Walk it Off in 30 Days

This dvd contains two 30 minute workouts, one strength training and one walking. Leslie leads with a group of walkers in a large loft type set. You will need dumbbells for the strength workout. The back cover advises you to walk 3 times a week and alternate with strength 2 times a week, providing a complete fitness program.

Burn 30: after a built in warmup you move into walking, kicks, side steps, knee pulls, ham curls, tap outs, step change, skater, jog front and back, & double side step. Leslie adds in a variety of arm movements to up the intensity & to keep it interesting.

Firm 30: after a walking warmup you move into 20 minutes of standing work: narrow squats & overhead press, squat pulses, pliets, lunge & upright row, kick backs, upper back fly, bicep curls, and overhead press. The workout concludes with 10 minutes of floor work: chest fly, bench press, weighted crunches, hundred, single let stretch, bird dog, and a stretch.

These are both intermediate routines. Both are straight forward and easy to follow along to. The pace of the strength workout allows you to heavy up if you wish. The cardio is mostly low impact with some higher intensity moves. Leslie provides good form pointers and the workouts both flow at a good pace. I received this dvd to review.

NOTE: I received a free copy of this DVD to review for the web site Metapsychology Online Reviews; please see that site for a more detailed version of my review.

In this video, instructor Leslie Sansone adds a strength-training component to her usual aerobic walk. Walk It Off in 30 Days is designed to be a "specific plan" that is used for 30 days. Sansone suggests using the walk segment of the program on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays and the strength segment section on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays (presumably, Sundays are a rest day).

The Main Menu for this DVD reads as follows: Introduction to the 30 Day Plan--Burn 30 Workout (Play/Play with Music Only)--Firm 30 Workout (Play/Play with Music Only). For both workout routines, Sansone teaches live in a large, bright studio with about ten different background exercises. Dumbbells and a mat are needed for the strength routine. Each workout is described briefly below.

BURN

This is the cardio workout, and it is fairly typical of most of Sansone's walking routines, if perhaps a bit more upbeat overall. Sansone and a few of the other background exercisers use 2-pound hand weights throughout. It begins with a 5-minute warm-up, and as Sansone usually does, she introduces her basic walking moves, including the walk (actually a march), knees up, hamstring curls, side steps, tap outs, front kicks, and the addition of a cha-cha. Some of the new moves included in this workout are transitioning from the side-to-side step into a skater (adding a small hop if desired) and a bouncing move with fist pump. At the 25-minute mark, Sansone starts to bring the heart rate back down, and she concludes the routine with approximately 2 minutes of cool-down moves.

FIRM

The strength routine begins with an aerobic-style warm-up. This includes Sansone's typical walking moves, plus a bit of impact with some light jogs. Using 5-pound weights for the strength work, Sansone starts with squats, performing each move slowly and deliberately but also doing several different variations, including close stance, wide stance, plié squat, and squat with overhead press, followed by a static lunge on both sides. Moving on to the upper body, Sansone works her way through single arm rows, one-arm tricep kick-backs, double arm rows, reverse flies, bicep curls, overhead presses, and then alternating bicep curls. She concludes the standing work with a final set of squats. At the 20-minute mark, Sansone transitions to the floor for chest flies and chest press. Next comes core work, which includes an abs crunch while holding one dumbbell, additional crunch variations, a short version of the Pilates 100, and then bird-dog on hands and knees. For a final stretch, Sansone returns to her back and stretches out flat for about 30 seconds--that's it.

Sansone has a friendly, chatty personally that will be immensely appealing to many, but others may be a bit put off, especially during the strength workout, which has frequent pauses between sets to accommodate Sansone's chatter. However, this video definitely delivers what it promises--i.e., an option to engage in cardio and strength training on alternate days. For those looking for an easy-to-follow program, this DVD would be ideal; the level of the workouts are easy to modify, making it appropriate for beginners to low intermediate exercisers.