Customer Reviews

Minna Lessig - Total Body Toning - 1 Minute Workout

5 star:		(35)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This DVD is really the cure to workout boredom. It's over 120+ one minute exercises vary each time to put in the DVD, so you'll even begin to look forward to seeing which one is chosen each time. You can vary both the length of your workout and the intensity - which various time intervals and a beginning and advanced skill level. You can also choose to focus on a specific area - such as upper body, lower body, and total body. I've read some of the reviewers say they didn't find this one challenging, but I found that I did - especially when I played the DVD for at least 20 minutes or more. I liked the options to workout in less time as well, as sometimes it's just a nice compliment to another workout. This DVD offers so much variety I'd say it would fit nicely into any routine.

The thing which distinguishes a Minna Lessig workout is that her focus is always on using safe exercises to get good results, i.e. become more fit and generally lose weight. Her education in physical therapy and biology is clearly reflected in her approach of challenging, but not overexerting, the body.

The upshot is that this DVD, as with all her DVDs, is optimistic and body-positive in its conception. It focuses on what most people will be able to do in a very small amount of time to get in shape and change their lives rather than just on how the average person's buns, abs, or upper arms are going to look later. The focus is on being patient and on the real, positive changes happening inside the body long before they become visible on the outside.

The minute-exercise concept works well, and transitions are well planned. However, some exercises are necessarily more challenging, e.g. push-ups, than others because they have to be performed more quickly. The level 1 exercises tend to include fewer multi-muscle-group exercises than the level 2 exercises. The concept also seems to be that the better shape you are in, the more you will have to gradually add heavier weights to your routine to challenge yourself and progress. You have to have enough body-awareness to know how your workout feels and ergo how heavy your weights should be. The other part of the workout concept is that form is everything - the challenge for more fit students is not just to perform the exercises in the short amount of time allotted, but to perform them properly. This is where the aerobic element has been built into the workout.

Since the one-minute concept necessarily adds in a few seconds of break between each new exercise, you don't do several minutes' of uninterrupted aerobic exercise. However, the workouts are aerobic, especially on level 2, and even those who are in better shape will be able to get a good workout from this DVD, provided that they select the right level of challenge for themselves and, as Minna might say, really pay attention to their form.

I was slightly disappointed by this DVD. Although I like the concept of a constantly changing workout video, this one doesn't have enough "1 minute" segments in my opinion. I generally get the same segments repeated 3 or 4 times PER WORKOUT. It's not a horrible thing, but just don't get too overly impressed by the claims that there are a million workout possibilities contained within this DVD. Are there an almost infinite number of ORDERS these segments could be put in? Sure. But when the segments are repeated multiple times within the same 15 minutes, it kind of defeats an "boredom busting" qualities this DVD might have.

I bought this DVD because I liked the idea of flexibility with regard to length of workout, target muscle groups and variability in exercises. I LOVE this DVD. The instructor gives great cues after demonstrating the exercise. I am not looking to lose weight, but to tone my body, and this is the way for me. I feel like I have a personal trainer without the expense and bother of travelling from my home!

This DVD is the best one I have yet!!
Minna Lessig really knows her stuff and encourages and teaches with every exercise. I already had Quickfix 10 minute workout (which is also great by the way) and it was time to add another to the collection.
There is no getting bored with this workout. There is so much variety and you can choose different work-outs for every need. I also LOVE the sections for warm up, cool down and stretches. It really rounds out the work-outs. Plus with all the exercises being a minute long....completing each one seems like a doable task...which is a wonderful motivator in itself. In addition, many of the exercises consist of you working with your own body weight...which is so important in life. You never know when you may need to hold yourself up one day.
PLEASE do yourself a favor and get this DVD. I know it will get you as enthused about your workout as it has for me.

You wouldn't think you'd get much benefit from a dvd like this, but let me tell you that you will burn calories. It stays fresh and interesting because you can do the routine in any order and for any desired length of time. There are 127 different one-minute segments each focusing on different body parts and you can control the order you do it in. This way you won't get bored and you'll be inclined to do this often. Minna is a good instructor and with her help, you can get through this easily and have fun at the same time. I recommend this if you are someone who bores easily with the usual exercise grind.

I absolutely love this DVD! I do it twice a week and am always excited to do it. I always do it on level 2, total body for 48 minutes and the workout is always different. I up my weight on days I'm feeling really strong and my muscles always fell pumped by the time I'm done. They are a lot of moves I've never done and my core has never been stronger. Get this DVD and you will not be disappointed!

I always said I didn't have time for exercise, with this dvd I have no excuses. Even the fast-track option which gives you about a 4 minute workout is nice. Although I have had some exercises repeat, it didn't bother me. I also liked the combination of workouts with weights.

I welcomed the fact Minna focused more on being fit than on losing weight. Losing weight is nice, but I would rather be healthy and fit than skinny and sickly.

I would recommend this to a friend.

I'm not too impressed with this DVD. A lot of the exercises I don't find challenging enough for just a minute's time. Also, I first started out with Level 1 and found that most of those were too easy. So the next time I switched to Level 2, and got many of the same exercises that I had in Level 1. Also, as another reviewer said, it doesn't always give you exercises for the amount of time you requested. If you don't count the exercises and watch the time on the clock, before you know it, you will have done 45 minutes when you just asked for 20 minutes. Ultimately that's not a bad thing, but if you're pressed for time, it is! One of the features that attracted me to this DVD was being able to choose from different workout times, but if it's not going to work properly, then it's pointless to even offer this feature.

The "Minna Lessig - Total Body Toning - 1 Minute Workout" DVD lets you create your own workout. First you do the warm-up exercise which the DVD randomly selects from three choices. After the warm-up you pick what area you want to work on: Upper Body, Lower Body, Abs, or Total Body and which level of intensity you want - Level I (easier) or Level 2 (harder). Next you get to pick how long you want to work out which can range from one minute to 72 minutes depending on what area you are targeting and what level you are working at. Each exercise is approximately one minute long and many of the exercises require either a set of light weights or a heavier set of weights. After exercising you select the cool down exercise which again is randomly selected from three options. There are also two Fast Track Workouts if you are pressed for time - the Level 1 Fast Track Workout is three minutes long and the Level 2 Fast Track Workout is four minutes long. There is also a seven minute Bonus Stretch Segment as well as segments explaining how the program works and how to get the most out of the DVD.

"Minna Lessig - Total Body Toning - 1 Minute Workout" is a great way of toning your body. I consider myself a beginner when it comes to exercising and I really appreciate the fact that I can choose the length and intensity of my workout. I use Level 1 and while I don't break out in a sweat like I do when using other exercise DVD's, I do feel like I've gotten a complete workout by the time I'm through. I found the one minute length of each exercise to be perfect, especially since if an exercise was a bit too difficult for me I could either still do it in the one minute or skip it altogether without harming my exercise routine. The DVD claims to have over 115 different exercises (there's a chart listing them all) so most of the time each exercise program is different, but I have seen some exercises repeated while I exercise. I do the Total Body Toning (Level 1) and the exercises either involve standing up or floor exercise with no apparent rhyme or reason as to which is next and it can be a bit frustrating to have to switch from one to the other with no warning. There is a brief transition period between each exercise, which may annoy some, but I found it a perfect way to catch my breath before going onto the next exercise. While the DVD says weights are optional, the majority of exercises I've done require either light weights or heavier weights. The warm up and cool down sections are very helpful, especially the cool down which I find very effective. I like Minna Lessig as an instructor; she's very pleasant, calm, and encouraging.

I find "Minna Lessig - Total Body Toning - 1 Minute Workout" to be very helpful.