Warrior Room Part 2

You can check out the first half of my review here. I was half way through my 8 pack groupon deal. I’ve enjoyed the classes I’d taken thus far. They are a really good workout, thoroughly butt-kicking and the camaraderie is kinda nice.

Here is the final review:

The Fifth Class – “1/2 Isolation, 1/2 Tabata”

I like this format of class because it’s a little bit of everything. It was a fairly small class, about 6 of us. We alternated with the isolation routines then tabata, then isolation, then tabata and finally abs and cooldown.

For the isolation we worked on this routine:

2 arm kettlebell swing

1 arm kettlebell swing

2 kettlebell swing 

The second round of isolation workouts later in the class were:

Deadlifts with kettlebell

Alternating lunges with 2 kettlebells

Rack squats with 2 kettlebells (see the photo example below)

Like I said before, the tabata portion of the class is the fast burst of exercise for 20 seconds, balls-to-the-wall, then 10 seconds of rest and REPEAT! An example of a tabata portion:

Mountain climbers

High knees

Complex burpees (see the example below)

We also did something new to me. I don’t know what the workout was called but we grabbed a plate weight and stood in a wide squat position, kept our core straight and unmoving and then swung it between our legs then up to a neutral arm position. Then we did jumping squats holding the plate weight against our chest. It was hard!

Even though I’d taken this type of class previously, it was still hard work. My heart rate was really high and I was dripping in sweat! It was a great workout.

The ab workout at the end was 100 Double Sit-Ups and 100 Bicycle Crunches. Boy do your abs starting BURNING after you do a few! Ouch ouch!

The Sixth Class – “Warrior Workout”

Why did I sign up for this killer class a second time? I don’t know. But I’m glad I did! It was a killer workout! This time we did partner drills. I was paired with a very nice girl who was very understanding that I was slower than most of the people in the class. The first set of drills we had to do was 20 pushups where we high-five each other after each one, then 20 tricep dips and 20 burpees. It was timed. Then the class did a circuit workout.

The first station was wall-sits holding a kettlebell. The second station was using the boxes we normally jump on to do pushups. The third station was the one-armed kettlebell swing. The last station was chest press or clean and press with a kettlebell. I REALLY liked the circuit. You knew that you only had to be at that station for a little while then you got to move on.

The workout was a good one but a killer, too. I was starting to fizzle out towards the end. The next day I went to yoga class and I am so glad I did. It really felt good to stretch the sore muscles and I found that I was sore in places I never expected to be!

The Seventh Class – “The Seventh Ring Of Hell”

I really planned on taking the Tabata class but it just didn’t seem to work out with my schedule. I hope to give it a try in January. So I took another 1/2 and 1/2 class and was surprised that it wasn’t that class. No it wasn’t the 7th Ring of Hell, but it felt like it. I guess it was “Teacher’s Choice” night because we did something different.

There were just three of us in the class so the instructor gave each of us individual workouts. I worked harder in that class than in any of the others. I had to stop to rest several times. There were a lot of chest presses, overhead press, squats, push-ups and kettlebell swings. But I also got to practice with the Battle Ropes!

Never heard of battle ropes? Check out this video to get a good idea. The ropes are so much fun and it is a REALLY intense workout. Your heart rate gets really high and you will definitely feel sore the next day.

If you see battle ropes at your gym, give them a try. I guarantee you’ll have fun!

The Eighth Class – “Fundamentals”

I like the “fundamentals” class because it’s kind of an entry-level type class. It is doable for most people. You don’t have to be advanced, or know a lot about kettlebells in order to get a good workout done.

This particular class it was a lot of squats, squat jumps, chest press, shoulder press, see-saw shoulder press, and pushups. I was dripping in sweat!!

I’m also really enjoying the progress I’m seeing. I feel stronger, I am stronger, and I’m seeing a physical difference. My triceps are STILL  a trouble area. Maybe it always will be. But my biceps and delts are doing better!

The instructor, Ashley, made me go up in weight on the kettlebells at this class. I had been using two 15 pound kettlebells for that workout and she said I could do heavier and she was right. I struggled, but I could do most of it. It was a good reminder NOT TO GET STUCK AND COMFORTABLE, otherwise I won’t see progress!