User Ratings and Reviews
3 Stars A little of everything, but not enough of it all
I have been practising yoga for several years, and purchased this DVD with the hope that I could combine the use of weights with the stretching and strengthing of yoga.
What I found was…yeah, okay.
While I found the premise of the use of weights a good one, and plan to continue using weights with my other tapes, I would hesitate to recommend this DVD on a few points.
First, if you have rotator cuff/shoulder problems, stay away. While the movements are all slow and steady, even a slight handweight would place undue strain on your shoulders, in particular if you are not too flexible in the upper body region. I have pretty strong and flexible arms, and by the end of the workout my shoulders were hurting (hurting:bad; sore:okay)Some of the standing positions are pretty much more for intermediate/advanced yogis, and there is very little in the way of alternate positions. Don’t let the ‘Core’ thing fool you; this is an upperbody workout. There is very little in the way of core exercises outside of a modified Boat Pose, and the standing exercises seem to just exist so that you would not hit the floor with your weights.
On the plus side; it is close to an hour workout. By the end, I WAS sweating, though the movements were slow and therefore I was not out of breath. I used my heart rate monitor on this, and at least for me, it showed that I used close to 300 calories, have of them at the ‘low target heartrate (fat-burning) rate. Unlike some of the other reviewers, I did not have a problem with the instructor’s voice (but then again, I also don’t find Brian Kest’s irritating, either).
This is a good back-up tape for when you don’t want to use your typical few favorites, but again, I would either do the exercises with little to no weights to save your shoulders, or use it to supplement a cardio or core workout.
5 Stars Wow…First Time Doing Yoga and I love It!
I bought this video after reading everyone else’s reviews. My main goal is to get lean and not bulk up my muscles. I have done everything from the Biggest Loser videos to Taebo and they all leave me feeling tired and sore. This video however excercises more muscles than Taebo and makes me feel so relaxed after it’s done it’s amazing!
The yoga poses really stretch your muscles and the added weights really challenge your strength. I think this exercise is the best I’ve done and I would highly recommend it for someone that want’s to challenge all muscles and not feel exhuasted after it’s done.
4 Stars Not your “usual” yoga
I am not generally a fan of yoga, but recognize the benefits of core strengthening and flexibility. This DVD did not disappoint! While most yoga DVD’s leave me either befuddled and confused about which foot and hand goes where, or in a fit of giggles over the sappy music and the seriousness in which the leaders seem to take themselves…this DVD was very clear and straight forward. I really appreciated the instructor’s concise, to the point instructions…no flowery image inducing nonsense…but reminders to inhale and exhale with the movements. He also mentions specific muscles and targets where you should feel the movements so you know immediately if you are doing it correctly. There are also frequent reminders to keep your core muscles engaged. The balancing poses are challenging…but not impossible. And as other reviewers mentioned, there are 3 levels so you can increase or decrease the challenge as needed. I haven’t even done the workout with weights yet…figuring that it would be better to work on correctly achieving the positions/movements…and it is still challenging. If you are looking for a more “traditional” trance-like yoga workout, you may want to look elsewhere. But if you want a challenging core body workout with the benefits of upper body toning, check this out!
5 Stars A good no-frills workout!
This is the first exercise video I found that I really like. I run, and needed something to work my upper body. So many of them are too cutesy and I generally find the perky instructors annoying rather than motivating. This is much more my speed - basic, straightforward and simply a good work out. I like that you can easily see the modifications with the beginner, intermediate and advance poses shown. Doing the different sequences keeps me varying my routine. It’s also nice that I can just do one sequence on a day where I am pressed for time.
2 Stars Not yoga
I bought this because I thought it would be challenging, but have only used it twice. It’s just not fun and when I am looking for power yoga I will still go to my old standby Baron Baptiste. This instructor has no personality and is just not enjoyable to follow.