3D Fat Burn Fusion: There’s Nothing Sweet About These Sixteens (But Man Are They Effective!)

It’s baaaack. Just when you thought your abs were safe, Linda LaRue has released her latest and greatest workout DVD, 3D Fat Burn Fusion, which promises to help you target and tone stubborn core muscles and smoke off your belly fat—fast.

This DVD consists of two workouts. The first workout is the 30-minute Fat Burn Fusion, which consists of both standing total-body ab work and core mat work that borrows moves from yoga and Pilates. The moves, combined with the CORE TRANSFORMER tubing method that Jenn reviewed, kicks the bad ass-ness way up. The standing work was hard…challenging enough, in fact, that I was looking forward to the mat work.

I shouldn’t have been so naive. The mat work about killed me! Especially the planks. YES! There are planks. My boyfriend trainer came into the room as I was doing this part and started drooling over the workouts. (Note: He ALWAYS hates DVD workouts. He never sees anything new…yada yada. Ms. LaRue impressed the stuffins out of him…let this be your warning.)

The second section is a bonus for your body. It’s a 15-minute high-intensity interval workout that about killed my butt (literally). It’s deja vu. I felt like I was back at the Nike compound in Vancouver working out with the ski team. Teri Ann Krefting leads you through a quick, grueling workout that will make you feel like a super athlete with super-sore muscles once you’re done. (No pain, no gain!)

And then there’s the Athletic Core Set-Up segment. I swear a day doesn’t go by that someone doesn’t stop me and ask me how they can tone up their midsection. I want to hand this DVD to them lovingly and tell them to make sure to watch the Athletic Core Set-Up. Linda breaks down how one targets the area and what that area is called (hallelujah for those who want to actually learn what they really need to work!). It’s one of those one-stone-ALL-THE-BIRDS! kind of workouts, too. Your bawd will scream out to you that you’ve gotten in a healthy dose of cardio, core, strength training and gooooood stretching by the time you’re done.

What I loved: I was so thankful the main workout was only 30 minutes because every time she said “Only 16 [reps]” I about died. You’re gonna feel the burn fast. The music got a thumbs up this time around, too. There was a bunch of world beats up in that piece that had me cracking me up! Most importantly, I loved that you’d actually get to witness Linda out of breath. Finally! We get a normal human being that actually sweats and breathes.

What I could have done without: The scary smiling of the two background gals. I know they’re supposed to be happy and all, but it was kind of creepy how big the smiles were…almost like they enjoyed the pain. Who enjoys the pain?! (Okay, Jenn might…) So if you’re down for grabbing your burn with a side of happy, then you can just ignore the grump and get on your pump!

FBG Rating (Out of 5):

Instruction: ★★★★★
Long-Term Likeability: ★★★★★
Music: ★★★★
Fun Factor: ★★★★
Meets Expectations: ★★★★★
Overall: ★★★★1/2

Fit Bottom line: If you’re looking to shed some inches from your belly from the comfort of your own home, then the heavens have just parted for you. You and the sweet sixteens will be very happy.

—Tish