Dream Body Cardio Series: Batabarre

Title: Dream Body Cardio Series: Batabarre

Instructor: Francie Bradley

Time: 55 Minutes

Level of Difficulty: Advanced

DVD menu: Play workout, music on or off

Production quality: high

Equipment used: light weights (2# each), a loop band used around knees or ankles (lighter resistance), playground ball, and gliding disks (a barre is also used for the barre portion)

This workout is part of the second Dream Body DVD set, the Cardio series. Francie is back from leading the Tabata & Toning workout in the original DB series to lead this workout (Ta)Batabarre. The first half hour of this workout is tabata, 20 seconds of high intensity (often high impact) cardio followed by 10 seconds of toning (focused on the same body parts) for several circuits. The circuits tend to focus in on a muscle group: first standing abs (2# weights), then inner thighs (2# weights), then outer thighs (weights and loop around ankles), then arms (weights and loop), then abs (gliders!). The second half hour is spent on toning, focusing on the legs, obliques, and finishing with an ab set. This portion uses the barre, gliding disks for the first leg circuit, playground ball (held behind knee) for the second leg circuit that also focuses on obliques, and the playground ball is also used for the final abs.

Tabata exercises include twisting jumps with knee repeater/knee repeater; plyo lunges to plyo plie/plie pulse with one heel raised; "wacky jacks" and jumping jacks with the loop around ankles/leg pulses to the back with loop; legs jump out and in with tricep dips on floor/zig zag legs to work abs; tricep pushup with donkey kick/tricep kickbacks; legs in and out on gliders in plank pose/ab twist on knees with weights. Barre exercises include lunge variations with back leg on glider, squat variations with both feet on glider, curtsey lunge variations with one leg holding ball behind knee, plank pose with ball leg pulsing, then all fours and leg circles with ball leg, put ball between knees for ab circles and double crunch.

In comparison to the original Tabata & Toning, I would say the tabata is a little easier but more varied in this workout, and the barre may be a little harder in this workout. I generally prefer Batabarre because it seems like there's more variety in the exercises and in the toning focus, but, they do have a similar feel. I really love them both! I would highly recommend this for the advanced exerciser who enjoys a high rep/light weight style workout (such as Tonique). The gliding work reminded me of Horizontal Conditioning and was quite challenging as well.