My Basement Gym

Pure Power is the second core workout of the three core workouts offered in the PowerFit Harmony series. This 20 minute workout consists of both standing and floor work for the core, and is divided by a static stretching segment that could also benefit core strength. It has a similar format to Body Balance, but uses some different exercises to give some good variety to your core workouts. While I do prefer floor work, I also enjoyed the standing work in Pure Power. The music was also very pleasant – even soothing. And as I’ve come to expect from Stephanie’s PowerFit and PowerFit Harmony workouts, she cues well and is friendly and encouraging throughout.

I didn’t find this to be extremely challenging, but didn’t expect it to be. The static stretch in the middle of the workout was a nice way to break the workout up, and I felt like time really flew by. My core felt nicely warmed and stretched after finishing this workout, and it was a nice add on to my cardio workout that day. So, again – another nice offering from Stephanie Huckabee’s PowerFit Harmony series.

The exercises…

Warm up -
~ 3 minutes of side to side shifts, alternating overhead arm reaches, knee lifts, kick to reverse lunge, side step outs with an arm sweep

Standing work
Holding band in front with both hands, tap side to side while twisting at the waist; side to side twist with knee up, then with arms overhead circle upper body down and around; back to side to side twists and repeat entire sequence

Static stretching segment, no band ~4 minutes

Floor work
Seated crunch, with band around feet for extra resistance; supported v-sit with alternating knee-ins; crunches; oblique crunches while raising legs; pulsing double crunches; crunches with legs flat; extend opposite arm and leg while on all fours

Stretch – ~ 2 minutes of stretches targeting the core

Power Up is the second of the three 20 minute cardio workouts that is included in the PowerFit Harmony set. It has a slightly different format than Move It, and I think it was a bit more challenging, too. There are two distinct segments in the workout – floor cardio and a step inspired section. The floor cardio is very straight forward, and easy to intensify by adding impact. The step inspired section uses the band in place of a step, like in Move It, but adds a few new combos to the mix.

I think I liked this workout a bit more than Move It, since the combos were longer and made it feel like I could add more intensity. And like I did in Move It, I grabbed the top of my small step to use in place of the band during the step section. I also felt like she built the combos with just the right amount repetition, without making it feel monotonous. I’m looking forward to seeing what the last cardio workout from PowerFit Harmony has in store, too.

Warm up -
~ 4 minutes of various arm moves combined with hamstring curls, step touch, marching, lunges, knee ups

Floor Cardio
Step touch with various arms, hamstring curls, grapevines, sambas, step knee with repeaters
Repeat the above combo three more times

Stop work, using the band in place of a step
Basic right, basic left, travel side to side with basic step, step knee and repeaters, v-step, front taps, heel touch, heel touch front to back, pivot taps, pivot knee, Charleston step kick
Repeat the above combo a few times, building slowly and taking it from the top a few times

Stretch -
~ 2 minutes of low intensity taps and marches to bring down the heart rate, squats, side lunges, and a few lower body stretches

Body Balance is a 20 minute workout from Powerfit Harmony that offers a nice variety of exercises to work your core. I normally prefer to keep my core work to about 10 minutes, and like to do it as an add on to a cardio workout. But, I did this workout after 30 minutes of treadmill intervals and enjoyed it well enough. I also prefer floor work to standing abs work, but Stephanie offers a nice variety here, making the standing abs work tolerable, even likeable.

I did like the balance work during the first part of the workout. I may not be very coordinated, but I have pretty good balance, heh. I also liked the variety of crunches she used, and the planks section reminded me once again that I really need to spend more time on planks one of these days. So, it was a nice change to my normal abs routines, and as usual, Stephanie is pleasant, encouraging, and cues well throughout – making this another good choice for many fitness levels. I’m looking forward to seeing what she has to offer in the other PowerFit Harmony core workouts.

The break down:

Warm up -
~5 minutes of various arm movements combined with side steps, squats, front toe taps, knee ups, marching, side lunges, etc followed by some dynamic stretching

Standing section
Hold band in front, balance on one foot while reaching opposite foot to the rear, lifting and lowering arms

Samba step, holding band in front, twisting to the side with each step, varying the height of your arms

Floor work
Crunches, oblique crunches, toe touches – with legs at 90 degrees, reverse crunches, leg circles with feet to the ceiling, crunches with pulses

Superman raises and holds, planks on knees, planks on toes, push up planks on knees, push up planks on toes, spine rolls from knees

Stretch
~ 2 minutes of low back/core, hip flexor, and hamstring stretches