Start! Walking At Home 1 & 2 Mile Walk

This Exercise TV production presents two "walking" style cardio workouts. A portion of the sale proceeds were donated to the American Heart Association.

Both workouts are led solo by Leslie Sansone. The 1-mile workout is 20 minutes, and the 2-mile workout is 30 minutes. The two workouts are separately chaptered on the start menu, but there are no chapter points within either workout. The DVD rates itself as beginner/intermediate, which I feel is appropriate.

In a nice change from Leslie's dark Bat Cave set, the workouts take place in a bright Exercise TV studio. Logos at the bottom of the screen advertise Exercise TV and the American Heart Association. A countdown clock runs continuously in the upper left corner of the screen. Music is familiar from previous Leslie workouts, but is at a good volume and is well-balanced with Leslie's voice.

The only equipment needed is proper footwear. No weights or other equipment boosters are used in these two workouts, nor are there any jogging intervals.

The workouts themselves are classic Leslie. She begins with her four basic steps - "walking" (marching in place), side steps, knee-ups, and kicks, then later adds in a few variations like kick backs (hamstring curls), tap-outs, and double side steps. There's really no choreography and everything is easy to follow. Since Leslie is addressing a potential new audience for her workouts, she explains her exercise philosophy and style a little more completely than she has in other recent DVDs.

In addition to the two workouts this DVD features some short clips with workout tips, which might be appreciated by a beginning exerciser.

Bottom Line: This is a nice intro to Leslie Sansone and her walking workouts. There really isn't anything new here - just two classic, well-presented Leslie routines. Still, it is one I pull out often from my Leslie collection.

There is a companion Start! DVD with a single 3-mile workout. As of the date of this review, both Start! DVDs can be found at Amazon, and possibly other e-tailers. The Start! DVDs were previously available from Exercise TV (which is alas no more) and also retail (I saw them at Target). I've seen both pressed DVD and DVD-R versions of this set - I think the DVD-Rs were generated by Exercise TV, or possibly during a period when Amazon fulfilled orders of this DVD on demand. It is something to keep in mind if you are thinking of purchasing a used copy.