Customer Reviews

Minna Optimizer - Balanced Blend

5 star:		(44)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is an excellent video for someone who wants to get fit and lean without fancy dance steps. I bought this DVD because of the good reviews given to it by others and I was not dissapointed. The music wasn't overpowering, the backup people weren't annoying, and Minna wasn't overly peppy. I cannot stand it to watch super-perky instructors that stare at you like a frightened deer and give off this attitude like if you don't do the steps they'd shoot you in the feet.

My favorite workout on this DVD is the "Fat Eliminator" segment. It combines strength moves and cardio for a balanced workout that you can really feel. After over 2 months of doing this video at least 4 times a week, I still find myself sweaty but energized after doing it. This segement has a lot of jumping, lunges, and squats, so if you have weak legs or knees then be careful and watch your form. I am a totally un-coordinated clutz when it comes to dancing or any complicated moves, but these moves were straightforward and I picked them up right away. I actually liked this DVD so much that I bought a copy of the "Fat Eliminator" video for my friend and now she does it every day. I am 5'4" and used to weigh 128 lbs and now weigh 124 lbs. Yah, 4 pounds doesn't seem like much to most people, but I am a lot leaner and muscle weighs more than fat. My waist was 29-30" and flabby and it is now a tighter firmer 27.5"-28". My flabby but was 39" and it is now a very firm 37". I started doing this video without a specific goal, and just wanted to see what I could do with my body if I did it 4 or 5 days a week. I eat a well balanced diet (which I did before, but I still sat around too much), so I guess don't expect results if you still eat garbage. I have so much energy now that I just want to tell everyone to go out and buy this video! I can't wait for Minna to come up with a few more videos like this!

Oh I guess I should say a thing or two about the "Strength and Grace" portion of this. I have only done this part a few times mostly because I find this segment to be a lot of yoga. It does have some good pilates in it. It almost feels like you're not doing a workout when you are doing it sometimes, but other times you can really feel the burn. I almost find myself more tired after doing this portion because it really challenges the muscles. If you are a fan of Pilates and Yoga, then you should like the "Strength and Grace" portion.

I also own Minna's Emergency Workout but I don't use that one quite so much because it is longer and the cardio requires that you do some salsa and mambos and I am a clutz. I also recommend "I want that Body" by Tamilee Webb for some extra sculpting exercises if you want to really firm up. I do that DVD almost as much as I do the Minna DVD. This is a program that works. Try it!

Seriously! At the end of Fat Eliminator Minna says "do this program on a regular basis and watch your body change". It's true. I have been doing this DVD and only this DVD for about a month now - 3 days a week is Fat Eliminator and 2 days is Strength and Grace and my body is firm! I have abs now, biceps and definition in my thighs and buns. Extra flab is gone. This is a fantastic workout combination. FE is tough, particularly the first three cardio circuits. Those plyo jumping jacks are killer. Once I get through that third cardio circuit though I feel like I've already had a good workout and I'm only halfway through! I work up a sweat - I can't even answer the phone because I couldn't talk even if I wanted to. It's definitely focused on your lower body with lots of jumping and plyo and core work but the circuits are quick and they really do go by quickly. The workout is also fantastic in that just when you feel like you can't do one more plyo lunge, she changes the pace to something more less impact. The 15 minute Blast The Fat toning section I always add onto the cardio days. It's nice, quick and effective and in one hour while my son is napping I get in a total body workout.

I also LOVE the Strength and Grace segment. I enjoy alternating my days with this. It's a perfect combination of relaxing and energizing and I still work hard, just without all the jumping around. My heart rate does get up there and again you do a lot of leg work for those nice glutes and thighs.

Minna is a beautiful woman and I appreciate her demeanor and her physique. There is just something about her that is completely likable. Overall, I am extremely impressed with these workouts - the results I have seen will defintely make me continue these workouts!

I recently purchased this DVD and I absolutely love it. It combines both the Fat Eliminator and Strength & Grace tapes together. Altogether it is 90 minutes long. You can pick and chose which section you want to do b/c it is on a DVD, which is great if you only want to do a few things from each section. I personally loved the work-out I got from the Fat Eliminator section..it really works your muscles. It is an excellent cardio and strength training work-out. You start sweating within 10 minutes of the work-out. It also has 15 minutes of abe work at the end..which is great too. I really enjoy Minna as an instructor also...very easy to follow.

This DVD will get you sweating in a hurry. I really like the interval training in the Fat Eliminator segment. Alternating strength and cardio segments does make the workout go by quickly, which is a plus for this reluctant exerciser! Minna is excellent at cueing and I like her demeanor. The only thing I really don't like about it (and why it is not a 5-star video for me) is all of the jumping. It is definitely NOT low-impact. If you have knee problems, find another video!

As someone who's done a gazillion video workouts since the mid 1980's, I can attest to the value of this DVD. It combines what is normally sold separately on regular VHS: Fat Eliminator and Strength and Grace. Fat Eliminator is a cardio circuit style workout with a bonus 15 minute toning with weights segment. Strength and Grace is a refreshing yoga-meets-pilates style of strength and toning workout (no weights). I bought this DVD without knowing anything about Minna's style as an instructor. I am definitely pleased -- she is confident and motivating, without being cheerleaderish, annoying or intimidating. This DVD has quickly become one of my favorites. (I also highly recommend "Your Personal Best Workout" with Elle Macpherson + Karen Voight). Stick with it and stay strong, healthy + happy!

This is one of my favorite workout DVD's!! Minna is great instructor, upbeat and motivating, but not nauseating. She explains all the moves extremely well and queues almost flawlessly. On both of the workouts, the music is great (that's saying a lot for me, I usually think workout music is either awful or just tolerable). It's Latin with a really good beat, but it's not overbearing so you can't hear what she's saying.

The two workouts--
Fat Eliminator is an aerobic and strength training workout using circuits-1 1/2 minutes strength and 2 1/2 minutes cardio. Six circuits with a warm-up and a little stretching at the end. I know 2 1/2 minutes doesn't sound like enough to get your heart rate up, but it does. The strength circuits are short enough and intense enough to not bring your heart rate down too much. In the cardio sections you use your leg muscles and glutes a whole lot (some cardio workouts, I feel like I'm only using my calf muscles). She uses some really unique moves and some traditional aerobics moves. The moves are simple enough for beginners, but there are quite a few jumps so people who have joint problems or who are very overweight may have trouble with parts of it. I modify parts of it, when they're doing this jumping lunge thing, I slow it down and just do a regular lunge. I'm sure I will be able to do the whole thing soon enough. The strength circuits are mostly lower body, with a little upper body. There is an optional 15 minute toning section at the end. It's glutes, abs and arms. After the circuits, the glute section really isn't necessary. The arms section is good for light toning, probably not for building muscle though (I also use Kathy Smith's Lift Weights to Lose Weight for my arms). As for the ab section, all I have to say is "Ouch!". I've been doing this workout about 3 days a week, along with other cardio workouts the other 2 or 3 days, for about 3 or 4 weeks and I can see a big difference in my legs and butt.

I don't do the second workout on the DVD, Strength and Grace, as much since I have a lot of fat to burn off, but it's a great workout too. It's really good for balance and strengthening, but it'll get you sweating a little bit. I like to do it on those days when I want to workout, but don't have the energy to bounce around the living room. The moves are little more complicated than in Fat Eliminator, but since they're slower, it's not hard to catch on. This workout is good for any fitness level. It's a mix of yoga, pilates and dancing, but you don't really need experience with any of them to keep up.

I highly recommend this DVD if you're looking to reduce fat and strengthen your body. It's challenging and interesting enough to keep working with for quite a while.

I really like this DVD because it is divided into 2 separate workouts of 45 minutes each. I wake up at 5am and workout for 45 minutes so this fits into my schedule perfectly. The Fat Eliminator is AMAZING in that it is an intense cardio workout that not only gets the heart pumping, but it also gives you a great strength workout. I used to belong to a gym for 5 years and did cardio for 2 hours, 4-5 days per week. I now do my own workout using a treadmill, two of Kathy Smith's step aerobics tapes, Crunch--Total Yoga and now Minna's Fat Eliminator and Stength and Grace. I have to say that if you are a beginner, the Strength and Grace portion is Ok as it combines ballet and yoga moves, but the Fat Eliminator section may be a little hard on you as my quads were hurting the next day and I am not a beginner. Overall, I think this is a GREAT workout.

I bought this DVD looking for something more exciting, effective and less time consuming than most workouts. I was previously working out with Cindy Crawford's The Next Challenge and The Firm Volume 1, which I consider to be among the best workout videos. I have to say that Balanced Blend has immediately made it to my "favorites" pile.

Blanced Blend consists of 2 separate workouts which I am currently alternating 6 times a week. The first time I worked out with Minna my entire body was sore and I was already in pretty good condition, but the exercises Minna has compiled really target your muscles and get you in the best shape possible without having to workout for 2 hours.

Fat Eliminator's circuits will get you heart pumping and it really builds strength and tones your muscles while burning fat. The 15 minute bonus fat blast section is great and it uses weights to target your buns, legs, arms and abs.

Strength and Grace is an excellent workout that combines Yoga and Pilates and helps you feel centered and relaxed with exercises that focus on breathing while you are breaking a crazy sweat and burning a lot of calories.

I highly recommend this DVD to anyone. I think it's the perfect workout and once you do both workouts you will understand why it is called Balanced Blend.

UPDATE: Over a year later, thanks to this and other DVD's (on my listmania list) and a healthy diet, I dropped almost 40 lbs.!!! Give it a try...

I'm English, but even with having to pay handling and so on from the States, this was still a great value buy. Although I love American fitness programmes, I am sometimes put off by the ra-ra, clap yourself style of the trainers; Minna is NOT one of those irritations, but is professional, motivating and you know you can trust her on safety issues etc. Getting two workouts was great: the Fat Eliminator, with its cardio and strength training intervals, is a nice, solid workout - not too hard, but you will definitely raise a sweat, particularly if (as another reviewer suggested) you continue to pay attention to your form; Strenth & Grace is I feel often underrated by the reviewers (though of course it all depends which kinds of workouts a person enjoys), as its stretch based moves (not really dance, yoga OR Pilates) are totally brilliant for relieving back pain. At least, as a chronic back pain sufferer, I have found them so - I'm not saying that would be true for everyone. Overall, an excellent buy, and we have nothing in England to rival this.

I first became familiar with Minna from the Quick Fix Total Mix DVD - which I love as well - and thought I'd check out some of her other fitness DVD's. I bought this workout based on the great reviews it received here at Amazon. I wasn't disappointed!

The two segments that comprise this DVD are both 45 minutes long. The Fat Eliminator is 30 plus a 15 minute spot exercise/hand weight segment that follows. The Strength and Grace segment is a full 45 minutes. The Fat Eliminator segment is set up in several circuits designed to gradually build you up to a peak heart rate and then bring you down again - both within each individual circuit segment as well as all circuit segments combined as a whole. I like this quite a bit because although each circuit is challenging, you are given an opportunity to breathe and grab a swig of water in between each without feeling like you are going to fall over and die. The Strength and Grace segment of the DVD is non-cardio, but active enough and a lot of fun. There's also something special about this second segment that I've not experienced in other workout and fitness tapes - it leaves you feeling peaceful and grounded even though you know you've just challenged yourself a bit.

You can do each 45 minute workout by itself but I've also done both back to back for a total hour and a half routine with no problem simply because the two workouts are so different in activity and focus in a way that is very complimentary - or, as the title clearly states: a balanced blend. Even after doing both workouts back to back, I didn't feel over-exerted or exhausted. In fact, you hardly feel like you've worked out at all... at frist. However, let me tell ya - you really feel the effects of what you did the next day! I'm an intermediate/advanced fitness level but this workout targeted muscles I clearly haven't used in a long time - and it felt great!

This is one of those rare programs that actually make you look forward to your daily workout because it's fun, challenging, has a calming and grounding effect and leaves you feeling peacefully energized but is also easy to do for all fitness levels. I can't recommend it enough!