Apartment Fitness: Travel Fit by Cathe Friedrich

I am guessing that not everyone is going to be staying in a hotel with a gym over the holidays.  And I am also quite certain that Grandma's house doesn't have a fully operational workout space.  The Ab Roller she bought at Big Lots five years ago does not count!!!!  Give your thanks this holiday season for Cathe Friedrich's Travel Fit DVD:  51 minutes of working out that requires no more room than a yoga mat and no more equipment than a resistance band!

Cathe's workouts are usually known for being tough (crazy plyometrics!) and using a lot of equipment (a barbell, free weights, step bench, stability ball, etc.) so I was concerned:  How was I going to get a tough workout with just a resistance band?  My fears were quickly assuaged.  Cathe carefully cues you through some creative band choreography that will make your shoulders and triceps sing!  In between the resistance exercises are quick cardio bursts like squat jumps and skaters that keep your heart pumping, and all is finished with a tough ab section that will keep you taut and hide that pumpkin pie belly. 

Cathe is an amazing instructor that balances positivity and tough love with excellent cuing and technique.  The band is used in more creative ways than I have ever seen!  All moves are given safer modifications so you can adjust the workout based on how hard you feel like working.  Not everyone likes to workout while they travel, but with Travel Fit, there's no excuses!



Equipment: resistance band, yoga mat
Fitness level: beginner to advanced; can modify strength of resistance band to make easier or more challenging
Fun level: On a funness scale of 1-10 (10 being the most fun EVER), I give this a 7!

Apartment Fitness: The Bollywood Dance Workout with Hemalayaa

Bollywood is India's version of Hollywood:  Big movie musical films with lots of dancing and lavish costumes.  If you watch So You Think You Can Dance or America's Got Talent Bollywood dance is becoming more and more popular.  You can catch that Slumdog Millionaire fever at home with The Bollywood Dance Workout featuring the very sensuous Hemalayaa.

This 50 minute video takes you through some of the basics of Bhangra style dance:  Some hands and arms, a little head movement, some foot work, a little abs.  It is like an Indian buffet of Bhangra!  Not any one area is really focused on for very long, so you can't get bored.  Hemalayaa's voice over cuing is light and easy, reminding you to have fun, smile at yourself, and if you can't pick up the steps right away it's no big deal.




I liked this DVD a lot.  For a free and easy workout day without a lot of pressure, it fits in nicely to my exercise video library.  I did have a light sweat but nothing too major.  The workout is done barefoot, but if that bothers you, shoes wouldn't get in the way.  I would recommend having a mat or pillow nearby if being on your knees during the "Ground Play" section bothers you, and on the deep knee plies going to your own level of comfort.  I have knee issues and don't like popping in and out of grand plie- demi plie works just as well!

Thank you to Acacia Fitness for letting me win this video via Twitter!  What a great prize!

Equipment: none (but a mat may be a good idea)

Fitness level: beginner to advanced; may not be appropriate for those with knee issues

Fun level:  On a funness scale of 1-10 (10 being the most fun EVER), I give this a 6!

Apartment Fitness: LaloFit II: The Freeze Technique

Every so often I come upon a lemon in my home DVD offerings. It is unfortunate: I read other customer reviews, watch the clips, and do a lot of research before I actually go through the purchasing process (I am SO not an impulse shopper). I was really excited about LaloFit II: The Freeze Technique but it just left me cold.

Lalo Fuentes is an attractive host and is in great shape so I assumed the workout I would be engaging in would be of his caliber. Plus, Collage Video where I ordered the DVD from said that it was advanced. I was hoping that it would be like a version of Insanity which I loved. Unfortunately, it was none of those things.

The video is just Lalo with an awful music beat in the background. It is voice over cuing with a timer on screen and a rep counter. I found the flow of the workout to be awkward: The warm up was choppy (a really difficult stretch that lasted FOREVER followed by super easy jumping in place) and the actual workout was mostly push ups, very light weights, and some plyometrics. Each segment usually had three very easy exercises followed by one that was either insanely hard or insanely complicated. Then a thirty second break with some inspiring messages ("Let's do this!") on the screen.

The worst segment was the abs section. There were some REALLY tough ab exercises (supine, legs lifted about 6 inches off floor, feet stacked on top of each other, switching feet in circular motions, for about 2 minutes) and then once your heart rate is down and you are feeling cool, you stand back up and do plyo jump squats with push up burpees. REALLY, Lalo?

The number one thing that I didn't like about the video was how boring it was. The music (although original) was not great, the voice over cuing was not good (at one point I was still on the ground stretching and he had moved on without me- but didn't think it was necessary to mention it), and it was dull. But Lalo seems like a nice guy. If that counts for anything at all.

Equipment: mat, hand weights

Fitness level: Intermediate to Advanced- some exercises were very challenging

Fun Level: Wee woo. Unless you like JUST watching Lalo and not exercising. Then it may be a little more entertaining.

Apartment Fitness: AeroBarre

I love boxing. I love ballet. Never would I have thought to put these two forms together, but super cool former pro boxer Michael Olajide Jr. (he wears an eye patch!) and former ballet dancer Leila Fazel who both own AeroSpace NYC have put them together for their new DVD AeroBarre. And it works!

I have not taken a class at AeroSpace NYC in person so I was dieing to try it out. Never any harm in getting down in the privacy of your own apartment!

The video is SLICK. The first thing you'll notice is Michael's smooth, smokey voice leading you along on top of some really cool beats. Leila is the on screen presence, but she doesn't speak. She does wear the coolest looking alligator pattern boxing shoes. The video leads you through a series of rounds beginning with a warm up, leading into shadow boxing and basic ballet moves: First and second position plies, releves, and attitudes. Most of the shadow boxing is done with light weights. Michael recommends one pounders, but I only have three pounds. I could still do all the moves just fine.

The best part of the video is the music which is very tribal and original. And I love transitioning from graceful assemblies to punches. It is only 50 minutes long and it flew by!

Equipment: light hand weights, body bar (not 100% necessary), and a high backed chair if you don't have a body bar.

Fitness level: Beginner to Advanced. No prior boxing or ballet training is needed, and there is a quick demo at the beginning to explain technique.

Fun Level: Six Flags! (more flags, more fun right?)

Apartment Fitness: Jillian Michaels: No More Trouble Zones

In honor of Jillian's new show "Losing It with Jillian" starting tonight, I wanted to do a Jillian themed workout and review. Not all of us can have Jillian move into our homes, and living in an apartment in New York City makes that reality even less so! Enter the workout DVD "Jillian Michaels: No More Trouble Zones": A tough, no nonsense workout that gets you as close to a one on one workout with the famed trained as you can get. And you don't have to have a guest room for her to stay over!

"No More Trouble Zones" focuses on those areas that we all want toned: Our arms, butts, abs, legs, and hips. Everywhere! Using light resistance (the women on the video use 3 pounds, I used 5), Jillian leads you through a series of circuits. Each circuit has 5 exercises that are performed twice through, so you will want to have a lighter weight to make it through both sets! She keeps the intensity up so you are getting a cardio benefit as well as a strength benefit. All that in a little over 40 minutes so you can get on with your day!

The best part of the video is that the workout doesn't take up a lot of space and you don't need a lot of equipment. I was still sweating like crazy and hoping that my shaking arms could support the weights! Jillian keeps it lively without too much yelling or punishment: You will not feel like you are on The Biggest Loser Ranch! This is a "softer" Jillian. The workout is still challenging! There are plenty of modifications to make the workout easier or harder, depending on your skill level.

Inviting Jillian into your home just got a lot easier- no television show required!

Equipment Required: Light Dumbbells (Jillian recommends 3 pounds), mat

Fitness Level: Beginner to Advanced

What I am "F'd Up!" about today! Squeeze Stronger with Tracy Effinger DVD

As my screaming glutes, legs, and arms will attest, Squeeze Stronger is an amazing fitness DVD that provides RESULTS. I own Tracy Effinger's original Squeeze which is a tough workout that has been in my DVD rotation for a couple of years, so I was ready to AMP IT UP with Squeeze Stronger. I didn't know what I was getting myself into!

I completed the 80 minute full workout, which seamlessly blends upper and lower body together with a killer ab routine. Upper body focuses on light weight/multi rep training that concentrates on the biceps, triceps, shoulders, and chest. If your shoulders aren't shaking and quaking by the end of this, then you are a super hero. I started with 3 pound dumbbells and had to drop to 1 pound and then my own resistance by the end! Tracy recommends as much as 8 pounds to work with. Yikes. Lower body has a pilates/ballet focus: plies, squats, tiny pulses that make your legs sing! You will be begging for mercy by the end of the ab section, which has a pilates flavor to it. I think time starting going backwards, I swear.

Tracy is the best part of the DVD. She is strong, smart, and sassy with a body that you hope can be attainable through this workout! I also love the music. It isn't your typical sounds- it is really cool, almost Zen like. I felt like I was in a real on-on-one session throughout the entire workout. I knew it was a keeper when I stood up after the final stretch and my legs felt like jelly. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

Length: 80 minutes, with 2 shorter options of just Upper Body and Waist and just Lower Body and Waist. There are also shorter premixed workouts so you can mix and match.

Equipment: mat, 15-1 pound dumbbells, workout dowel or broomstick, ball or pillow, chair

Apartment Fitness: Trudie Styler's Warrior Yoga

(Read the article on examiner.com!)

There have been many media reports about Sting and his wife Trudie Styler and their love for all things yoga. According to a 2005 interview with the Times Online UK, Mrs. Sting does two hours of yoga daily: An amazing feat for any 52-year-old. It is no surprise then that Styler would pair up with leading yoga workout DVD producer Gaiam for her aptly titled "Trudie Styler's Warrior Yoga" (Gaiam, $14.98).

Styler herself does not lead the video: It is instead led by her yoga instructor and fitness guru James D'Silva in voice over format. Styler and D'Silva perform the routine on the lawn of her "eco-friendly" estate in Italy. The scenery is lush and tranquil and really puts you in the mood to relax and exhale. To up the cool factor, the workout is underscored by Sting's own music: "Fields of Gold" and "Message in a Bottle" are slowed down to a yogic pace.

I found the routine to be really different from most yoga DVDs I own. There were fresh combinations: No boring sun salutations here. Although the selection is entitled "warrior", it is based on the warrior pose. It is not aggressive in the slightest.

The combination is performed all on one side of the body, and then again on the second side. There is not a lot of repetition. I find you do not have to have an advanced knowledge of yoga to perform the routine, but there is not a lot of explanation on D'Silva's part. Besides the 45 minute Warrior Workout, there is also a 25 minute express option which promises "a total-body strengthening workout and the mind-body connection you crave" in a shorter block of time.

Buying this DVD will not only make you feel good inside and out: This purchase also benefits the Unicef Ecuador water project. I would expect this from the couple who has championed so many eco-friendly causes. It would make a fabulous addition to any yogi's fitness routine.