I’ve been a big Jillian Michaels fan ever since I first The Biggest Loser. Bob, on the other hand, was the nice guy, the granola crunching yoga zen dude. I loved Jillian’s in-your-face mentality, and bought every exercise DVD she made. I started on the 30-Day Shred, moved to The Biggest Winner, and went to the big time with her latest ones. I love Jillian, and spend every weekday morning with her.

When I saw Bob’s new DVDs, I figured, what the heck, I’ll give it a try. I liked how they looked, and thought a change of pace on weekends would be good. So we got them, Body Rev (cardio), Super Strength (umm, strength), Yoga for the Warrior, and Bob’s Workout (one cardio workout, one strength workout). I’ll review each of them in turn, starting here with the cardio DVD.
There is an hour-long main workout, and a 20 minute Butt & Balance separate workout. I’ll be focusing on the main workout here.
It begins, of course, with a warmup, nice easy shoulder moves and then some leg stretching. One of the first things you notice is a little timer running at the bottom right, counting down for the entire workout. This is a comforting thing at first, letting you know exactly how long this will last. More on that later.

After the warmup, you’ll be picking up a “heavy weight” in the 8 to 10 pound range. If you think you’re bad, try a 15. Actually, don’t. 12 is about as high as you’ll want, because you and that weight are going to be intimate.

The exercise move into deadlifts with the weight, then incorporating a swing. Essentially, you are squatting and swinging a weight. A lot. First with two hands, then one, then alternating. A lot. This is where the little timer bar in the corner comes into play. You’ll be working feeling good, then suddenly the pain begins to be a little noticeable, then a lot noticeable, then you’re in agony. That’s when you look at the timer, thinking you’ve put in a nice workout, and you see that you have 48 minutes and 37 seconds left to go. That’s when you begin to hate that little timer.

Deadlift swings, suitcase swings, then walkout pushups. A lot. Then you do them some more. See, I don’t sweat much. It takes a while, and it seems to mostly stay in my hair. Well, let me tell you. I have a nice little sweat-spatter going all over the floor by the time the walkouts are done. Then its on to jumping jacks and then other things – it all becomes a heart-thumping blur after a while – and then you’re back to deadlifts and swings and then shoulder presses and then you’d like to just die right there on the spot.

Bob taunts you. He does. At one point in the Super Strength exercise video, he looks in the camera and says, “I’m the nice one, remember? You love me.” Yes, that’s what we all believed, the vegan granola crunching love guru. Let me tell you, that man has the most evil chuckle you’ll ever want to hear, when the incredibly in-shape people doing his workout with him are doubled-over and look ready to puke. I have to say, it makes me feel better when the people demonstrating the exercises look as sweaty and winded as I do, instead of smiling cheerily at me as if what they are doing is so darn easy.

If this review makes it sound horrible or scary, well, it’s a hard workout. But I have to say, I have never worked out harder or pushed myself further. If it wasn’t for Jillian, I wouldn’t be able to do Bob’s workout at all. I love this workout. It is like no cardio workout I’ve ever done before, and I feel it the next day, especially in the ole hamstrings (did I mention about 7.3 years worth of squats?).

Bottom line: 5 out of five. Buy the set, if you are starting to feel in shape. If you are beginning, you may get discouraged at all the work you simply won’t be able to do, but if you’ve gotten into a groove with your current workout, get these, throw them in, and be prepared to work in a way you never have before. Forgive me Bob. You aren’t the nice one. Not a bit. But, I have to say, I love him even more now.

Other Bob Harper Review Links:

• Inside Out Method Body Rev
• Inside Out Method Pure Burn
• Inside Out Method Bob’s Workout
• Inside Out Method Yoga for the Warrior
• Kettlebell Sculpted Body
• Kettlebell Cardio Shred
• Ultimate Cardio Body