I’ve written about Tracy before in Squeeze by Tracy Effinger. This program easily deserves another mention. I do it a lot because it makes me happier.

If you don’t own Tracy’s videos, you just can’t imagine how good they are. The program is about strength and flexibility, high repetitions (like 20-30, not 200) with low weight (I use 1-3lbs). For days when you don’t feel like getting all sweaty and panting, these are perfect. The program is varied and moves along quickly. The woman herself is quite interesting to watch, as is the artwork (Tracy’s own) in the background. I love the power in her attitude, let alone her body.

If you’re looking for more emotional strength in your life, grab yourself a weight. I am not fond of moving more than 8lbs of weight. With these exercises and 3lbs., right away I feel like “well, I can do this, it’s only 3lbs!”. Remember that every ounce of fat that you replace with muscle sucks up more calories every minute of the day. You get to reap the reward of exercise even while you’re not working out.

Want to shape every aspect of your legs and hips? Do the pretzel-clam. I LOVE this.  LOVE it. I can feel the fat pockets on the side of my hips squeezing out like a sponge.

Expecting to do every repetition the first time you play the DVD? Maybe. But decide ahead of time that it will not be a big deal if you don’t.

The Workout by Mindy Mylrea

You will never hear a more motivating script in a DVD. It’s all about saying to those people who said you couldn’t do something “Oh, yeah, well, you just watch me.” After awhile, you’ll find that they stop saying it. They just wait for the results to come rolling in.

Your thighs look thinner by the time you’re done, I am not exaggerating.

It’s mostly lower body, which is fine because that’s what needs most work.

Mindy says that she’s been teaching Aerobics since 1982. Some of her moves seem repetitive from those years, or from her other DVDs. Some may love that because there is NO complicated footwork or sequences. Me, well, I’ve been taking Aerobics since 1982, and I get bored easily, no matter the level of exertion. If you work out with Mindy a lot, and I do, you’ll recognize a few moves. I wish Mindy would teach me something new when she repeats movements from the past. The movements may not have changed much, but the way we understand movement and the body has. Give me a new visual, a new understanding of body alignment, a new way to think about an old move. Anyhow, I’ll get over it. Mindy has earned her place at the top of this game in many other ways.

Mindy being Mindy, there are always moments of pure brilliance. The whole core section at the end, for example. The surfer interval too. The 40 second intervals you spend inside your own head, unadulterated glorious.

Also in the gem category, she gets the tough long section over in the first 15 min. Then it’s easier, so you’re all empowered, thinking “Well, gosh, after that, this is easy. I must be stronger than I thought. So bring it, baby.”

Ballet Body Workout with Jennifer Galardi

This is the best workout ever for beginning the day. Grace, strength, awareness, a little cardio, body-balancing movements. I always notice that the movements feel really good even while I’m doing them, so there’s no hurry for it to be over. You begin the day feeling slim and strong and small in the waist and in a happy frame of mind. Jennifer moves beautifully, and you’re inspired to copy her, which you can do. This is not Swan Lake.

This hour will feel like the most pleasing part of your entire day. It is the only workout I own (about 60 of them) that I fit in every single week.

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Since I’m forced to do something essentially boring, I’ve had time to ponder why so many more good ideas come to me on the bike than when I’m having a hot bath. Same thing with driving-or anytime that I am not free to write. I believe that my left brain feels busy and important, or thinks it is, so the other side is free to wander.  The usual message from  the dominant, analytical, pessimistic left is “That will never work”.  When that side is busy, it loosens the clamps on the right, which it must perceive to be silly. So I’ll keep biking, but I have to do something else sometimes.

You have your Creator picture and I have mine. Mine looks something like this.

Bad events must be the signal to switch gears. The more horrible the event, the louder the Creator is singing the MAKE A MOVE song. The Universe is trying to tell you or show you something. These are the times when I try to make decisions I would never normally make. From the article about Jennifer Kries Life Force Power DVDs (AGT article The DVD I Use To Heal), you know I’m really taken by this program. I’m in no hurry about the knee and feeling very receptive to any direction.

I felt I should explore that a little further. Yoga often feels too static, but Cardiyoga isn’t out there. I watched the Flow Yoga  selection video clips at Collage Video. It spoke to me. Flow Yoga looks like where many of the movements from Pilates and jazz came from.

At first, the workout looks absolutely like a trance, like you’re having altogether too much fun by yourself. Nevermind, I said that I was committed to change and going somewhere new.

We hear a lot about “mind-body” exercise but I never really see it described as more than “consciousness about the movement”. My Deeper Self always looks for the connection that makes my children think I’m odd, and I cannot disappoint them. I see it like this. Since there is no distinction between your mind and your body, which I wholeheartedly adhere to, when one goes one way, the other has to follow. If they are united without barriers, if they are “one”, then whatever is happening in your mind mirrors to the molecule what is happening in your body, and vice versa. When the barriers in front of one are removed, so do they dissolve for the other.

Exercise shifts the control over to my body. If you’re read the Esther and Jerry Hicks books, there your control is over the mind, and the calming of the body follows. This is the reverse. The body settles in and the mind starts to realize it feels good. I ordered Shiva Rea’s Fluid Power Vinyasa Flow Yoga. When you watch the clip, you might think “I don’t think I have enough internal endorphins enjoy that like she does”. Neither do I, trust me. My kids would tell you that I have almost none. To get somewhere new, you have to move your feet that way.

The program is kind of fabulous. Do I chant? Only in my head. For now. There are 213 minutes, divided into about 30 or 40 short sections that you mix and  match, or play pre-set 30-100 minutes sequences. As Shiva says, it’s like “land swimming”. After 20 minutes, my concentration is all over the place. But for those 20 minutes, I go to places I have never been. It is a heck of an eye-opener. And, may I say that I’m very proud of myself for making this choice.

Having been raised in Prince Edward Island, where a large part of my soul resides, where I am truly at peace, my connection to any ocean is very strong. Is it coincidence that the rhythm of the waves and of our breathing is so similar? I think not.  Nature conserves energy, so when she finds a pattern, structure, or beat that works, she uses it at every level.

These programs are about teaching your mind to feel (instead of your body) through the metaphor of reaching for the tidal rhythm of the ocean, “the one breath that unites us all”. The visualization metaphors, what women were made for, are wonderful and very fresh – at least to me, who doesn’t know Yoga jargon. Shiva’s voice and the production quality are hypnotic. Shiva sways naturally when she talks. The movements are so graceful and rock gently back and forth with each breath.

This DVD keeps the left mind busy and takes you outside your preconceptions all at once. We really are all connected, to each other, to every molecule on this planet by very real beams of energy that we can barely understand. Though still in its infancy, the internet is the best visualization of that reality. The ocean and the star-filled sky simulate the same vision of humanity as one being with one collective mind.

Look at the borders of your comfort zone. Make a conscious decision to go outside them. It won’t happen by itself. Imagination and possibility await in a no-limits Universe.

With respect and with thanks to the Universe, and to you for your place in it.

Leaving your mind behind is fun sometimes. It clears the head wonderfully. Clearing the skin is much easier to do. It’s automatic when you wear the right colours. It’s harder to explain. At 12Blueprints, a video so you can watch it happen in Clearing Skin With Colour Analysis.

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I absolutely believe our body can heal in an accelerated way, just like I believe you can accelerate your life.

I believe that your food contains your medicine till proven otherwise. Food can be powerfully anti-inflammatory (and anti-aging) if you make the right choices.

I believe that there is no division between Nature and our bodies, between the energy fields around us and within us. There is also no distinction between what is happening to your body and what is happening in your mind. Your Deeper Self and these forces are one and the same, fully swirling and intertwined.

I believe that when something happens, there is a reason for it. It is the time to push you in a new direction.

I believe that you better be careful what you ask for because you will get it.

I believe that if something in your life isn’t going as you wish, your first step should be to flip the mirror 180 and look harder at yourself.

Having laid that groundwork, and since I instantly become a pessimistic wreck if I can’t exercise somehow, I decided to hobble over to WalMart to look at the Pilates selection, while I await my Pilates/flow yoga order from CollageVideo.

I found this. For $5 (they only had Level 1), how could it be bad?

Below is the 4 video set, available on the Jennifer Kries website.

Well, it’s far better than bad. It’s simply awesome.

The program has about 8 sections. There is a 20min. session of each yoga, Pilates, and ballet, all appropriate to a Level 1 of 4 position.

This is way more. It’s a brilliant integration of mind with body, taking the concept further than just repeating the “mind-body”expression, but actually explains and demonstrates it. There are fabulous sections on understanding and awakening energy sources, meridian medicine, chakras, and ancient healing beliefs in Chinese medicine in ways that will work for you today. Everything is short and concise, not overly meta-energy. She is a serious practicioner, a graceful athlete, and so pleasant to listen to.

I haven’t really been open to those ideas, or I’ve never had to be.

So what was the message? What was I supposed to learn? Why did I have to be forced to open up to this type of movement and thought?

Could this be the big flashing sign in the sky saying “lean back and stop pushing”? That it’s time to allow and to receive and wait quietly, and accept that I’ve pushed hard enough for long enough. A change is needed.

In this clip, Jennifer explains the Hot Body Cool Mind workout concept.

On this page, you can read about Waking Energy. I do the Sitting version 3 times a day. The more I do it, the better it feels. I like the doing part. I’m not good at just sitting, though I seem to be headed that way.

At beYOu.tv, this is a preview of Waking Energy Standing. You can find Jennifer on YouTube too.

My knee is getting better all the time.  My heart is feeling cautiously extra-pumpy that something good is going to happen.

At 12B, answering the question of whether you can borrow colours from your neighbor Seasons. Why, yes, I did use the picture at the top in that article too, but I like it a lot. It’s how life should be.

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The first one is Core Challenge by Moira Stott.

Type:  Pilates

Length:  37 min.

Moira Stott makes a whole lot of Pilates videos, some longer, some shorter, with or without bands or balls or bosus, etc.  They have two overriding characteristics:  they are pure, unadulterated Pilates and they are all very similar.  This is the queen of modern Pilates, after all, and with her, you can be sure you are getting the real deal.  She is very precise and the only thing that varies really is the level.

This is a level 3 (her rating scale).  She presumes that you have learned the basic moves already, so there are not a whole lot of explanations.  You roll from one exercise to the next without much break in between, which makes it quite difficult.

If you are just starting out, this one is not for you, but there are easier versions in the series (Stott Pilates Level One The Secret to Flat Abs).

Overall, I like Moira for her purity and precision, but you don’t need to own a whole lot of these since they are all so similar.

The second is Quick Fix Stability Ball with Keli Roberts (available at, and linked to, Amazon; Collage used to carry all the Quick Fix series and I wish they still did-C.)

Type: Toning

Length:  35 min.

Keli Roberts is one of my favorite instructors.  One of her first  fitness videos was with Cher, and it is worth watching just to see Cher’s outfits.   Keli is precise, not cheerleader in style, and very strong.

This dvd is split into 3 x 10 minute workouts:  lower body, abs and upper body.  You can try all three segments, or just one.  All of the moves are do-able and it is easy to make it harder by using heavier dumbbells or adding ankle weights (I personally never try to make things harder).  If you do all 3 segments, you will have covered all body parts.  It is not too long, so you can do it after your power walk or just on its own.

What I mostly like about her style is that she is very low key but really solid.  There will be no whooping and hollering and no one is wearing black lace spandex (except Cher, but that is a separate video).

The third one is Reach by Kari Anderson.

Type:  Toning

Length:  60 min.

This is a really super workout.  It is very fluid, graceful, well cued and calm.  Kari has a  quiet, soothing voice and I like her personality. In fact, everything about this class is relaxing, from the colors in the studio to the women’s outfits, to the soft music, it is a sea of brown and gold.

The movements are somewhat dance and somewhat yoga.  I am not fond of the twistiness of yoga (back trouble) but Kari sticks to basic moves. In this one hour long class, you cover a lot of ground including strength, balance and flexibility.  Your heart rate will not get very elevated, I do not consider this to be an aerobic workout, but you will sweat because these are long, sustained movements requiring control and this is a different kind of difficult.  At the end, I always feel that I have worked my muscles but I do not feel like I have been yelled at for an hour.  I am tired but calm.

Might I clarify that I’m not yawning OR drinking tea. I love Patrick (the most fun and funny instructor), Kari (SO pleasant to spend an hour with), Moira (LOVE her voice, and the body on the female student in Core Challenge, wow), and Kelly (one solid teacher). We’re first-name friends from way back, though they don’t know it. Thought Balletone from the Part 1 post looked superb. The Quick Fix series are all brilliant. I bought Play Ball today. It’s hard to go wrong with any of these instructors, but they often have several choices. Do read the Reviews for each video before you choose. You’ll find them extremely helpful.-C.

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Intermediate level exercise is sounder from many perspectives. It gives the same result and is more appropriate for way more people. Read along to see which videos my sister, Sonja, recently bought and why she likes them so well – C. (The videos are linked to the Search page for that instructor. You can watch the essential 1 min. clips on that page. Or, click on the title of each program to learn much more about each video).

Recently, I have started working out at home. My husband has been away and I just can’t get to the gym, which makes me sad.  This was my “alone” time, nobody bugged me, I did my thing, and I came home happier.

Solution:  I brought the gym to me and ordered some workout videos from CollageVideo.  Now, unlike Christine, I do not like videos that have the words “attack” , “combat”, or “killer” in them.  My choices are all intermediate and more gentle.  I have reviewed them here so you can see what you think.

The first is Prevention 3-2-1 Circuit Workout with Chris Freytag.

Type:  Circuit

Length:  49 minutes

I really enjoyed this video.  There are 6 circuits and they work like this:  3 minutes of aerobics, 2 minutes of strength work featuring a specific body part and 1 minute of abs.  The aerobic segments are challenging if you use a large range of motion and can be low or high impact.  Since the choreography is straightforward, you can easily adapt the moves to your level.  The strength work focuses on one muscle group at a time but still keeps your heart pumping, and the abdominal exercises are Pilates based with focus on the core.

Overall, I liked this workout a lot.  It made me sweat, I was not frustrated with complicated steps and I loved the circuit, since no segment is too long. (I live in fear of 40 minute cardio sections!)  All muscle groups were covered and Chris is an encouraging teacher.

The second video is Beyond Balletone with Shannon Fable.

Type:  Aerobic, ballet style

Length: 42 minutes

This is one of a series of 4 Balletone workouts, all of which I enjoy.  If you took dance classes as a kid, or just love ballet style workouts, you will like this series.   All of the Balletone videos look deceptively easy.  It seems like you are not going fast or doing much, but you soon find yourself out of breath and sweating. |

The steps are not too complex, you will not find yourself dancing the Nutcracker in your living room and there are no pirouettes or leaps.  The moves, however, are challenging, partly because there is a balance component which is incorporated throughout the workout and this requires core bracing.  I really think balance is important, particularly as you get older.

The emphasis here is definitely on the lower body and there is no mat work. If you find this one too complex, you can try Sole Synthesis with the same teacher.  It is more basic.  Shannon, by the way, is enthusiastic without being overbearing.

The third one is Play Ball with Patrick Goudeau.

Type: Aerobic

Length: 30 min.

This will definitely get your heart rate up.  Patrick uses a medicine ball (I did not use a ball) throughout the workout and boy, do you sweat. The first 18 minutes are cardio and the rest is the mat workout, which is also cardio.  I did not know that you could make a plank an aerobic move.

He is an excellent instructor, the steps are a little tricky and I will have to do them a couple of times to get them all.  I do confess that I looked at the clock at the 16 minute mark, not that I couldn’t make it (really, I was fine!), I just that I felt the need to know how much more there was.  I found that I had to make some of the moves easier, so adding the medicine ball would be the next step for me.  Since it was only 30 minutes, I added on a short Pilates workout.  I was totally cooked after that.

Of the three workouts, this is the shortest and the hardest.

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Nobody can pretend that looks and first impressions don’t make a difference. Absolutely, we should be judged only on the person we are inside, but how it should be is not how it is. Or will be in the foreseeable future.

When you develop and learn and change on the inside as well as outside, it feels like moving more towards what the world SHOULD be like.

Exercise is that way. It is about so much more than what you look like.

Tracy Effinger is well-known as a fitness personality. She created the amazing Squeeze workout videos.  You can read about the Squeeze concept here, on her site.

I spoke of the one that started it all in 3 Workouts You Should Know. Tracy e-mailed to thank me for the mention and asked if I’d be interested in another program. She sent me Squeeze Stronger.

I like this woman’s delivery. Her plain-speaking personality really shines through. She doesn’t soften the message just because she’s a girl. She doesn’t talk to you like you’re a girl and need careful treatment. Without being military, she is passionate and serious about helping you get this job done. You can watch clips at Collage Video.

She’s gorgeous, she’s powerful, and obviously doesn’t buy into the Barbie body mentality that fitness people are probably pressured with, especially if they work with celebrities. A fit body is supposed to empower you to resist that and love yourself as you are, so when they give in to the knife, it feels a bit of a letdown. If they, with their strong bodies and mental images, could not resist the social pressure, then how should the rest of us?

But she is also a painter and a jewelry designer, and very accomplished at both. You can see more of her art work at her website.

I love this pendant. It’s a reminder to all of us to “squeeze all we can out of life”.

In Tracy’s own words,

“I have actually gotten painting commissions from my website when customers went there to buy DVDs.  Also, all the art work in my DVDs are blown up versions of my paintings! It is very important to me to have my art in the DVDs and I do think of painting and exercise the same way…tapping into who you are and using your energy source to make more of yourself.”

She sees all the things she does as feeding into one another, in a self-perpetuating loop. It is not a question of carving out time for yet another thing, but rather that every element would suffer if one were to be lost. Like the most successful of businesses, when you own and value cog in the wheel, then you create a far more powerful and unified product with more ease. Your life is the most important business you are invested in, whether you wanted to be or not.

Tracy’s programs are shining testaments to how much you can accomplish by exercising at home with minimal equipment. The movements are so effective that you’ll feel them with a 1lb wt. They are so different that even experienced exercisers discover muscles they didn’t know about. Her cues are exact and the moves are not complex so you can feel the right muscle without any uncertainty. The workouts would surely be equally useful to men and women but it’s clear that an intelligent woman is teaching them.

It’s all in the visualization cues. “Pretend you’re pulling your belly away from your T-shirt”, or “reach and flatten your back as though you’re trying to place your chest on the wall in front of you and your buns on the wall behind”, or “imagine a set of cables on the wall in front of you and pull as though you are trying to resist in both directions”, these help adjust your body to do the movement correctly.

It also occupies my mind better. When you’re doing 3 sets of 10, having the instructor count all 30 makes time drag. I much prefer imagining, using your right brain to learn. It works so well that there are books using that approach in almost every sport, but I think they’re especially effective with women. Men think in terms of numbers and facts. With women, pictures and stories work better. That’s how Tracy writes the script.

Most every review at Collage is 5 stars for all Tracy’s videos. They really are that good. Some people had a few minor objections, none of them mine. As hard as it is to be negative when someone gives you something, goes against the grain of good manners, my personal thing was this : when I like an instructor a lot, as I do this one, I will buy every program they make. I’m really happy when no move, not even a stretch, is repeated. I like everything to be new and different. There is barely any repetition between the 2 programs, but there is a little in a couple of movements. Just something I’m sensitive to.

Is this not gorgeous? If I had a meditation room, I’d put this on the wall.

The first release of the DVD had a small glitch in the Lower Body and Abs premix, where part of the warm-up was left out. The track with Play Whole Workout was fine and it was easy to go from the warm-up back to the lower body premix. You’ll see it called The Dead Lift Glitch in the reviews at Collage. I asked Tracy if there was anything she would like people to know and her response was so interesting :

“I had wanted it perfect and had worked so hard to get it that way.  The imperfection was a great metaphor for impermanence and accepting imperfections….just like we have to do with our bodies.  I had to just accept it and let it go!  I had spent so much money on replication, I could not go back and fix it right away, another hard thing for me.  I had to accept whatever reactions were going to result from it.”

How fascinating would it be to have lunch with this woman. Her mind thinks way beyond the surface of things. Finding the connections between seemingly separate elements is one of the great talents of female brains. It always sends a spark in me when I see it.

We are all so much more than one thing. Each activity feeds and strengthens and inspires the others. In a man’s head, each part of his life is compartmentalized. In a woman’s brain, the screens all flow together. Every file contains some data from every other file. It makes our lives more difficult when we’re working mothers because we can’t keep the components apart, but in terms of making our lives richer and our problem-solving more textured, we’re got something special.

You don’t have to do it daily. You don’t have to do every set. I don’t. DVDs that I can complete the first time disappoint me. There is only 1 thing nobody but you can do : start. 1 minute. Just 1 minute. If you’re not doing it, it’s not because you can’t (unless you’ve been injured). It’s because you don’t WANT to. What defines who gets what they want, and who doesn’t, isn’t their ability. It’s how much raw want they put on it.

Then stand back and watch your arms change shape and your legs stop jiggling.

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The most valuable part of exercise for me is the time to refresh the lesson on ignoring negative voices. Working out hurts. It’s uncomfortable. With every workout, you have to stop yourself from thinking yourself out of it and go ahead and just get it done.

But I push. It’s what I do best. I push when I shouldn’t. I push verbally and say things too directly or in ways I regret. I’ve made some kind of peace with that. I’d still rather make mistakes and embarrass myself over and over than sit still. I really do want the next 20 years to be different from the last 20.

I wish I could just lean back. When a holiday is forced on me and I eventually give in to it, it strikes me that pushing all the time can actually slow you down in the long run.

How is this like exercise again?? Well, for one thing,

1. Progress is still happening when you stop.

When you’re lifting the weight, you’re breaking the muscle down. It’s only in the next day and weeks that strength gains are made, as the muscle fiber heals and grows. It is natural and necessary that action be followed by rest.

High level productivity training in many fields uses this analogy to improve efficiency in workers. Companies have understood that driving people into the ground causes them to drop. Employees are taught to reduce work hours but make great use of what hours they have. Production gains are greater when people are given time to rest. The employer must trust that he benefits even when employees appear idle.

Quiet and calm are just as important for growth and change as those times when there’s a lot happening. If you carry physical stress and ignore it for too long, your body will shut you down. That’s why sleep is called the second shift.

2. Strengthen your weaker side.

Every single injury I have sustained through physical effort has happened for the same reason. The dominant side of my body was trying to take over. I learned this on a BOSU, killer stabilization that it requires.

When the movement is really difficult, I can feel my right side consciously shutting down the weaker left side and trying to carry the whole movement. I can feel it trying to numb and dull the weaker side’s perceptions. It feels like the big sister who doesn’t trust the younger sibling to do the job, let alone help, so just butts in and does it all. The left side of my brain, which controls the right side of the body, tries to impose all its knowledge and certainty that only it knows how to do the job. So, the left side of my body is unprotected, can’t meet the demand, and gets hurt.

Time off is a chance to strengthen the human relationships that form the stage for the rest of the show. Without the foundation, pushing seems to lose its point. In my driven way, personal connections sometimes take a back seat to my drive to get things done. The right balance needs to be re-established.

3. Give more of yourself than you thought you could.

The best workouts are the ones where you let resistance go. You may have resistance to lots of things, some closer to the surface that you recognize and deal with more easily, some more buried. Exercise is largely the practice of locating it, recognizing it, and overcoming it.

How much more can you give? How much more can you take? For 30 seconds, not till the end of the workout, leave yourself behind. Leave your own body for a second or two and see what that feels like.

You may not know what it is you fight against exactly, but exercise can show you where inside you it lives. Release it. Watch it separate and leave.  This is how you reach personal empowerment. Once you can do it in one context, you understand better how to do it in other contexts. There is less fear because you already know how it feels to be there and come back. Holidays give you time to confront the reins that hold you back, and snap them. The only one setting your outer limits is you.

No one can go from 0 to 100 instantly, nor should they. You’d miss out on the real appreciation of what 100 is all about. The fastest way to move forward may be to create some aerodynamic drag to slow ourselves down. Let success find you.

Happy peaceful aware summer energy.

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I use them for every type of workout I do, floor or standing, kickbox to yoga. When it’s a step day, I put a strip on both long edges of the step. They may need a little repositioning, and time to get used to them, but it’s worth it for how much better you feel during and after the workout.

They are durable, reversible, waterproof, and easy to clean. The surface is textured so it holds hardwood floors, bare feet, or rugs with minimal movement. The grip is perfect but they don’t stick to or mark the floor. The connecting edges do not come apart, no matter which direction you are moving in.

Their best feature is the shock absorption. Knees, backs, and ankles feel great. I notice much less foot fatigue and always feel I can go a little longer in my workout. For plyometric work, or anything with impact, you’ll be wondering how you can do so much more than before.

I like them for doing pushups or prone exercises, where the upper body weight is all on the wrist. With the mats, I can position my hands at the edge and let my fingers rest on the floor. It’s just a centimeter or 2, but my wrist is at a slightly more open angle than 90 degrees. Makes a big difference.

You can find them at Canadian Tire, often on sale for 9.99 – 11.99 for a set of 4. They’re also at WalMart and the Superstore. Consider buying 2 sets because you’ll get a wider surface area and if the connectors wear out, you have a replacement square. Every store I looked in has slightly different mats, and of course, no 2 work together. Buying 2 of the same kind right at the start is just easier. The ones in the Exercise section of the store tend to cost more than those in the Children section, but they’re not better in any way I can see, just less colorful.

I have a heck of a time finding things at CT. Like other stores have Price Checkers, this place needs computers where you can type in your item and be given an aisle number. Staff are great if you can find them. These tiles are usually in the center aisle.

For storing exercise equipment and protecting floors, these mats are ideal.

You don’t need a separate mat to do ab exercises or Pilates, though I do use a towel. For workouts that move quickly from floor to standing, you don’t lose time or have to stop the DVD.

You can hook your fingers on the edges and get a much better stretch, with the edge to hold on to as you pull away.

They provide a surface that the stability ball won’t roll onto and get in your way, but it’s close when you want it.

They’re quiet to work on, if you exercise when others are sleeping.

The grip is plenty good enough for doing plank work, or ab work on the ball. Your feet won’t slide all over and your wrists are cushioned.

The lines and right angles are quite useful to keep me square and symmetrical, in planks, yoga, or Pilates movements.

It’s a snap to piece together, choose a custom shape for your space, and take them down again. If it’s a kickboxing day, I make a big rectangular shape. They are nothing to store.

They come with a strip to close the unused locks so they don’t get damaged.

Just one of those cheap, simple, and effective things that make life much better.

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© 2007–2009, Christine Scaman. All rights reserved.

The  Collage Video site and the customer reviews do a great job of describing each program so I’m not going to. The hurdle with Collage is sifting through the 750+ choices to find the gems. Here are 3 superstars that I would not be without. 

1.     Squeeze with Tracy Effinger.

If you get through it with a 2 lb weight, you’re a powerful woman, regardless of what you usually lift. I can’t complete the arm section with 1.5 lbs. It gets into the movement and the muscle something unbelievable. There are stretching breaks, lots of bonus sections, total body attention, and the time flies. No question, this is one of the best examples of how much you can accomplish by exercising at home. Any kind of ball will do.

The title above is linked to the Effinger search page. Click on any title there to take you to the details for the program. 

2.     Cathe STS Ab Circuits

Part of the new Shock Training System, which consists of 40-some discs, but you can buy this one separately. It includes 6 separate ab workouts based on weights, yoga, Pilates, and more. Delivering no less than the excellence and challenge you expect, these are not beginner moves.  Cathe never does anything bad, but she is now at her peak. She is at her most professional, calm, beautiful best.

3.     Karen Voight Energy Sprint

Quite possibly the best designed workout ever made, by another pro who never does anything less than superb. It’s been out 15 years or so but it never dates. It’s as hard as you make it. It’s safe. It is so thorough. You can do it without the step but it’s better with it. It takes the cardio up and part way back down and up again a little higher with masterfully calculated objectives.  The cardio and strength crescendo together and drop back in a deliberate design that amazes me.

While you’re there, check out my wish list:

Patrick Goudeau Play Ball

 Patrick Goudeau Hard Work Conditioning 2

Squeeze : Stronger with Tracy Effinger

Squeeze : Lower Body Challenge 

Amy Bento Kickbox Surge and Core Training – watch the clip for this one!! it looks SO good! Amy always has the best music. I’ll be ordering this within the week.

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© 2007–2009, Christine Scaman. All rights reserved.

Oh, please not this topic. We all know we’re supposed to be doing this in grocery store lineups, everywhere, all the time, every chance we get, but it’s uncomfortable and irritating.

I know it’s odd but you need to know this. It is not often talked about, at least not at any exercise class or video I’ve ever seen. Maybe that’s because it’s awkward to say “Squeeze your pubococcygeus now, ladies”. You only hear about it to help reduce urinary incontinence or to strengthen the pelvic floor muscles during and after pregnancy.

Where?

What’s a pelvic floor? Those are muscles that act like a sling to support and contain all the organs in your pelvis (bladder and its sphincter, uterus, the end of the intestinal tract or rectum, and its sphincter). Nobody wants to talk about it but NOBODY wants any of this stuff to go wrong either. It needs to be tuned and tight just like everything else to work really well for a long time.

Your deepest core pelvic muscle is the pubococcygeus, the one you work with Kegels. It’s called “deepest” because it’s nearest the center of your body, organized like an elastic around a pole that goes through the middle of you in an up-down direction, like an internal pogo stick. That pole has another name – it’s called “gastrointestinal tract”, which curves around a lot, but is still a tube running right through the middle of your body.

Why?

MUST we really talk about this, you ask? Yes, yes, it’s cool how much stronger it makes your torso and how much deeper your abdominal control will become. Core muscles doesn’t just mean firm lower abs. It doesn’t get any deeper than this. 

Pilates Pro has a technical but truly precise definition of what core stability really means. There are descriptions of the lumbar and core stabilizers, including the pelvic floor and the one we hear so much about, the transversus abdominus. 

Having strength in these muscles is an integral part of having a strong trunk, the top and bottom of which can act in a coordinated way. If the top half is solid but the bottom half is slush, then the whole thing is weak and especially prone to injury in the weaker part.

How?

Stand in a horse squat or open plie ; now tighten those muscles you do for a Kegel. Basically, that means pretend to stop the flow of urine or tighten around a tampon. Did you notice how your whole trunk just stabilized?

Or try this. Sit on a stability ball, arms at your sides and feet on the floor in front of you. Lift one leg about a foot off the floor. Now pull the ball towards and away from the foot on the floor. Once you feel the ball unsteady from side to side, tighten the Kegel muscle. Notice how the ball is suddenly much more under your control and that side-to-side wobble disappeared?

Try the one where you lie on your back and do leg circles with an extended leg either out at 45 or straight up at 90. Try to keep your pelvis from rocking around. Even if you tighten the glute of the leg on the floor, it’s still hard. Now do the Kegel- see how the other muscles now don’t have to work as hard and yet you’re much more stable with less effort? The exercise gets easier and the entire pelvic region is suddenly more solid. Weird but it works.

When? 

Every time you breathe out.

The diaphragm is a sheet of muscle that goes through your body cross-wise, like a plate under your lungs. It cups upwards, like a jellyfish, when you breathe out, like lifting a sheet off the ground by holding on to the center. It flattens out again as you inhale to make space for the lungs and to suck them open by pulling downwards.

  Think of moving the diaphragm and the “Kegel” muscles together. Raise the pelvic floor by doing the Kegel exercise as the diaphragm lifts up to exhale. You can visualize the 2 muscle sheets (diaphragm under lungs, pelvic floor under abdomen) moving rhythmically, up and down, in synchrony. Now you’ve got control of your core.

The best everyday application of this is your ab workout. When you do a crunch, or any exercise that requires your abs to be tight (like a plank, bicycle in the air, whatever), tightening the Kegel muscle is like a handle you can pull against to help lift your shoulders off the floor. Just try it. It’s amazingly effective. The stomach muscles don’t have to work nearly as hard when you pull yourself up using the Kegel move, so they’re still capable of a little more exertion to get deeper into the exercise and more result from the movement.

To improve balance, this works like a charm. Stand on one leg and close your eyes; you’ll feel wobbly. Tighten with the Kegel exercise – notice how the top and bottom of the trunk suddenly start to work together to keep you balanced and neither part has to work as hard as when it was doing all the work alone? Gives a whole new meaning to the word “tight”.

Fun facts and funner anatomy

I know you need some comic relief right about now. Does it help to know that it is by contracting this same muscle that animals wag their tails ? How fun is it to know that? Why, you’re ready for Jeopardy!

 If you really feel you have no need to know any more of this anatomic detail, do not follow the link. It will take you to Arnold Kegel’s view of the pelvic floor muscles. The pubococcygeus is colored red. Can’t get any more core than that. If you like visualizing and understanding the biomechanics of bodies, have a look.

So, this is a diagram of a woman sitting on a clear glass table, drawn from below. I’m sure this has been done many times on sites of a different type than this one, for different reasons than ours. Do you see the orientation? The hole in the center is the end of the digestive tract. At 12 oclock from that are the vaginal opening and the urethral opening right above it. The red muscle is the hammock under the organs under the pelvis. Slack and floppy is clearly not where we want to go here.

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© 2007–2009, Christine Scaman. All rights reserved.

Exercise machines always have great appeal for me because they’re different from how I usually work out. They involve so much repetition of movement that it makes a difference in the strength and appearance of those muscles quite quickly.

 Exercise bikes can cost about $100 on sale, are small and easy to move around, and really tone your legs fast. Most importantly, they’re easy on the knees and great for the thighs and rear view.

 The repetition has a downside, which is the incredible boredom that sets in. How can you make the time more interesting and have a little fun?

Here are the ways I use to distract myself, make time pass, and get more out of the exercise.

 Hey, the usual disclaimer right? Don’t drive holding coffee that’s too hot. Don’t do it if your body hates it. Don’t do what you’re not ready for.

 1.     Incorporate some core work by raising your arms above your head and waving them gently from left to right in a 1 foot- wide arc without letting your pelvis rock. Do it holding a 1-3lb weight and you’ll get it. It challenges the muscles along the side of the abdomen. You’re forced to vacuum-seal your abs against your pelvis to stabilize your body when the weights are off to the side.

 Mehdi writes the great strength- training blog, Strong Lifts. He covers a great range of topics from inspiration and nutrition to specific moves for certain muscle groups. There is no hype here. This is a serious but approachable site, geared to injury prevention. 

 In this excellent article called How To Perform PushUps Correctly , Mehdi describes stabilizing your abs as hardening the muscle as if you were going to take a punch. That can work really well. I also like the visualization of the vacuum seal. Have you ever watched the ads for those plastic storage bags where all the air is sucked out of them and they crinkle down against the stuff inside till it’s tight? That is the image I use, of my abdominal wall sucking in and crinkling down.

 2.     Raise your arms and practice the feeling of lengthening by pulling up longer out of the hips and waist. The shoulder blades stay in the same place as when your arms are down. As your rib cage lifts up and away from your hips, the sides of your body get longer. Feel how unloading your pelvis takes the weight off your low back and lets your legs move more freely because they don’t have to support the same load.

 3.     Imagine a weight from your tailbone, dropping to the floor. This is an exercise used when riding a horse in an English saddle.  It helps draw the stomach in towards the spine and anchors the pelvis while encouraging a neutral, flexible spine. The spine stays strong but relaxed and can be responsive to the spine of the animal beneath you.

4.     Adjust the tension on the flywheel to be very high and stand up on your pedals. Your pelvis does not rock side-to-side.  Think of your pelvis as a bucket you grow up out of. Your legs extend long to the ground. Cycle as fast as you can while holding the pelvis stable. You may find, as I did, that it will not be very fast at all.

 5.     Turn your toes in with the arch of foot on the pedal, weight on the inside of the ball of the foot. Turn your toes out with the heel on the pedal. Do each for 1 whole song. You’ll feel the inner thighs when the toes face in and outer thighs when the toes point outwards.

 6.     Put your hands on the sides of your butt cheeks and feel the tightening in your glutes (butt) . Activate your gluteal muscles and keep them switched on. Picture a sponge squeezing the fat out like water.

 7.     Pretend you’re running uphill and pushing the ground away behind you, but here you’re pushing the pedal behind you and pulling it upward at the same time. So the pedal is coming up because you’re pulling on it, not because the other pedal is being pushed down. It’s a feeling of making a distinct circle with the pedal instead of an up-down repetition. Feel your hamstrings tighten up in a hurry.

8.     Push your arms together hard in front of you. Try it pushing your hands together above your head, like a church steeple. The more you pull in your abs, the more pressure you can exert between your hands.

 9.     Increase the tension to rest. Instead of dropping the tension when you need a break, raise it but pedal as slowly as you like (but no stopping!) . When you release the tension to your usual workout level, it will feel much easier.

 10.  Alternate 15 seconds fast and slow. You won’t lose yourself in this workout because you’re always counting time, but it’s easy to work harder than usual because you get lots of rest periods. Even if you just do it for a song or two, you’ll burn more calories with the sprint intervals and the time goes fast. Practicing explosive speed and power is good.

Do each move for 1 song and you’ve sailed through 30 minutes on a bike. You’ll have worked in some core, cardio, and strength.

 Remember to make sensible decisions that reflect your fitness level. Start slowly and work up. If you can’t hold the middle strong, you’ve done too much. Remember to keep the fundament in place: heart leading and open, stomach sucked it till it pulls the butt under a little.

Hey, cupcake, get up! The workout’s not over till the 10 minutes of abs are.

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© 2007–2009, Christine Scaman. All rights reserved.

Workouts are not put on hold when you’re on vacation. 

 Easier said than done. You’ve got lots of time but it’s busy time, visiting, shopping. I can’t get exercising done mid-day because by then the day is planned and I’m dressed and don’t want to get all sweaty again. Evenings are always overbooked with friends and dinners and relaxing conversation.

 Create a time slot

 You just have to wake up early. You just have to. I had to learn to do this year round, in a last ditch attempt to find an hour alone each day.

 It’s easier on vacation. You don’t have to rush anywhere after. It doesn’t matter if you’re a little tired during the day. It’s an hour for you alone. Getting from horizontal to vertical can be tricky if it’s been a late night, but then it’s all about you. Part of the restorative power of a holiday is more solitary time to reflect. This is a glorious time to get that done too. 

Start small

Don’t start  by getting up early AND working out. That’s too many steps all at once. Just have a cup of tea and look at the ocean, or outside at the snow. Give yourself a pedicure. Make this time consciously and peacefully about building YOU. Every 5 minutes, think “This is MY time.”

 Come week 2, your body has learned to wake up and feels a little sharper. Exercise is how you’re going to survive the year’s fattest month, but you have to start getting  up earlier NOW. Come December, even if you can manage 3 times a week, your clothes won’t be any tighter by New Year.

 Build strength safely

 You don’t have to do complicated exercise programs. Go for a walk. Take a piece of elastic tubing.

 Elastic tubing, or so-called Resistance Bands, are one of my favorite pieces of exercise equipment. Your muscles adapt to the same moves on the same machines, or with the same weights, so progress becomes very slow if not stuck. This is a terrific equipment search page at CollageVideo because it shows you the many forms that elastic tubing can take, as well as the videos that utilize each type of elastic.

 To build beautiful definition and a powerful frame, learning new movements and/or varying the equipment is the answer. The same move feels surprisingly different done with elastic if you’re used to weight.

 And, listen. As we get older, working strength is unbelievably important. I try to do as much Strength as Cardio. It gives you physical and mental resilience against the onslaught of aging. Forget feeble. Aim to be stronger every year.

 8 Great aspects of elastics

 1. It is much harder to hurt yourself because you are limited by your own power or lack thereof. There is no momentum involved, so the weight won’t swing out of control. This one is most important for me because I have a tendency to overdo just about everything.

Figure 8 band, bow and arrow.

2. Tubing works both sides equally. I have to focus hard on this to prevent my strong side from taking over. What happens next is the weak side gives in, and we’re back to #1, where injury occurs.

Figure 8 band, side leg lift.

3. You can take it on walks. Walking on vacation is the absolute best. You can feel like you’re on top of the world, like a model in a Nike ad. With tubing, a walk can become a circuit training workout, with strength and upper body moves added in even while you’re walking, so you have some core and multi-joint work as a bonus. Wrap the tubes around your waist when you’re not using them.

15lb band with handles, front arm raise.

4. Pack it anywhere. They’re light and flat and take up no space. When I travel, I take a few exercise videos and my tubing. If it rains or I don’t want to go outside, I can still do a little workout and feel great.

15lb band with handles, kickbacks.

5. They’re cheap!! And available in many levels of resistance. 5 lbs of resistance is a starting point. 15 lbs of resistance is difficult for me.

15lb band with handles, biceps curls.

6.  You can work every muscle if you use your imagination.

Biceps curls standing on the band.

7.  They are a brilliant addition to your strengthening arsenal. Elastic tubes are a highly effective to tighten, tone, and build strength. 

Pushups, planks, leg to the side, band on the foot and under the hand.

8.  Using a tube is a nice way to stretch. Somehow my muscles relax better than when I’m using my own force or gravity.

Front shoulder press.

The challenge at the beginning is learning how to use these elastic bands. Some are flat and wide, others are tubular with handles on the end. I recommend you have both because they work the muscles differently. Also, those with handles can be looped around your feet or around a weighted body bar, increasing the movement variety.

Rowing, elbows up or down at your sides, or both.

Begin by purchasing a few DVDs using tubing or bands to see the various ways that fitness professionals use them. If you search elastic tubing, and resistance band at Collage Video, you will have 75 to choose from. This is worth doing to get some safety guidelines. I’m not a fitness instructor. The moves I’ve shown here are some of the ones I’ve learned from videos to work a variety of muscles but you still have to be sensible. Assess your own fitness level. Learn how to protect your back and stabilize your shoulders and pelvis (Pilates is great for this) before you add external resistance.

 On the Collage site, you’ll see how each video makes use of time, how others have reviewed it, and the difficulty level. There is also the all-important 1 minute video clip of anything you are considering buying.

 Your workout’s done. Have a spectacular day.

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© 2007–2008, Christine Scaman. All rights reserved.

    Exercise is a great metaphor for life. How you look is the minor payoff. The grand prize is its effect on how you think.

 The mind-over-body challenge provides an ongoing simulation of asserting an intention and meeting the challenge at every workout. You have to dominate the demon that would keep you sitting on the couch. Get used to conquering demons and pretty soon, they start looking puny. Face down an obstacle every day and overcoming obstacles becomes familiar territory.

The expression “Hold Your Ground” has real meaning in movement, as well as being an analogy for strength and determination.

 Literally, pull the ground

 It means to grip the ground beneath your feet. Grip the ground when you move, like the tread on a bulldozer, and pull yourself along it. The ground you stand on? You own it.

 I bought an elliptical machine at Canadian Tire. It was $299, on sale for 119 ( yes, 119, not 199!). Seemed like a good deal, with just-warmer-than-lukewarm reviews on the CT site. I agree with the reviewers who said the stride is short. But that’s not a bad thing. This feels more like running than stair-climbing or elliptical work. My body deeply dislikes running, and my knees abhor it. This is a great way to get the huge toning and calorie burn of running without the pain. 85% of the reviewers agreed that it was worth it for the price and I concur. Watch your CT flyers, women!

 If you kickbox, picture being hard to tip over and impossible to lift up. It means you have to consciously set and harden your pelvic muscles. You can’t solidify your entire body from your legs alone. It has to come from deep in your middle.

 If you remember the article Where Strength Begins : Hold Your Body Together, you’ll have seen the analogy of the cross hairs of a rifle in your pelvis (spine Y axis, Earth and Water line X axis). Tighten along the crosshairs and hold the whole thing together. Don’t let it rock unless you’re in control of it.

Take a few Pilates classes. Learn how all movement begins and is empowered from your pelvis. Once you get how to do this, your limbs work smarter, not harder, because the power is coming from your core. Your limbs are then free to move with more grace and yet, more force. A powerful, rock-solid center is the origin for everything you do – in your head as well as your body. Imagine yourself hard to displace.

Here are a couple of brilliant ones with excellent instruction. Both are linked to their page at Collage Video.

Play with your feet

 When only one foot meets the floor, feel the ground connecting with the entire surface of a strong, relaxed, and conscious foot. Feel your foot spread out and give your weight to it. Think about a secure, broad, comfortable foot. Have you ever really thought about how your feet connect to the ground? It’s a very calming thing to do and great for balance.

 Anytime you leave the ground, land like Catwoman.  We all remember the old record players in our parents’ living rooms, right? When you land, don’t let the needle skip. To do that, you have to tighten your pelvic and leg muscles before you land. Land softly, soundlessly, but securely. Much easier on the joints too.

Figuratively

 Visualize these sensations as determination and resolve to get what you want. Whatever gets in the way better move because you don’t intend to. Be as steady metaphorically as you are literally.

 Know the calm place in your mind that allows your body to find balance. Practice clearing your mind to make yourself secure. The inner calm that leads to mental stability will also be found faster each time you search for it. That sensation is stored in the same place in your head, whether the situation is mental or physical.

Visualize your foundation deeply rooted in the earth. I lose this when I wear heels. I feel wavering and erratic in my movements and how I think others see me. Though they can look nice if you’re standing or sitting, I seldom wear them. I expect it comes with practice but unless the shoe has a solid heel and comfortable toe, well…too often, the walk looks pinched and wobbly, not empowered. It sends the wrong message.

On the front page of the Allure magazine site, there’s a poll asking whether you feel more powerful in heels. 85% of women do! That’s interesting because they don’t look it.

 Develop a strong core. Once the center is empowered, whether in movement or life, the actions that follow can be stronger, tougher, and more intense.

 Gains, mental and physical, are guaranteed.

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© 2007–2008, Christine Scaman. All rights reserved.

Health and time … what woman doesn’t relate? These are two of the biggest concerns and interests in the lives of so many women. What if someone could hand you a list of terrific sites about every aspect of health and well-being over 40? It would save you hours and bring something greatly valuable to your life.

Kelly emailed recently to tell me that AGT had been included in Nursing School Search’s list of Top 100 Women’s Health Blogs.  I’m sincerely honored.

I am also grateful to have that list because it has done the legwork for all of us. I’ve spent a lot of time at Google Blog Search and other blog directories looking for a list like that one, but been discouraged by the sheer number of results and not finding sites that I felt were written with me in mind.

This list is compiled precisely for women over 40. The topics include nutrition with 11 great blogs, exercise with 10, as well as physical and mental well-being, blogs discussing infertility, pregnancy, and child-rearing, and just being fabulous over 40.

On behalf of all of us, thank you, Kelly!

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© 2007–2008, Christine Scaman. All rights reserved.

Linked to source.

The problem is that I get bored. Very bored. I start focusing on how bored I am, followed quickly by how exhausted I am. That happens within the first 10 minutes so I have to find ways to keep going.

Boredom busters

Like many of you have found, music is one of the keys. Music elevates you into a zone where you become the rhythm, you can feel it in the center of your head. On the other hand, for me, TV cancels it right out. I am tethered to the ground. It flatlines my brain completely.

Circuit training is also a great way of passing time and getting the most out of the hour. As the article Woman + Strength = Gorgeous : 4 Tough Step Circuit Workouts describes, this is a type of workout that mixes up the movement styles. Traditionally, you alternate cardio with strength sets. Really, you could alternate any two types of movement.

In this workout, you rotate between 15 minute hard bike sprints (or gentle cycling if you’re having that kind of day) with 10 or 15 minute ab routines. The time flies. The next rest period is never far away so working hard while you’re there comes a little easier.

Linked to source.

Ab Segment Workouts

Search Ab Segments at Collage Video. You’ll find 30 or more choices. Scan through them to see which offer 3 or 4 ten minute segments. I can tell you that Quick Fix Pilates is great.

I previewed a lot of the other search results. I’d buy Tom Holland’s Total Ab Workout and Star Trainers Abs in a second. The Star Trainers Abs page is linked to a Search page for a ll the Star Trainers videos. These are worth a look for several reasons. You get an hour or more for $14.95 and you meet many of the top trainers for 10 – 30 minutes, to decide if you’d like to buy more of their programs.

The ab moves could be traditional exercises like crunches and hip rolls or something a little different. They are all great programs. The segments are 10 minutes long ! You can do anything for 10 minutes. And everybody can carve 10 minutes out of a day. You won’t sweat so you don’t need to change your clothes.

Mindy Mylrea All About Abs

If you would like to try something off the beaten path of crunches, try the one I do, Mindy Mylrea’s All About Abs. This is my favorite ab workout because it is not mainstream. I’m always looking for new movements because as your body adapts to a new challenge, it also progresses. As in life, you can’t move forward by only ever doing what you already know how to do.

This one turns on the core muscles in a whole new way. There are 4 15-minute segments using resistance from body weight, a stability ball, a weighted ball (medicine ball), or sliding discs (paper plates work too).

If you can do any of these routines in their entirety the first time out, you are a stronger woman than I. There are maybe 8 standard crunches on the entire DVD. Sound difficult? Yes. It is.

The body stabilization ranges from demanding to killer. Some of these sets are very difficult and you have to work up to them. The key word is not “work”. It’s “up”.

“Up”, as in improved, enhanced, advanced, stronger. Just all-around better.

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© 2007–2008, Christine Scaman. All rights reserved.

You hear people talk about feeling energized after exercise, but you probably feel more like dragging yourself home and falling on the couch. Since circuits do not endlessly repeat the same exercise, your brain and body stay interested and willing to keep going. The boredom factor is zero.

Linked to source

Strength is essential for aging well

As we get older, fitting in some strength work is especially important. Cardio seems to be the one thing we focus on so we can burn a few calories, but we need as much strength work as cardio. Your outlook is tougher. Your posture is better, you heal faster. And you sure do look better.

I don’t want to go to a weight room and do a similar routine each time. Weight machines are always a little intimidating. They can be hard to figure out and I can never remember how much weight to set them for. This way, you get your own instructors mixing it up for you and guiding you through the movements using a variety of equipment.

4 Great whole-body workouts

Here are 4 well designed total body workouts. They all use a step but there’s no fussy choreography because the step segments are not more than 10 minutes long. The time doesn’t allow for complicated dance sequences that clog up your head and irritate your feet.

These are challenging, plain and simple. If you’re looking to move beyond a plateau, if working out bores you stiff, if you think you are (or want to get) strong enough, these are for you.

Available at Collage Video

All the workouts are available at CollageVideo. All these workouts are mix and match in DVD format, so you can do just cardio, just weight, or skip sections if you’re working through an injury in that body part.

If you don’t like the step, search Collage for ‘floor circuit’ or ‘floor interval training’ in the keyword box. You’ll get 130 choices.

Remember to watch the 1 minute video clips to get an idea of what’s in store.

Cathe Friedrich : Drill Max

Cathe is the supreme queen of the ultra-tough workout and she proves it yet again with Drill Max. She is technically excellent with superhuman stamina. You will never see her fatigue; sometimes she pretends to be tired, but that’s just to make the rest of us feel better. She looks like a small woman, very fit but neither thin nor too muscled.

You use a stability ball, tubes, weights…but every move is a tough one. There is nothing easy going on here. The blurb on the back of the case calls it ‘deliciously intense’. Sends chills up my spine just writing it. You have to build up to Cathe and come down gently for a few days after.

Patrick Goudeau : Body Design

Patrick is a funny guy to spend 90 minutes with. He’d be a great person to go shopping with. He does this goofy giggle thing that keeps the whole thing light-hearted, he makes jokes, but the undertone is of a serious workout. In Body Design, a cardio move is done for about a minute, followed by a strength move for 2-3 minutes, and on it goes. The idea is to keep it creative while staying continuously in motion.

The only equipment besides the step is a body bar. Body bars are good because you can use them in many ways. I bought mine at www.fitnesssource.ca. I like different equipment because each thing challenges the body in a slightly different way so it is forced to continually adapt. The result is faster progress.

Kelly Coffey-Meyer : Cardio Sculpt Fitness

Now here’s the body I want. Kelly looks perfectly proportioned and very powerful. This girl seems fierce even when she’s smiling, like a friendly tiger. She’s calm and encouraging. The music is excellent, reminding me of jazzy island rhythms. The pace is fast, right out of the gate. A low impact, easier version is demonstrated by one of the backup, but there’s no slowing down.

You have 5 circuits each in 4 parts. Each circuit begins with a cardio routine that’s actually fun because the moves are simple and the music carries you along. A strength set follows, then a 1 minute cardio burst while your muscles rest from the weights. The last segment is a shorter version of the same weight workout.

The weight moves would be a challenge even without any weight because of the variation that Kelly uses for working each muscle group. The ab section at the end is done to great music by Whisky Train, with very motivating lyrics about choosing change. As soon as I’m done this program, I look forward to doing it the next time. That’s not something you can say often.

Sharon Money-Twombly : All Body Attack

This woman is somehow manages to seem very pleasant and easygoing – but I keep doing reality checks. It seems unbelievable that this nice person is causing you to feel such suffering. I don’t know how she does it. She’s obviously working hard herself and she’s clearly passionate about exercise, and yet she seems like one of the other mothers at your kids’ soccer game. Meanwhile, you’re sucking air and wondering if 30 seconds are up yet.

Like Patrick’s Body Design above, the cardio and strength segments are only 4 or 5 minutes long and alternate quickly. There are two other similarities between the two workouts, namely that strength and cardio are often happening together, and many of the movements are working multiple joints or body parts at once. It’s great. Results happen fast.

This is one tough workout. The weighted movements are unusual and incorporate balance and coordination, which I appreciate since so much conventional weighted work is done holding the lower body still. There is also an innovative section where you are actually holding the step (or a riser, depending on your level of strength) while moving in various ways. It is odd, but you get used to it fast, and you can certainly feel the work.

Next purchase

Here’s the next one on my list. It’s Sharon again, in a DVD called Athletic Step Jam. She could not look more friendly, could she? And yet, how deceiving appearances can be. The hour ahead will be pleasure for the pain. Actually, I see it’s a 102 minute workout. Oh, yeah. I’ve watched the clip 40 times at least.

Wise decisions

Remember that these are advanced level workouts. Start easy. Modify moves that are new. Don’t expect to do everything the first day. You’ll get there.

Every one of these is an incredible mind and body experience. Without mental toughness and determination, and some attack in your attitude, strength alone might not see you through.

Peel back the outer shell of your every day self and set her aside for an hour. Deploy that part of you that doesn’t hold back. Believe that nothing is too tough for you. If you don’t know now that you can take on anything that comes at you, that you are always enough for yourself, you will after these workouts.

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Kickboxing is an express ticket to great physical and mental potency. “Potency” is an odd word to use in this context, but it really fits. There is a presence or a force that you know resides within you. I know it sounds intense. Well, I’m an intense person, too intense sometimes. Ask my family. I think it’s a good thing.

Like all sport correctly done, kickboxing has a technique that’s designed to maximize the benefit and reduce the risk of injury. If you’re beginning, look for DVDs with an instructional segment included. Search CollageVideo for “kickbox”. 

Beginner

1. Chalene Johnson’s TurboJam series : Chalene maintains that if working isn’t fun, you won’t do it, and I agree. This is a party and the music is great. When you visit Beachbody, you’ll see that Chalene has a beginner series of programs, which include instructional segments, as well as a Maximum Results series. The Maximum Results uses more equipment, including a stability ball (the huge round things) and elastic tubing; it is a little harder, but not a lot harder, and easy to learn. You’re surprisingly sweaty when you’re done. Even better, you’ve absorbed Chalene’s well-tuned sense of fun and you’ll have had 15 years taken off your mental outlook. You can read more about Chalene’s programs in this article about working out when you really do not feel like it.

One to watch : Patricia Moreno’s Core Cross Train Kickbox : This is a brand new video (which I do not own), but she is so excellent in Yoga Dance Fusion that I very much doubt you’d be disappointed. Instruction is offered at various levels. If you have concerns about your back or want more controlled kicks and punches, this one looks outstanding with the focus on balance, strength, and grace. It will be interesting to watch the reviews.

Patricia Moreno Cross Core Train Kickbox

Intermediate

1. Criss Cross Cardio : This is a workout I like more every time I do it. The backup is a little odd, like they’re not really into it, but neither do they detract, and it gives you something to watch. It’s presented as a sequence of short drills with little intensity bursts along the way. The choreography that is a little more complex at times, so the difficulty level is probably Intermediate /Advanced (Collage rates it Advanced but I disagree). My favorite section is the Capoeira, a form of Brazilian martial arts based on dance. It is flowing and strong and works legs and core muscles in a smooth and rhythmic way using body weight for resistance. For toning and defining the lower body, this is one of the best.

2.Billy Blanks :TaeBo Billy’s Boot Camp Infomercial Basic : You will get a variety of difficulty levels and instruction. The rubber bands are included, as well as a few extras. While I find many of his workouts to be the same moves packaged in new containers, they remain a very thorough workout. At billyblanks.com, he has an online Store with DVD’s, customized equipment used in the videos, and some motivational extras. It’s a fun website to wander around in. You can meet his daughter, Shellie who appears in all the videos. The description of the videos is better on the Collage website and though they don’t have them all and are slightly more expensive, they do have preview clips. Billy is a very motivating instructor in that he so badly wants you to achieve greatness that you push yourself in order not to disappoint him.

One to watch: Power Strike With Ilaria Montagnani : The reviews are varied on this one, and I don’t own it myself. I include it here because the instructional segment appears so well done. I will not review it but I suggest you take a close look at it when you’re on the Collage site. It has always caught my eye.

Power Strike with Iliara Montagnani

Advanced

1. Cathe Friedrich Kick Max : Ah, yes, can’t leave Cathe out of an intense workout discussion. This video is typical Cathe, technically brilliant with 10 intensity blasts that are painfully tough. I have to work up to this and go easy a couple of days after. One reason I love kickboxing is because it involves very little impact so it’s easy on the knees. This is an exception, where several of the blasts require you to be airborne. The whole program is extremely well-structured, has great movement variety, with emphasis on upper body, lower body, and core. This woman is at the top of the game and this video shows you why. May the force be with you.

Cathe Friedrich Kick Max

2. Kelly Coffey-Meyer Cardio Kick Step-Boxing 2 : I’m always looking for something new with step and layers upon layers of choreography does not ring my bell. Adding step to kickboxing means more to think about and improved lower body and eye coordination. The pace is fast and you feel powerful and agile at once. The program ends with an unusual core strengthening segment, done on your knees. The idea is to isolate your hips, take them out of the equation, so you can really work the core muscles. The problem is that my knees really do not enjoy this position, so I do it on a stability wall holding 3lb weights.

3. Amy Bento Kickbox Xtreme : Can you say “cardiovascular push”? Prepare to fling sweat and breathe hard. Because the movements flow so well, you find yourself pulled along and you will break through your barriers every time. This is the workout where I feel fierce. Amy is fun but serious, certainly not aggressive. In fact, she could be the stereotypical aerobics instructor, in that she is very pretty, has a powerful but curvy body, is a little cheerleader-ish (though she’s toned that down since her earlier videos), likes fun hair color and makeup and wears them well. You worry she might be dizzy and find she’s anything but. Then she works you hard to get you back for making presumptions about her. Somehow I begin feeling fun and end feeling invincible. Oh, this is one good workout.

Amy Bento Kickbox Xtreme

My next purchase : Cathe Friedrich Kick Punch Crunch &Legs &Glutes : I want to buy this video in a big way, though I know I will suffer. Just look at the expression on her face on the cover. It looks vicious!! I like ferocious. I like raging. That’s how I plough through my fences. Check out the clip! Woohoo, this looks like good stuff. If I have to pause the video a few times to get it together again, then I am truly happy. When I’m done, my every problem has been left on the floor. The fog has lifted, the mountains are gone, and the road looks clear.

Cathe Friedrich Kick, Punch Crunch &Legs &Glutes

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The specifics of this adjustment vary a little from person to person, what is certain is that you become more confident. It happens very soon, before your body has had time to change. It is absolutely a new head space.

Be a warrior.

Bring it, honey

Although your self-assurance is improved, with any kind of movement, some types seem to get you there faster than others. Kickboxing offers you a shortcut that you might not find with biking or swimming.

It confers a certain “don’t mess with me” attitude because it’s more aggressive towards another person than many sports. Wrestling would probably be much this way. You’re not trying to beat a clock, or a ball, or a net, or a time. The target of your force is another person, albeit imaginary

Count on yourself

That assertive frame of mind carries over into everyday life. It can be mistaken for aggression instead of power, but others can sense it. The signal you send says “I can take on anything” because you believe it to be true.

Challenges are easier to face because you know that you can’t be knocked down easily. And if you are temporarily rocked, you will come up fighting. You’ll be able to do this because you’ll have done it already in the fighting simulation of a kickboxing workout.

Deal with stress (don’t let it deal with you)

For some reason, the idea of being able to fight with my legs appeals to me. Legs that are strong and feel weightless are easy to move with intent. Often women can barely picture themselves hitting something, let alone getting specific about it. For example, how often do you try, with purpose, to drive your fist up under the chin of the person in front of you?

Too forceful? Maybe, but no one is really getting hurt. If you don’t want to envision a person, then make a mental picture of your obstacles and give them one well-aimed kick. Back in the days when I was a much angrier person, I could blow off a lot of steam with kickboxing. It really calmed me down. It just felt good to hit something.

Every base covered

As with circuit workouts, where you get cardio and strength together, kickboxing is a ‘fitness all-inclusive’. You certainly get cardio and strength. In equal measure, you’ll also get a great core strength workout, some excellent agility and balance work, and a flexibility challenge.

As many of you know, I work out at home. I have some incredible kickboxing exercise videos. In the follow up to this article, I will be showing you each one. If you know of some great ones, please tell me about them.

Get your game face on.

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© 2007–2008, Christine Scaman. All rights reserved.

Here’s your answer : Chalene Johnson.

Chalene Johnson

Chalene is the instructor for the TurboJam workouts. It’s kickboxing with a little Capoeira and Tai Chi thrown in. The workouts are not particularly easy, even though they feel that way, but there are always 1 or 2 backup people demonstrating a low intensity or low impact version.

The TurboJam workouts come in a basic version and the Maximum Results series. I can never find the information on the basic series, but I’ve emailed them and they tell me it’s still available. Contact them from the Beachbody home page and ask about the basic or introductory set. It is a better place to begin if you’ve never kickboxed because there is so much instructional material included, and the equipment is less complicated to learn.

It’s time to party. Come on and move your body.

The music is great. You can even pump it up a notch once you know the workout routines and don’t need her voice cues anymore. It’s not techno-exercise music. It’s more like party music and it gets you moving easily.

She’s very entertaining to watch and doesn’t take herself too seriously. She’s very much a California Barbie-body type, but not at all in a way that’s just depressing to watch, and often makes jokes about being 5’2’’ tall.

Chalene is a mother and a wife, as well as a businesswoman. Like us, she is an empowered woman and has found the path to her own happiness. She’s a little silly and not at all shy about getting funky, with clips from her personal life at the end of the workout. She is probably a very kind and patient woman in her off-camera life. I would guess she is somewhere in her mid-thirties.

Exercise your ability to have fun

She’ll give gentle nudges about eating well and moving your body regularly, without being preachy or overbearing. The fitness message comes across, but in a lighthearted and humorous way. The hour you spend with her is more fun and seems easier than your usual workouts. In fact, you find yourself dancing along with the music and your kids will soon be joining you. It will take 10 years off you.

TurboJam DVD and equipment package

The DVD’s are available in various levels of difficulty and range from 20 to 60 minutes in length. The series with the exercise ball and the weighted gloves are my favorites. For advanced exercisers, the Basic series won’t be very challenging. If you like it tougher, then you’re like me. Try Total Body Blast holding a 6lb medicine ball. Or do Punch, Kick, and Jam but weight your arms and legs. They’re grand.

All the people on the screen are pretty interesting in their own right, so there’s lots to keep your eyes busy once you’ve memorized Chalene’s moves and her outfit of the day. They all put their own spin on the moves so you are kept quite busy watching them.

beachbody.com

Go over to Beachbody.com. It’s a site that sells a number of different movement formats. There are strength DVD’s (P90X) and toning moves, and HipHop Abs. You may have heard of Yoga Booty Ballet which I find appealing but haven’t actually bought.

You will also find diet advice links, chat lines and interviews. Their newsletter is pretty good, it’s about half information and half selling.

Take a look. Give it a try. You can return anything you don’t like. I’ve done it, no hassle whatsoever.
It’s different and will get your workout in on the “Please not today” days.

PS: TurboJam, if you’re reading this : I love the weighted gloves, but here’s a design improvement : make the weighted pocket removable so the gloves can be washed!!! And while you’re at it, make a 1 lb, 1.5lb, and a 2lb weighted pocket that can be interchanged.

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© 2007–2008, Christine Scaman. All rights reserved.

Quality time with friends

12 ways to show everyone your younger side:

1. Become known for bringing the vegetable platter. Get famous for it, so when the to-bring list is being made up, you are automatically put down for the veggie tray. Cut the vegetables up in bulk so you can put a platter together in a minute. Forget about dip. Move boldly onto new ground here and just do not make it.

2. Guests will survive if you’re not with them every moment. They’d probably like the house to themselves for awhile. You’d probably like your head to yourself for awhile. Think of them as free babysitters and use them. They’ll probably even bring wine!! Turf them out if they don’t.

3. Always help in the kitchen. It’s hard to push food into your mouth with a knife in one hand and raw chicken juice on the other. People gravitate into the kitchen (or is that just a Maritime thing because it’s the only room with heat?), so you can visit there.

4. Walk more. Take an elastic strap with you to do some upper body work on the trees and telephone poles. Yes, OK, you’ll be the only person in town doing this. Soon, drivers will wave to you. You will be amazed what movement variety you can accomplish with tubes. Have a look around at Collage, type “elastic tube” in the keyword box, preview a few videos.

Take your workout for a walk.

5. Reconsider the whole notion of Christmas Baking. Nobody needs it or wants it, or expects it. Really, do you?

6. Let there be no rule about how much tea, coffee, or diet pop you’re allowed to have. Look, some policies are going to have to give to get through this. I find that if I drink enough of it, it slightly upsets my stomach so that I don’t want to eat (if you can’t have fun with your own body, whose can you have fun with?). Bring your own can of Matcha tea; it’s quite the conversation piece.

7. Give young children stability balls as gifts. They love them. Get all different sizes and colors. Make sure they’re anti-burst. This way, there’s a ball in every house you visit. Balance on one while holding your cup of hot apple cider and tell me it’s not an ab workout.

8. Do drop in classes at the local gym in the town you’re visiting. Go with a friend or get a break from it all and go on your own. See what classes are like in another town. Go to a gym near a mall, and let everyone shop for an hour while you work out. Shower only if you feel it’s really necessary, maybe from the neck down. Meet them for coffee after. Celebrate by trying on jeans. So your hair and makeup are a little off. You’re the only one who cares. Everyone else is envious of your resolve.

A mall in Budapest, Hungary.

9. DVDs and tension bands are your friends. They fit in any suitcase. If people don’t have a DVD player, play them on a computer. Even if you use them once, it was still worth it. Bring your CD player and impress everyone with the cool music you listen to. They’ll think you’ve lost 15 years.

10. Hang out with the kids. They don’t eat constantly, they move constantly!! Burn a CD and dance with them. Bring a craft and do it with them. Become known as the aunt who brings her own glue gun. (also her own Sencha Tea and anti-cancer variety of red wine ; buy a nifty laptop case to carry it all around it and look cool). Get 5 kids in and out of snowsuits and mittens and boots and tell me if you’re not sweating. You really can do squats anywhere.

11. Never bring gifts of food. This will provide a conversational opening where you can diplomatically, loudly, and repeatedly state that you do not like to receive food gifts. Then sit back and watch how many people still bring you food gifts. At least, you tried.

12. Let your kids pick out your outfits. I talk about children a lot, don’t I? I think their creativity is boundless. Why we always think we know better is beyond me. I think their tastes are expressive, even they do like plaids and dots together; it always works, in a Christian Lacroix sort of way. Have them advise on a colored eyeliner and some funky bracelets. I know you’re picturing an Avril Lavigne getup, but kids won’t put you in that because they know it doesn’t suit you. You’re more likely to sit politely and stuff your face in black velvet or sparkly plaid than in cool jeans and fun makeup.

Three angels dancing (not sitting on the couch).

But, you know, do you want to turn 80 and look back and say “Oh, thank heavens, I didn’t eat any of the wonderful food at Christmas time” ? Of course not.

Eat anything you want as long as every mouthful tastes wonderful. The instant you are just packing it in but too distracted to notice the taste, you stop.

Try to keep some kind of controlled eating and daily movement in place till the 24th. After that, well… it will be fiber and water for 2 weeks, but worth the memories. You can’t do much harm in a week. You can certainly set yourself back in a month.

(All photos linked to Stock Xchng source page).

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© 2007–2007, Christine Scaman. All rights reserved.