ChaLEAN Extreme, Month 1 (BURN Phase) in Review

(I have more reviews to post from past workouts, but I figured I'd put this one out there while it's still fresh and finish up the rest later.)

Hey, nerds,

So, as you may know, I recently started ChaLEAN Extreme, and I thought I'd let you know how it was going.

First a little about the program: The core principle of ChaLEAN Extreme is that "Muscle Burns Fat." Chalene presents this as some sort of a newly-discovered workout revolution, but it is nothing of a secret. When you work out - whether it's cardio or weight training - your body (namely your muscles) become exhausted. It repairs and replenishes itself by using the energy it can find hanging around. So long as you're maintaining a healthy calorie deficit (use DailyBurn to find this out), your body is forced to look to your stored energy (fat cells) for replenishment. The more muscle you have, the more potential repairs your body will have to undergo and the more potential fat you can burn. (I say "potential," because if your muscles grow and your exercise routine does not, you don't burn any incremental fat. You have to exhaust those new muscles as well.)

ChaLEAN Extreme is a fusion of Weight Training and Cardio. The program is about 90-days, broken up into three 4-week sections (BURN phase, PUSH phase, & LEAN phase). Each week is comprised of three days of weight-training, one day of Cardio + Abs, and one day of Cardio + pseudo-yoga. That means you get TWO DAYS OFF per week! This last part was enough to convince me to jump happily aboard. I hate commitment since I'm a busy guy, but when I can rearrange my workouts to match my schedule, I'm a happy nerd.

Since Weight Training is a core aspect of this regimen, you will need some form of resistence. This could be free weights, adjustable dumbells, or resistance bands. For simplicity's sake, I think the adjustable weights are probably the ideal solution, but most people don't have $300+ to spend on a nice pair of adjustables -- especially when you just spent ~$100 on a DVD workout regimen, amirite?

I elected to go for a modest set of resistance bands. I did NOT get the BeachBody-approved set. They have an integrated handle on every band a handle limited to a single band, meaning doubling them up would be a major pain. In effect, I would perpetually be limited to the resistence of the "heaviest" band (granted you can purchase bands up to 40lbs). Instead, I got a set with bands that clip to a ring on the handles. That way, as I get stronger, I can clip on more bands. THIS WORKS WELL (full review later). It's not the perfect solution - there are some moves that begin and end close to your feet (you stand on the bands) and you lose nearly all resistence at that point. I've learned to modify some moves to keep the resistence appropriate. Another drawback is that the resistence is variable, depending on how far you stretch the band. This means tracking will be imprecise. The manufacturer provides approximate weight ranges for a typical 2x-length stretch, but, again, it's not exact. Now, I'm not too picky about that kind of stuff, but if I ever get to the point where I'm seriously pumping iron (unlikely) I will want to have a set of adjustables. In the meantime, these bands are pretty great: They're lightweight, they travel well, and they only set me back about 25 clams. They take a little getting used to, they're a bit slower to change than weights, and if you work out shoeless like me, you'll be surprised at how much they pinch your feet. Still, it's a small price to pay for the money you save over conventional weights.

Now, the workouts: The Weight Training routines last about 35 minutes. So far, in the burn month, they aren't too intense. I mean, my muscles get fatigued after a set of reps, but it's nothing like doing the all-out cardio of Insanity. I actually finish feeling rather relaxed. The cardio + abs workout, on the other hand, is INTENSE. Not like Insanity intense, but there's just enough weight training to fatigue your muscles... then you have to DO CARDIO on your spent limbs! It's actually fairly cruel. The abs workout is challenging in that it utilizes weights in some of the moves. I was unable to modify this with resistance bands, but luckily, I had a couple of 5lb dumbbells I could use. The cardio + pseudo-yoga is pretty un-rewarding in my honest opinion, and I have occassionally replaced the yoga portion with an abs workout depending on my mood.

So far, so good, overall. Chalene's voice is a *little* grating, and she's almost too perky at points... but I'm a guy and I don't really go for perky. I can certainly look past it and it doesn't detract from the content of the workout.

Catch you guys soon with another update!


(Check out the Month 2 (PUSH Phase) Review)
(Check out the Month 3 (LEAN Phase) Review)

-Clive