Les Mills Combat Review: Power HIIT 1

The Les Mills Combat Review: Power HIIT 1 workout includes High-intensity interval training (HIIT). This is a form of fitness training that integrates short intense periods anaerobic exercise to get the heart rate really pumping high and then is followed by a less-intense recovery period. This form of cardio vascular exercise improves your athletic conditioning, endurance and also improves fat burning.

So, when I saw Power HIIT 1 as the workout for today, all I could think that I would be doing is super fast high rate punches, kicks and jumps to really elevate the heart rate and then recover. I was very wrong. This program certainly elevated the heart rate, but does it using weights! I was pleasantly surprised! Now I know it would help if I would have read the Fitness Guide included in Les Mills Combat first. Then I would have known there would be some equipment used.

The workout starts with a short 4 minute warm up that includes various combinations of running in place, squats, lunges and shuffles. One of the signature moves in the warm up is some thing called the “Inchworm.” In this move you squat down and walk to a plank. Then you do a push up. You walk your hands back to a squat and then you stand up, do a squat, stand up and then repeat the inchworm again with the push up. The warm up finishes with some pulse squats and them a series of pushups, which I saw everyone doing from their knee, but I did them from my toes. Was that my ego kicking in?

Les Mills Combat Review: Power Series 1

This 8 minute track starts each set of moves off teaching you the move and then each subsequent set you increase intensity, variation and elevate the heart rate. The workout starts off with Dead Rows using either dumbbells or a bar bell. It’s pretty straight for forward. You do 2 sets of these. After a brief, active recovery period you do 2 sets of a Clean and Dead Lift. This combines the previous Dead Lift and add on a Clean where you lift the weights up to your collar bone as if you were about to press it into the sky, while you squat down at the same time. This leads to another active recovery period and then the full Clean and Press for 2 rounds.

The Power Press kicks off the next move in this Les Mills Combat review, where you squat down and then stand and press the weight up over head and then go back down into a squat as you bring the weights back down to shoulder height. You do this for 3 reps and then reset by bring the weights to hang down waist height. Then you repeat for several sets. You end up doing 5 or 6 sets of these and you will feel it! This move had me huffing and puffing.

Les Mills Combat Review: Power Series 2

The next track really focuses on the legs. You’d think you already powered up the legs with all the squats in sequence 1, but here comes a set of combo moves. You start with the Sumo Jump. This have you going into a slow sumo squat while you raise your hands into the air. Then you slowly bring your hands down while you are in the squat and then you explode up in a jump and you land softly standing straight with legs in a narrow stance and engaging your core to absorb the landing. Then you repeat the sequence with your legs narrow and when you spring up your legs go wide in your stance. Then the tempo changes and you do what is called a Cross Sumo Jump. The neat thing about that one is that you can intensify the jumps. The next move was killer for me and I don’t know why because I love plyo. Maybe it was because of all the other leg work. It’s a Alternating Plyo Lunge. I expect to get quite efficient and stronger each time I do this workout. You finish the set with another brief active recover before repeating the set.

At the end of this series you grab weights and do squat presses. You start off with just a squat, but then head into the press portion pretty quickly. What?? There’ still 11 minutes left in this workout? I’m spent! Yes, onto next series in the Les Mills Combat review.

Les Mills Combat Review: Power Series 3

This is the Burpee Set! You start with a Burpee Jump Squat. In this move you squat down and jump back into a plank, do a slow pushup, jump your feet back into a squat. Then you stand and jump forward and go down into a squat, stand back up, jump back and that’s one rep! You do 8 reps and then an active recovery. Then you do a set of 12. You are given the option to intensify the move with an additional 2 jumps. The last set is 16 reps and it will challenge you. There’s the option of  adding 2 jumps knee tucks at the end of the move. Active Recovery and then collapse. Oh Wait!! There’s More in this Les Mills Combat review!

Les Mills Combat Review: Power Series 4

This 3 minute track includes a set of workouts is a relentless set of plank (core) workouts. The first move is the Hover and the people on the TV started from their knees. I thought “No Way, I’m doing them from my toes!” Well, I ended up having to take breaks. I’ll get better! In the hover you go down on one forearm and then the other forearm. Then one by one into a top of a push-up. After several of these you go into a plank on your toes and do Mountain Climbers bringing each knee to the opposite elbow. So I guess it’s a criss-cross mountain climber move. Right after the Mountain Climbers you go into the same Hover move as before, but from your toes (like I tried to do from the start). Then you follow with another set of Mountain Climbers. The last is a hover move called a Spider Pushup. In this set you stay in a hover on your your elbows and toes and you bring a knee up to the outside of the elbow on one side and then on the other. This is the last move.

The challenge in this set is that you do not take any active recovery breaks, so you are constantly in some sort of plank position. You will be strong in the core after several weeks of this workout!

The Cool Down finishes with a spinal twist, hip flexor stretch and some basic should and tricep stretches.

 

Les Mills Combat Review: My Assessment

I was really impressed with this workout so enjoyed writing this Les Mills Combat review on the Power HIIT workout. I love the fact that you get all of this variety in a 30 minute workout. Also, in true Les Mills fashion the moves are progressive. I was thinking that they might be too easy for me given my current fitness level, but I was quickly humbled. I am feeling the soreness from my first workout and this one will no doubt deliver a good feedback as well!

I was thrilled to use weights in the workout and really felt powerful doing the moves! It was refreshing to see and do! I cannot say which series was my favorite, but I do know there are areas for improvement.

The trainers are engaging, funny and motivating. Next time I need to crank up the music because that is part of the experience with these workouts. Music makes all the difference in your momentum, attitude and energy levels. That is one area I feel Les Mills excels!

Les Mills Combat Review: I Highly Recommend It!