Powerstrike Vol. 6 is a kickboxing workout created and lead by Ilaria Montagnani. Powerstrike workouts have been around for over 10 years. I have Powerstrike Millennium 1-3 (1 and 2 are on VHS), which were created and lead by Ilaria and Patricia Moreno (who also now makes solo-instructor DVDs), and Powerstrike Vols. 4-6, lead by Ilaria only. There are other Powerstrike videos I do not own and they are now, sadly, OOP.Powerstrike Vol. 6 is made up of a ~5 min warmup, 42 min of cardio, and a short, short cooldown/stretch. The warmup consists of punches and kicks that will be used later in the workout (with more intensity and range-of-motion).
The cardio portion is made up of punches (jabs, crosses, hooks, uppercuts), followed by kicks (front push kick, rear kick, side kicks, roundhouse kicks, and crescent kicks. Ilaria and her backgrounders have excellent form. They appear to be working hard, yet they appear to be having fun. The music wasn't great but wasn't bad either; there were times when I thought, this song may get annoying, but the song would change before I could tire of it.
After you practice/drill your punches and kicks, Ilaria takes you through two combinations of punches and kicks combined and interspersed. I liked both combinations but really liked the second combination; it contained palm heel strikes and blocks and I just feel cool and strong (though I look odd and dorky) when I do those kinds of 'true' martial arts moves.
The combinations are taught add-on style, so there is a lot of TIFTing, but it didn't feel repetitive. Every time you start the combo again is a chance to execute the moves a little bit better than before.
Kickboxing workouts are, for me, more fun (and more challenging) once I know them 'by heart,' as then I don't need to worry about getting the order of punches and kicks correctly, and I can focus on form and intensity. Ilaria gave constant, wonderful form pointers throughout. Because this was my first time doing the workout, I found myself often focusing more on 'getting the choreography right' than correcting my form. I tried to keep my hands 'in guard' but am pretty sure my side kicks barely resembled Ilaria's. Once I've done this workout several times, I will review it again.
All in all, this is a fun, solid workout. The moves were fast in parts, but I think if a person had some kickboxing experience, they could tackle this workout. Ilaria is a marvel; motivating, intense yet quiet, buff and tiny at the same time, super fit. There is a point in the workout where you freeze one leg in the air. Ilaria lost her balance and had to put her leg down. Next time she ran through the combo, she held her leg up extra long. It was cute to see an instructor challenge herself like that during a workout. I bet she challenges herself all the time. It shows.
Sweat factor: 6/10
Fun factor: 7/10
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