The Butt Bible: Level 2

Nice firm butt in 3 days, favorite lower body every....

The Butt Bible Level 2 workouts are led by Pauline Nordin, and consist of two 30 min. workouts, one focused on the lower body, the other upper body. They are part of a 3 DVD set, and contained on the same disc. There is an option to play either the Lower Body or Upper Body workout, or to play both. The DVD set did not contain any literature for the program (rotation or other guidelines), that information can be found at the Butt Bible website.

I had originally tried the Lower Body level 2 workout for free at Exercise TV On Demand (and later purchased the set after trying & liking the level 3 lower body workout). Both workouts use dumbbells, and have repeating single exercises, Super Sets (pair of exercises completed after each other) or Tri-set (3 exercises), all repeating once or twice (for the warm-up & work portion). The workouts are time based (but the time per exercise is never stated), so makes sense for users to keep a mental note of reps completed for single leg or arm exercises (to keep rep count consistent). The Lower Body workout incorporates bodyweight & weighted lunge, squat, leg raise, deadlift & glute bridge variations. The Upper Body workouts include bodyweight & weighted exercises for the major muscle groups (biceps, shoulders, triceps, chest) of the upper body & abs/core.

These workouts are more varied & challenging than the previous level, but oddly the dumbbells used by the cast still appear light (3-5 lbs). Light enough that it looks like the cast needs to be lifting heavier (some of the exercises look too easy for them, not very challenging). And Pauline often uses momentum to lift the weights (her form & the cast is off at times), likely because they are too light. Most people would be better off having different dumbbells on hand for the different exercises or could hold two in one hand for single arm exercise to increase intensity/challenge (would out grow using a light pair). For these workouts, Pauline is still super chatty but I've tried the workouts on repeat uses on mute & w/ her talking and it was not as annoying as in previous. I like how Pauline included back extension & external shoulder rotation exercises, and there are a good variety of exercises (even though they repeat often). I have used both workouts as add-ons to others, and use heavier weights than what is cued by Pauline, and found the workouts more enjoyable w/ each use. I like that the routines are solid (no surprises or tricky/odd exercises), only minimal equipment is used & only a small space to move around in is needed.

Cast: two females

Music: canned instrumental & vocal

Set: grey flooring, silver accents w/ pale blue & wood walls, pinkish lighting on windows, some equipment at rear of space

Equipment: Lower Body uses one pair of dumbbells (look heavier than the pair used in Upper body workout), Upper Body uses over very light pair of dumbbells & one light pair (looks like 3-5 lbs.)

Level 2 Lower body (33:39 min.): uses 1 pair of dumbbells

Warm-up

Glute Squeeze: pelvic tuck w/ hip isolation (forward & back)

Jumping Lunges

Straddle squat: pulses in lowered position of squat

Repeat sequence

Work

(Side lying) leg raise: bent leg(leg starts extended in front, then lifts to vertical position), then (Side lying) Standard straight leg raise> repeat twice.

Plie Squat: w/ dumbbells held on shoulders.

(Static) Side Lunge: w/ dumbbells held on shoulders, alternating sides.

Repeat Super Set twice

Glute bridge: w/ one dumbbell held on abs> repeat twice.

Single leg glute bridge: repeat twice.

Sumo deadlift: one dumbbell held in front of body> repeats twice.

Alternating rear lunges: uses two dumbbells> repeats twice.

Cool-down

Figure 4 stretch

(Kneeling) Quad stretch

Seated Spinal Twist

Seated hamstring stretch

Stretch in lowered position of plie squat

Level 2 Upper Body (31:57 min.): uses 1 very light pair/1 lbs. for shoulder external rotation & Butterfly exercise/ all other exercise use1 light pair/ 3-5 lbs

Warm-up

Shoulder Circles: rear

Knees to Elbows: knee lift w/ opposite elbow tap & torso rotation

Side Rotation: rotate torso to face rear w/ single arm extension

Repeat sequence once

Work

(Shoulder) Lying external rotation (one light dumbbell): start w/ body lying on side, elbow & upper arm held to side of body> rotate forearm outward then reverse motion> repeat twice.

Butterfly: back extension> hands hold very light dumbbells, arms alternate sweeping/extending to front & to sides of body> repeat once.

Wide Push Ups

Narrow Push Ups

Repeat Super Set twice

Lateral Raise: Pauline lifts above shoulder level

Alternating Shoulder Press

Repeat Super Set twice

Single Arm Bent Over Row: repeat twice

Alternating Bicep Curl

Alternating Hammer Curl

Repeat Super Set twice

Sit Ups w/ a twist

Gynecologist (supine leg openers): supine w/ legs extended to front (held off floor)> alternate opening & closing legs.

Crunches: w/ bent knees, hips & feet held off floor.

Repeat tri-set twice

Cool-down

Seated Back Stretch: legs apart in V-shape, opposite arm reaches for ankle w/ a rounded spine.

Seated Chest stretch: hands placed in rear of body w/ straight arms, squeeze shoulder blades together.

Rear delt stretch: seated w/ bent legs apart> extend arms, then place elbows by inside of knee & rotate arms inward to inside of legs.