Product Details

• Actors: Anne Pringle Burnell
• Directors: RobPilekus
• Format: Full Screen, NTSC
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Number of discs: 2
• Studio: Spectrum Music & Video
• DVD Release Date: December 1, 2007
• Run Time: 95 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0012YN35M
• Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #4,254 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Review

There are a lot of Senior Fitness DVDs on Amazon. What s the best way to choose one that will be effective for you? First, don't buy any program sight unseen. Go to youtube.com and look up the instructor in the search box. Stronger Seniors can be viewed at youtube.com/strongerseniors

Next, Google the name of the instructor. Go two or three pages deep in the results. Are they actually teaching anywhere? Have they presented at any national conferences? Are they recognized in the field of Senior Fitness? If all you see in the search results are for their DVDs, be wary.

About Anne Burnell

Anne Pringle Burnell created the Stronger Seniors® Chair Exercise Program. Her program is offered by ACE and AFAA for CECs, and Anne has trained hundreds of personal trainers at workshops across the country.

Ms. Burnell is a Continuing Education Provider for the American Council on Exercise (ACE), and the Aerobics & Fitness Association of America (AFAA), training Certified Personal Trainers in the special needs of Senior Citizens

Ms. Burnell is also Faculty for the National Council on Aging.

Anne is one of only 150 Instructor Trainers worldwide for Stott PilatesTM, and am fully certified on all apparatuses.

Her other certifications include: Nia Technique, Kickboxing, Cycling, Aquatics, Seniors Instruction, and Pre- & Postnatal exercise.

Ms. Burnell has been a guest instructor at resorts throughout the U.S. and Carribean, and an educational presenter for the National Council on Aging/American Society of Aging and the American Cancer Society.

Anne is educator at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, the University of Illinois at Chicago, the Center for Older Adults, Peninsula Spa, and Elements in Motion, a Stott PilatesTM Certification Center in Chicago.

Ms. Burnell also developed the Peyow® Aqua Pilates program which premiered at the prestigious Peninsula Spa Chicago. The course is certified for CECs by the Aquatic Exercise Association.

The Stronger Seniors® Workout Program is designed by Certified Fitness Instructor and Faculty Provider Anne Pringle Burnell to help seniors develop strength and to enhance the ability to function in daily life. These two fitness DVDs work together to improve your ability to be stable and balanced, to stay mobile, to go up and down stairs, to squat and pick something up, and to play with your grandchildren! --Stronger Seniors® Chair Exercise Programs Live Strong, Live Long

Product Description

The Stronger Seniors Workout Program is designed by Certified Fitness Instructor Anne Pringle Burnell to help seniors develop strength and to enhance the ability to function in daily life. These two fitness DVDs work together to improve your ability to be stable and balanced, to stay mobile, to go up and down stairs, to squat and pick something up, and to play with your grandchildren!

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

125 of 137 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars EXCELLENT exercises for those who need it most, October 5, 2008

By	V. Wilson (Kentucky, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Stronger Seniors® Chair Exercise Program - Developed by Anne Burnell, Continuing Education Provider for Older Adult Populations for the American Council on Exercise (ACE) and Faculty for The National Council on Aging. (DVD)

After my father's passing last year, I moved my 85 year-old mother in with me. She's active for her age, but recently started having trouble with balance, getting out of her recliner, and out of the tub. I did a search on Amazon for chair exercises and came across this set. I ordered it a couple of months ago and it has made a tremendous difference in Mom 's mobility and comfort.

The set comes with two DVDs; one has a stretching routine and the other has strength and balance exercises. Each routine is about 45 minutes long and are mostly done in a sturdy kitchen chair. Although I got these for Mom's benefit, my partner and I (both in late 50's) have taken to doing the exercises with Mom. We alternate the two DVD's 5-6 days a week and we've all three noted that we feel much better. I've bought other exercise DVDs, but they tend to have young contortionists leading the program. The routines are usually too hard and we end up hurting something and quitting. With this set I feel like I get about 70 percent of the benefit of a more intense stretching and arm strength workout with about 5 percent of the pain and injury. For example, for the weightlifing section, Mom uses 3 pound weights and I use 5 pound weights. We've both seen significant improvements in arm and shoulder flexibility and strength. The most important gain has been in Mom's balance and stability. She can now get out of her recliner easily, and she's much less tottery when she walks.

I've been so impressed with the gains we've all made that I've ordered the set for my older sister and the mothers of several close friends. I've also shown the set to my physician and Mom's physician. They're both going to recommend to other patients. Given the high prevalence and serious consequences of falls in the elderly, I urge you to invest in this for any elderly loved one. My partner and I do other weekly excersises (walking, kayaking, Wii Fit, biking), but still find a lot of benefit in the exercises on these DVDs. My Mom likes the fact that the folks doing the exercises on the video are more like her than in most videos.

The only issue you might have is helping an elderly person set up the DVD player and change the discs every day. Mom couldn't get the hang of the TiVo and DVD remotes, so it's good that she has me here. Also, you might watch your senior the first time or two to make sure they are doing the exercises correctly so as to not strain anything. Mom took a little coaching on some of the forms. Now she's a pro.

I ordered two other DVDs in the Stronger Seniors series (Yoga and Pilates). Neither of those worked as well for us. The yoga was too hard for Mom and we didn't like the second instructor as well as the original instructor. The Pilates DVD uses stretch bands, but the exercises seem less intense and helpful. Surprisingly, Mom didn't like it as well because the workout is a few minutes shorter.

Sorry for the long review, but I can't over emphasize how pleased our family is with these DVDs. I urge you to get this for your own health or for any senior you care about. FYI, I had never heard of Anne Pringle Burnell before I found these DVDs in an Amazon search. Now she's a hero at our house.

53 of 57 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Too long, June 16, 2009

By	CDamon (OK) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Stronger Seniors® Chair Exercise Program - Developed by Anne Burnell, Continuing Education Provider for Older Adult Populations for the American Council on Exercise (ACE) and Faculty for The National Council on Aging. (DVD)

I purchased the two-disk Stretch and Strength set. Iam a 71 year old woman who has osteoarthritis.I am ambulatory, but unable to walk for exercise or do strong aerobics. I have used the Stretch disk once and found the exercises to be comfortable and invigorating for the most part. Most of the stretches were doable for me except for one where you put you leg out to the side. I had to adjust the leg position on that one.

However, I thought 44 minutes of nothing but stretches was too long. There is no logical break in the routine so you have to finish it at one sitting. In addition, the exercises were performed very very slowly, which is good for some, but I found it boring after a while. I kept watching the display to see how much time was left - thought it would never end.

Variety is what I am looking for - 5 minutes of stretching combine with strength and mild aerobics and cool down for a total of 30-35 minutes for one disk would be perfect for me. I don't have time to spend longer at one stretch (no pun intended).

I haven't used the strength yet, but I'm guessing I'll have the same problem with it since it is 51 minutes long.

52 of 63 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best elderly exercise DVD out there, October 27, 2008

By	Elizabeth De Kanter (USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Stronger Seniors® Chair Exercise Program - Developed by Anne Burnell, Continuing Education Provider for Older Adult Populations for the American Council on Exercise (ACE) and Faculty for The National Council on Aging. (DVD)

My Mom is a 73 year-old, bound to a wheelchair, not able to do most of the things she loved to do. Her doctor suggested exercise. I decided to purchase an at-home video. I first bought one with a lady who did the exercises on a beach, which seemed ridiculous. Plus she couldn't stand looking at the bleached hair and the fake smile on her face. She then tried one where a woman waved paper plates around. It was OK, but the horrible computer-generated music drove her crazy.

I decided to do some research for the next video I would get so she would actually do the exercises on a regular basis. I came across Anne Burnell. She is not only a Certified Personal Trainer, but she is certified to train other trainers in many disciplines of exercise, including Senior Exercise. She teaches at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and the University of Illinois in Chicago. The program is recommended by some very prominent health professionals.

I then went to the Stronger Seniors website and was able to watch clips of her senior exercise DVDs. They are GREAT! They are done in a group setting with other seniors, to music that is both relaxing and motivating. Anne explains each exercise, the proper body position, and why it is important to do.

My Mom does them every day, often with a friend and sometimes by herself. Since starting the program, I have returned her wheelchair to the hospital store and she only uses her walker when taking long walks. She is gardening again and feeling wonderful. Our family and her doctor are thrilled.

I have since bought Anne's other chair exercise DVDs, the Pilates one and the Yoga. Both are terrific, and Mom thinks the yoga is so new and an absolutely wonderful experience every time she use it. I do the Yoga one with her!