I’ve decided to work through some of these fitness DVD’s I’ve been sent to review so I’ll be working through each one with one workout and giving a review of. A One-Day Workout for each DVD.
First up is Sara Holliday’s Postnatal Total Body Toning Workout DVD. While I’m almost 6 months postpartum, I also had some serious health issues off and on that turned out to be major gall-bladder stones that needed emergency surgery. So I’m actually feeling like I’m recovering from postpartum twice! I barely got a chance to start working out after Vivian’s birth and then surgery had me laid up for another 6 weeks. Keep that in mind as you read my review.
Style of Workout in Total Body Toning
The Total Body Toning workout was definitely a workout that leaned more towards the aerobic and strength training style workout vs a Pilates or yoga. It started out with aerobic type warm-ups combining leg movements with arm motions. My kids loved this part and tried to work out along with me. Fun!
The workout moved to some kickboxing style toning exercises. Wow. This is definitely “Total Body Toning” but less than an hour so for more experienced fitness gurus it might not be intense enough. For me, it was honestly too fast in some places. This isn’t Sara’s fault…this is me not having had my body at 100% for a year now. I’ll get there though!
What I Loved About the Workout
I loved that the motions got switched up often enough that you didn’t become bored. About the time you thought, “OK I got this knee-raise-fist-pump-side-step down!” things changed and you were moving on. I also liked it as a basic aerobic exercise and I think on days when it’s too hot to go outside and walk I would like this for getting off my computer-duff and moving a little bit more.
In another two weeks I would not find this workout overly challenging. I think it is a good overall workout. It isn’t overly focused on any one particular area but I felt it most in my gluts and thighs the next morning.
What Was Challenging About the Workout
This is just a personal preference but I prefer the workout tapes where the instructor is actually speaking to you during the workouts. This workout has the voice dubbed over the video recording while the instructor on the screen just smiles as she works out.
I found the change-ups a little fast a couple times and had to halve the number of repetitions in those areas. This could have been just me moving slower although the stretching sequence at the end was a little fast for my preference as well.
Otherwise I think Total Body Toning is a workout I would pull out again for a quick heart-rate-raising workout when I need to squeeze something in after the kids go to bed and I can’t leave the house.
Want to join me on a one-day workout? Pull out a workout DVD you’ve never tried and see how goes! Tweet your review on the hashtag #1dayworkout and add your link below!
