Pacific Northwest Magazine: Videos On Review
Posted on Friday, March 17, 2006
"Complete Yoga & Pilates" www.topics-ent.com This four-disc set, sold only as a package, is produced by Fremont-based Maya Whole Health Studio. The taped workouts are done with a precise professionalism. What these videos do especiall ...
Pacific Northwest Magazine
On Fitness
Videos On Review
Richard Seven
The Set.
It seems to work well enough in the feature-film arena (hey, get all the Rambo movies!), so why not in the fitness-video genre? It must be a good marketing idea because the sets keep coming. Are these good deals? That depends, of course, on whether you will use and learn from the workouts long term. If not, you'll just wind up with more of what you don't need.
Get a feel for the instructor and whether her or his style and range of demands match yours. That said, here are some recent — and generally quite good — video packages that have wended their way to me. Not all are sold exclusively as sets:
"Complete Yoga & Pilates"
This four-disc set, sold only as a package, is produced by Fremont-based Maya Whole Health Studio. The taped workouts are done with a precise professionalism. What these videos do especially well is devote considerable time to explaining the proper steps, from breathing to isolating key points along the body chain, so you can understand the intent of each movement.
Maya founder and co-owner Stephanie Dalton said understanding the principles of yoga and Pilates is critical to reaping their full benefits. Pilates is especially complicated for some because the proper movements require precision and can seem counterintuitive. That's the drawback of most Pilates videos. You don't have an instructor correcting you. Maya teaches contemporary Pilates, which is more forgiving than traditional styles. In yoga, breath is key and participants must again know the fundamentals.
The set includes "Power Vinyasa: Whole Body Workout," which incorporates breath, movement, posture and flexibility during its hour-long running time and "Basic Yoga." It also has beginning and intermediate Pilates. The videos do not have much sizzle, but the tone is appropriate.
The package is available through Topics Entertainment or Maya.
"Reach." "Push." "Go."
While well-respected fitness pro Kari Anderson lacks a catch-all phrase for her three most recent videos, there is a theme beyond the punchy one-word titles. The action verbs clue the viewer to the challenges ahead.
Perhaps the best of the bunch is "Reach," which won Health magazine's 2006 Best of Fitness Award in the "Most Innovative" category. "Reach" relies less on choreography, which some viewers find a bit too complex. Anderson tones it down into a ballet-inspired stretch and toning workout. It focuses on building strength, balance and "a dancer's body" through controlled movements. You can get a good workout in this program, which also emphasizes posture.
Anderson presents well, encouraging without being exhaustingly perky, showing knowledge without being a showoff, pushing without torturing. These are a set in the loosest sense. Each sells individually.
Prevention Fitness Systems
Prevention magazine has released three videos aimed at helping viewers lose weight, tone and build cardiovascular endurance, with the least amount of boredom. The "3-2-1 Workout" involves six circuit intervals, each of which consists of three minutes of cardio, two minutes of strength training and one minute of ab work. The segments run into each other, giving no breaks so the intensity stays high.
The two other videos in the set are "The Express Workout: Dance it Off!" and "Express Workout: Belly, Butt and Thighs." As the titles imply, both are geared for the time-challenged. The dance video includes four styles, from hip-hop to ballet. The toning workout focuses on 10-minute fat-burning routines for each "problem area."
"Spirit Flow: Dance Inspired Yoga"
Michelle LeMay, an experienced choreographer and aerobic instructor, is also a reformed A-type personality. Thirteen years ago, in the peak of her career, she became riddled with stiffness and injury. So she turned to a form of yoga and eventually developed her own version.
Her three-disc "Spirit Flow" series focuses on stretching while easing tension, both physical and mental. "Rejuvenating Core Stretch" is ultra laid back, some would say sleepy, but we forget: relaxing is a good thing. That is not to say the video is a 30-minute lay-around. You likely are not as limber as she is, and you should keep that in mind and heed her constant warnings to not take the stretches too far.
The series incorporates yoga positions that take the viewer through wide ranges of movement. LeMay calls it a "slow dance of the muscles." The other videos in the set are titled "Alive in Your Body" and "The 7 Essential Stress Relievers." Each is sold separately.
Richard Seven is a Pacific Northwest magazine staff writer. He can be reached at rseven@seattletimes.com.
