Bob Harper’s Inside Out Method Pure Burn Super Strength Workout DVD Review

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I‘ve been doing some intensive exercise nearly every day now for quite some time, I’ve done the P90X series many, many times over and over as well as the Insanity DVD’s.   I exercise twice a day 99% of the time.

And yet this “Bob Harper’s Inside Out Method Pure Burn Super Strength” was and is still damn hard!

It’s part of a series of four DVD’s called “Inside out Method” by Bob Harper.  There’s Bob Harper’s Inside Out Method Pure Burn Super Strength, Bob Harper’s Inside Out Method Yoga for the Warrior, Bob Harper’s Inside Out Method Cardio Conditioning, and Bob Harper’s Inside Out Method Bob’s Workout.

In case you’re not familiar with Bob he’s a personal trainer (one year older than I) who’s probably best known from the The Biggest Loser TV series.  He has a massive amount of DVD’s and books out including his own stuff as well as The Biggest Loser series.

I like the dude – he can be a hard-ass but he’s fair, enthusiastic, and seems intensely interested in helping you get through the workouts.  The guy’s in great shape, tats and all.

Previously we had done a few of his The Biggest Loser DVD’s, though that was earlier in our exercise progression and those tend to be a big easy for us now.

But I still love Bob Harper’s Totally Ripped Core.  Even though it’s not super-uber-intensive compared to some stuff; it will make you sweat!  So check that out too.

Also, we have the Bob Harper’s Inside Out Method Yoga for the Warrior which I also highly recommend.  It is hard, it’s Yoga but it will make you sweat.  And the bonus 20 minute Yoga Abs on the disk is a great little core/ab workout too, though there’s not much actual Yoga on that part.

When I got the chance to try Bob Harper’s Inside Out Method Pure Burn Super Strength I jumped right into it.

weights figureThis seems to be geared toward weight training, but as I mentioned below – there’s a lot more to it than that.

Bob Harper really shows his personality in this one, maybe a bit more than I’ve seen him do in other DVD’s.  He’s sometimes a bit amusing and amused, sometimes a little playful.  But he’s also a bit more of a hard-ass in this too.   And before the workout begins he tells you right off the bat; hey, you always say you want Bob Harper as a trainer, well, you’re getting him!

And he proceeds to prove it!

In the main workout, over an hour-long, he keeps right on the tail of the very fit woman, Helen, who is the one he calls his athlete, the one who does everything without breaks and without modifications.  All three of the people with him in this video are in great shape of course, but Helen; whom he mentions has had four kids (!) and looks incredible,  is the one he makes do EVERYTHING without mods.

And when she tries to take a break or not do something as intensely he is ON her!  She glares, gives him a dirty look, she gasps, she moans, sometimes she even screams and there may even be a half-sob at a few points.  But she does what he asks of her.

Francisco, the only guy in the hour-long video; is muscular and in-great-shape but he gets away with taking breaks, and skipping a few things here and there.  I imagine he’s there to show that that is an option if it’s too much for you initially.

Stephanie is a tall, thin but in-shape ‘modifier’ – in other words she does all of the exercises (unlike Francisco sometimes) but does modifications of them to make them slightly easier.  If there’s a push-up, she may do it on her knees instead of fully up on her toes.  If a jump is combined with an exercise she stays on the floor.  And despite that she too grunts and

Weights

groans and makes some pretty intense (sometimes terrible) faces.  There’s a point where I think she’s about to cry…

Bob does a lot of the exercises with them and is soaked in sweat along with everyone else, but he also walks around and motivates his people and makes sure they do things properly and with the intensity that he wants.  He’s not annoying about it, but he keeps them on their toes, especially Helen.

Let me just stop here in the middle and say something…  I absolutely hate the gun-ho, screaming and yelling attitude that you might find in some of the lower quality exercise videos, or at your local high school gym, or where ever.  Maybe it helps to motivate some people, but I tend to think that a firm but not crazy over-the-top attitude is much better.

Bob does do a little yelling in this one.  Not much, and I’ve never seen him quite as intense as in this one.  But he’s not over-the-top; he gets the motivation out of Helen that he needs.

You get two breaks in this workout, one near the beginning and one near the end.  And, well, there’s a fake-out in the middle 😉

Recommended weights for this aren’t high.  And it doesn’t take long to realize that small amount of weights is all that you’re going to be able to handle.

In addition to weight training you will get a little bit of everything else; some stretching, cardio, ab and core work.

Bob Harper's Inside Out Method Pure Burn Super Strength

Don’t get me wrong – I like taking a day to concentrate on one aspect of exercise.  But a lot of times I like a nice varied multi-dimensional workout that covers a bit of everything.  And this is it.

There’s stuff that I can barely hold together on even with moderate weights.  And the later core stuff is intensive!  There’s even a few things here that I hadn’t seen before, like the standing weighted pullovers.

Good stuff.  Again, you don’t need much weight on this one and it’s a good demonstration of what can be done with a small amount of weight instead of a lot.

It is hard, but unlike something like Insanity where you really need to be in some damn good shape to carry it out – you should be able to do this workout by watching Stephanie with the modifications and/or not using weights at first, or a very low amount of weight.

Also on the disc is a twenty-minute workout.  It’s much less intense but will still get you going.  Good for when you don’t have much time or need an additional workout.

Now I’m anxious to try Bob Harper’s Inside Out Method Cardio Conditioning, and Bob Harper’s Inside Out Method Bob’s Workout too.  Can’t wait.

Also see my review of Bob Harper’s Yoga for the Warrior at this blog posting.

Marc M

I am a web developer and fitness geek, but I have a heck of a lot of differing interests.  Biking, the Internet, technology, movies, fitness, running and walking and hiking, science fiction, photography, graphics, WordPress, flying and aircrafts, pets and animals, history, and much more.  I like to stay very fit but I don’t mind sitting at my computer for work and play either.  I live in upstate New York (that’s far from New York City) in a rural area, yet close to a small city, with my beautiful awesome wife, a bunch of beloved cats and dogs and chickens in a very old multi-century house.

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