Exercise DVD

Review by Pampooty:
I have all of the non-BL Jillian Michaels workout dvds and was thrilled that my UPS guys beat the snow to deliver this new addition today. It does not disappoint!

Here’s the skinny: 7 six minute circuits, no weights, no equipment. Just you and some free space to jump around (you don’t even need that much space; trust me, I live in a tiny NYC apartment and am completely able to do all the exercises). Each circuit is made up of a set of exercises performed twice before moving on to the next circuit: full body engagement, plyometrics and some serious core work mid-way through. But the focus is really on getting your heart rate up and Jillian delivers (my husband walked in after I was done and said he’d never seen my face so red before — so beware! It’s a tough enough workout that you might not look stunning immediately after; you can save the stunning for the beach this summer!)

Now, I should mention I have done JM’s 30 Day Shred and love love love love it. There’s no better way to get in a thorough workout in 22 minutes. This is not The Shred. There are many familiar exercises, but it’s a much longer workout and the intensity is modulated to make it possible to keep going for the full 45+ minutes of the workout. I was intent on getting through the whole workout, so I can’t speak to what the experience would be like for a beginner. But, the dvd is broken into chapters that split at each circuit, so theoretically, you can progressively build up as your stamina increases. I imagine I will have days when I’m pressed for time and just want to hit 3-4 of the circuits, and the chapters are designed to allow me to pick the ones I most like (or hate! depending on how tough they are!)

Also, I find Jillian’s style to be increasingly more mature with each new dvd. No joke, she’s a tough cookie — that hasn’t changed. But her instruction is more precise and her explanations of why certain exercises are paired together is really helpful. I find that knowing why things are good for me (even when they’re so hard) is powerful motivation. Oh, I should mention I have very bad asthma and doing these workouts has helped boost my heart strength and capacity to grab more air with each breath. It’s silly, I know, but I finish feeling like Mighty Mouse!

I’ll update in the comments section with any thoughts or problems I encounter as I incorporate this workout into my regular schedule. But in the meantime, I’m a very happy customer!

Review by Diamonte Hamlett:
I just tried Jillian’s new workout Banish the Fat Boost Your Metabolism and I have to say I like it. I am a member on her blog and have been using the Shred 30 Program for a little over two months and I have lost a total of 29 pounds. I was worried about hitting a plateau so I was excited to see the release of two new dvds. The DVD willnot be released until tomorrow, Feb. 3, but it is available today on exercise TV/Comcast Digitial Cable. It is an hour workout with a phenomenal warm up and cool down. She does about 6-7 circuits of cardio intense exercises (that can be modified) and you repeat the exercises twice in each circuit. I felt challlenged and really good after I got done with it. When I first started I said, “I’m in over my head”, but soon discovered she gives you adequate rest between the sets by alternating a really tough set with a more moderate set to get a little bit of recovery. Jillian Michaels is at the top of her game and gives you the results you want to see. Not only did I lose 29 pounds but I also lost about 17 inches all over. I do follow a regimented diet (as she recommends on her website) but it is priceless to be able to workout for a week and see the kindof results she gives. I highly recommend this for anyone who is serious about getting in shape and needs pragmatic no nonsense, just do what needs to be done, outlook on fitness. Jillian Delivers that and more. I will post an amended post to update my progress. Best of Luck to everyone. Buy the DVD its worth it.

Review by D. Couse:
Let me preface this by saying I have lost and maintained a nearly 40lb weight loss through eating and working out. I’ve completed a half marathon, run 20 miles weekly and have done numerous workout DVD’s…including the original Biggest Loser DVD and even Jillian’s separate workout DVD’s. I don’t say this to toot my own horn, but to give you a gauge as to how someone who’s in good shape views this DVD.

At least I thought I was in good shape until I popped this DVD in. This is a crazy hard workout that will workout every fiber in your body.

Bob starts with Level 1 and gives you 20 minutes of heart pounding, lunge screaming and weight lifting cardio…at Level 1??

Jillian is next and she doesn’t fail at delivering a 10 minute, high intensity level 2 cardio workout. Like I stated earlier, I’ve got her whole collection of workout DVD’s and this 10 minutes with her, is just as bad (good) as a few of the 20 minute DVD’s I’ve got with her.

Bringing up the rear is Kim…and this one is a let down. For a level 3 cardio workout, she barely breaks even with Bob’s Level 1. Now, if you do all 3 in a row like I do, then it does get a little tiring at the end with her, but if you just pop in her section for 10 minutes, I don’t think you’d be pushing yourself very hard. In my own opinion, the workout difficulty would have gone Kim, Jillian and then Bob…do those jumping lunges and tell me that’s not Level 3 cardio!

All in all, this is a great workout DVD to add to your collection. The ability to customize your workouts is great and the some of the moves are new and I’ve never done them before.

Start 2008 off right and lay down the cash for this. You won’t be disappointed in the workout it gives you.

Review by Little Miss Cutey:
As you can tell by the cover, this workout is led by the three Biggest Loser trainers, Bob, Jillian and Kim. They are all outgoing and motivating and in this 50 minute workout, you will definately burn calories.

You can play any segment in any order which I like to avoid boredom, or you can choose some of the challenging premixes. Bob leads a bootcamp segment where you can do the moves with or without weights to make it tougher if you want. Jillian doesn’t mess around with her high intensity drills. They are tough, but stick to it for a while and it will get easier. Then at the end, Kim does kickboxing (which really gets your heart rate up). Some of seasons 3 and 4 are here too and they look great.

I like this workout because it’s tough and yet fun and I’ve only done it once so far, but I’m still feeling it and can’t wait to try it again because I know it will get easier and it’s a definate calorie and fat burner.

Review by Streudel423:
I have been a Leslie Sansone fan for many years and own lots of her videos; the 5 Mile Fat Burning Walk, by far, my favorite! I would definitely say that this video (if you do the entire thing) is geared to intermediate/advanced exercisers. If you are a beginner, consider just doing a mile or two and working up towards the whole workout.

I loved the fact that the video breaks each mile down individually. The first and fifth mile have only Leslie leading. The second, third, and fourth mile include several other walkers and different music for each mile. I LOVE the music on this video more than any of the other videos. The miles are completed MUCH faster than Leslie’s other videos. I also believe this 5 mile workout goes by very quickly!

EACH mile is 12-13 minutes and is roughly broken down as follows:

-Approx. 5 min of moderate walking

-Approx. 5 min of brisk/”power walking”

-2 min of “boosted walking”

The boosted walking is actually gentle jogging and “boosted” forms of kicks and knee lifts. Walkers have the option of joining Leslie with the boosted walking or just power walking. She insists that even if you are unable to do the higher impact version, lower impact is just fine.

There really is no warm-up (even in the first segment), but there is a cool down at the end of the video that lasts 6 minutes. If you do the entire video, the workout will last 68 minutes.

I would recommend this video especially to Leslie Sansone Veteran Walkers, but beginners can easily grow and advance as their fitness improves.

Review by Carmen J. Nazario:
If you have been walking with Leslie for a while you know that each new workout she comes out with is just as great as the one before. If you have done Leslie before and have been slacking and need something fresh to remotivate you (that is me)this one is a great motivator. If you are new to Leslie what are you waiting for?

I got this one in the mail yesterday and did 2 of the five miles last night. This morning I got up and did 3 of the 5 miles. This is a great one! Here is the breakdown. There are 5- 1 mile walks, each walk is 12 minutes. The first mile is just Leslie. Miles 2,3, and 4 have various walkers with her. The final mile is Leslie alone again. Each mile is 12 minutes and she does her boosted walking at the end, before the cool down. I personally LOVE the boosted walking! In the intro She suggests doing 1 mile before every meal. I just may have to try that! There is also a wonderful interview with one of her walkers at the end. It personally inspired me because she talks about her dad getting sick and that being her wake up call. I was recently diagnosed with type II diabetes. My father is a very uncontrolled (stubborn)diabetic who has lost one leg already and had a stroke. I am on a mission to NOT be my dad and hearing Nicole’s story was just the inspiration I needed to remind myself that I can be the healthiest diabetic I can possibly be. I plan to revisit her story whenever I need some insiration to just walk, walk, walk.

Review by Gail:
I own a number of dance workouts and this is my favorite so far. There is a step guide in a separate chapter, which can be used to learn the steps in half time. This is great because Jennifer does not have to slow down the tempo of the workouts to teach the steps in half time. The step guide is a fabulous idea and makes this DVD superior to most dance workout routines on the market. Because of my familiarity with dance DVD’s, I only had to do the step guide once, but it was very helpful.

During the workouts, Jennifer still introduces each step with the feet first, followed by adding the arms. And she does the typical build of multiple steps for each routine. To learn the routines, I focus on learning the steps first and then I add the arms in later attempts.

Jennifer is an excellent instructor. She does a great job of providing good advance cues for step changes. She also cues “left or right” that is the opposite of her left or right (mirror form), so it is easy to follow her lead.

Potential customers may be put off by the fact that this is a hip hop dance routine. Never fear. I really liked mixing things up from the usual Latin and Jazz routines. But, be ready for a lot of hip action.

I am at an age (54) and weight where my knees do not tolerate a lot of abuse. I was still able to do almost all of the routines or I could easily modify what Jennifer was doing to be a little more knee friendly. (No frog stretches for me!)

All in all, I highly recommend this DVD for people who want some exercise with a lot of variation and a high fun factor.

Review by Fitness Fan:
DOTI Hip Hop Party, led by Jennifer Galardi, is a party in a box! Very fun hip hop moves…time just flew by! The workout runs 41 minutes with warmup and cooldown.

Unlike the previous DOTI’s (which have pretty simple choreography), with this one you might want to actually view the step guide before jumping in…there are several moves that Jennifer says she covered in the step guide, she just starts the move in the workout with very little instruction and I was lost a couple of times!

The music in this DOTI is Much Better than the music in the other ones…it very much matched the routine. Hip Hop Party is also more intense than any of the other DOTI’s…and more fun as well!

The only reason I didn’t give this one 5 stars is that it’s quite difficult to do on carpet. Lots of twisting movement that can torque your knees if you’re doing this one on a carpeted surface. I had to modify LOTS to make this workout work on my living room carpet.

Highly recommended to intermediates with dance experience AND a non-carpeted surface to work out on!

Review by mcel:
This was my first Women’s Health workout DVD I’ve used. I also ordered Train for Your Body Type and The Wedding Workout, but haven’t used them yet. I decided to give this one a go first, since the split up workouts seemed promising since I have limited time to workout. Boy, was I glad I did! This is an EXCELLENT DVD. First off, you can either do one section for concentrated training, or you can do all the sections and get a total (and I mean total!) body workout.

First off the cardio section was amazing. It was hard, but it was also fun and Amy Dixon is a great instructor. She had me begging for mercy about 4-5 minutes in, but she encouraged me to “keep going, it’s only 10 minutes!”

The lower body section clocked in at just under 8 minutes, but you WILL feel it. Amy has you doing a series of lunges, curtsey lunges, and deadlifts with lunges. VERY effective and the pace moves quickly and the moves are compact. Right off, you can feel the muscles you’re working.

The upper body section was UNBELIEVABLE. I was dying–in a good way. And the day after I was sore. She does a bunch of great variations on the usual shoulder exercises, bicep curls, triceps and an awesome pushup variation that I love and you won’t dread doing, yet is effective as well.

The flexibility workout is great as well, and Amy reminds you that this is not a wasted workout–you’re still burning calories, which was encouraging as well.

All in all, this was a great DVD that I probably won’t use everyday but I will use when I want a total body workout in less than 40 mins., or on days when I want to concentrate on certain areas of the body. I’ve never heard of Amy Dixon before but now that I have, I will definitely be buying more of her DVDs. Her cueing is great, she’s funny and makes come comical remarks and is not overly peppy or obnoxious.

Great DVD, if you buy it, you WILL be using it again and again!

Review by Little Miss Cutey:
This is the second workout of Women’s Health that I own. I’m equally as impressed with this as their other new workout, Ultimate Fat Burn. Amy Dixon is a fantastic instructor and she’s fast becoming a favourite of mine.

You get a mix in here – cardio, toning and work for flexibility and balance. You always know what’s coming up because Amy cues so well. She’s encouraging and motivating. The aerbics isn’t too dancy and fancy but it does get your heart rate up and that helps burn fat. Then there is upper toning and lower toning, both of which target lots of muscles in different ways (by changing your body angle, you work more muscles). The stretching at the end is what helps your balance and flexibility and it’s relaxing yet fun. All you need are some dumbbells and for a bonus workout, you get a stability ball segment so you should have one of those on hand too.

It’s not too hard to do, and it’s fun yet effective and I’m so impressed that I’m buying these as birthday and holiday gifts for my friends. I think everyone will find this as enjoying as I do, and if you stick with it, the results will come for sure.

Review by GG:
I’m always looking for something fun and results oriented to keep me motivated. This DVD totally fits the bill on that front. It’s a really interesting and different approach to a total body workout broken up into do-able 10-minute sections that completely make me “feel the burn” AND keep me interested. The instructors do a great job of explaining each exercise clearly and showing alternate moves. Core Fusion seems to be all about small muscle movements and lots of reps so you’re not working with heavy weights. However, you are repeating specific exercises for a longer period than you normally would so by the time you’re done with each 10-min segment you really know you put some work into that muscle group. My personal faves are the ballet inspired chair workouts (amazing for the rear-end) and the arm workouts (awesome tri/bicept routine).

If you like this one, check out Core Fusion Pilates Plus. I bought both DVDs at once and am really pleased. Pilates Plus features the same instructors but with exercises that target the abs. The fact that I not only finished this DVD, but am doing it regularly is a testament in itself as I normally can’t get through a pilates workout (find them boring in many cases) and I hate working my abs. I may be imagining things but I do feel a bit tighter all around after doing these workouts for a little while. Both Core Fusion DVDs have quickly become part of my regular workout rotation.

Review by Khezla Durr:
The first thing that impressed me about this video is its intelligence. It’s a thinking person’s workout. Exercises are strong on authentic Lotte Berk since that was a significant part of this couple’s background, with additions from Pilates, yoga and classical weight training. They do an excellent job of talking you through the exercises, explaining what it will do for your body, thereby keeping you motivated from a positive place, which is so much nicer than the commonly used negative motivational techniques where somebody is screaming you through a breakneck pace. They have you concentrate on how your body is feeling the exercise, stopping momentarily if you need to, then picking it up again – instead of counting monotonous repetitions for you. This approach is so much more pleasant and sensible. The workout is muscle toning, organized as interval training. Interval training has been proven by medical research to be much preferred for promoting fat loss and heart reserve capacity, instead of long term cardio. The pacing promotes the mind-body connection and focus, which reminds me of my ballet training from years ago, or hatha yoga. You have a chance to breathe and think during the exercises, without feeling additional stress due to the exercising. Much appreciated after a hectic day at work.

The video had a warm, intimate, personal trainer feel to it with the husband and wife team demonstrating the exercises together and instructing by means of a voiceover. They alternated showing the advanced version of an exercise and clearly indicated which person you should watch if that’s the level you wanted. Setting is what I call “New Age living room,” lovely décor, warm earthtones, water feature, and subdued lighting, plenty of camera shots from various angles. Music so unobtrusive I didn’t even notice what it was, although there is a music only option in the special features after you get tired of the instructional. My husband really liked the fact that a man was showing the exercises also – funny how the same movement can look a little different on a man. He also liked the fact that it was a husband and wife team instead of a group of women. We’re pressed for time, like to do things together, and this video fills the bill nicely. No more scheduling TV time for mutually exclusive workouts. Top quality production, first class all the way. I think this delightful couple with impressive credentials has set a new standard for fitness videos, and I look forward to more offerings from them in years to come.