Workouts in Review: Total Body Turnaround w/ Kathy Smith

Kathy Smith's Total Body Turnaround is one of the latest workouts from Acacia Fitness. When I saw this workout I knew I wanted to try it. Now mind you it's shorter than my usual workouts and a much lower intensity, but I like to try workouts that may fill a niche. I have done all three workouts and have come up with so many scenarios of uses for this.

For the beginner:

This is a great option for those of you just getting into fitness! The combination of cardio, weights, balance and stretching is perfect balance for someone new to working out. Kathy gives options to make it easier and more difficult so you can grow with it.

For women 40, 50 and beyond:

Losing balance and bone density are big issuse as you get older. The combination of weights and an entire 20-minute balance workout are sure to keep you fit for years to come. I love that Kathy has made this workout to include so many different aspects of fitness!

This workout or nothing:

So many times we find ourselves in a hurry and you feel if you can't get in an hour why bother. I'll tell you right now, this workout is a quick, in and out workout and it would be far better than nothing at all. I like that you can get cardio and total body weights in a 25- minute workout. The other bonus is that there is also a balance workout and the total energy workout that can be done as a bonus on days when you just need a good workout to refresh you.

During a rest week:

I'm sure you all know that I stress often about the importance of a rest week. Now I don't mean sit on your derriere and eat potato chips, I mean you do a workout that gets your blood pumping but is not too difficult. I often do workouts like this on my rest weeks because I know I am still keeping my muscles active without putting too much strain on them. I usually do light cardio, maybe some light weights and lots of yoga. I really enjoyed this workout specifically for my rest weeks. I just use lighter weights during the weight section and split up the other 2 workouts during the week. This will be a keeper for sure!


For my Mother:

Yep, I covered that in the second section but I just wanted to throw this out there for my Mom : ) I have been bugging her for years to make fitness a part of her life. Recently she had some tests come back that showed her heart wasn't pumping blood properly. After my Dad's quadruple bypass in February I am not about to have two parents with heart issues. Now mind you, neither of my parents are by any means heavy so this all was quite a shock. It just goes to show you it's not all about your size, it's about how well you eat and how active you are. Looks like I'll be bringing this up to her and helping her get started with a regular workout program!


I hope this workout helps you fill a niche of your own!

Workout Breakdown:

Total Circuit      25 minutes
Total Balance    20 minutes
Total Energy     20 minutes

You will need a mat and various hand weights for this workout. I would say if you had 3, 5 and 8 lb. weights you would be good. I used  10 and 15 lb. dumbbells for some sections but that was just to make it more intense.

Total Circuit is a great mix of simple yet energetic cardio and several weight moves. You will work all of your muscles with this workout including your biceps, triceps, shoulders, chest, back and lower body. There are lots of ways to make this easier as well as more difficult so it's very versatile.

Total Balance is exactly that, a balance workout. I think this is a fantastic addition to any program. Balance is so important especially as you age and yet we fail to work on it. This workout is done without shoes which I like, less to do to get to working out : )

Total Energy is a mix of some light cardio, balance and stretching. There is very little cardio but enough to get your muscles a bit more pliable in order to stretch them. This is a different workout with moves I haven't done much of but I enjoyed them.

Throughout the workouts Kathy is very energetic and sometimes quirky but don't let it distract you from the great workout this is. I just smile when she whoops and know that I want to be that energetic when I'm almost 60.

This DVD will be released on November 15th and is available for pre-order on Amazon or you can buy it now on Acacia!

A special thank you to Alyssa for sending this to me. It found a niche here : )


Nicole