Turbo Jam promises to get you moving and rocking out to some really good music. This is designed so that your workouts don’t seem as grueling as they are, and that you have fun while working out. Almost all fitness products try to make it fun for you, and make it so you can stick with it and actually look forward to your exercise sessions. So does this system pull off this magic act?
Overview
Turbo Jam is made by BeachBody. This is the same company that produces such mega-hits as P90X or Insanity that you see advertised so heavily on late nite TV. They have a cookie-cutter system of making hit after hit, and they usually find an under-served market and try to fill the void with a top quality product. In this instance it looks like they are targeting those that are serious about their cardio and want to turn things up a notch.
The Claim
They say that you can burn up to 1,000 calories an hour. Although this sounds like an impressive claim, there’s really no reason why you would ever have to burn this many calories in a day. That’s about half of the daily required calories of a 200 pound 6 foot man. Your body needs a certain amount of calories per day, so unless you’re eating twice as much as you need to per day, then you don’t need to be so aggressive in your calorie-burning efforts.
They include a pair of sculpting gloves. These are lightly weighted gloves that will get your heart moving even quicker, and also do some mild sculpting to your arms. The muscle built will only be in the shoulders, and upper and lower arms, and won’t translate to other areas of your body. This will help you get those Michelle Obama arms that everyone keeps going for.
The Cost
This is where they drop the ball. It’s $73 for the Turbo Jam system. This is far too expensive for a product like this. It’s basically a DVD set, and only comes with a few “tangible” products, like the training gloves, some flash cards, and a training guide. Still, $73 is a big expense in the world of fitness products, and so you must really be into cardio if you want to go for this.
There is a 30 day money back guarantee on the system, and your first payment is just $33 so in essence you can try it out for a month and if you don’t like it, or it isn’t what you thought it would be, you can return it and you’re only out the $13 for shipping.
The Commitment
Cardio exercises are some of the hardest things to stick with on a long-term basis. Even with the promise of making this as fun as possible, it’s still going to be tough to put your body through these workouts on a consistent basis. Your commitment level must be through the roof if you believe you can stick with this for the long run.
That’s why this is only recommended to those that are alright somewhat fit, and need something to push them out of their comfort zone, and reach the next level in their cardio training. We don’t recommend this for those that have never done any serious cardio, as they’ll just be setting themselves up for a crash and burn.
Some of what you can expect:
Evaluation
This product is overkill. You don’t need to punish your body as hard as this in order to lose weight and feel great. The key to a healthy body does involve regular exercise on a daily basis, but not at this level, and not burning up to 1,000 calories an hour. Also, with such a strong focus on cardio they don’t leave enough time for weight training, so you’re only getting a one dimensional approach to fitness and weight loss.
Final Turbo Jam Review
Usually we recommend the BeachBody products, but this one just seems like it was thrown together in a hurry and pushed to market. There other workout systems are much better thought out, and have better techniques in them. The Turbo Jam system focuses too heavily on cardio, and overlooks building muscle. It also seems too repetitive, and after a few workouts you’ll tire of it, and be looking for something else to get you moving.
Our Recommendation
Take a pass on Turbo Jam and go with something that is a little more reasonable for the long term. You don’t need to take drastic changes in order to lose weight, because the failure rate for the long term gets higher the more you push yourself in the beginning. Start off with small, simple changes, and over the months you will see the results you want, and it will be nearly effortless on your part.
I love this workout! It is easy, fun and effective. I first tried it in maybe 2006 and I have replaced it twice. It really has aged well IMO. This and Yoga are really the only things I have ever stuck with, because they put me in a good mood immediately. Even after having two children and gaining 40lbs, I was able to jump right into the low impact version of this workout every other day, so I think most people will be able to try. I recommend a HR monitor though, because it can be intense if you are out of shape and do the moves exactly as shown. I also started with only 20 minutes and worked my way up to full workouts. It is intense, but it is fun, motivating and it works your entire body. And no, I am not a coach.
how long did it take you to loose the weight
I have this workout routine and it’s the only workout i have ever stuck with! It’s a lot of fun and the music is great! I lost 80 Pounds after my first baby and 60 after my second, it’s fun and not only makes you feel so good but keeps you to looking forward to doing it! Love it!
I have the program. It doesn’t seem haphazardly thrown together. There’s also a DVD in the program that focuses on controlled training with weights and resistance bands. Also, the program is dynamic and fun so it doesn’t feel like torture ever. You don’t have to be superfit either to start the program. I was an athlete all my life, but after college, I focused on work then had my baby. I seriously was starting from the beginning again. My weight had gone up so much that I was having joint pains for the first time. This was the only program that allowed me to work out at a higher intensity while protecting and strengthening my knees (where all my joint pain was).
The one workout that isn’t as fluid as the others is Punch, Kick, Jam. Chalene and her team were messing up on the choreography, they weren’t following Chalene’s lead, and the transitions would accidentally cut some routines short.
The guide does have flash cards. It teaches how to calculate the proper amount of calories to eat, what to eat with a meal guide, and other helpful tips for losing weight.
Even though this program came out years ago, it’s still effective and fun. I bought it I think in 2006? 07? I still use it as part of my rotation of workouts.