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Chalene Extreme review
I have been doing this program for 7 weeks now. It is a holistic weight loss and fitness program involving weights training using dumbbells, high intensity interval training (HIIT) for cardio workouts and a recommended diet plan.
It also provides reasonable level of motivation through group workouts on the DVD - in every workout Chalene Johnson is the instructor along with 4-5 others that do the workouts.
To start with, the packaging of the program is excellent, the guides provided are well done - in all the presentation of the entire program is very good.
As a concept, Chalene Extreme has got it right in that weights training, cardio and a good diet as a combination will result in maximum fat and weight loss. The weight training routine is excellent, it provides intense workouts involving heavy lifting. There are also three phases of the program - the burn, push and lean phases and workouts increase progressively in intensity and it ensures that the workouts are mixed up well enough to prevent adaptation and ensure continuous progress.
The cardio training mostly involves jumping, bending and fast body movement type of exercises along with music - there is also a turbo jam bonus workout provided. The cardio workout is also intense and can provide some good results.
I found the diet plan somewhat below average comparing it with the level of intensity that the exercise part of the program provides. It includes the basics of eating 5 meals a day, high protein diet for muscle building etc..also on avoiding the bad foods. The program also provides for some basic recipes - typically 3 to 4 per phase and per meal.
However, where it lacks really is that it is not as strict on eating lean proteins - for e.g., there are recipes with goat cheese and feta cheese, breakfast with jam, whole eggs etc.. - the recipes are mostly meant to have good taste along with reasonably healthy composition - it is targeted only for those people who are making a change for the first time from eating junk and everything to a weight loss diet. Unfortunately, this is not in line with the exercise program that seems to be far more intense. Think of this - if I am a beginner to weight loss and fitness, I am more likely to find the exercise Chalene extreme program too intense for me, but I can quite easily adapt to the diet prescribed. On the other hand, if I have already been working out and on a fitness routine, then the exercise routines are good but the diet plan is not something that I would follow because if I am doing such intense workouts, I would follow much stricter diets planned out with lot more detail on macro - nutrients. For instance, my diet plan involves eating 55% carbs, 30% protein, 15% good fats, I eat a protein with each meal. Further I have a list of complex carbs, simple carbs, fibrous carbs, lean proteins, I know exact what calories and fiber each type of food provides and so on - it is a lot more detail than what Chalene extreme provides. Also, the recipes in Chalene extreme are both too basic and also not healthy enough for me.
So I ignored the diet portion entirely. I have been sticking to the weights training - seems to be best part of the program, also gives good variety.
Cardio is good, but you will soon get tired of the workout beyond 1 month - so I do it once in a while and combine other forms of cardio such as ellipticals.
The recovery program is good as well.
Overall, I have seen good results but only by using Chalene Extreme for the parts that it is really good at - all of the weights training and 50% of the cardio program. So, while I have been successful at weight loss over the last several weeks, not all of it can be attributed to Chalene Extreme.
What I didn't like about Chalene Extreme
Well, too much of selling / commercials - both direct and indirect - such as repeatedly telling the audience that the workouts are intense and that it is real and people are not faking it, some artificial and exaggerated ooh, aahs right through the workouts.
The worst part is the tendency of the people doing the workouts including Chalene to show off their bodies - why can't these people be dressed like the normal people who workout in a gym - why do they need to show off their abs or other parts? I find the scantily clad ladies in particular offensive on their outfits - the program in general gives the message that fitness is for those who want a sexy body - you can see videos of people with seductive looks and "sexy" bodies in the background. I hate the notion that fitness and muscle building must be done to improve physical attraction - this is what Chalene Extreme seems to convey - sure that is a benefit for those that are interested in it, but fitness or muscle building, to me, has a much higher goal in life and is something people strive for when they are in search of a better lifestyle, better health and so on. To be fair, Chalene mentions several times during the program that working out is to change our lives and switch to a healthy lifestyle and there are other good positively motivating statements, but overall the attire, set up of the program, ambience heavily comes across as promoting working out to develop a sexy body and show it off to the world. If there are idiots out there who drop their jaws and drool at ladies working out in a gym, then you will like Chalene Extreme.
To be fair again, if you can get over all this and focus just on the workout and ignore the ooh, aahs, at the core of it, Chalene extreme provides an excellent workout. I fully agree with other reviews here that the program is of a "Cheerleader style" - yes, the portrayal and packaging is, but I would still rate the workout quality, motivation and concept of Chalene extreme very high. It makes you sweat and gives your muscles a real serious boost.
Other than this, as I have already mentioned, the diet is sub-par and pales in comparison the level of quality of the workouts.
The HIIT cardio is good, but as I said, it will be a challenge to just do this cardio workout for 3 months.
One other thing that Chalene Extreme seriously lacks - the stretching is not all right and not adequate at all. I base this observation on several other DVD workouts where instructors would ask you to stretch your muscles out every once in a while or in many cases after each exercise. Chalene does not do this enough and there is only a stretch at the end of the workout and that too is somewhat generic and not for specific body parts. For example, if I do an intense tricep exercise, I like to stretch out my triceps immediately. Considering that Chalene extreme provides for heavy lifting and muscle breakdown to failure, it is surprising that there is no stretching during the workout.
Should you buy Chalene Extreme
Well it depends. The program is expensive and made unnecessarily expensive due to the extra fine packaging. If you can afford it and can live with some of the drawbacks listed above, then it provides a very good workout on weights and cardio - to me, the biggest benefit was that it offered a very good alternative for going to the gym and a variety of workout in addition to other DVD workouts that I had. So, if you can afford it and if you are looking at adding to your collection of workouts, then go for it.
If you cannot afford the high price, keep in mind that there are other traditional forms of cardio that are equally good or better and the diet plan is also not great - there are much cheaper alternatives available. Likewise, the Chalene extreme is nowhere near the variety you would get by going to a gym to do your workout on exercise machines, especially on strength training.
If you are a newbie to working out and want to try this program - the diet will work for you, you may find the cardio and other workouts somewhat more intense than normal unless you have been trained earlier to lift weights - at least the basics.
If you are an experienced fitness person and have been doing workouts regularly, Chalene Extreme is not worth the price.
So, I rate is a buy for those who can keep the commitment to the workouts, are not entirely newbies and want a good alternative workout for weights if they have got tired of doing the same workouts.
If you want to trust Chalene Extreme for a short burst of workout for 3 months where you want to lose weight, it is a good program overall.
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