Denise Austin 3-Week Boot Camp: DVD Review

During the holidays, it's far too common for people to gain a pound or two (or five). Between the parties, the traveling and the big, heavy meals, sticking with healthy eating and regular exercise can be a challenge. But what if you could actually lose a couple of dress sizes by Christmas?

Denise Austin 3-Week Boot Camp DVD claims to enable you to "trim inches and lose up to two dress sizes." It consists of two 20-minute workouts, Cardio & Strength Intervals designed to pump up your metabolism, and Athletic Training, a kettlebell-inspired workout using short cardio bursts for maximum calorie burn. Additionally, there's a Bonus Ab Fat-Blaster, which lasts just six minutes.

Denise Austin is one of the foremost names in the fitness industry. Is this recent release a good fit for you?

Level of Difficulty
Intermediate.

Next Day Soreness
Quite a bit in the butt and thigh region.

Who's It For?
If you like straightforward workouts -- not a bunch of dance moves or anything else terribly elaborate -- this is a good video for you.

Likes
The moves allow for a wide range of abilities, so you can really start slow and build by doing the moves more intensely and with heavier weights. The workouts went by quickly, too -- particularly the first one, perhaps because it was done in intervals. One thing I really appreciated was the fact that Austin constantly reminds you to tighten your tummy and use your core for many of the moves, and she points out where you should be feeling the burn, which is always helpful to make sure you're doing the exercises correctly.

Dislikes
The cuing was occasionally off, which I didn't expect from a pro like Austin. Also, I wish there had been a little more instruction on some of the weight-lifting portions. If one were unfamiliar with the proper form for triceps extensions, for example, they could cause an injury.

Bottom Line
This video was more challenging than I expected; during the second video, my thighs were truly shaking. The moves aren't groundbreaking -- in fact, I'm pretty sure I recognized a few from my mom's aerobics classes I watched as a kid. However, when something works, it works, and things like single leg squats and Spider-Man push-ups definitely work. This video's a keeper, and one that can benefit lots of fitness levels.

Want to hear more about Denise Austin? Here's what she had to say about taking on trouble zones.