Ellen Barrett Live - Grace and Gusto

This is a live 45 minute workout performed barefoot in her studio with 4 backgrounders. The first 40 minutes is flowing cardio w/ some light toning and the last 5 minutes is floor work. This is a light cardio. You will not need any equipment for this workout. One exerciser performs easier modifications.

Standing Routine: This is fun light cardio workout that will get your heart rate up and includes some strengthening & stretching in the movements. Exercises include: side pliet step & half moon, 3 point stretch, kicks, glute pinch, side leg raise, closed pliet w/ goal post arm movements, standing cat cow, arm circles, moving tree, chair to side step, side knee to elbow pull, ballet leg points, giddy up, leg sweeps w/ arms held out, & standing saw. I like that she includes static upper body holds to hit the upper body.

Floor Work: This is a quick core & upper body routine that includes kneeling lassos, rollups, tricep dips, pulsing butterfly, and concludes with a strech.

I rate this a beginner workout that is really good for all exercisers. More experienced exercises can use it on a lighter day or to mix up their routines. Very good all inclusive feel-good workout. Ellen is a great lead w/ a great energy providing great form pointers & cuing throughout. I received this dvd to review.

Full disclosure: I received a free review copy of this workout.

First, know that I am not someone who has all of Ellen Barrett's workouts - just my favorite few ranging from her Crunch workouts through this one. Also, I had Power Fusion and H-A-T-E-D it. It seemed really hard for some reason. I should have done it again, but it was such an intense reaction, I never wanted to see it again. So, I was a little hesitant to try another Live Workout by Ellen.

This workout, however, I like - a lot. People had said that it was somewhat like Fat Burning Fusion (my favorite Ellen workout) and I thought I might like it (which I did). I like the flow of it and the moves. Maybe I like the cardio aspect of it versus the more strength orientation of Power Fusion. Don't know.

Anyway, you probably want to know something about it. As I said, the workout flowed. There are a few moves in it I would either cut down on (like the arm twists) or that don't seem to flow as well as the rest of the workout (like the leg beats). Most of it not only was fun, but was intuitive in what she was going to do next. As usual, she does a long combination on one side and then repeats it. For me, this was fun and I enjoyed doing both sides. In some of her workouts, the second side can get kind of long.

The music was good and matched the workout really well. The background exercisers were so serene and added to the quality of and my interest in the workout. The woman showing the modifications was good and gave decent options for those not wanting as hard of a workout for whatever reason.

Ellen cued well, but maybe not as well as in some previous workouts. There were a few times I wasn't quite sure how to hold my foot or how to hold myself. Most of the time, it was fine, but there could have been a few more explanatory details given in a few places.