Wednesday, September 28, 2005

Get Ready to take a Live Turbo Jam Workout!


For those who stopped by my live chat the other day, you probably already know that we are in production on tons of new videos. The one's I'm most excited about are the ones for those of you who are wondering what a "live" class is really like. Thanks to the "ask and you shall receive" attitude of Beach Body, you're going to get it.

These workouts are going to be the real deal. We're shooting them in the gym that I teach Turbo Jam in nearly everyday, with members who really take my classes. Our plan is to catch the "raw" and "real" feel of a live class. We won't be stopping to dry off or red-do things. When I teach a live class...It's anything goes! Lot's of play, loads of fun, turn up the volume and do your own thing. I've invited some really fun people that you're going to love working out with. I think you'll love seeing all the different styles of Turbo Jamers!

Kickin' it up a notch (or two..)
When I teach a live class I use the same choreography for about 12 weeks. Yet, every couple of weeks I add in an extra layer of difficulty so that people are pushing themselves and doing more as they learn the routine. That's not as easy to replicate on video. Hold on though...I think I've figured out a way to take you to that next level and I hope you'll love it. It's Cardio Party Remix. I don't know if this has ever been done before?! I've picked the best sections from each of the three cardio workouts... i.e. the 20 minute Workout, Cardio Party 1 and Cardio Party 2, but with all the extra bells and whistles, to really give you an intense workout. We've done this for fitness instructors, and we called them "best of". They are the best workouts and the most fun of all!

We film in just a couple of days. I'm working around the clock to make sure you get a totally live and legit feel from this class. I can't wait. I want to do it tomorrow!

We're also going to film Booty Sculpt and abs... but that's another blog :)

Friday, September 23, 2005

Turbo Jam - "That's a Wrap!"

After 8 years and a great deal of attention to important details, it was music to my ears to hear the director of th Turbo Jam exercise videos booming over the studio P.A, "That's a wrap!" We shot 7 amazing videos in 3 days, complete with out-takes, behind the scenes interviews, a team of "real" Turbo cameras ranging in age from 26 to Over 50 and we'll leave it at that!

I could not be more proud of this project. Beachbody more than stepped up to the plate! They
allowed us to keep this program as authentic to the gym experience as I wanted. They believed me when I told them we needed to make the music our first thought and not our last thought. They never asked us to compromise. The videos offer the pure individual expression of each participant so that those at home would find someone they would be able to identify with. We were able to use a 'modifier', Anna-Rita to show people they could get killer results (she's lost 70 pounds) without having to jump or use high impact. They also created a really cool "special" set for us to share this workout with our new friends. It kind of feels like a mature (is that the word I'm looking for?) or classy dance club.

We had the best director in the business, Andrea B. who routinely reminded me that I should NOT sing and (other than that) really let me be my dorky, dancey, music obsessed spazmatic self!

Thanks to my Turbo Team, Anna-Rita, my lil' sis Jenelle, former Laker Girl and crazy new Mom Angela, Energy bunny Holly, Terry our resident singer/new Dad, Big smiles and big biceps from Bryan, our Sweet Southern Bell Ms. Mindy from Dallas, who also has lost 40 pounds, Vicki who at age 50 has abs I could only hope to have some day, Pendu who has the best attitude and a great energy, my sexy, serious, super sweet spouse and Number one Dad, Hubby Bret, and last but not least, George. Every time George entered the room, everyone started having fun. What a blast this guy is. He has a real zest for life and he brings it to this workout!

Let me not forget to thank all at Beachbody, especially Lara and Heather for their amazing contribution in the form of dedication, trust, care, expertise, and talent! Thanks to Jon and Carl for finding the best in the industry to make sure only the best were on this project and for their financial investment in the music. Oh... the music.... The music is OFF THE HOOK!!!!!!!! The best you'll ever hear in an exercise video... at least until we film another one next month!

Yahoo! Let's Go Turbo!

TTYL,

Chalene

What an experience!



The real reason I loved this project and the real reason Turbo Jam will be so much for for people... Heather and Lara from BeachBody. Lara (supermodel on the right) is the VP of Creative and Heather (Curly blonde on the left) is the Director of Production. Together they make an unbeatable team and two great bosses.






Bret, my super supportive hubby there for me even after I took out all of my stress on him for three weeks straight and to top it all off, he played Mr. Mom and did it like an old pro. He lost 12 pounds once he started doing Turbo 4 x a week!






Trying to learn how to operate the camera.






Me... the control freak... taking over in the editing bay.






Everyone being mean to me and making me mop up their sweat between takes.






Our set






Here's me when I stole Ronnie the make-up ladies make-up bag. She had a heart-attack when we saw me using a lip brush on Mindy's eyebrows. Oooops.






That's Rico checking to see if he could remove the battery from my back so that I might "shut up" for 5 minutes.






This is Vicki and she's been doing Turbo for 7 years. She's going to be 50 in a week, and has two kids and the most amazingly ripped abs! That's Bryan behind her. Look at that body. He eats donuts regularly, and like all of us believes if you find a workout that burns serious calories and fat, you can eat anything in moderation! (BTW... he is 7% body fat!)






It look like I might have a head wound here, actually it's Ronnie the make-up gal trying to erase my wrinkles.







First rehearsal on the not yet finished set