ChaLEAN Extreme

For those who have tried their hardest lifting weights, doing crunches, jogging and doing yoga and whatever else they can get their hands on and still find their weight loss goals frustrated, ChaLEAN Extreme claims to be the answer.  Certainly there are different fitness and exercise philosophies out there, but how are you to know which one is right for your body type…or is there one “best” program?  Sometimes Extreme is the only way to go, but here’s a closer look.

What is ChaLEAN Extreme?

Named for fitness celebrity Chalene Johnson, a fit 41-year-old with the body to back up her programs, ChaLEAN Extreme is a DVD workout with a lot of big claims.  These include:

• Burn 60% of your body fat in 3 months
• Significantly increase lean-muscle mass
• See results in just 30 days

How does Chalene claim to make this happen?  Well, the DVD workout system is supposedly based on what she refers to as “Lean Phasing” which begins with 30 days of moderately intensive lifting workouts followed by 30 days of “heavier lifting” and finishing up with 30 days of more cardio-based fat-burning workouts.  The program includes 15 workouts on 6 DVDs along with the following workout tools:

• Body fat measurement tool
• Healthy eating DVD
• Workout guidebook
• Thigh toner band
• 5 pound resistance band

Though the workout program is dependent on weight lifting, it doesn’t include weights so you will need access to your own.

How much does ChaLEAN Extreme cost?

This DVD workout program is one of the most expensive ones we’ve seen at $120 plus $20 shipping costs.  It does offer a 90-day money-back guarantee and you get to keep the “bonus” workout tools.

ChaLEAN Extreme Conclusion

Chalene Johnson does look good, but this package looks a little bit convoluted. According to Dr. Martica Heaner, a NYC-based exercise physiologist, the claim that “muscle burns fat” isn’t really true. It is certainly true that as you are building muscle, you may be burning fat in the process, but increased levels of muscle in and of themselves do not cause increased fat burn.  It may depend on interpretation but this is more of a marketing trick, really.  Given the cost of the program and the fact that you have to find your own free-weights to use, you might as well buy a few months membership at a gym and you’ll likely have more of what you need to get fitter.