Workout Review: 22 Minute Hard Corps

22 Minute Hard Corps is a simple concept and lives up to what you'd expect from it... It's a military drill-style workout whose sessions take just 22 minutes a day. The moves are done to a cadence, so you're counting reps instead of counting the amount of time spent doing the exercise. This is the part of it that I really didn't expect to enjoy, since I like listening to music during my workouts.... but I honestly love it! It's taken some time for me to be able to keep up with the cadence (at first it seemed impossible!) so that added another element of challenge compared to other programs I've tried. Now that I'm nearing the end of the eight-week program, for the most part I'm able to keep up with the cadence, and I actually find that it makes the workout time go by really fast. Instead of watching the clock, I get in a rhythm and just get in a zone and before I know it, it's on to the next move!

Program length: 60 days

Workout length: 22 minutes (with ab/core workout sessions of 10-12 minutes added on some days)

What equipment is needed? Free weights (a sandbag is shown in the videos and comes with some kits, but a weight can be substituted); pull-up bar or resistance band with door attachment.

How is it structured? The workout schedule is six days a week, with one rest day (scheduled for Sunday but you can move it around as desired so it works with your schedule). The schedule alternates days: cardio and core one day, resistance the next day. You receive a total of nine workout sessions, so there is a fair amount of repetition of each individual session. A deluxe kit with three additional workouts (cardio, core, resistance) is also available.

Each resistance session includes five moves, and each cardio session includes seven moves, repeated in three rounds. Each core session includes 10 moves (only one set of each).

What kinds of moves are involved? Although there are both cardio and resistance sessions, the overall focus is definitely high-intensity cardio! Prepare to be out of breath for 22 minutes straight! Almost every session includes some type of Burpee variation. The resistance sessions all include push-up variations and one core exercise, so you get core work in every workout (since you are doing a full-length core session on the cardio days). Other common types of moves are squats, jumps, and plank variations. There are many new and different moves I'd never tried before (and I've tried a lot of workouts!) so although this is hard, it's also fun and creative, not dull and repetitive.

Low-impact? No.

Are modifications shown? Some modifications are shown, and as your coach I can help you find modifications for your specific issue if the ones shown in the videos don't work for you. However, this program is best for people who don't have significant physical limitations and are already in relatively good shape, and/or up for a challenge and know your body well enough to modify safely.

Interested in trying this program? Learn more in my video review or email me at LivingVibrantlyEG@gmail.com to find out when my next challenge group starts! I can also guide you to my recommended sources for the equipment mentioned above, or get you set up with a different workout program if this one isn't up your alley. I'm only an email away... Let's chat!