Saundra

10 Minutes Solution Knockout Body features trainer Jessica Smith. The workout comes with 2 - one lbs gloves that add intensity to the workout. The five sections in this 10 minutes solution workout are: Knockout Body Blast - 5 stars Fat Attack - 3 stars Fierce and Fabulous Abs - 4 stars Kickbox Cross Train- 5 stars Ultimate Upper Body - 3 stars My favorite sections were Kickbox Cross Train and Knockout Body Blast. Kickbox Cross Train really allowed you to work on your form and the combos in Knockout Body Blast were fun. The other three sections were okay. The Ultimate Upper Body sections does include pushups. I thought Fat Attack was a bit generic but Fierce and Fabulous Abs was good. This is the first time I have done a workout led by Jessica Smith and I thought she was a good lead. I didn't have any problem following her cueing and her form was precise. I give this workout 4 out 5 stars.

Low Max is not my favorite Cathe Step tape. It is a 70 minute workout that consist of seven cycles alternating a step combo routine with low impact blast. The low impact blast are leg intensifiers and thus really work the legs. Because of all the leg work you get with this workout, I would not recommend doing Low Max on a day that you are also working the lower body. Doing this workout again, reminded me of when I did this workout many years ago and I had trouble picking up some of the step combos. Nowadays Cathe step combos are some of the easiest combos for me to learn. What I disliked most about this workout was all the sculpt 7's and even sculpt 15. Cathe states they "are not filler moves" and that "we are working them to our advantage". I personally felt the move was overused. I am lukewarm on this workout. It is not my first choice of dvds to pull out when deciding to do a Cathe Step workout. I give it 3 stars out of 5.

Pyramid lower & upper body is one of my favorite Cathe Strength tapes. They are no nonsense to the point workouts and if you are using the right weights they are tough. These two workouts come on one DVD. These two workouts use the full pyramid system in which you will: - start with your lightest weight and do 12 reps - for the next set you will increase your weight and decrease your reps to 10 - the third set has you increasing your weight again and decreasing your reps to 8 - the fourth set you repeat what you did in set 2 - the fifth set you repeat what you did in set 1 That is 5 sets!! Pyramid Lower Body is 49.5 minutes in length and it is broken up into two sections. The standing sections uses the pyramid system and the floor section uses the stability as a prop to increase intensity. During the standing section you will do the following exercises : leg press, static lunge, squats, plie squats, and dead lifts. The floor sections focuses a lot on the hamstrings, inner and ou...

First the humidity and then came the rain. Super humid today. The air was so thick out this morning, but it wasn't hot. 3/4 of a way through my route, the rain came, but it wasn't too heavy. I actually don't mind running in the rain unless it is pouring buckets. The rain lifted the humidity somewhat. So all in all, I had a decent run. Time completed 37:05:12

The Full Workout from Core Rhythms is approximately 38 minutes long and features a rather lengthy warmup, the Merengue, the Samba, and a rhumba cooldown. Even though the warmup was lengthy, it didn't bother me because I thought it was a good way to practice and perfect some of the Core Rhythm Moves. I am really a big fan of the Core Rhythm workouts. I like how every movement in synchronize to the beat of the music and Jaana and Julia are infectious. I really work up a good sweat with these workouts. The workouts are very good for practicing body control. 4 1/2 out of 5 stars.

10 Minute Solution Dance Your Body Thin includes 5 ten minute workouts. And, like most 10 Minute Solution workouts, I like some sections better than others. The different sections are: - Smooth & Sexy Moves (cardio) 3 stars - Dance Toner (toning) 5 stars - Get Fit Club Mix (cardio) 4 stars - Cardio Dance Party (cardio) 4 stars - Ballet Sculpt (toning) 3 stars My favorite sections in this workout was Dance Toner and Ballet Sculpt. I thought Smooth and Sexy Moves was generic, but the other two cardio workouts mixed it up pretty well. The workout is led by Andrea Leigh Rogers and I thought she cued pretty well. I didn't have any trouble picking up the sets. Also she established and followed a set pattern throughout. So once you did the first section, you are pretty much able to anticipate the order of the moves in the next section. This workout using a toning belt that goes around your waist and hip area. It is approximately two pounds. I wore it but didn't really feel it was ...

FitPrime Floor Burn features Susan Harris. It is a 45 minute, mostly lower body workout, and mostly done on the floor. This workout is a nice change up from doing lunges and squats. Susan does do some squats to warm you up, but they don't appear anywhere else in the workout. FitPrime is a series that uses non-dominate training. That means you work your weaker side first. Susan does about 6 to 7 exercise on one side (really fatiguing the muscle) before she switches to the other side. The workout does includes two sets of pushups; and yoga and pilates are used throughout the workout to work and stretch the lower body. This workout was solid. I wasn't "in love" with it. One thing I did note is that I didn't notice the music. Music is ususally one of the first things I notice about an Anna Benson workout. 3 out of 5 stars.

Cathe has announced that the rehearsals for her upcoming new series STS Shock Cardio have begun. http://cathe.com/shock-cardio-rehearsals-have-begun I am so happy to hear this. With all the talk of Shaun T's Insanity and the upcoming Rev Abs, I was tempted to test those out until I read Cathe's announcement. STS Shock Cardio will be my Insanity. I am most looking forward to the MMA workouts. For those of you haven't hear of STS Shock Cardio, it is an 11 workout - cardio based exercise system from the great Cathe Friedrich. The workouts in this system should include: Shock Cardio HiiT (Higher Intensity Interval Training) Three 20 - 30 minute workouts. Shock Cardio MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) Four 20 to 50 minutes workouts Shock Cardio Step - 2 step workouts Shock Cardio Circuit - 2 Circuit style workouts Click on the link for a detail description of each workout. http://cathe.com/shock-cardio/ I am so looking forward to these.

I found out about this item when I attended a Weight Watcher meetings and as I like almonds, I decided to give them a try. My life is all about convenience so I love the fact that these were already pre-packaged. The Blue Diamond Almonds Whole Natural 100 Calories snack have become one of my favorite snacks. If you follow Weight Watchers it is 2pts per bag. Nutrition wise you are looking at 100 Calories, 9 Total Fat grams, 0 Sodium, 3 total carbs (that includes 1 sugar and 2 Fiber) and 4 grams of protein. The drawback is one being able to find the item. I get the item from my Local Giant Grocery store and the other drawback is they are expensive. It cost $3.79 per box at Giant. Giant raise their prices on this item. When I first started buying them they were $3.49 per box. There are seven bags per box. If you like Almonds, I think these are excellent. If you are watching your Weight, these are a great snack alternative. If you don't like buying the big bag and counting out the corr...

The FIRM's Ultimate Calorie Blaster is a TransFIRMer workout. It is led by Stephanie Huckabee and is approximately 45 minutes in length. Ultimate Calorie Blaster is a cardio workout that does include the use of light weights to keep the heart rate up. Stephanie takes you through a series of cardio segments that include step work, low impact floor aerobics, incline step work and tall box climbs. In fact there are two sets of Tall Box Climbs, one done in the horizontal position and one done in the vertical position. This is definately the most challenging part of the whole workout. Take these two segments out and the workout would not be as intense. Stephanie concludes the workout with some plank work for the core region. Solid workout. As mentioned before about the TransFIRMer it is a bit cumbersome to move the equipment in and out of the workspace, but as this is a cardio workout, you can look at it as being part of the workout. 3 1/2 out of 5 stars.

Supercharged Sculpting is one of the TransFIRMer workouts by The FIRM. It is a solid 35 minute weight workout led by Pam Cauthen Meriwether. It uses the TransFIRMer which is a two piece box system. One piece is six inches and the other eight. You can use the TransFIRMer in 5 different position including an incline position. The workout is broken down as follows: -warmup -lower body set -upper body set -core -lower body set -upper body set -abdominals -cooldown. One of the lower body sets does include Tall Box Climbs. This is when the TRansFIRMer is in the 14 inch (full height) position. You can expect the heart rate to rise with this move. All in all, I like this workout. The workout gets in, does it's job and gets out. The TransFIRMer is a bit cumbersome to move in and out of the workspace. Pam's cueing is excellent. I give it 3 1/2 out of 5 stars.

From the Core Rhythms Dance Exercise Program the first series is Quick Workout. A 20 minute workout that features a warm-up, the Merengue, Samba and cool down. This was a great short workout. The music is fantastic and I was sweating up a storm. Jaana and Julia break the workout into half count moves, then moves to single count and then to double time. By double time you are shaking and shimming. These moves can be quite fast. A couple of times I got lost in the movement. What I find the most challenging about these workouts is keeping my arms up. My arms are always the first to fatigue because you almost always are holding them up in a dancer's posture. My only complaint comes from the Merengue section where Julia doesn't equally balance out both the left and right sides. You do more reps/sets on the left than you do on the right, but that is relatively minor. 4 stars out of 5.

From the Zumba Fitness Total Body Transformation System Set is my favorite of the workouts, Zumba Sculpt & Tone . This is the second time I have done this workout and I really like it. I think the music in this DVD is the best out of all the DVDs. Zumba Fitness Sculpt & Tone is led by Pedro (the creator) and Tonya. This workout uses the Zumba Toning Sticks. They are fun but IMO they aren't doing much for sculpting. I don't even think they are 1lb. The workout is broken down into different Rhythm and within each Rhythm, you are working a specific body part. The different sections are: - hip hop warmup - cumbia rhythm working bicep & tricep - salsa rhythm working shoulders - belly dancing working core and back - samba working obliques, lunges, (cardio intensifier) - flamenco working lower body - reggaeton working a little bit of everything - African Beats (cardio intensifier) - Zumba cooldown My favorite part was the flamenco style rhythm and while the workout is t...

Felt great out there this morning. I didn't get out of the house until 8am but that was okay because there wasn't much humidity. Today's time 37:20:60.

So I am trolling the internet. Checking out sites that I hadn't been to in awhile and I went over to visit my old haunt Fitness Favorites. Anna has been posting there quite a lot. I think that is good. I really like when people support their own forums. Anyway, Anna has announced her new re-releases. We will be getting Maximum Cardio, Tough Tape, and Sculpting with Weights in August. In September, we will be getting Body Scupting Basic and Time Crunch Workout. Now of the five mentioned, I only pre-order three (TT, BSB, & TCW). I will probably go back and get the other two eventually. While going through Anna's post, I was happy to read that the re-releases to DVD is a long term project and their are a total of 48 that can be converted to chaptered DVDs. Anna has asked us to email her out top 6 choices to fitnessfavorites@mindspring.com . So what are my top six? Well, definately Volume 5 Abs, Buns, Thigh Workout with LaReine Chabut. Then after that I am thinking Card...

Short but tough!. This lower body sculpt program is 24 minutes in length and it is led by Jaana Kunitz. Jaana uses the Paso Doble rhythm to sculpt your lower body. Specifically she does a series of squats, dips, side leg raises, calf raises, lunges and back leg raises - all with a dance flair. Most of the exercises were done twice through and well before the end of the second set, I was feeling the burn. I give this workout 4 out of 5 stars.

From The Ground Up Tuesday's workout was FitPrime From The Ground Up. This workout is led by Heidi Tanner. It is mostly a heavy weight workout with light cardio burst. Some may call it a Cardio Sculpt workout. Many of the cardio sections are kickbox based. This workout focuses on Non-Dominant training. This means you work your weaker side first. Heidi does the whole workout without shoes. Along with weights, the workout uses the tall steps and it clocks in at around 53 minutes. I really liked this workout. I found it to be solid. I give it 4 out of 5 stars. CrunchTime FitPrime Crunch Time was my Wednesday workout. This workout is led by Susan Harris. I think Susan is one of the all time great instructors. This workout can also be classified as cardio sculpt and it includes a yoga stretch section. It focuses on non-dominant training and uses light and heavy weights and the tall step. The workout moved really fast and the 45 minute duration was over before I knew it. I r...

Steamin Cardio This is also my second time doing this workout. I have had the Original FitPrime workouts for years but never got around to doing them until last October. FitPrime Steamin Cardio is an Anna Benson workout and it is led by Kelsie Daniels. Kelsie is absolutely fantastic in this workout. She is so precise in her cueing and in how she performs each exercise. The music is absolute devine and really propels the workout. It is music that you can get really involved with. Most of the workout is synchronize to the music. Steamin Cardio uses the tall step and light weight in some segments. Other segments, include sports drill, kickboxing, latin flavor dancing. The workout has a short core and ab workout. I really love this workout and I am giving it 5 out of 5 stars. Running time is approximately 52 minutes.

This is my second time doing this workout. The first time I did BodyStrikes was about 8 maybe 9 months ago. I remember really liking this workout the first time I did it and the second time doing it was no different. Once you get pass the warmup and the hundred or so (I am exaggerating) dip lunges that Ilaria has you do the workout becomes super fun. There were a lot of dip lunges in the beginning. Ilaria teaches your four combinations that are kickbox based. As you progress through each combination, you go back and combine the combinations that you learned before. So after you learn combination 2, your are doing combos 1 and 2, after you learn combination 3, you are doing combos 1,2, & 3 and the same for four. Combinations are done on the right side and then the left. Within the combinations, you will find your self doing squats, lunges, front kicks, side kicks, hip flexor and knee lifts. These moves are very fluid and move somewhat quickly. By the end of the workout, you have hit...

Okay my Sunday run did not go as plan. Started off, I put on the wrong shoes. I grabbed my crosstrainers instead of my running shoes. Wasn't too terribly a big deal except for the fact that my crosstrainers hadn't until that point touch outside pavement. I like to keep the shoes I used for workout videos just for workout videos. So it was humid, and I was out the door at 730am and it was humid. So, I am running - off in my own world - and the next thing I hear is this siren going off. My first thought - it is too early in the morning for this - then I see a car fly past me. Now where I live, the speed limit is 25 mph. The person in that car was probably going 50. Shortly after this car flys by. The police car flys by (hence the siren). Okay no big deal, I am back in my own world. Then I hear another siren. And another siren. And another siren. When I get to the cross section of the street. I see lots more police cars, ambulances, fire trucks and people milling about....

I try to run 3 miles every Sunday morning; well except for in the winter months. Today's run clock in at 37:49:35. I really need to work on my speed. Although, I am improving. Last week's run clock in at 38:05:81.

I don't really care for hot summers. The DAWG days of summer are usually filled with hot temperatures, high humidity, hazy skys and stinky air. However, today was none of those. It was absolutely a gorgeaous day in Central Maryland and even more important than that today is my country's Independence Day. Now Independence day is usually mark by barbecues, family gatherings, blockbuster releases and fireworks. In fact, the people in my neighborhood have been setting off firecrackers since last week. If Igo by past years, they will be setting them off until next week as well. Anyway the 4th of July is our National Day. It is the day that the Declaration of Independence came into existence. I love being an American. I love having the freedom to choose to be what I want and to do what I do. Yes, I there are things that can be improved, but overall we are a great nation. We continue to become better so that just about anyone can pursue their dreams and make them a reality.

Today is really suppose to be my rest day but I made it an Active Recovery day. I wanted to practice my Core Rhythm technique and the perfect DVD to do this with is their Kick Start dvd. The Kick Start dvd comes in the first Core Rhythms set that came out. In this workout, Jaana and Julia take you slowly and methodically through the basic movements that make up Core Rhythms. It's mostly instuctional but if you are truly following the technique, you will sweat or at least I did. The workout features 3 mini programs. - Get started - Get moving - Get dancing The programs build on one another and it really lets you practice the technique of Core Rhythms and that can really help with later Core Rhythm and really any type of rhythm workout. The workout is approximately 34 minutes long.

Body Max 2 This workout is long. It clocks in at 97 minutes. Cathe starts you out with a 10 minute plus warmup. She then moves into a 30 minute plus step routine. Following the step routine is the power segment in which you do a mini step combo, a blast, and endurance leg work. This portion of the workout is about 20 minutes. Next comes upper body work on the stability ball which was also about 20 minutes. The workout concludes with an ab set and a stretch. Now I like this workout. I just don't like doing this workout all at once. Most of the time when I do this workout, I only do the cardio portion or one of the cardio premixes. The DVD itself features several premixes. However, I did the whole workout on Friday because I had Circuit/CardioSculpt day on the rotation. My favorite part of the workout is the step routine. My least favorite is the warmup (which is also a step routine) because it is too long. Cathe could have cut this in half. Usually about the 65 minute mark I loose f...

Rhythmic Step Boy did this workout start off rough. I was thinking I was not going to like it. Now this is my second time doing this workout but it has been quite some time since I last did Rhythmic Step and I can't remember when that was. The problem with this workout- the music used in the warmup. Not good. Not motivational. Failed flat. I was really thinking that this was going to be a lackluster workout and I was going to have to push myself through it. But then Combo 1 kick in and by Combo 2, I was thinking this is an awesome workout. The music used throughout the rest of workout was superb, motivating, and had a driving beat. The workout features a warmup, 3 combination, a challenge section, and a cooldown/stretch. The challenge section combines all 3 combination in a zig zag pattern and you run through that twice. This is a good steady state workout once you get pass the warmup. 4 out of 5 stars.