I did the ‘Bum Bum’ (pronounced boom boom) workout from the Brazil Butt Lift program for the first time this morning and let me say first of all, what a great way to start the day!
By 6am I had exercised (read: shaken my “bum bum”), eaten breakfast, showered and was feeling like I’d already accomplished a great deal before I had even started to get ready to go to work for the day.
‘Bum Bum’ Workout Review
Time: 35 minutes
Equipment: Nil
Areas Worked: Thighs, Butt, Abs (indirect/minimal)
Difficulty: Intermediate
Style: Aerobics/bodyweight exercises combined to form a cardio routine, some parts border on being classed as a ‘dance’ style cardio workout.
Introduction
‘Bum Bum’ is a cardio-style workout with an aerobics type feel to it, from the Brazil Butt Lift program by Beachbody. I’ve classed it as an intermediate difficulty level, as it’s quite fast paced and some of the moves require a fair bit of balance and coordination.
The Moves
There are approximately 24 different moves in the Bum-Bum workout. Leandro has structured the workout so that different variations of moves are sometimes used – for example performing ‘tempo’ versions (same move but at a faster rate), ‘shorts’ (pulsing over a short range of motion), adding arms, etc.
The main moves in Bum Bum are:
Afro-brazillian lunge
Arabesque
Booty drums – frog jumps *
Burpees
Capoeria *
Cocorinha
Curtsy lunge
Grab and throw *
High heels
Ipanema walk
Kick – rear lunge
Knee pulls
Leaps – side to side
Lunge – squat combo
Paso doble lunge
Passe kick backs
Plie
Scissors
Shake your booty
Side kick – squat
Side lunge
Side tap – kick
Side to side taps
Squats – numerous variations
*My favorite butt-blasting moves
The Sequencing
Leandro has put together a well sequenced workout, with moves flowing into each other seamlessly, and a good balance between left and right sides of the body.
Be warned: there are no stop-breaks allowed for during this workout, and a few times I had to pause the DVD for a quick recovery break.
I suspect this will not be required later once I become a bit fitter, as there are sections where Leandro gives you a bit of a break by performing a less intense move such as the side-to-side taps or ‘booty drums’.
The last 5.5 minutes of the workout is dedicated to a cooldown routine which involves a sequence of balancing stretches that I found both challenging yet relaxing.
There were quite a few balancing stretches which are great for improving your balance while getting a good muscle stretch in – but will require practice if your balance is not so great!
The Good and the Bad
The Good
- Level 1 and 2 options were demonstrated by the models so you could choose your difficulty level throughout the workout.
- The sequencing & variations in the moves kept the workout interesting and seemingly short. I was always looking forward to discover what the next move would be!
- Some of the moves were real butt-blasters and you could really feel them working the butt! (I have asterisked my favorite butt-working moves in the list above) .
The Bad
- Some of the routine was too fast for little-old-uncoordinated me to keep up with, I had to slow it down to concentrate on getting the form right
- Balancing – a fair few of the moves require a good deal of balance to perform properly, and to do them at the speed called for in the video will leave you with poor form. I recommend slowing it down until you can get the form right, and using a chair or wall to help balance initially until you are able to do the exercises unassisted.
- Some of the moves in the dance-like parts were quite difficult to perform, but the models made it look like a breeze! (I can only image how ridiculous I must have looked lurching about in my room as I tried to copy their expert shimmying).
Effectiveness
I found that the workout was a medium cardio level – I was hot and sweaty by the end of it, but not so overworked that I was struggling for breath throughout (the main reason why I usually hate cardio).
My quads felt like they got a lot more of a workout than my butt, which was a bit disappointing, as I really want to target my butt. This might be correctable by adjusting my form with the squat type moves, but I will have to look further into that later.
My knees got a little sore throughout, as there are a lot of squat-type moves. A few of the level 2 moves I was unable to do because of weak knees, but who knows, I may be able to work up to them.
In most of the moves Leandro tells you to keep your core and abs tight and squeeze your butt, and I think the degree to which you can focus on doing this throughout the workout will play a big part in how effective it is at working those particular muscles. I must say it is a lot easier said than done, and looks like something that will come with practice. As today was my first day, a lot of concentration was used just doing the moves, let alone remembering to hold in my abs and squeeze my butt the whole time!
As I write this review, it’s now 15 hours after I’ve completed the workout and I can feel a soreness in my butt everytime I go to sit down or get up, so it’s definitely had some effect!
Edit: The day afterwards, my legs and butt were that sore that I was literally hobbling around everytime I had to get up from my desk at work to walk around!
Overall Impression
I really enjoyed this workout and don’t have many complaints with it that can’t easily be fixed by simply practicing the workout and improving my coordination and balance.
The workout was fun enough that I found myself feeling a lot better about getting up at the ungodly hour of 5am within minutes of starting to follow the video… that’s got to be worth something, right?
If you have any questions about my review of this workout, or have you done the bum-bum workout yourself, please leave me a comment below, I’d love to hear your thoughts!
If you liked my review of Bum Bum, you might also be interested in reading my review of the High & Tight workout – one of my personal favorites!
Or, check out my full review of the Brazil Butt Lift program to find out what it entails!