Fit and Strong Pre and Post Natal Workout

This review is for the Prenatal workout on this dvd only.

Overall, I agree with many of the comments on the previous review. Tracey is either not wearing a microphone in this section, or her microphone isn't working. I was expecting a follow-along workout. This instead seems more like a demonstration of exercises you can do while you're pregnant. There are a lot of form pointers, which is good, but this means there's quite a bit of talking in between the exercises. The exercise reps aren't always even, either. There's also no music. My copy did have the Upper Body workout, so I'm including the exercises from that portion in my review.

I did choose to keep this workout, but I haven't done it much during my pregnancy. I kept it because I'm hoping that the Postnatal circuits will be more useful to me when I'm ready for them.

The Upper Body workout:

Back exercises (bent over row and reverse fly):

Two sets of bent-over rows:

Set one with dumbells: wide grip- 4 reps, then narrow grip- 4 reps, then wide grip again- 1 rep

Set two with resistance band: wide grip- 5 reps, close grip- 5 reps

Two sets of reverse flies, both with dumbbells:

Set one on stability ball- 18 reps

Set two seated on bench- 11 reps

Chest exercises (chest press, chest fly, pushups):

Incline chest press and flies, all with dumbbells

Set one: chest press on stability ball- 13 reps

Set two: chest flies on stability ball- 13 reps

(Pause for hydration break)

Set three: chest press on bench- 11 reps

Set four: chest flies on bench- 6 reps

Pushups:

Tracey does 2 on toes, 3 on knees

Shoulders (military press and alternating font and lateral raises):

All on stability ball with dumbbells, though standing is suggested for those still in the first or second trimester

Set one: military press- 17 reps

Set two: alternating front and lateral raises- 11 reps

Triceps (kickbacks):

Set one: Tracey does 9 reps with good form, 6 reps with bad form

Set Two: with palms turned down: 7 reps

Set Three: with palms turned up towards ceiling: 9 reps

Upper body stretch: triceps, shoulders, chest, back

Legs section:

All leg exercises are unweighted, with the lunge/bicep curl combination, where a resistance band is used.

Squats on stability ball- 12 reps

Plies on stability ball- 9 reps

Lunges and bicep curls with band- Bobbi demonstrates a couple, then Tracey does 6 reps each side

Front, side, and back lunges-1 rep each side

Side steps with theraband- 11 reps each side

Inner thigh with theraband- first leg- 14 reps, second leg- 12 reps

Floor exercises:

First side:

Flexed foot leg lift- 17 reps,

3 sets alternating forward circles and back circles- 8 reps of each

Flexed foot leg lift- 6 reps

Leg extension/knee in- 8 reps

Other side:

Flexed foot leg lift- 21 reps

3 sets alternating forward circles and back circles- 8 reps of each

Flexed foot leg lift- 12 reps

Leg extension/knee in- 8 reps

On all fours-

Side one:

Leg lift straight back- 10 reps,

Leg lift with knee bent, foot to celiling- 8 reps

Fire hydrant- 8 reps

Fire hydrant with leg stretched out- 4 reps

Side two:

Leg lift straight back- 8 reps,

Leg lift with knee bent, foot to ceiling- 11 reps

Fire hydrant- 7 reps

Fire hydrant with leg stretched out- 5 reps

Core:

Side oblique crunches- 20 reps each side

Stability ball crunches- 14 reps

Planks on knees with the stability ball

Side planks with modification

A short stretching section is included as well.

I've previewed this and have actually decided to return it because: (1) the sound is really, really low, (2) there's too much talking and not enough exercising, and (3) my DVD doesn't have the upper body section of the prenatal workout. If (3) were the only problem I'd look into getting a new copy. But reasons (1) and (2) make me really not interested in using this DVD, so it's going back.

Tracey is 37 weeks pregnant. Her 2 sisters act as trainers while Tracey does the exercises. Her sisters are Bobbi (personal trainer/fitness instructor and high school coach/teacher, mother of 4) and Melanie (certified nurse midwife and nurse practitioner, mother of 3). Bobbi does most of the instructing.

They talk and explain proper form and issues specific to exercising during pregnancy a lot, so there's a lot of set-up time, demonstrations and talking between exercises. They give form explanations that seem targeted to someone who hasn't exercised before (rather than someone who is used to Tracey's typical intermediate/advanced workout and simply wants a pregnancy-specific DVD).

The volume is low, and Tracey and Melanie can be very difficult to hear. Bobbi does most of the talking, while Melanie doesn't talk so much, but Tracey does instruct sometimes. (It looks like maybe only Bobbi is wearing a mic?).

Equipment: Light dumbbells, Band, Step bench, Stability ball

Chapters:

Intro, Question and Answers, Comfortable Clothing, Proper Alignment

Warm up (5 minutes) - Stretches, some static, some dynamic

Back, Chest, Shoulders (with some biceps/triceps, but focus is on larger muscle groups) - Theoretically 20 minutes, but this section is missing from my DVD

Upper Body Stretch (1 minute)

Legs (20 minutes total; first 10 min is standing) - Body weight squats, Lunges using a band, Lunges front/side/back without weights, Side step/abduction using band, Standing inner thigh lift/adduction using band

Legs on the Floor (10 min) - Lying on side: Outer thigh lift, small leg circles. All fours: Straight leg lift back, bent leg lift to side

This chapter also includes: Core (7 minutes) - Side-lying oblique crunches, Standard crunches on stability ball, Plank on knees with elbows or hands on stability ball, Side planks (on floor)

Post workout stretch (6 minutes)

The DVD also includes the: Post Natal Workout

I haven't fully previewed this, but I'll provide a breakdown. Happily, Tracey has her own mic this time, so you can hear both Tracey and Bobbi. (Melanie still doesn't seem to have a mic, but she also still doesn't talk much... in fact, she looks kind of bored just sitting there for most of the exercises.)

Warm up (5 minutes)

4 15-20 minute circuits:

(1) Back, biceps, legs - uses body bar or light dumbbells - 14 minutes (split in 2 7-min segments, chaptered separately)

(2) Total body - light dumbbells or fitness ball - 20 minutes (split in 2 10-min segments, chaptered separately)

(3) Abs and Upper body - light dumbbells and stability ball (or bench) - 14 minutes (split in 2 7-min segments, chaptered separately)

(4) Shoulders, Glutes, Core - fitness ball or light dumbbells (but mostly on floor) - 14 minutes (split in 2 7-minute segments, chaptered separately)