Happy Sunday all! In my last blog I wrote that I had ordered some DVDs from Amazon.com and promised reviews once I got them and had a chance to try them out. Well, I got one of them in the mail yesterday and popped it in this morning and gave it a shot. I have to say, I think it was a solid purchase, which was a pleasant surprise. If you remember, I hadn't really planned on buying this DVD and only did so when the I found a combined disc of the other two that I wanted. I had hopes and reservations for this program but in the end, all is well!
First, I was very happy to discover that it wasn't just upper body exercises. There was no description about the program itself on Amazon and I thought it might not have a total body focus. I was wrong. The disc consists of a short but rather good warm-up and then breaks the work out into what Tracy York (the instructor) calls the daily-dozen. Of the 12 exercises, there are 3 lower body, 7 upper body and 2 abdominal exercises. While these numbers might suggest that there is a much higher concentration on the upper body than the lower, after completing the exercises I feel that there is an even focus on all major muscle groups. The 3 lower body exercises all focus on multiple muscle groups while the upper body lifts are predominately for isolated areas. My one caveat is that there are only 2 strictly core exercises which is probably not a sufficient amount. However, there are plenty of programs out there that focus on nothing but the core region and would easily be able to supplement this disc.
Lower Body:
Squat, lunges, plie squat.
Upper Body:
One-arm row, triceps-extension, overhead press, biceps curl, shoulder raises, bent-over fly, push-up
Abdominals:
Crunch, oblique crunch
Each exercise has it's own chapter where she describes not only proper form and technique but she also gives good cues to make sure that while you're doing the exercise you maintain good posture. She does a few slow reps to make sure that the audience feels good with the procedure and then she proceeds with 1 set of 12 reps. After each set, she does a brief stretch of the area being used and then proceeds to the next set. I personally felt that she used good pacing for the sets and I felt very comfortable with her exercise choices.
I was surprised at how good of a work out I felt I got. I will admit, I haven't done a lot of resistance training because I don't really have access to a gym with a good set up for resistance training. The warm-up got my heart going and the exercises were not all overly easy. It's probably more of a sign that I'm out of shape than anything else but I feel like this is a good intensity level for me right now. The leg exercises were especially tiring and I realized that I cannot do a good push-up to save my life. While I liked the DVD, I did have a few concerns. Not so much for myself or for people who have had experience in the past with this type of exercise, but more so for true novices.
One concern is that as she was going through and describing and demonstrating the motions for the lower body exercises she never once said that if you can't get down to the 90 degree knee position that you could stop short. I would like to think that true beginners would have the common sense to stop short if they need to but I don't think that is the kind of assumption a trained professional should make. In the same breath, I was more than halfway through the DVD before she mentioned that if you get really tired or you can no longer do the exercises with good form that it's OK to stop and take a break before you continue on. I was always taught that it should always be quality over quantity when you're working with weights because if you're fatigued and can't maintain good form you are more likely to injure yourself. She eventually stated that you can stop but it should have been said before the first exercise began.
Anyway, I am overall very happy with my $5.41 purchase from Amazon and would recommend it to anybody who is interested in doing some resistance/toning work at home. I won't lie, nothing that I learned in this DVD is new but it's nice to have a program to follow and it's always good to get a refresher course on form and technique.
2 comments:
Wow, you are quite the reviewer. It sounds like it's the type of DVD I need. I rarely do any strength training. It wouldn't hurt to strength and tone my muscles. I guess there's not a lot more I can say on the subject. You gave a very thorough review. I hope your DVDs continue to be useful. Thanks for sharing.
Update:
Mr. DOMS (delayed on-set muscle soreness) is trying to be my best friend this morning. I'm not overly sore but I can definitely feel that I worked my quads, hamstrings and glutes. It's been a while since any workout made me feel a little achy afterwards and I kind of like it! It's a really good reminder that not only did I accomplish some good work but it's a reminder that I need to keep moving forward.
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