Review: Workout DVD day 2

I've come to the realization that doing ten workout DVDs is going to take longer than seven days and that I need more cardio than they have to offer. Soooo...my goal now is to get to them all by the end of the month. I'd make this goal sooner, but I'll be out of town for a few days next week, and my weekends this month are jam-packed. 

Yesterday I worked on pieces of two different DVDs and today I am just sore, but I don't really feel like I've gotten enough heart-pumping goodness. Since I'm pretty sore, I think the best thing for me to do is get to the gym today and get in a good amount of cardio and stretch out the sore muscles instead of just getting more sore doing another DVD, but not getting my heartbeat up. So, that's today's plan. Onto the reviews:

This is the one that I started on Monday and finished up yesterday. There are three main sections: Cardio, toning, and core.

Cardio: As with most of the DVDs it's a bit too light on the cardio. A good portion of it is mimicking sports: speedskating, tennis, and swimming. I found this part pretty lame and the boxing portion is pretty useless.

Toning: This section was pretty good. The first set of moves is hard on the hips. My left one kept popping and today it's sore (not in a good way). There are more deadlifts, which the trainer (Amy Dixon), refers to as "the tight jean shimmy". I did like this toning section. I could have used a lot more upper body work, though.

Core: I loathe core exercises and I actually like this one. I feel like it's really targeting my lower abs, which (let's face it), is where we really want to feel the burn. One of the other ladies does the revised versions of the core exercises for people (like me) with lower back issues. Not too bad, really.

My rating:
(If the cardio was better, this rating would jump)


The next DVD I partook in was:

I actually kind of like this one. There are three cardio sections: Levels 1-3. Bob does level 1, Jillian does level 2, and that other girl does level 3.

Bob's level 1 is my favorite. It's 20 minutes long and I definitely got my heart rate up. It utilizes your upper and lower body, and some of the moves require weights. I only wished it was longer.

Jillian's level 2 is just "ehh". It's only ten minutes long and she loses track of what she's supposed to be telling the contestants to do several times. She yells to "keep moving," but you end up standing there waiting for her to make up her mind. For a 10-minute segment, you'd think her instruction should be much better.

"The other girl"'s level 3 (You'd think I'd learn her name. I haven't), is only ok as well. It's also only ten minutes long and the first 2.25 minutes you're just doing the bob-and-weave. I'd rather do two minutes of jump squats; at least those don't hurt my hips. The rest of the moves are actually pretty good, with lots of punching and kicking.

Overall rating:

(I've made a mental note to just do levels 1 and 3 and skip Jillian's).



Today's photo:

I'm feeling cynical today. Does it show?