At the beginning of my fitness journey, I was extremely self conscious about working out in front of people. It's not that I don't play well with others, it's just that I want to do the workouts "right" (whatever that means), plus, I didn't really look the part--I probably still don't, but now I don't care. I tried some of the workout videos from my local library, but none of them quite fit the bill. Then, my sister Clara introduced me to Leslie Sansone's indoor walking DVD's. I tried the video and the simplicity and fun of it had me hooked.
From her bio: Leslie Sansone has always been concerned with fitness. Seeing people struggle and fail on fad diets and exercise regimens, Leslie was determined to make exercise accessible to all. Part of her formula included taking the intimidation away from exercise. That’s where the idea for In-Home Walking™ came in. If she could remove all of the factors that usually turn people off from maintaining a regular exercise program–expensive gym memberships, other gym-goers, strenuous exercise that leads to burnout, fancy work-out clothes, expensive exercise equipment–she knew that she could develop a program that people could stick with.
So, what's the big deal? The big deal is the these videos keep the excuse factor down. Denial and excuses are the modus operandi for us addicts. If it's raining, too cold, too hot, or too...whatever, I can pop the DVD in and get a really good workout without leaving home.
Read a couple of the reviews I've written about her videos here and here.
Here's a sample of one of my favorite one of her videos
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Product: Leslie Sansone’’s Punch Up Your Walk. DVD
with weighted gloves. Where bought/available: Bought at Wal-Mart.
Why: Wanted to
try something new from the author.
I bought this
video more than a year ago, but never really got into it until now.As in my first review of one of Leslie
Sansone’s products, I wanted a simple alternate workout, plus the weighted
punch gloves caught my eye.I took a
cardio kickboxing class ages ago and liked it, so I thought this would be
something like it.Here’s hoping...
Rating (on a
scale of 1-4 smileys):J
The Good:
The walking moves in this video are similar to the Walk Away the Pounds Express video, but not identical. The added punch moves add to the intensity.
The gloves themselves:
these gloves are about 1 pound each, so they aren’t too light or too
heavy.She does give the warning not to
fling your arms and risk injury.
The author’s attitude:
I don’t call her “Miss Perky” for nothing.
The Bad:
The chatter: I know, I
know.In my last review I said that the
chatter was annoying, but not a distraction.Well, this time it is a total distraction.She yacks and giggles so much through this
video that she doesn’t give instructions to change moves in time.In her other video, she yammered, but still
gave verbal cues of what the next move was and when to start and stop it (for
the most part).You know, “do
such-and-such move in 4-3-2-1.Yackety,
yack, yack, yack.Giggle, giggle,
giggle.”Not so for this one.
The music: To quote
comedian Greg Proops, “The music sounds like it was written by an
appliance.”Sorry, but y’all know I’m
music sensitive.
It’s not four miles:
She starts the stretches before the last mile is over (plus she doesn’t tell
you that they are starting).
I cannot recommend this video.It was thoroughly
annoying, and clumsily done.I do like
the punch gloves, so I use them on her “stretchie band” workouts on the Walk
Away the Pounds Express Video.
If
any of you have used this DVD, tell me what you think.
Product:Leslie
Sansone’s Walk Away the Pounds Express.DVD with stretchie band.
Where bought/available:Bought at Wal-Mart, also available here from Amazon.com
Why:Recommended to
me by my sister, Clara
I bought this video a couple of years ago because I liked
the idea of an inexpensive way to get fit at home.Plus, I had been a member at a gym before and
got really tired of paying a monthly fee to feel like I didn’t belong.Yes, fat people DO belong in a gym…until
skinny people show up and give you the "go to the bad place" look to which I reply…well, never
mind.Anyway, so I bought the DVD and
took it home to watch it before I tried it.The moves seemed simple enough and the tone of the video was
uplifting.So, I tried the first mile
and got through it unscathed; tired but unscathed.I eventually worked up to all the miles of
the first workout or all four miles of the second workout.Here are my findings.But first a little about Leslie (or as I call
her “Miss Perky”).
From her bio:Leslie Sansone has always been concerned with fitness.
Seeing people struggle and fail on fad diets and exercise regimens, Leslie was
determined to make exercise accessible to all. Part of her formula included
taking the intimidation away from exercise. That’s where the idea for In-Home
Walking™ came in. If she could remove all of the factors that usually turn
people off from maintaining a regular exercise program–expensive gym
memberships, other gym-goers, strenuous exercise that leads to burnout, fancy
work-out clothes, expensive exercise equipment–she knew that she could develop
a program that people could stick with.
Rating (on a
scale of 1-4 smileys): JJJ + 1/2
The Good:
1.Simplicity:the
moves are not extremely difficult, but they do get the job done.
2.Adaptability:If
a move is too advanced, she does give the option of simply marching in
place.Also, the intensity of the moves
can be adapted to your fitness level.
3.Real people:Everyone in the video is not bone thin.There was even one 70+year old
man working out in the video. (A couple more cute guys around my age in the mix
wouldn’t have hurt, but I digress).
4.Variety:The
moves were varied (especially in the four mile walk) and the music changed as
the workout progressed.Plus, there were
two workouts on this one video.
5.Economical:This
video wasn’t expensive (around $10) and is even cheaper now on Amazon.com.
6.Music:The music
didn’t sound like it was “written by an appliance.” (got that one from Greg
Proops, but it so describes some music.But you’ll hear more about that when I talk about podrunner)
The Bad:
1.The chatter:OK,
I know it’s an instructional video, but this chick never shuts up!Her constant chatter sometimes gets in the
way of the instruction and she loses count or lets a move go on too long.Her Aflac duck laugh grates my nerves, but it
doesn’t detract from the actual workout.
2.Rhythm Nation:This may just be a personal problem, but on both workouts, she uses a
piece of music in which the tempo and emphasis (musicians call them accent
notes) changes constantly.In other
words, because I am a band nerd (BLOW SOUTHERNERS) I start every move on my
left foot; easy to do because all the music is in four beats.The section that changes makes that
impossible.Most people won’t be
bothered by this, but it aggravates the stew out of me (where’s ONE?).
3.The Stretchie Band:I’m glad that the band came with the thing, but they only use it for a
few minutes in the 3 mile workout and not at all in the 4 mile.Also, she asks you to use the band while you
march (?!)This takes too much
concentration and coordination, so I either just do the band without the
marching, or do the marching without the band.She needed more options for using it.
4.A Technical Nit Pick:Most DVD’s contain index marks or chapters to help you find a specific
place in the film.The marks are at the
beginning of the workout and the stretch at the end on both workouts.I think there should be chapters at each mile
like there are on her newer videos.
So, all in all, this is a very good video for beginners and
can be made very intense for the more advanced. If you are a beginner, I would recommend
gradually working up to all the miles.For
advanced users, up the intensity.This
would also make a great rainy day workout. So, try it and let me know what you think.
