Tracey Mallett Renew You Cardio Fusion

Studio: Razor Digital Ent Release Date: 11/14/2006

User Ratings and Reviews

4 Stars Pretty good
In this 55 minute workout, you’ll sweat quite a bit. I like it – it’s a good low impact workout with easy to follow routines. Tracey is a good instructor. She’s enthusiastic and motivating which I like.

You do the aerobics barefoot and it flows really well. It’s dancey, but in a good way – not complicated. Then there is yoga type toning and you use weights to work more than one muscle group at once. It makes it a little different from other workouts I’ve done and the fact that it’s set outdoors is a nice change of pace and makes it fresh. In this dvd you will get a full body workout and feel good for it afterwards. This is a great workout for beginners because it’s not too intimidating and it’s very easy to follow. I like it and think you will too.

1 Star Most Worthless Workout!
This has to be the most worthless workout I’ve ever done. I’m mad for wasting my precious workout time on this but am glad that I only rented it. I never felt the urge to turn it off more than with this one and I’m a workout DVD addict. The cardio portion is an absolute joke. A few taps and stretches that’s it. I think a Leslie Sansone warmup is more challenging. She is barefoot throughout, that should be a clue that there is no cardiovascular challenge. I felt completely unsatisfied after this workout, my heart rate was never elevated and I never broke a sweat.

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Pilates balance ball by Annette Lefterow NTSC

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Core Plus More

Variety is the key! Get new twists on the classic leg lift, pushup, and ab crunch with lots of butt-firming moves too. Technique makes all the difference! Minimize wasted energy and see faster results by doing fewer reps but getting more out of each one. Build strength and lengthen your body at the same time.

User Ratings and Reviews

3 Stars Unique full body toning workout
First of all, keep in mind that this is a repackaged workout; it has been marked as both “Core Essentials” and “Pilates Core Essentials.” This is definitely not a Pilates workout, so maybe that was part of the reason for the name change. Rather, it is a full-body toning workout similar to the first half of one of instructor Karen Voight’s other videos, Streamline Fitness.

The workout begins with a simple, 4 minute warm-up to get your body moving; this is followed by 8 minutes of standing strength moves. The exercises consist of traditional squats and crunches, but Karen makes them unique by adding more movement. Although her cuing is excellent, the variety of the moves is a little hard to follow upon first viewing of the video, but you do get the hang of it. One problem I had with this section is regarding how Karen uses the arms: the arm movements often seem unnecessary and mismatched to the leg work. The main body of this workout occurs on the floor. Karen continues the legwork with extensions done both on all fours and on the side; she sometimes uses her weighted “genie balls”–you could also substitute ankle weights, but I found the moves to be challenging enough without the added weight! She then targets the arms with a tough push-ups sequence as well as several exercises with dumbbells. The workout ends with abs and back exercises followed by a 6 minute cool down.

As always, Karen offers meticulous tips on form throughout. This was an average-to-good workout (I’d actually have given it 3 1/2 stars if I could), but I prefer Karen’s Streamline Fitness, which offers additional arm work, a tougher abs section, and relaxing yoga moves as well.

5 Stars Completely Unique!
I have to give this DVD 5 stars for its wonderful uniqueness! I am always searching for DVDs that give a new spin on toning exercizes – and this definitely fits the bill. I truly feel that in order to continually shape and define your muscels, you need to find different ways to move your muscels. And in addition to being unique, the moves and combinations are also challenging – you can feel the burn. It’s a fantastic workout at a great price!

5 Stars Karen is one of the best instructors out there
Each of Karen’s workouts are gems. They provide enough toughness to be beneficial and yet through her clear instruction and great cuing, it’s easy to follow and very motivating. This is another one of her gems. It’s a great flowing workout that is done to develop lean muscles and good healthy joint mobility. Some positions may be a little tricky to get yourself into, but with each go, you’ll improve and it will be easier. She always gives clear and precise instructions so you know what’s coming up next without straining to look at the tv all the time.

This works all the core muscles – abs, back, [...], arms and legs. There is nice jazz type music in the background that isn’t annoying and helps you keep in rythym. You’ll need weights for this but it’s so worth your while doing this because there are so many people who forget to stretch and strengthen muscles – we think that cardio is all we need. This is so relaxing to do and beneficial that I recommend it to everyone.

2 Stars weak workout, fussy moves
I like Karen’s Yoga based workouts, but this one is not a very good workout. the moves are too fussy (if not done very precisely they are ineffective) and then too quick, so your chances of getting an effective workout are slim, and chances of injury are higher. these ‘genie balls’ are silly, or at least are used in a silly way here.

5 Stars Targets Core Muscle Groups
“I’ll show you how to minimize wasted energy while maximizing concentration on the targeted muscles of your core essentials.” ~ Karen Voight

In “Core Plus More,” Karen Voight presents a workout to target the core muscle groups. She also focuses on the arms and legs by using weights to increase the intensity. The added resistance increases your efforts so on exercises for the abs, holding weights above the head while doing a crunches makes them super effective. As always Karen emphasizes proper form to optimize your results. The main sections of the workout include:

Aerobics – Warm up

Legs & Butt 10 minutes

Arms, Back & Torso 5 minutes

Abdominals 10 minutes

Cool down – Stretch

The workout begins with a brief aerobics section to warm up the muscles then moves right into leg exercises inspired by Pilates. She uses her green genies (weighted balls) to increase the resistance. The main workout is on a round blue platform and she is wearing a ruby outfit so the colors are interesting.

During the Arms, Back & Torso workokut she does quite a few sets of push-ups which I found challenging when combined with Plank. Next you use weights while you are on your back and then move into a cool down with unique side stretches and plenty of attention to stretching out the legs.

Overall, I’d say this is a challenging workout with unique exercises. Karen Voight’s teaching style is very precise so the cueing is always excellent and you feel like you have completed a calorie-burning workout with an artistic appeal.

~The Rebecca Review

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Pilates on the Go Pilates on the Go on the Ball

Pilates on the Go – Improve posture, strengthen the back and abdominal muscles, increase flexibility, prevent stress and back pain, tone muscles, and sharpen the mind/body connection with master trainer Maria Leone’s “Pilates on the Go.” – Includes bonus upper body workout. Pilates On The Go: On The Ball – A challenging full-body program designed to help you sharpen the mind -body connection! The Pilates method is a form of isometric exercises developed and practiced to simultaneously stretch, strengthen, tone and align the body, while eliminating excess tension and strain on the joints.

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Mind Body Solutions for Lower Body Conditioning Yoga Balance Ball Pilates

Sculpt and stretch your lower body with this set of three 30-minute, beginning-level workouts for the legs, thighs, hips, buttocks, lower back, and abs. Lower Body Yoga with Suzanne Deason presents a gentle series of yoga poses. A separate segment shows less flexible exercises how to modify the poses using a block and strap. Pilates Lower Body Workout with Jillian Hessel targets the abs, thighs, lower back, and buttocks with a slow-paced series appropriate for novices. BalanceBall Lower Body Workout again features Suzanne Deason in a gentle workout focusing on the core muscles of the abs and back using a stability ball, with some lower-body exercises that use the ball for balance but rarely for resistance. The workouts take place in peaceful, outdoor settings. Also included are interviews with the instructors. Recommended for beginning exercisers looking for a variety of approaches to their lower body, abdominal, and lower-back muscles. –Joan Price

User Ratings and Reviews

2 Stars what’s going on?
the instruction in this tape is lackluster. I’ve been doing yoga for a few years, and am familiar with all the yoga lingo, but found this DVD hard to follow (you do a lot of work on your back, and can’t see the TV, so you rely on their spoken directions, which aren’t that great. All, in all–my lower body feels slightly worked out, but mostly my neck aches from straining to see the TV.

5 Stars Good work – as usual
I have several Gaiam products and I love every single of them. Good quality, expert teaching, beautiful settings. Highly recommended.

4 Stars Choose yoga, Pilates, or stability ball to work the lower body
This DVD provides a nice variety of workouts for the lower body: a yoga practice, a Pilates practice, and a stability ball workout. The DVD is well-chaptered, with individual menus for each of the three workouts.

The first workout, Yoga for Lower Body, has three sections, an introduction, a 25-minute yoga practice, and an explanation of modifications; start with the latter if you are relatively new to yoga. Because instructor Suzanne Deason moves along at a somewhat brisk pace, I wouldn’t recommend this practice for those with no prior yoga experience, as they are likely to have difficulties following along. The practice includes some nice standing balance poses such as dancer and half-moon, although Deason doesn’t hold the postures for very long. However, I enjoy Deason’s calm, supportive manner and find her to be warm and engaging. Although I would prefer if she had held the poses a little longer, I love that I can do this varied practice when I’m short on time. This was my favorite workout on the DVD.

The Pilates Lower Body workout is led by Jillian Hessel, and it consists of an introduction, a short (1 minute) posture segment, Pilates matwork, and a balance challenge to finish. The workout begins with some nice foot a leg stretches while lying on your back. You then perform some of the tradition Pilates mat exercises, doing only those that focus mainly on the legs such as leg circles and bicycle. There also are some more unique moves such as opening and closing the legs in a stradle position. Next comes the Pilates side kick series, including exercises that focus on both the outer and the inner thighs; there are also a few movements performed lying face down to work the back of the legs. The workout ends with a short standing balance segment, coming in at just under 29 minutes. This workout wasn’t very challenging, but if you enjoyed the thighs segment from Crunch Pick Your Spot Pilates, you will probably enjoy this as well. However, this was my least favorite workout on the DVD.

The final workout on this DVD is Balance Ball Lower Body. In this workout, instructor Suzanne Deason leads you through a nice, moderately challenging routine to work your lower body on the ball. She begins with a 5-minute instructional and warm-up section and then moves on to the 27-minute workout. The workout starts sitting on the ball for balance challenge work such as knee lifts and leg extensions, which Deason makes progressively more difficult. She also does some dips with the ball behind your back to work your butt, but I didn’t feel much wiht this move. Next comes some work lying face down over the ball, including leg lifts and extensions. At first, this felt easy to me, but Deason then goes on to more challenging moves from an elbow plank position, and I could really feel my butt working. Lying sideways over the ball for Pilates-like moves comes next; for some reason, this position did not feel comfortable to me. Deason finishes with some inner thigh work by holding the ball between your thighs in a seated position. The final 5 minutes of the workout consist of stretching, including forward bends over the ball, bridge pose with your feet on the ball, and hamstring/leg stretches. Plus, Deason includes many stretches throughout the routine, making this a nice workout if you want to gently challenge your muscles while providing plenty of opportunity to make them more flexible as well.

Overall, I think this DVD provides great variety at a bargain price. The workouts are not overly challenging and are mostly appropriate for advanced beginners to intermediates. One final note is that the DVD includes a program reference guide which provides a complete list of exercises for each of the three workouts. Definitely a recommended purchase.

4 Stars Nice variety of workouts
All of the workouts are challenging, but enjoyable. I especially like the yoga workout. The scenery is beautiful, the instruction good (albeit fast for a beginner), and the workout, refreshing. The balance ball workout too has all the same ingredients. A nice balance to rotate into your workout schedule.

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