Customer Reviews

Yoga Conditioning for Athletes [VHS]

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Let me begin by saying that I am definitely NOT an athlete; I do work out regularly at home (with a recumbent bike and strength/yoga videos), but I've never participated in any kind of sports activity. However, I borrowed this video from the library after someone recommended to me as a good overall yoga tape, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that I didn't need to be an athlete to complete the workout.

Instructor Rodney Yee begins the workout with a 10-minute stretching segment using a chair. These are more traditional moves rather than yoga type moves, and they focus particularly on opening up the hips and hamstrings. Although I'm not at all flexible, I was able to do all of the stretches without modifications, but Rodney works out with a woman and another man, both of whom offer modifications if necessary. After the stretching segment, Rodney moves on to approximately 20 minutes of standing yoga poses. I particularly enjoyed this section and found it to be better than other yoga tapes I've tried, mainly because Rodney holds each pose longer, explaining how to increase your flexibility and move further into the pose over time. The standing toning is followed by 10-15 minutes of yoga moves on the floor consisting mainly of forward bends and twists. Finally, there is a 5-minute relaxation segment at the end.

This tape certainly IS appropriate for athletes, especially since throughout the workout, Rodney talkes about how the exercises will benefit your athletic performance. However, for those us who aren't athletes, this is an excellent, easy-to-follow yoga/stretching tape with an emphasis on flexibility and balance. I would say that virtually all of the moves are appropriate for beginners; however, because Rodney does not explain how to do the yoga poses--he simply gives the name of each pose--some prior familiarly with basic yoga would be helpful, but watching the entire tape before performing it should also be adequate. Rodney is an excellent instructor, and I found him to be pleasantly slower-paced and less new-agey on this video versus the others in the Living Arts series.

For beginners, I would definitely recommend this tape over Living Arts' "Yoga Practice for Flexibility"--although that is touted as a beginner's tape, I found about half the workout to be undoable for someone at my level. I highly recommend "Yoga Conditioning for Athletes" for anyone looking to increase their flexibility and balance, athletes or otherwise.

I have purchased or borrowed about 15 yoga tapes. This one is by far the most used....I LOVE Rodney Yee.... What appeals to me about THIS video are the following: NO tedious, boring, endless, repetitious, sun salutations. NO inversions. NO arm balances or really difficult back bends. There are modifications given that are presented during the tape (not after, or in little pop-ups) - the models demonstrate them as the tape rolls.

What it does have is this: really great hip openers & twists. The pace is good yet not so fast that I don't feel like I get something out of each pose. Rodney Yee is a great instructor, not irritating as several I have found ... It isn't power yoga. I don't enjoy sweating when I practice, I want to feel stretched and relaxed. This tape does that without making me feel at 39 that I'm so ancient I can't keep up with the young folks.

At the beginning of the video Rodney Lee explains that this video will enhance (not replace) your athletic training and create balance. I can't recommend this tape enough. Rodney is the perfect instructor. He doesn't distract from the yoga by gasping/talking through the whole tape like Denise Austen and adding superfulous comments like "feel your body" and "doesn't it feel good". BLACH! He concentrates on the moves and he uses simple instructions and voice over to narrate.

I run marathons and half marathons, which means running and lifting weights daily--I also rock climb, trail run, and hike.

I did this tape for the first time Sunday and could not believe how good it felt. Just doing the tape once released years of tension. My body was literally humming. I went for one of the best runs of my life the next day. I was fast, agile, and experience no fatigue on a five mile run w/ a 7:30/ mile pace w/ hills. I can't believe what a difference it made.

Although the title says it's for athletes, this tape is great for anyone who wants to work on balance and flexibility. It has helped me with my lower back problems as well as improved my movement in other areas. The poses aren't too difficult - they are mostly focused on stretching. He provides alternatives for those who lack the flexibility or strength to do the poses 100%. He also talks through the poses so that you know what to focus on. I would do it more often if I could carve out 60 minutes at a time more easily. Highly recommended.

challenge You. He holds the poses longer, in this video, than in his others. There are 3 segments: Opening, Conditioning, and Integration. Opening, focus is on poses that stretch and make you more flexible. Conditioning, the poses are for strength and balance. Integration works on relaxation and awareness. The outdoor setting is near water, serene and peaceful. There are 3 people doing the postures; Yee doing the full pose, another person modifying, the third person, doing the pose in a full range of flexibility. Yee explains how these poses can benefit your sport. As always, Yee's form is superb, in his performance and expression. The goal is to inspire balance and mental awareness, while you develop better range of motion, to enhance YOUR athletic performance.

I anxiously awaited this video and am not disappointed. It is, as some other reviewers noted, less of a workout than advertised...his other videos are much more strenuous. this video is focused on balancing strenght and flexibility to prevent injury in the "casual" athelete. it is not particularly aggressive in developing increased strength and flexibility. still, this is a valuable addition to my library beacuse it adds the gentle "maintenance" work-out for those days when you aren't that motivated but "ya gotta do somthing". It also came at an opportune moment as I recently broke my foot and the more strenuous workouts are difficult to tolerate. One particularly nice aspect of this video is he spends a great deal of time on "hip openers." In other yoga videos a certain degree of hip flexibility is assumed, and is prerequisite for many postures. unfortunatly, i simple have poor hip flexibility. so it is nice to have a video which spends so much time in this area. I often use it as a warm up to ease into some of the more difficult workouts on other tapes. On the down side, the music leaves a bit to be desired, but you can't have everything......hope you enjoy the tape.

This video was exactly what I was looking for. I am a long distance runner who hates stretching, and my flexibility (or lack thereof!) attests to this. I have never done yoga before, but was interested in trying it for the stretching and conditioning.

Not ever having done a yoga pose before, this video was clear and the pace slow enough to catch on quickly. Having two other people doing variations of the poses Rodney was doing was extremely helpful. I was surprised how relaxing I found the final minutes of the "Integration" session.

This video is well worth it for anyone wanting to try out yoga for the first time.

As a competitive tennis player and runner, I've had my share of aches and pains. But since I started using this tape, I've been injury free. I've given this tape to a number of my athlete friends when they complained about a sports injury and have converted them all. If you are a serious athlete, you must own this tape.

I have a lot of back problems, but I love jogging, cycling and swimming. I have found out that doing yoga 3 times a week allows me to do all these sports that I love so much. I took part in a 5k race about 2 years ago, and I hurt my back really bad. I got this DVD about 3 months ago, started using it (about 3 times per week), and started training at the same time for another 5k race. I did the 5k race, and the difference was incredible. I was perfect the next day. Yoga has made a huge difference for my back. Also, I would like to add, this DVD has several "mini-routines" targeted to specific sports (jogging, tennis, swimming, cycling, golf, others), every time I go jogging around my house, my back is always hurting a little bit, as soon as I do the "jogging mini-routing", the pain is gone. Something very good about this dvd too,is the fact that is divided in several parts, so it's like having several dvd's. I really recommend it. I wouldn't say that it's for beginners, you must have some practice. Another plus... his voice, it is sooo relaxing.

I found this to be a surprisingly gentle yoga tape. You don't have to be an athlete to do it. It really concentrates on realigning your back and re-centering your body.