Archive for the ‘Exercise Videos’ Category
Crunch Candlelight Yoga
If you have had a rough day and need something to help lower your stress level, Crunch Candlelight Yoga may just be the ticket for you. I just completed the video and I feel so loose and relaxed that I could just go to sleep. It is about a 40 minute yoga routine that is very easy to follow. There are no hard poses in the video and it is more focused on helping you to relax by stretching and breathing. It will also help if your muscles are feeling tight and you need to stretch them out. They give you modifications to the poses so even if you are a beginner, you will be able to benefit from this video.
Work it Off-Cardio Dance
I have done other video workouts with Tracy York and Michelle Dozois, the instructors in this video, and have always enjoyed them. This did not disappoint. This is a good dance workout with fairly easy to follow steps. The cardio dance portion lasts for about 40 minutes and is a good workout by itself but there is also a 30 minute pilates routine that is like the icing on the cake of this workout. After completing this workout, I felt that I had a good total body workout.
Karen Voight – YogaSculpt
As I do a workout, I like to review it while it is fresh in my mind. I have done this YogaSculpt workout quite a few times and it is still a challenge for me. Karen Voight is a good instructor. She moves through each pose very easily and it is easy to follow. It is just her in the video and there is not really any beginner level instructions although she does tell you on certain poses when you can use a block. It consists of about 25 minutes of standing poses and 20 minutes of matwork, a combination of yoga and pilates, to help strengthen your abs and back. I am not a heavy duty Yoga practitioner but the workout is good and I would recommend it to anyone above a beginner level who wants a good workout.
10 Minute Solutions – Belly, Butt and Thigh Blasters
I consider myself to be at an intermediate level when exercising and this video was tough for me. It is broken down into five 10-minute sections; one focuses on your butt, one on your thighs, one on your midsection, one is a combination of cardio and lower body toning, and the last one is a combination of cardio and strength to help get rid of belly flab. I did the entire workout, but let me tell you it was a challenge. By the end of the workout, I was really feeling it. It is done using a sculpting loop throughout the whole video which adds a lot of resistance to the workout. The sculpting loop comes with the video so you don’t have to purchase it separately. It’s really a good workout. The only downsides I see to the video is there is not enough stretch. I like stretching after a workout and I felt that was lacking and the resistance band is a little distracting. It has a tendency to roll up when working out and I felt like at times I was focusing on keeping it in place.
If you are a beginner and decide you want this video, I would suggest working without the sculpting loop to start. You can always add it when your body is ready for it.
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10 Minute Solutions Pilates on the Ball
I recently purchased a stability ball and a couple of exercise videos to go along with it. The first video I tried is 10 Minute Solutions Pilates on the Ball. Wow, what a good workout for me. I have been doing pilates for a couple of years now and the stability ball adds a good level of intensity to the workout. If you have never worked out with a stability ball, you should try it. It is pretty challenging to keep the ball steady when you are working out on it.
The video contains 5 ten-minute sections that focus on different parts of your body. There is a section just for abs, one for the lower body, one for the upper body, one that combines exercises that work all of your body, and the final one is a stretch. One thing that is great about all of the 10 Minute Solution videos is you can mix and match the sections to focus on the areas you want, or if you only have a few minutes to get a workout in, you can choose just one or two sections.
One suggestion I would make to anyone purchasing a stability or fitness ball is make sure you buy the right size for your body. I didn’t do any research before buying and I didn’t realize there are different sized balls for different sized people. I am 5’2″ and the medium sized ball fits me alright. I would say if you are any taller, you may want to consider a larger ball.
Crunch Cardio Dance Blast
If you like cardio dance than you will probably like this video. The moves are funky and fun. The instructor Maria Forleo is easy to follow as she breaks down each move at half time to begin and then puts the moves together to make a full dance routine. You may not get all the steps the first time around, but should be able to catch on after doing it a couple of times. Once you get all the moves, you can get into the rhythm of the dance and won’t even feel like you are exercising. I have fun with it and work up a pretty good sweat too!
Working out at home Vs. a gym
Once my workout routines became a daily habit, I considered joining a gym. As I weighed the pros – great machines, exercise classes, qualified fitness instructors, and the cons – the effort of finding a babysitter in order to leave the house, worrying about criticism, buying stylish workout clothing, and the financial commitment, I decided it would be more beneficial to me to work out at home using exercise videos.
Over many years I have accumulated an extensive collection of videos covering a wide variety of exercises. This has helped keep me going, because I can choose whatever I feel like doing on any given day and I don’t get bored.
In future posts I will share with you my thoughts on many of the videos I have experienced. I will let you know how they have helped me and maybe it will help you too!
New You in 2010
For a limited time Amazon has some great deals to help you get back into shape after the holidays. Check out the workout DVDs, fitness machines, athletic shoes and more!
Extending My Workout
As time went on and I continued exercising with Bodies in Motion, I found it was getting easier and I was ready to add to my routine. There was another ½ hour show on ESPN after Bodies in Motion that I thought I could try. The TV show was called Basic Training. It was also set in Hawaii but on a military airstrip. At the beginning of the show the host, Ada Janklowicz would land in a Sikorsky helicopter. Ada is Gilad Janklowicz’s sister so I figured since Gilad’s exercise program was so helpful for me hers might be helpful as well. It was a great show and also a great addition to my workout. Ada provided the same motivation I found with Bodies in Motion so I continued this routine for some time. There is a video available based on the show so if you are looking for a good workout video I recommend trying Basic training.
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My First Exercise Program
When I first started exercising routinely back in the ’80s, I found some exercise programs on ESPN. I decided to start there and see if they were something I could handle as a beginner. One of the first shows I exercised to regularly was Gilad’s Bodies in Motion. I can recall it being very challenging but I was determined to get in shape so I kept going. It was a ½ hour show set in Hawaii and the scenery was beautiful as were the people exercising. I figured that was a great place to start so I became a faithful follower. Gilad Janklowicz was the fitness instructor and host of the show. He can really get you motivated and make you feel that you can do anything you put your mind to.
In preparing to write this, I searched for Gilad’s name to make sure I spelled it right and discovered he is still going strong with exercise videos and TV programs on FitTV. Gilad’s website has an abundant amount of information on getting fit. He helped me when I started exercising and he may help you too!
