (great for racquet sports)
push-up with band behind back
chest flies with bells, legs in chair position, with alternating single-leg extensions, double-leg extensions
plank on forearms and toes: triceps push-ups from knee plank, then hold plank and lift knees, alternating the two moves

Circuit 5 (Shoulders w/ Legs) 7.5 min. (2.5 cardio - 142 bpms)
cardio: side to side hip bumps (optional hops), alternating knee lifts, alternating kicks front, alternate front and back kicks, rocking horse, 3x, end with power jacks

strength:
torso rotation with overhead press (one bell) - optional plie
outer thigh lifts with opposite arm overhead press, curtsy lunge with biceps curl
repeat both exercises
"fan" shoulder raises kneeling on band

Circuit 6 (Legs) 7.5 min. (2.5 cardio - 142 bpms)
cardio: repeat cardio 5 on other side

strength:
squats with heavy bells, varying tempos
lunge forward/back with same leg, add leg lift to rear after the forward lunge, step forward with knee lift
stand on band, cross band & anchor on hips, side steps, add side leg lift

Circuit 7 (Abdominals) 6.5 min. (no cardio)
side elbow plank with torso twists for obliques
side lying crunches with knee lifts
repeat both on other side
holding band folded in half, seated halfway rollbacks lifting arms overhead, sitting up and bending forward towards toes
face-up jack knife
oblique crunches RJR, add arm reach and hold on third rep
pulsing upper crunches

Cool down 4.5 min.
lying on back: using band for ham, outer thigh, and inner thigh stretches, glute/hip stretch, other leg
seated cross-legged: forward bend, chest, triceps stretches
kneeling hip flexor stretch, lateral stretches in both directions
standing forward bend, roll up, shoulder rolls

DVD features

Main Menu:

Introduction - 2-minute intro recommends starting with 3 to 5 pounds, but to progress to 8 to 15 pounds as you get stronger

Full workout - plays entire workout in order above

Express workout - 35 mins. eliminates Circuits 3, 4, and 6.

Chapters - allows you to go directly to any circuit, then the workout continues on in order

Testimonials - takes you to a menu with testimonials from 7 of Michelle's gym clients who serve as background exercisers for this set of Your Body Breakthru workouts.

More on Your Body Breakthru - Michelle gives you a password to access her Your Body Breakthru system at her website BreakthruFitness.com. There you can download a workout plan which shows how to schedule the three Your Best Body workouts and a sensible nutrition plan to help you plan meals and improve your eating habits.

Michelle's personal message - Michelle shares her experience of discovering that her son is autistic.

Contact

Weight training gloves
If you find it hard to get a good grip on your band because your hands are sweaty, or if the band cuts into your hand, wearing weight training gloves with a suede palm will help both problems.

Circuit 1

Cardio 1
During the pulsing plies and squats at the end, you can substitute low-end reps (lower, lift half way up, lower, lift all the way up) or standing catback stretches (lower, round and flatten your lower back, stand).

Circuit 2

push-ups
Although you don't usually want to lie down on the floor right after cardio, the push-up position keeps your head above your heart, and the push-ups themselves keep the blood pumping, so that shouldn't be a problem. If you're really panting hard from the cardio, pause the DVD briefly and walk around a little bit until your breathing slows down before hitting the floor.

Circuit 4

push-up with band behind back
If doing these push-ups on the floor is too hard, you can always do them standing, against a wall. Even though you're not pushing your body weight against gravity like you would on the floor, the band across your back offers resistance that you should feel right away, especially if you double over your band.

"pull the sword" with torso rotation with band
If you have a lighter resistance band, you might want to use if for this exercise, as the rotator cuff muscles are small and can be strained with too much resistance. If you don't have a lighter band, be sure to leave a lot of slack in your band. This is an exercise to test out ahead of time so you know which resistance to use.

chest flies with bells, legs in chair position
Extending each leg as you lift the dumbbells for the chest fly is meant to work your core, but you must pull your navel to spine to keep your lower back pressed to the floor as your legs press away. If your lower back pops off the floor, you can substitute alternating heel taps on the floor, maintaining the 90° angle at the knee.

Circuit 5

outer thigh lifts with opposite arm overhead press, curtsy lunge with biceps curl
For more intensity, you can hold two weights for this exercise. Use one weight for the upper body work as shown on the DVD, but during the outer thigh leg lift, you can rest the other bell against the side of your thigh. If curtsy lunges don't agree with your knees, simply do a standard reverse lunge.

"fan" shoulder raises kneeling on band
Long lever lifts can aggravate shoulder injuries, since the resistance increases as the straight arm rises and the band stretches. If you have any shoulder twinges, use very light dumbbells instead of the band, especially if the only band you have is a heavy one -- the purple band that came with my DVD falls into the heavy category. Use your lightest band (or tubing works too) so that you can lift through the full range of motion without any strain on the shoulders at all. Stop lifting as soon as you feel any pressure in the shoulder joints. Don't push too hard. Trying to "work through" shoulder pain/strain to perform an exercise is a losing proposition. Best to lift through a full range of motion and build strength very slowly.

Circuit 6

lunge forward/back with same leg
If forward lunges present a problem for your knees, keep your 4-inch step at the front of your workout space, and lunge onto it, instead of onto the floor. This will help to keep a "front knee directly above the ankle alignment" as you lunge forward. An inclined step or the TransFIRMer would work here too. In fact, an angled step works more effectively than a flat one to keep the knee from jutting forward beyond the toes.

add shoulder exercises to Circuit 6
Since shoulders are only worked one, in Circuit 5 (although they do assist during both back and chest exercises), you can easily add a few more shoulder exercises here in the second Legs circuit. If you want to increase shoulder definition/strength, add at least one of these exercises.

1) Add overhead presses to the squats. Hold weights at shoulder level, ends of dumbbells facing front, palms facing as you lower into the squat. As you stand up, press the weights overhead, palms facing, elbows in front of face. Pull in abs as you rise, and squeeze glutes tight at the top.

2) You can easily add front raises and lateral raises, straight or bent arm depending on the weight of the dumbbells, to the lunges and to the squats too, just perform the lifts as you rise, not as you lower down. It's easier on the lower back if you keep the dumbbells as low and as close in to the center of gravity (core) as possible when you lower into the squat and tilt your torso forward. You can lift both arms together, or alternate for more core and balance challenge.

Circuit 7

holding band folded in half, seated halfway rollbacks
oblique crunches RLR, add arm reach and hold on third rep
pulsing upper crunches
If you're quick and your stability ball is handy, you can do these exercises on top of it. The face-up jack knife comes in after the rollbacks, so if you don't want to get on and off the ball, you can stay on top of the ball and just do the upper crunch with your arms extended overhead.