Customer Reviews

Total Stretch for Beginners with Tamilee

5 star:		(78)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Tamilee Webb's Total Stretch for Beginners is one of the best exercise DVD or video that I have ever purchased. I love it, and here's why:

The first section, titled total Body Stretch for Beginners, consists of three 10-minute stretches. You can do all three or just do one.

The first stretch is called the standing stretch. This is for those of you who don't like to have to get down on the floor for exercising. You do all the stretching from a standing position. It also helps develop balance.

The second stretch is called the sitting stretch. You do the whole thing while sitting on a chair. This one requires a sturdy chair that won't tip over when you sit towards one side or the other. This one is for anyone who doesn't want to get down on the floor for exercising, but might not have enough balance to do the standing stretch.

The third stretch is called the floor stretch--and as the name implies, you do it while sitting on the floor. This is my personal favorite since it requires no balance so I get the best possible stretch.

Any one of these three stretches is complete on its own, but if you feel a need for a longer stretch, you can do all three.

The second section of the DVD is titled Beginners Stretch for Flexibility. It consists of one 30-minute stretch that includes a short relaxation exercise at the end. This one is a bit more challenging, but you feel SO good at the end.

On a daily basis, I do the floor stretch (10 minutes) after my cardio workout. This provides me with the best stretch. Every once in a while, I'll do the standing stretch instead of the floor stretch. Sometimes only once a week and sometimes more, I do the 30-minute stretch. I especially love to do the 30-minute stretch if I've had an especially stressful day or if I want to get really relaxed. :-)

The best part of these stretches is that I can do them. They are not all super-easy, but all are doable--even for someone just starting out like me. :-)

I'm a male in my mid-thirties. I am and always have been inflexible. I recently had back surgery and I realized that I could do one of two things: decide to never again take any physical risks in life and accept that I will continue to lose flexibility at an alarming rate due to lack of movement/activity. Option two was to take a serious look at how I could regain some of my range of motion and possibly even extend it. I chose the latter.

I've amassed a wide variety of yoga and stretching DVDs over the last year. The two I bought first were Tamilee's Total Stretch for Beginners and AM/PM Stretch for Health with Madelaine Lewis. These two remain favorites of mine.

Both are more geared toward the average person; no intimidating, foot-behind-the-head yoga poses here. These are basic stretches that should be safe for all, when coupled with common sense.

Although I like both DVDs mentioned above, Tammilee's DVD gives more bang for the buck. There are multiple options here, depending on how much time you have, There are three different 10-minute, total body workouts - one standing, one sitting and one on the floor. All the workouts are perfect for when you lack either the time or ambition to commit thirty-minutes or more to stretching.There is also a thirty-minute workout that gives you a more thorough stretch when that's what you're looking for.

This DVD gives you a little bit of everything. I'd recommend both this and AM/PM if you plan to purchase two DVDs, but Total Stretch is my recommendation if you only buy one. It gives you all the options you could need and is the best stretch DVD I've ever had.

This video is only good if all that you want is a 5 minute stretching routine for before/after working out. It only targets the major muscles. The standing, sitting, & floor routines are all repetitions of stretching the same muscles, just in different ways. And it really is for beginners only; most of the stretches are extremely basic. I would not recommend it if you are looking for a TOTAL stretch for your whole body.

If you are looking for a relaxing stretch program for your entire body, then instead of this DVD, I recommend "AM/PM Stretch" by Gaiam with Madeline Lewis. Madeline Lewis gives better instructions about proper form, and she helps you target your breathing better. Plus, the mood on "AM/PM Stretch" is much more soothing.

Both DVD's are suitable for beginners. If you can afford both, then the two DVD's actually work well together - I use the "AM/PM Stretch" when I want to stretch my entire body and feel relaxed, and I use this Tamilee Webb DVD when I'm preparing to do aerobic exercise. I bought both DVD's at the same time, and while I don't hate this one, it just isn't nearly as thorough as the "AM/PM Stretch". Even for the stretches that the two DVD's have in common, the "AM/PM Stretch" gives more thorough directions on how to properly do each of them.

Only get this Tamilee Webb DVD if you don't know any of the major body stretches AND only if all that you need is something very quick so that you can go work-out.

I have always had to work hard to do even simple stretches. After I injured my lower back in martial arts doing the repetitive kicking motions, stretching not only became challenging, but it was also painful. Physical therapy and traction didn't help. Spinal steroid injections for pain management didn't help. I tried "beginning" yoga and Pilates, but they were too difficult. I was ready to give up when I found this DVD with Tamilee. After only one session, I felt great! You can do 10-minute segments or combine them for a 30-minute session, which is what I would recommend for days you haven't done much exercise. Tamilee is a down-to-earth instructor and shows you how to gradually and safely build your range of motion. She also builds confidence in this no-pressure routine.

I do this DVD everyday after my cardio workout and I love it. The Total Body Stretch section is basic stretches (some I didn't know of and some everyone knows) put in 3 fluid variations (standing, sitting, floor) my favorites are the standing and floor. The Biginners Stretch for Flexibility section is 30min stretching that is a little more hard than the 3 10min Total Body Stretches, so I would suggest doing the 10min ones for a week or two and then doing the 30min one for variation. I don't like Yoga and this DVD is a wonderful alternative. Stretching is an important part of any workout just as Cardio and Strength Training are.

I considered myself a "beginning stretcher" until I saw this DVD and realized that it is best for people with very little to no flexibility. If you already run regularly or are still somewhat young, you probably won't benefit much from the range of exercises this DVD provides. The stretches hit the major muscle groups at the most obvious and popular angles: quadriceps and hamstrings in the legs, one or two hip stretches, and the triceps are really the only effective ones, but the stretches Tamilee shows you are not "creative". The DVD moves too slowly between stretches, and too rapidly during the stretches, not allowing the viewer more than a few seconds in each stretch. It implements very similar flexing exercises in all the three sections: standing, the floor, and the chair, so you don't get much variety. I definitely felt very relaxed and stretched out after the video, but I don't think I need to watch it more than the first time to learn the stretches and do them on my own with equal excitement and efficiency at the gym. There are no new exercises in the video that you haven't done before.

BUT, all that aside, if you are just looking for a slow, methodical guide through a few stretching exercises to do after a long day or as a study break, or after coming back home from the gym, and you don't mind the limited number of muscles being stretched but want to hit all the major groups, then this is a great video with a beautiful white sand, ocean background.

Summary: Buy it if you hate stretching with a passion and refuse to do it by yourself after your workout, or if you no longer have the sprightly, youthful feel in your muscles. Otherwise, not really worth the 17 bucks.

I am VERY inflexible, especially in my hamstrings. I love this DVD because I can actually do the stretches (some not perfectly but hope to improve with time). It truly is for beginners, like me, but it stretches every muscle group in your body. I would recommend, for a thorough stretch, doing all three sections (standing, sitting and floor) unless you are really short of time as I found that doing only one 10-minute section is not enough.
Tamilee is excellent. She clearly explains how to do each stretch, why you are stretching each area, where you should feel the stretch and she truly seems to understand that there are actually people like me that cannot touch their toes. (I bought a few other stretching DVDs, AM & PM Stretch being one of them, and I can do less than 1/4 of it as you need very flexible hamstrings for that DVD)
So if you want a very good stretch and do not want to be disappointed or frustrated by stretches you cannot perfom, buy this DVD first.

This video is the only one of the many, many I've tried that's motivated me to stick with it. Only 10 minutes a day is required to get results. The exercises are so well cued by Tamilee, that my chronic back pain is relieved rather than aggravated. I highly recommend this video to beginners, especially to those with chronic tension as well as to those with chronic back problems.

After having recently purchased Tamilee's "I Want That Body!" DVD, I decided to give her stretching DVD a try. For the second time, I was happy I spent my money on hers rather than another. The first section, "Total Body Stretch for Beginners", is broken up into 3 10-minute segments for those of us who don't have a lot of time in our schedule for stretching. You can choose to do the standing, sitting, or floor stretch seperately, or all 3 together. The second section, "Beginners Stretch for Flexibility", is 30 minutes long, and combines standing and floor stretches (some are repeated from the first section). There is also a wonderful relaxation portion at the end, which I wasn't expecting. If you have seen any of Tamilee's "I Want That Body!" series, you will recognize some of the stretches, but many of them are new. There is calming music and beautiful scenery to help you along with your relaxation. Everyone could benefit from this DVD...I highly recommend it!

The reason this DVD got 3 stars is because the standing stretches were really great. I especially like the first stretch in the standing routine and the stretch for the back of the thighs, since mine get really tight and sore without stretching. I have not used the chair routine and the first time I tried the floor routine I stopped 30 seconds into the routine. The beginning of the floor rountine had me sitting in a position that was very uncomfortable and I did not think the stretches were doing anything for me, so I stick with the standing rountine and use it after a brief warmup before I start my weight and aerobic workouts. Tamilee Webb is a very encouraging instructor without being annoyingly perky like other instructors. Another reason for the 3 stars is that Tamilee does not hold the stretches that long, about 10-15 seconds, if that. What I do is slow do the DVD so that it is going in slow motion or put it on pause and hold the stretch as long as I feel I need to in order to get the full benefit of each stretch.