I (Katie) am really rubbish at motivating myself to work out by myself so I love going to classes – yoga, Pilates, Barre Core…anything really. Now I am more shall we say ‘house bound’ I am less able to make time for classes alongside swimming and have had to find out other ways to work out at home – workout DVDs. Cheesy and 80s I know but better than no exercise at all!
Here is a rundown of some of my favourites.
Davina my three 30 minutes workouts
This is probably the DVD I have used the most. As you can probably guess from the title it has a three 30 minute workouts. This is the perfect length of time for home workouts as it is long enough to work up a sweat but you don’t get too bored. The first session is called pump. It is a combination of cardio intervals, body weight exercises (squats, lunges etc.) and a bit of core. This is my favourite of the three and it definitely always makes me feel like I have had a work out. The second session is called cardio box. This is a combination of skipping internals with boxing exercises. It is more cardio than the pump workout and overall probably isn’t as demanding but I do still work up quite a sweat. The third session is core stability. This is a pretty gentle core session based on Pilates principles.
Overall a good buy I think! Some of the commentary from Davina and her trainers can get on your nerves a bit when you have heard it 50 times but there is a “mostly music” option for when you are familiar with the workouts.
The pump work out includes a hand weight option.
Jillian Michaels Yoga Meltdown
I have only purchased this recently purchased this and I love it! It mixes up traditional yoga poses with body weight training. You ‘rep out’ pose between 5 and 10 times and then hold it for 15 seconds. For example, you might do some chair squats and the hold the position in chair. As Jillian says this workout is ‘designed to make you ripped and melt away the pounds’. Unfortunately any pounds I melt away I pretty soon put back on through cake consumption so I am at best holding steady.
There are two workouts on the DVD each of which are 30 minutes. You are advised to start with level 1 and then progress to level 2 when you are more experienced. I was going to start with level 2 as my yoga experience had gone to my head but I am glad I did start with level 1. It still gives a good work out and some of the poses are simpler which is good while you are getting used to the workout concept. There are some moves in level 2 (crow and reverse push up I am talking about you) which I don’t think I will ever be able to do!
Jillian Michaels Yoga Inferno
This is Jillian’s follow-up to Yoga Meltdown and is a slightly jazzier version – to start with it is filmed in the desert rather than a studio! The concept is the same a mix of yoga and body weight exercises with two 30 minute workouts which advance in difficulty. I don’t enjoy this one as much as Yoga Meltdown as it more aerobic rather than power focused although it is probably a harder workout overall.
Davina Fit in 15
The DVD has four separate work out segments of 15 minutes each with a different focus. There is a cardio section, one for legs, another for arms and finally a core one. The concept is that you mix and match the workout depending on what you want to do that day and how much time you have. For example, you might do cardio and core one day and arms and legs the next. Each segment builds in intensity and therefore includes the relevant warm-up. There is also a c.5 minute stretch and chill out segment at the end which you are recommended to do at the end of each work out.
The workouts are reasonably challenging and I do like the mix and match elements. You can do two or three (or even four) depending on how much time you have that day.
You need hand weights for this DVD.
Davina pre and post pregnancy workout
I didn’t use the pre-pregnancy DVD but I did the post pregnancy workout quite a few times after the baby was born. It is a really great gentle introduction to exercising again after having the baby. It has light cardio sections (no jumping!) and some arms, legs and core work. After a month or so I felt like I had moved on and needed something a bit more challenging but it was great to start with. My only comment would be that the work out is 45 – 50 minutes which is quite long for when you have a new born baby!
Davina the Power of 3
This workout consisting of three sections: legs, arms and core. In my view it is definitely the toughest of the Davina DVDs. In total the work out is around 50 minutes which for me is not as practical for day to day use but it is definitely good for when you have a bit more time on your hands and want to work hard!
The Tracy Anderson Method – Post Pregnancy Workout
Tracy Anderson is famous as being the trainer to celebrities such as Madonna and Gwyneth Paltrow. The ‘method’ is her general exercise concept and she has a variety of DVDs. This workout is specifically for post pregnancy and it focuses mainly on building your core strength again but also includes some legs and arms exercises as well. This work out is ROCK HARD. Now I like to think that my core strength is above average but even a year after having had the baby I still struggle with a number of these exercises. I wouldn’t recommend trying this DVD until you are certain your stomach muscles are back together and you are ready to step things up to the next level of exercise. It really does work though!
10 minute solutions – the Pilates collection
10 minute solutions were recommended to me by my sister. They come in a range of different forms but I have the Pilates collection. There are four separate DVDs in this box and each DVD has 5 10 minute workout segments. This means you can mix and match the segments to create your workout. There is event an option on the DVD to run segments together so you don’t have to fiddle around with the remote. I have only done the ‘total body workout’ so far but it is pretty tough and I enjoyed it.
TEAM Mermaids 