Customer Reviews

Get Moving - Walking for Weight Loss

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Two years ago, I was 52 years old, a size 22, and could barely move because of arthritis and osteoporous. My doctor recommended stretches so I bought Madeleine Lewis' AM/PM Stretch and began doing it five days per week. That worked so well, that now (at age 54) I do pilates 3 days per week, treadmill 3 days per week, cardio 2 days, and bicycle 1-2 times a week. I am now a size 12!

I just bought Get Moving! and love it! Madeleine is a super instructor and has put together another winner! It contains four segments, three workouts and one cool down stretch, each ten minutes long. I like the fact that I can choose to do all four routines for a 40 minute workout or do only a 10 minute workout with a stretch afterwards. This DVD will work for beginners as well as Intermediates.

I have added this DVD to my weekly routine for variety. If you are older like me and need someone who can move you forward gradually in your exercise program, Madeleine Lewis is the instructor to get.

I have been doing Leslie Sansone walking DVDs for a few months now. I've begun to get bored with hers so I'm branching out to other forms of aerobic fitness. I found this DVD, which I love already.

It is 40 minutes long, divided into 4, 10 minute chapters. The first three chapters are cardio. Chapter 1 is the simplest and lowest intensity--it is the closest to Leslie's workouts. 2 and 3 are harder. Each of the three workouts is self-contained. They have a short warm-up at the beginning, and some lower body work (squats/lunges) at the end. The last 10 minute segment is a yoga-based stretch. Personally I like to do all four segments together for an excellent workout, but you can always just pick on or two if you're pressed for time. The three workouts are all different, and use different moves/combinations. So even if I do them all together, I feel like there is enough variety to keep me from getting bored. Breaking the workout up into 10 minute segments makes the time seem to fly by.

The DVD was filmed in a gorgeous outdoor garden. It features three exercisers. The instructor, Madeleine Lewis, does intermediate versions of the exercises. Another exerciser does easier versions, and a third exerciser does the most intense versions. She hops and jogs through a lot of the workout. What I like about the instructor is she isn't babbling constantly like Leslie Sansone. She talks, but spends that time cuing you on how to move your body. One warning is that the choreography is a bit more complex than Walk Away the Pounds. There is less walking and more moving around in different ways. I didn't find it difficult at all, but a total beginner might want to start with the less intense WATP DVDs.

I say it's a little more intense than "walking" and it is, but isn't that the point? If you were really really in need of working your way up, you can take it easy with this tape, but they make it so much fun, you want to just join right in!

I'm 38 year old. A few months ago, after trying dietary changes for several months, I was still overweight (w/hypothyroidism) and my doctor encouraged me to "move a LOT more" to lose some weight and bring down my blood pressure. Something about this dvd made me want to try it more than Leslie Sansone, who people either love or hate apparently. So, one day I bought it on a whim.

I love this workout! I find Madelein Lewis to be motivating, and the music is very fun to work out to. Plus the setting is gorgeous, not pretentious or anything.The cuing is pretty good, although the first time through I was a little behind a few times, by the second time through it was really easy to keep up (aside from being winded). However, my husband with "two left feet" had trouble trying to keep up with it, my 10 year old (who studied ballet for a couple of years) was fine with it.

Two criticisms: There are two other models; one is supposed to do the "easier" version and the other the "most difficult" version,. However, I think the model for the "easier" verson sometimes got carried away and did the "medium" version. Also there are a few places that Lewis could have given breathing cues to enhance the exercise but didn't, although she does mention breathing once in a while. Fortunately I used to work out a lot at the gym, do yoga and take aerobic classes so I'm already familiar w/effective breathing.

I started out doing just one segment, plus the cool down as I was pretty out of shape. After a few days, I did 2 segments, and after less than a week of that, I was doing all three. I like the music a lot, and it was my only aerobic workout for almost 2 months. My m-i-l, who takes a lot of classes, tried it when visiting me, and she really enjoyed it, too. Now, sometimes I skip the squatting exercises and do a toning tape afterward.

Madeleine Lewis presents three ten-minute segments of walking/strength training and one ten-minute segment of stretching. The walking is creative enough to keep your attention and the choreography is fairly easy to learn. The workout is designed to take you from a warm-up to a fast-paced walk to a relaxing cool-down.

The entire forty minutes works well as a complete workout where you don't need to walk or bike before beginning the exercises. This is fairly low impact and even the reverse lunges are interesting because they are not static, but free flowing and energizing.

Madeleine Lewis' professional style and motivational cueing makes this highly enjoyable. There are also three levels to choose, so you can follow Madeleine or try some of the more advanced moves like jumping instead of just walking during various segments.

You can add weights to increase the challenge while doing lower body exercises. There are a few upper body exercises, but mostly this focuses on low-impact aerobics and lower body strength training.

~The Rebecca Review

I am a Leslie Sansone Walk Away the Pounds veteran and I wanted to vary my walk routines. Leslie can get boring!

I just did this workout for the first time tonight. All I can say is wow! There are three separate 10-minute workouts that you can do in any order as well as a yoga based stretch for 10 minutes. I did the segments in order. The intensity progresses as you complete each segment. I broke out in a heavy sweat halfway through the second segment! The moves are challenging and each segment has a short toning burst at the end. You can do the toning bursts with or without weights. I recommended doing the toning without the weights until you get used to doing the moves. After doing all three segments, the stretch/cool down segment feels wonderful. You really stretch your muscles and relax your body.

Madeleine's cueing and instruction is spot-on and there's no annoying chit chat like other workouts.

5 stars for an incredibly well put together workout!

Great workout. It could be light aerobics, or it could be termed walking ... and it's up to you! I use 2lb hand weights and add more arm movements. I also like to 2-minute leg/balance sequence at the end of each of the three walking sections. The set is visually beautiful, an outdoor garden area, and the music very gentle, a sort of new-age style. There is a program mode at the beginning that lets you string together any four workout sections in any order. Sometimes I just let it run, and other times I'll program Section 2 twice and Section 3 twice. Then, when that's done, I'll go back and run the cooldown ... making it a 50 minute workout. I have a number of workout videos and because of the gentle spirit behind this one, I know it will wear well over time.

I was frustrated with the waisted money I have spent on workout DVD's that claim to be for begginers, some were so difficult that I couldn't get past the "warm ups"! This workout CD is different. It has 3 10 min workouts and 1 cool down and you can do all 3 and then the cool down or you can customize the workouts and do workout 1 and then the cool down. The CD has an option the cutomize your work out this way and its a great option so your not pausing to fiddle with the remote. I did workout 1 and then walked around for a min or two to slow my hear down, thats my one complaint about this cd is that is goes from the workout to the cool down without an actual segment to slow your heart rate down, you can't just stop moving and go into a stretch when your heart is pounding from the workout, so I just paused my DVD to do it my self, not a big deal, but I expected her to do it as part of the cool down. Great buy, great for begginers, I love the outdoor scenery and I like that Lewis and her side kicks aren't perkey and annoying, there just there to work out. Lewis is motivating and keeps your trying and moving.

SETTING:
First I must say this is probably the best setting I've seen in my fitness dvds...and I have a huge collection I've amassed over the past few years to get in a daily workout. It is a gorgeous park with willow trees, gardens, gentle lighting, and they workout under a veranda (I know it's a park because the camera panned to their feet once and you saw engraved names and phrases in the bricks like parks sell!) It could be someone's backyard oasis otherwise. Very nice. You don't realize the setting is important til you get to experience such a nice one. If you are buying this to substitute outdoor walks on rainy days, you'll have the gorgeous outdoors now indoors and if you are buying it because you always workout indoors, you get a nice change of pace. It reminds me exactly of the imaginary fantasy setting my Wii game "AE Sports Active" has in their background!

CUEING & INSTRUCTION:
The cueing and instruction is simple to follow and directions are clear.

IN ADDITION TO CARDIO:
There is a tiny (and I do mean tiny)bit of strength training thrown in to the indoor walking moves and there is some nice standing ab working via twists she does during movement

QUALITY:
It's highly professionally filmed excercise dvd but the background music is more "soothing spa-like" than "upbeat and energetic" as is typical to get you revved...but that may be your taste...just pointing it out neither as a negative or a positive.

CALORIES BURNED MEASUREMENT:
That said, the caloric burn wasn't very high at all in comparison to my other dvds. I wear a bodybugg to measure my daily caloric burn and I mention this only so you know what I say is based on scientific measurement rather than percieved exertion. Because of this monitoring, I can measure exactly how many calories I burn in any workout as well as calories burned per minute with the highest accuracy...it was quite low in comparison to my other fitness dvds as well as my other walking dvds. However, if you are just starting out, this means that it's a great way to build up to a fitness routine without strain and it's also good when even more advanced exercisers would like a gentle day after a few days of more intense workouts.

TWO ALTERNATIVES THAT BURN MORE CALORIES:
1. If you like this you should like Kathy Smith's Matrix method walking dvd...a bit higher energy, some really fun moves, and higher calories burned. Although I am not fond of all her dvds, she rocks on the indoor walking ones.

2.Also try Leslie Sansone's walking dvds. She gets some nice strength training in and also has higher energy and higher calories burned in her walking dvds.

AN ALTERNATIVE THAT BURNS ABOUT THE SAME AMOUNT OF CALORIES:
If what you are looking for is a gentle walking workout with less energy and less caloric burn and love this one and want one pretty much just like it, try "Denise Austin's Blast Away the Pounds: Indoor Walk"


CONCLUSION:
Although the lower calorie burn on this one means I typically pair it with another workout later in the day on the days I use this one, it's still a nice light workout that offers excellent cueing and the best setting I've seen to make the workout a positive experience. Good clear and safe instructions so it's perfect for beginners but still interesting enough for someone more advanced.

After using the various Walk Away the Pounds dvds for several months, I was getting bored and irritated. I found this DVD and totally fell in love with it. Madeleine is a wonderful instructor and offers only necessary instruction without the annoying chit chat. It contains four segments, three workouts and one cool down stretch, each ten minutes long. I always play the entire DVD and am still not bored with it. It's an awesome 40 minute workout that goes by very quickly. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the squats and lunges (and balancing) in between the walking workouts--it helps break up the routine. I especially love Madeleine comparing different points in the routine as getting to the top of a hill, as I know it is going to ease up soon and it gets me even more motivated. Great Workout!!!

I've always had trouble getting interested in excercising, but this video makes me feel good, and I can feel the burn, feel my heart rate growing, it's great! Madeleine is inspiring, she has great motivating words that keep you moving throughoutthe video! I give this video two thumbs up and five stars! I would recommend it to anyone who is just starting out and trying to get motivated!