Back in September, I purchased the new Fitness Blender 8 Week Workout Program for Busy People 2, which you can find here. 8 Weeks is a long time to commit to something, but I liked how all the workouts were planned out for me, so it was super simple to go about my day.

If you’re not familiar with Fitness Blender, it is a free site run by Daniel and Kelli. They have hundreds of workout videos, ranging in types from cardio, to yoga, to strength training. They like to “blend” all types of workout styles together to provide a balanced training style.

I purchased the 8 Week Program for ten dollars (now it is 14.99). This program organizes all of their workouts per day for 8 weeks, none of them exceeding 30 minutes (which is why it is great for “busy” people).

Pros:

1. I LOVE the new calendar format. Once you purchase the program, you can decide which date to start it, and it will be organized into your calendar. So easy to use, you just click on the date and your workouts are there and ready for you to click on.
2. Everything is follow-along-video style, which I prefer for home workouts. Some people enjoy printables, but I’m more motivated to see Kelli and Daniel working out alongside me.
3. Each day there is a warm up and cool down. I can be VERY lazy regarding those two items, but I definitely noticed improved flexibility when I incorporated the cool down/stretch into my daily training.
4. Some days included “Bonus” videos, which allowed you an extra challenge if you were up to it, and had the time. I didn’t often do them because of time constraints, but appreciated that they offered an extra level of challenge.
5. I really enjoy their HIIT and cardio workouts. These are the types of videos I tended to always incorporate into my training anyway, especially in the winter when I couldn’t go outside to run. They sure beat working out on a treadmill!
6. You can’t beat the price! At 14.99, you are given the complete layout with videos.
7. I appreciated that the program started off easier and then gained momentum as the weeks went on.
8. After 8 weeks I felt better conditioned.
9. I enjoy Kelli and Daniel’s personalities. They are like regular people to work out with and they provide excellent form cues and tips.

Cons:

1. I don’t own a large variety of dumbbells at home in order to make the strength videos worthwhile to me. I didn’t want to spend money on the convertible dumbbell system which I didn’t think would get much use outside of this program.
2. As much as I enjoy working out at home, I also love to include other types of training, like running, and fitness classes, which wasn’t possible with this particular program.
3. I sometimes felt like I needed to add a bit more to my workout for the day. Occasionally it didn’t feel like I was doing enough, but this also may be due to the lack of adequate weight.
4. Due to not using appropriate weights for the moves, I did feel as though I lost some of my arm strength.

Overall:

I would definitely recommend this program, and am interested in trying others they had on their site. Even if I don’t follow it completely, the videos can be combined with other workouts. I especially liked doing the cardio videos in the morning because it added a nice jolt to my day, in a short amount of time. I may do this in the future, and add my own strength in the afternoon. The nice part about the program was that it forced me to try different videos I may not have played otherwise. I tend to turn to my favorites, but it is always good to challenge yourself by mixing in new videos with new moves.

Has anyone else tried any Fitness Blender videos/Workout programs?