I thought this was going to be an ab workout but it was more frickin fracken cardio. It's probably better, I just did the 13 minutes of Denise Austin, but this is a crazy way to workout. I was all getting into my head to do an intense ab workout and instead I'm jumping around like a fool!
Amy Dixon is the trainer on this one and she is VERY INTENSE. Her HAIR IS UP and SEVERE. She and her lackeys are WEARING BLACK. The music is VERY FAST and POUNDING. But it's great, I have to say. Again, not much of a warmup or cool down but ten minutes, well, probably 11, of great cardio moves. It's hard, I wouldn't recommend it for a beginner or if you haven't done much high impact aerobics, or dance moves. But it's super fun and hard and sweaty and I enjoyed it.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Cardio Fat Blast
This is a ten minute workout that's really 13 minutes. I don't know, either. Anyways, Denise Austin is the trainer and I happen to really like her. She has been doing this for a LONG TIME, like since I was in high school or something. She can be annoying to some, I'm sure, as she is VERY PEPPY and HAPPY, but I just find her really sincere and likable. Likable? Is that right? I mean like-able. That looks like likable to me but whatever.
So! The workout! It's a lot of great cardio moves after a short warmup. They are not going to spend a lot of time on a warmup on a short workout, so you're better off if you go into it a little bit warm. She does a great progressive type thing, where you start out doing lunges, for example, and then add big arms and then add a hop to them. You could also do just the first thing, I suppose, if you are a beginner.
It's short but intense, there are two girls behind her, but they don't say a peep. She basically never stops talking, reminders about "zipping up" your abs, keeping good posture, etc. I like it, I think it's a good short cardio workout.
So! The workout! It's a lot of great cardio moves after a short warmup. They are not going to spend a lot of time on a warmup on a short workout, so you're better off if you go into it a little bit warm. She does a great progressive type thing, where you start out doing lunges, for example, and then add big arms and then add a hop to them. You could also do just the first thing, I suppose, if you are a beginner.
It's short but intense, there are two girls behind her, but they don't say a peep. She basically never stops talking, reminders about "zipping up" your abs, keeping good posture, etc. I like it, I think it's a good short cardio workout.
Monday, November 8, 2010
Bootylicious Buns TWO
Oh good Lord. Not only is this called BOOTYlicious BUNS, but I found out right before it started that, according to Exercise TV, it's the Year of the Tush! Tush is actually among my favorite words for ass. When I was little my mom used to say HINEY which still kind of mortifies me. Anyways.
Stephanie Vitorino is the leader and she right away would like to thank you for making Bootylicious Buns such a success that she had to make TWO of them. Hoo boy. Whatever, she looks great and this is a super hard, enjoyable workout. You only need a mat, you do squats, leg lifts, the usual, up until you do this damned inverted kick which was SUPER HARD. First, you are lying on your side and you do what she calls a "clam", so your legs are bent, stacked on top of one another, and then you open and close. This is not a hard exercise, unless you REALLY think about your glutes.
You know, ever since I started working out at home, it's been hard for me to do things hard enough to count. In the gym, I am used to trainers or teachers calling me out on b.s. and saying I KNOW you can lift more weight than that, etc. I used to take a class in NYC called Killer Body Sculpt and the teacher would, after a while, just come around and replace your weights with heavier ones, once she felt like you needed it. Anyways, a lot of these leaders, like this one and Chris Freytag, talk about doing things right, and not cheating yourself. It's a good reminder to me - as long as I'm working out, why not just do it hard enough? Who am I kidding? Who is benefiting if I don't do the exercises the way that I should? NO ONE. So. Anyways, I like a trainer that does that, that talks about not cheating yourself and this woman does.
It was hard, I had to take a wee break with those damned inverted kicks. Oh! I meant to say, so you do the clams and then you do the inverted kicks and then you do them together, but Stephanie wants to SPICE it up so she calls this move the BOOM BOOM POW. Maybe this makes some people feel better about it, but I am not one of them. Still, an A+ workout, as far as I'm concerned.
Stephanie Vitorino is the leader and she right away would like to thank you for making Bootylicious Buns such a success that she had to make TWO of them. Hoo boy. Whatever, she looks great and this is a super hard, enjoyable workout. You only need a mat, you do squats, leg lifts, the usual, up until you do this damned inverted kick which was SUPER HARD. First, you are lying on your side and you do what she calls a "clam", so your legs are bent, stacked on top of one another, and then you open and close. This is not a hard exercise, unless you REALLY think about your glutes.
You know, ever since I started working out at home, it's been hard for me to do things hard enough to count. In the gym, I am used to trainers or teachers calling me out on b.s. and saying I KNOW you can lift more weight than that, etc. I used to take a class in NYC called Killer Body Sculpt and the teacher would, after a while, just come around and replace your weights with heavier ones, once she felt like you needed it. Anyways, a lot of these leaders, like this one and Chris Freytag, talk about doing things right, and not cheating yourself. It's a good reminder to me - as long as I'm working out, why not just do it hard enough? Who am I kidding? Who is benefiting if I don't do the exercises the way that I should? NO ONE. So. Anyways, I like a trainer that does that, that talks about not cheating yourself and this woman does.
It was hard, I had to take a wee break with those damned inverted kicks. Oh! I meant to say, so you do the clams and then you do the inverted kicks and then you do them together, but Stephanie wants to SPICE it up so she calls this move the BOOM BOOM POW. Maybe this makes some people feel better about it, but I am not one of them. Still, an A+ workout, as far as I'm concerned.
Arms with Attitude
I somewhat hated this workout. Kathy Kaehler is the leader and you're supposed to do every exercise for one minute, but it's SO lame the way that she does it - she has a stopwatch or something and she's always checking it. We can't get a big timer that she can look at in a monitor, Exercise TV? It's very awkward, she has to reset it 10 times, for Pete's sake.
PLUS all you need for this TEN minute workout is weights, a chair, and an exercise ball. The hecka? No one wants to get all that crap together for a TEN minute workout! As it is, I don't have an exercise ball anymore, so I just made do, which wasn't hard. Not that Kathy mentioned that you could POSSIBLY do this workout with all this crap. You only used the chair once, for tricep dips. Lame.
Also, it was not very arm-y. There was only one minute of just arms, the rest were arms and abs, too. Now, maybe I'm just cranky because I just did an ab workout but it seems to me that arms and back might make more sense.
So. This is the first workout on Exercise TV that I absolutely wouldn't bother with again.
PLUS all you need for this TEN minute workout is weights, a chair, and an exercise ball. The hecka? No one wants to get all that crap together for a TEN minute workout! As it is, I don't have an exercise ball anymore, so I just made do, which wasn't hard. Not that Kathy mentioned that you could POSSIBLY do this workout with all this crap. You only used the chair once, for tricep dips. Lame.
Also, it was not very arm-y. There was only one minute of just arms, the rest were arms and abs, too. Now, maybe I'm just cranky because I just did an ab workout but it seems to me that arms and back might make more sense.
So. This is the first workout on Exercise TV that I absolutely wouldn't bother with again.
Abs and Back Workout
Amy Dixon leads this 10 minute workout, I guess actually it's almost 11 minutes. It's hard, I just finished it, but I wanted to write about it and then go to two or three more 10 minute workouts while the girls nap.
It's a great, hard workout. There's almost no warmup, so I'd do a few stretches and deep breaths before you get started. I've been doing stuff all day, so I felt warmed up. You do some ... well - you get on all fours, then you do crunches, by holding out your left arm stretched out in front of you, and your right leg stretched out behind you, then you crunch in in two counts and out in two counts. She leads you through some "superman" type moves on the floor, including "flying", to work the oblique muscles. You do a lot of crunches, some regular and then some obliques with your leg crossed over your opposite knee. You do INCREDIBLY hard (to me) hip lifts (?) where one leg is crossed over the other, and you do a reverse crunch. YOW.
I have had three c-sections and I don't know if that's it or what, but I get these incredibly painful charlie horses, but in my ab muscles, while I workout. It stinks but I figure I should do workouts to get rid of them. Maybe? I find that if I do everything just right, and really, really concentrate on form, it doesn't happen so much. As a result, I find these workouts really hard because I can't laze around with them.
She calls it really well, constantly reminding you to think about form and breathing. Overall I enjoyed it.
It's a great, hard workout. There's almost no warmup, so I'd do a few stretches and deep breaths before you get started. I've been doing stuff all day, so I felt warmed up. You do some ... well - you get on all fours, then you do crunches, by holding out your left arm stretched out in front of you, and your right leg stretched out behind you, then you crunch in in two counts and out in two counts. She leads you through some "superman" type moves on the floor, including "flying", to work the oblique muscles. You do a lot of crunches, some regular and then some obliques with your leg crossed over your opposite knee. You do INCREDIBLY hard (to me) hip lifts (?) where one leg is crossed over the other, and you do a reverse crunch. YOW.
I have had three c-sections and I don't know if that's it or what, but I get these incredibly painful charlie horses, but in my ab muscles, while I workout. It stinks but I figure I should do workouts to get rid of them. Maybe? I find that if I do everything just right, and really, really concentrate on form, it doesn't happen so much. As a result, I find these workouts really hard because I can't laze around with them.
She calls it really well, constantly reminding you to think about form and breathing. Overall I enjoyed it.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
10 Minute Buns and Thighs
I really don't like the word "buns". Or "booty". There really is no good choice, right? I think the best, honestly, would be "ass". Like "work that ass!". Or "move your ass!". Alas, this is Exercise TV and they mostly say "buns" although sometimes they say "booty". Whatever.
This is an excellent 10 minute workout. I've started the 10 minute workouts and I would like to do three at a time, but I am running out of time already this morning so I'm hoping I can get two more in today. This was a nice intro, though. The trainer is Cindy Whitmarsh, who is listed as a "Top Trainer" at Exercise TV. She's perfect, she doesn't say much, she's encouraging but not crazy mean (Jillian) and she's not too goofy (Leslie). She just is there to do the exercises, thankyouverymuch, which is FINE BY ME.
You do a one minute warmup and then nine minutes of squats, and leg lifts and hip raises and it's hard and satisfying. I am still kind of zinging and I finished it several minutes ago. Wouldn't it be smart to do this workout before all my walking workouts? Wouldn't it be nice if I were that smart?
This is an excellent 10 minute workout. I've started the 10 minute workouts and I would like to do three at a time, but I am running out of time already this morning so I'm hoping I can get two more in today. This was a nice intro, though. The trainer is Cindy Whitmarsh, who is listed as a "Top Trainer" at Exercise TV. She's perfect, she doesn't say much, she's encouraging but not crazy mean (Jillian) and she's not too goofy (Leslie). She just is there to do the exercises, thankyouverymuch, which is FINE BY ME.
You do a one minute warmup and then nine minutes of squats, and leg lifts and hip raises and it's hard and satisfying. I am still kind of zinging and I finished it several minutes ago. Wouldn't it be smart to do this workout before all my walking workouts? Wouldn't it be nice if I were that smart?
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Walking Cardio Sculpt
This is my favorite workout under Walking workouts, but it is the least walk-y of all of them. It's an excellent workout, I wish I could do it every day but I am a lazy ass. :)
It's Chris Freytag, who is excellent and cheery but not too cheery. She is also by herself, which of course I prefer. The workout is divided into four walking parts and four sculpting parts. It's almost 50 minutes long.
So you do some marching and out-out-in-ins, some walking up and back, some squats, some jogging, some jump roping, some mambo-ing, some v-steps, ... I feel like I am forgetting something, but basically it's a few minutes of some low impact cardio. Oh, you do some "skater moves", which are wide steps back behind your opposite foot, and some "power knees", which are knee lifts but you sort of hook-punch your opposite arm while you are raising your knee.
The sculpting parts are divided, so you start with squats and lunges, then go to arms and back, then chest and biceps and then abs. They're all excellent, I use five pound weights but on some stuff you double up. You could also do it with no weights, which I actually considered doing today, because it's been so damned long since I've done anything but it was fine. Today I had already done 65 pushups on my toes so I was thinking of NOT doing the pushups but it was fine - now when I do 16 or 32 pushups as part of a workout, it's like nothing.
She calls it great, she is super easy to follow and she reminds you a lot of the right way to breathe, supporting your lower back with your abs, etc. She is very motivating and kind and unlike a certain Biggest Loser meany that we will be talking about soon. She never screams "I want you to feel like you're going to DIE", which is nice.
It's Chris Freytag, who is excellent and cheery but not too cheery. She is also by herself, which of course I prefer. The workout is divided into four walking parts and four sculpting parts. It's almost 50 minutes long.
So you do some marching and out-out-in-ins, some walking up and back, some squats, some jogging, some jump roping, some mambo-ing, some v-steps, ... I feel like I am forgetting something, but basically it's a few minutes of some low impact cardio. Oh, you do some "skater moves", which are wide steps back behind your opposite foot, and some "power knees", which are knee lifts but you sort of hook-punch your opposite arm while you are raising your knee.
The sculpting parts are divided, so you start with squats and lunges, then go to arms and back, then chest and biceps and then abs. They're all excellent, I use five pound weights but on some stuff you double up. You could also do it with no weights, which I actually considered doing today, because it's been so damned long since I've done anything but it was fine. Today I had already done 65 pushups on my toes so I was thinking of NOT doing the pushups but it was fine - now when I do 16 or 32 pushups as part of a workout, it's like nothing.
She calls it great, she is super easy to follow and she reminds you a lot of the right way to breathe, supporting your lower back with your abs, etc. She is very motivating and kind and unlike a certain Biggest Loser meany that we will be talking about soon. She never screams "I want you to feel like you're going to DIE", which is nice.
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