RushFit

At the time of this writing RushFit is a relatively new entrant in the sphere of DVD-based fitness systems. I do not own the program (yet), nor have I experimented a great deal with it. I have had the opportunity to do one of its routines however—“Explosive Power Training.” So, while it would be in poor form to write a review of the entire program based on such limited experience, I do feel I can speak to the general tone of RushFit. In the following text I offer a summary of the program, as well as my subjective, “limited,” evaluation of it.

 

Summary of RushFit

RushFit is a DVD-based fitness system produced by Digital Shelf Space of Vancouver, Canada. Though still new, and not yet as popular as perennial favorites P90X and Insanity, it has already received its fair share of acclaim—particularly from the MMA set. At roughly $90, the RushFit program comes with six DVD workouts led by Georges St-Pierre and Erik Owings, a workout guide, a nutrition guide, and training calendars. For those who may want to kick digital tires, four of the program’s DVDs can be ordered individually on the GSP RushFit website.

The name “RushFit” is derived from professional fighter, Georges St-Pierre’s, MMA moniker, “Rush”; and, the program is marketed using his celebrity status. RushFit was designed by Georges’s trainer, Erik Owings. Its DVD workouts star Erik, Georges, and a small rotating group of supporting athletes. Before embarking upon a RushFit journey you are to choose one of the three workout schedules—Beginner, Intermediate, or Advanced—to which you will subscribe for the eight-week duration of the program. Each workout runs about forty-five minutes, and the number of workouts performed each week is determined by the schedule you choose.

The RushFit nutrition guide is very simple. Rather than presenting an elaborate diet plan ala P90X, it follows more of an Eat This, Not That approach—suggesting healthy sources of carbs, protein, and fats, with particular emphasis on pre-workout / post-workout nutrition.

 

My Subjective “Limited” Evaluation of RushFit

Since I have only done the “Explosive Power Training” routine I cannot speak to the efficacy of RushFit as a whole. I will say “Explosive Power Training” is a great workout though. If it is a good barometer by which to measure the rest of the program—I am assuming it is—than RushFit as a whole would probably rank very close to P90X, and a bit ahead of Insanity for me.

Despite Georges being the celebrity star of the program, it is Erik Owings who runs the workouts. Yes, Georges contributes frequent advice and humor in his charmingly indecipherable French-Canadian accent, but he takes second-seat to Erik. While I find Erik’s demeanor and instructive style a bit dry (I would probably rate him a Kristen Stewart on the Ben Stein to Liberace scale of human expressivity), I think he is an effective communicator. He is thorough, he speaks frequently of form and modification, and he is motivating. The routine I did (I believe all the workouts follow the same format) had an eleven-minute warm-up, thirty-minute main workout, and seven-minute cool down. The main workout is built on a “five-minutes on /one-minute rest times five rounds” structure—uncoincidentally the same “5 x 5 structure” used in MMA. I found “Explosive Power Training” to be a tough workout—every bit as challenging as the hardest workouts from P90X; and, while perhaps not quite as intense as the toughest Insanity workouts, certainly more succinct.

Those of you who have done P90X and or Insanity may see some areas of comparative cost-cutting with RushFit. The set on which the workouts are filmed is not an exemplar of modern interior design mastery. The warm-up and cool-down footage is the same on all DVDs (so I understand); the nutrition guidebook is not very thick, etc. In my opinion, however, these are not all negatives. RushFit is less costly than P90X and Insanity, not much ancillary strength training equipment is needed to perform the program, and I for one prefer RushFit’s nutrition guide to P90X’s. Bottom line I think RushFit is a great value. I plan to purchase a copy in the near future—as soon as I am done with French-Canadian Rosetta stone.