Review: Kendra’s Be a Knockout Workout DVD (with Giveaway!)
Kendra Wilkinson-Baskett is my favorite Girl Next Door. She’s down to earth, has an infectious laugh and isn’t afraid to be herself. She’s always been super-sporty, so I wasn’t surprised when she decided to add another workout DVD to the one she starred in with her gal pals. While Be a Knockout with Kendra isn’t necessarily billed as a postpartum workout, it is the workout she credits with helping her shed baby weight. (Be sure to tune in tomorrow for our Q&A with the fit mama!)
Brit trainer Nicky Holender lends his expertise as Kendra stays true to her love of sports, centering the workout around five sports: kickboxing, football, soccer, track and field, and basketball. You can play them in order or mix and match—a feature that’s a must for busy moms. Each of the five segments is 6 minutes long, so add it up and you’ve got 30 minutes of cardio, plus a warm-up, cool down and a bonus butt-toning section.
I found the warm-up to be pretty lackluster, I’ll admit—especially the countdowns before starting simple moves. With just a few minutes of neck rolls, shoulder rolls, leg and overhead stretches, it doesn’t exactly get your blood flowing. The kickboxing segment, which includes intervals of punches while squatting, knee lifts and jumping rope, is a much better overall warm-up before moving on to other segments.
With functional, sports-based moves, you work your midsection most of the time. Many of the moves incorporate exercises that will work your legs and butt, such as tire drills, squat thrusts and other moves that get you squatting. Soccer kicks work the inner thigh and a sideline throw works your abs. Kendra loses steam during track and field—proving that she’s a real mom who gets tired—but is a good sport pushing through with hurdler’s knee lifts, discus, shot put and sprints. The basketball segment is fun, with low shuffles, shooting faux baskets as well as making defensive blocks, and squatting while moving an imaginary ball between your legs.
I wanted the Booty Bonus to be more of a challenge, but it was pretty easy with some basic lunge-type moves, leg lifts and hip-shaking moves. Kendra is Kendra, with the requisite booty-shaking, laughing, and mistakenly calling a muffin-top a mushroom top, which got a lot of laughs from her trainer (and me). She does stop during the squat thrusts to coach, which is a little funny, but I couldn’t really blame her—they got my lungs burning. Plus, you learn that “suitcase in the boot” is the British equivalent of “junk in the trunk.”
FBG Rating (Out of 5):
Instruction: ★★
Long-Term Likeability:★★★
Music: ★★★
Fun Factor: ★★★
Meets Expectations: ★★★
Overall: ★★★
Fit Bottom line: Not only for moms, this workout DVD is for anyone sick of dance DVDs. The 30 minutes of sports-based drills will get your cardio and functional toning off your to-do list!
We have FIVE of Kendra’s workout DVDs for you busy moms to win, so get commenting to win a copy! We’ll notify winners in about a week via email. (U.S. residents only, please.) If you don’t get lucky, you can head over to Exercise TV to download the workout on the cheap! —Erin