Rating: Summary: Soothing and Strenuous Review: This is the best pregnancy workout I've tried yet. So many of them have you working on your back or doing other things that are dangerous for moms to be. The main instructor is great and the video is easy to follow and very soothing. The other thing that's great about this one is that the modifications for different trimesters are done by the three instructors throughout the video- so you can use it from the moment you find out you're pregnant until delivery- and you don't have to fast forward to the trimester your in- it's all right there throughout. I'd recommend this to anyone looking for a great workout that's SAFE!
Rating: Summary: Great for stretching, toning muscles, safe prenatal exercise Review: This is the second pregnancy dvd that I've ordered, and it is by far the best. If you're looking for an aerobic workout, you won't get one here. What you will get is a yoga, pilates, mild weight session that really helps to stretch and strengthen muscles and feel more in tune with your body. I found it helpful to have 3 models to follow, one doing more strenuous stretches for the 1st and 2nd trimester folks and the other two doing modifications of the same stretches for 3rd trimester. I have personally found yoga to be boring, but this tape moves quickly enough to keep my interest and incoporate pilates moves to make it go quickly and be relaxing at the same time. Of course, you will need to "invest" in some equipment to get the most from the workout; you'll need a stool or chair, 2 2lb. weights, a small ball, and a pole about 4 ft. high for some of the stretches. Sometimes I find that I really need to watch the screen to follow Jennifer Gianni's instructions. Unfortunately, she does not mirror what you are doing (she says, "stretch to the right" and she does, but it looks as though she's stretching to the left from my perspective), but I believe that in time I'll get used to the workout and won't have to depend so much on visual prompts. Overall, I am happy that I spent the money on this dvd. I will probably keep on watching after my delivery. This exercise, combined with a brisk daily walk and some other areobic activities make me feel as though I'll be ready when it's time for labor!
Rating: Summary: Very little challenge for women who are active pre-pregnancy Review: This workout has some great stretching but was not a challenge for someone who is newly pregnant and already active. I was looking for something that would make me sweat or really tone muscles enough that I could feel a difference.I would recommend this workout for women in their third trimester or women who did not workout before pregnancy.
Rating: Summary: 50/50 Review: While I did like some of the exercises, I wouldn't recommend this for a beginner as I don't think she instructs to that level. You really need to know what you're doing or you might do some poses incorrectly. I felt like the breathing was backwards to what my yoga teachers normally teach, which was strange.
I was really disappointed that she wasn't backed up with other pregnant ladies. Who wants to be 8 months pregnant watching skinny minnies doing the exercises? There are some good exercises in there though.
I would say get a couple of other DVDs and mix it up. I've got FitMama and ZenMama.
Just for reference I've done yoga for around 7 years and have exercised regularly most of my life.
Rating: Summary: Needs more challenge Review: While this DVD was great for stretching, I did not feel it was that challenging of a workout. I am by no means an athlete, but I do stay in shape and I just didn't feel like I got a great workout from this video. That being said, it probably IS a good workout for pregnancy, when you should not be pushing yourself as hard. I just have a hard time when I don't break a sweat!
Rating: Summary: Wow. This is working for me. . . Review: Wow. What a great workout. It's so nice to have the person on the screen actually BE PREGNANT. This workout puts safety first, but it's still energizing and strenuous. The greatest part is that the main lead does all of the modifications for her trimester, but there are two others who do modifications for the other two trimesters. So you don't have to watch a certain section for your workout- it's all right there.
I feel energized and RELAXED after this workout. It's also helped tremendously with my back pain. I highly recommend this video to anyone who is serious about staying in shape and being SAFE during their pregnancy.
|