ChaLean Extreme Review

I essentially followed the ChaLEAN Extreme workout routine this semester.  It's not bad...but it's not P90X.  Really, anything after P90X is just not as good.  It's hard to explain.  With that aside, it's really not a bad program.  In fact, I actually seriously like the "Burn Intervals" and "Burn It Off" workouts.  And if you follow "Burn It Off" with "Recharge," flexibility improves greatly.  I will say that I can definitely lift more weight now than I could at the beginning of the semester.  And I have found myself craving lean sources of protein, which is weird...mainly because that is not cake, but anyways it's good.  One thing that really bothered me was that the ab workout is only on the schedule for once a week.  It's a solid ab workout, but once a week doesn't really cut it if you're use to three times a week.  So, I supplemented with "Ab Ripper X" from P90X.  It was also weird that there were TWO whole rest days--no stretching or anything--just rest...which doesn't really work well for me either...because if you know me, you know I go crazy if I go one day without working out.  Seriously.  It puts me in a much better mood.  So, on my "rest" days I usually did some kind of yoga or stretching, but sometimes cardio.  The edge ChaLEAN Extreme has over P90X is time--it's much shorter.  Here's my breakdown:

Pros--time, "Burn Intervals," "Burn It Off," and "Recharge" workouts, training method, motivational instructor (a little annoying in a too-perky kind of way, but that's just me)

Cons--once/week ab workout, 2 rest days, no pull-ups, minimal push-ups, no "break" week (aka a week between phases that mixes things up a bit)

Obviously, the cons aren't really cons if you've never done P90X.  It's really not a bad program, and I would recommend it...if you're working your way up.

Just remember "No matter how slow you go, you are still lapping everyone on the couch."  I have no clue who said this.  I found it on Pinterest, and I like it.