Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Willpower & Grace Mile High Review (& Santa Cake)

Today's Review: Willpower & Grace Mile High
Stacey Lei Krauss, 2011 ***** (5 of 5 stars)


This w/o has a live class feel. Stacey works out w/ a group of exercisers in a studio at a mile high elevation (hence the title). You wont need any equipment for this workout & everyone works out barefoot. You can play all or select your w/o segment from the main menu and the dvd includes a 7 min warmup segment. The music is a nice drum beat.

Footwork: This is a 5 minute segment that warms up & strengthens your feet & prepares you for the barefoot workout to follow. Exercises include: toe raise & stretches, ankle rolls, toe gripping, and heel raises.

Cardio: This is a very unique 24 min flowing cardio workout that includes tons of good balance work. Exercises include: balance stance, cardio squat & knee raise, forward step to tree pose, double squats, floor touch squats to burpees, squat twists, pliet heel raises, cougar lunges adding an elbow strike, power knees, & balance stick. This workout has a very functional feel to it.

Flexibility & Strength: This 13 min w/o combines strengthening, flexibility, and some active stretches into an upbeat routine. Exercises include: static runners lunge, hi plank to side plank, plank w/ toe raises, reaches, folds, rag doll. Love how she combines active stretches into the strengthening moves, very functional.

I rate this an intermediate workout that is really suitable for all levels. Stacey does a fantastic job of including different levels for most all exercises. This is a REALLY unique workout- I havent done anything like it. I really enjoyed it and really like Stacey- she has a great energy, excellent cuing, and fantastic form pointers. She is someone I would love to take a live class with. I really recommend this workout- I think it can find a place in everyones workout library. I received this dvd to review.

Christmas Cake Order: Got an order (in the midst of all my cupcake madness) last week for "funny &  Christmas." So this is what I came up with. It was fun. It is classic white cake with vanilla mousse & buttercream covered in fondant "brick." Santas legs are fondant.

Today's Tip: Balanced Workouts For Better Results
Sure, we love Zumba just as much as you do, but that doesn't mean it's all you should be doing to stay in shape. "Variety is not only the spice of life, but the key to getting a better, leaner, stronger body," ...
Doing only cardio workouts or the same strength workout over and over means you are sacrificing the opportunity to build lean muscle mass and challenge your body in new ways and you may plateau because of it. The solution: Create a weekly program that rotates through different modalities of exercise (cardio, strength training, flexibility, core) in order to keep your mind, and body, engaged and changing. Olson recommends fitting in at least three strength sessions and three to five cardio sessions per week for best results. Read more on Shape


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