Ultimate Yogalates (DVD)

*** Introduction ***

Yoga has been a huge passion of mine for around four years now. Over the past few years it has become increasingly more popular, though it still carries around a slightly 'hippy' image and that tends to put a lot of people off, especially men! A lot of people are more comfortable with 'active' exercises such as running, and the idea of staying still for a long amount of time and focusing on their breathing ...
...benefits you might be missing out on? Did you know that yoga tones muscles and therefore loses more weight than running as muscle burns off fat and the more muscle you have the more fat you'll burn? Now obviously women don't want too much muscle but I know for me, looking toned, shaped and having a little muscle helps me feel stronger, more able to protect myself if I get attacked, and also it makes me feel great about myself. But even I must admit, ... more

*** Introduction ***

Yoga has been a huge passion of mine for around four years now. Over the past few years it has become increasingly more popular, though it still carries around a slightly 'hippy' image and that tends to put a lot of people off, especially men! A lot of people are more comfortable with 'active' exercises such as running, and the idea of staying still for a long amount of time and focusing on their breathing really doesn't sound like much fun. But what about the benefits you might be missing out on? Did you know that yoga tones muscles and therefore loses more weight than running as muscle burns off fat and the more muscle you have the more fat you'll burn? Now obviously women don't want too much muscle but I know for me, looking toned, shaped and having a little muscle helps me feel stronger, more able to protect myself if I get attacked, and also it makes me feel great about myself. But even I must admit, over the past few months, yoga has become a little boring. I needed a challenge, I needed a change. I needed Yogalates!

*** A little info ***

Yogalates is a mixture of Yoga and Pilates. It combines the two to make a unique workout that gives quite quick, healthy results. Now Yoga we all mainly know is a more spiritual, quite slow but strenuous exercise where you focus on breathing and postures to calm the body and get rid of stress. Pilates is a little similar only it doesn't focus as much on breathing as it does on strengthening and toning the muscles.

Yogalates was actually created by the leading lady in the DVD 'Louise Solomon', who came up with the idea to blend the two workouts together when she injured herself during yoga and she used pilates during her rehabilitation. Soon after it won government accredition in Austrailia and has since spread worldwide.

So to sum up, Yogalates is used to develop general tone and fitness in the body as well as creating an inner calm and overall well being.

*** My Opinion On... ***

Here you will find my opinion on everything from how strenuous the exercises are, how different it is from normal yoga, who i think it will suit and the results I've personally experienced. Hopefully this section will give you the best idea of whether or not this DVD is for you.

1) The Exercises

The DVD is split into three different twenty minute workouts that are each designed to tone and shape the buttocks, arms, legs and abdominals while at the same time enhancing spinal allignment and posture. As well as the workouts there is also a five minute warm up session that is there to help you gain the maximum results. Altogether the workouts last for one hour and twenty five minutes.

Now personally I have never completed the full DVD and I've been doing it for around two months now (though I've owned it for a lot longer than that!). The furthest I have gotten to is workout number two but I haven't yet completed all of that. So to give you a rough idea of why this is I'll tell you about the different sections.

* Section One *

* Things needed for this section: Hand Towel, Cushion and Yoga Mat (Don't worry if you don't have some of the equipment as although they help get the maximum results, I don't have a yoga mat and I don't use a handtowel or a proper cushion and I've still been able to do everything OK).

Section one of the DVD mainly focuses on the arms, abdominals and buttocks though it does do a little of all of the body. All of the exercises in this section are done either sitting up or lying down. However, this doesn't mean that it isn't a strenuous section. Remember I said I haven't yet completed the second section completely due to the fact that the first section is quite tough on the body.

Throughout you are told to sit up tall and keep the neck lengthened. This helps to get better posture and adds a little length to the body. The first exercise you do involves moving the head from side to side (slowly), keeping the neck tucked into the chin. Now I pulled something in my neck the other day with this exercise so I would be careful and follow the instructor carefully. As I said I've been doing this DVD for around two months now and that is the first time I have injured my neck on that exercise, and it was mainly due to me doing it too fast and being too cocky thinking I knew what I was doing lol.

A lot of the exercises are mainly pilates exercises so it is more of a strengthening section. The hardest exercise for me I find is one for the arms. It really makes them ache and the first time I did it I was in a bit of pain. After a few times though it's not as painful and this is when you know that you are getting results.

Some exercises in this section do require a bit of flexibility. Now I've already got quite a bit through doing yoga previously. However if you are a beginner don't worry as there is a beginners section where you will regularly see two people doing the beginner exercises. You will find through time you will gain more and more flexibility and eventually you'll be able to do the advanced versions but don't try and do too much otherwise you'll end up injuring yourself.

Something I like about a few of the exercises in this section is that they help my balance and stability. One of the exercises in particular focuses on working the oblique muscles. I seem to find it hard keeping my feet on the ground with this exercise but my advice to you would be to squeeze your knees together as much as possible and that tends to take some pressure off the feet.

After all of the exercises for this section you end with a relaxation pose which helps relax the body.

All in all I've found the exercises in this section to really help me and tone almost every part of my body especially my calves, arms and waist. The thighs are also toned quite well but the second section seems to be a better one for the thighs so without further ado lets talk about Section Two.

* Section Two *

Section Two mainly focuses on the upper body, buttocks and legs. I've found it's a really good section to tone my thighs and buttocks though you will find your legs ache more with this section than they did in the last one. This is because you are spending a lot of your time kneeling and doing balancing exercises on one leg and one arm. Those exercises really help strengthen the arms.

One exercise I cannot do in this section are the press ups. Now these aren't the little whimpy push ups you see on programs such as 'Celebrity Fit Club', they are the proper full ones. With me I find my wrists aren't strong enough to hold all of my weight. I've always had very small hands, wrists and lower arms and when it comes to press ups I find I really can't hold all of my weight and my elbows just will not bend lol. But I'm getting there slowly and the more I practice and do section one, the more I can do in section two.

If you are a beginner with this section I would advise you to follow the beginners bit rather than trying to jump in straight with the advanced bit. It's definitely more strenuous then the first section for me and I've been foolish by trying to do all of the advanced stuff first. So take my advice: don't do too much too soon!

Some of the exercises target the back of the body and the back of the arms. I like how it does the back of the arms because some people find that they have bits of skin hanging down at the tops of the arms when they lose weight and this can look really horrible and feel horrible too. Luckily, working the back of the arms helps trim this skin and tones the muscles which help burn the fat around them.

There are more yoga poses in this section than there were in section one and some of the exercises I have done in an exercise class I went to a few years back. You'd be surprised how many people use some of the exercises in order to help lose weight and they aren't necessarily into yoga or yogalates. They just take some of the exercises and put them into a routine with non yoga/yogalates exercises.

Again this section finishes with a relaxation pose and you can stay there for as long as you like before/if you decide to go onto the last section.

* Section Three *

Now although I haven't completed the DVD and done all of this section. I have skipped the second section a few times and done a few of these exercises and as this section contains more yoga poses, I already had done a lot of them before. This section mainly focuses on all of the body and most of the exercises are done standing up.

As with sections one and two, you will find the exercises to be quite strenuous especially on the legs. People who have already done yoga will recognise some warrior poses added in and will be able to easily adapt to the poses here. But don't worry if you are a beginner as again there are beginners on the left hand side who you can watch and follow. For me the warrior poses really strengthen my calves and they tone the buttocks really well.

There is an extremely hard balancing pose in there which will really take some time to get used to but don't let it frustrate you. There is no pressure to do anything you cannot do!

You may find your back aches more with this section of the DVD as you bend quite a lot and I've found my lower back becomes quite uncomfortable sometimes while doing the exercises. Mind you, a lot of the time you don't ache until the next day!

* Summary *

Section one for me is a killer and I feel it was the best section to start with as it focuses on all of the body and tones the main problem areas for most people (the tummy, bum (or buttocks), legs and arms). Twenty minutes is also a good time to do a workout and you can stop there if you feel you have worked out enough. If you do want to do more you then have a choice to move onto section two and focus more on certain areas of the body. Section two is quite a bit more strenuous than section one so only move onto it if you are feeling well enough to.

Another factor to take into consideration when choosing whether or not to do the whole DVD or not is the time. Do you have the time to do all of the exercises? A lot of people say they haven't got time to do an hours exercise and that's fair enough and with the first section focusing on all of the body and being just twenty minutes long, I feel everybody would be able to do at least that. Whatever you do, you should always finish with the relaxation section and you should always start with the warm up. This helps to ensure that you do not injure yourself and that your muscles are fully relaxed after your workout.

2) How Easy Is It To Follow The Beginners Section?

There's nothing worse when starting a new exercise DVD/Video, than to find that you cannot follow the exercises. Whether it's down to poor instructions from the instructor, or whether the exercises just aren't shown well enough, it really puts me off wanting to do it again. So you'll be pleased to know that with this one you don't have to worry about that.

The beginners section is on the left of the screen and it regularly shows the people doing the beginners exercises compared to the advanced exercises on the right and the instructor in the middle. Also the instructor always says what you can do if you are a beginner before it shows the people on the left. It is by far the easiest exercise dvd I have ever followed.

3) The Instructor

The instructor for this is the founder of yogalates herself 'Louise Solomon'. What I like about Louise is that she always explains things really clearly and she actually does all of the exercises with you. I really don't like seeing instructors just sitting there watching everybody else and giving critism. Granted they may be helping you get the most out of each posture but at the end of the day they have no idea how much pain you are in and they keep telling you to carry on when it's absolute agony and you're doing too much just because they can't feel what you're going through. With Louise you can tell she's feeling what you are feeling and that's a real big comfort thing for me and it shows me she's not inhuman! Also the exercises never go on for longer than two minutes each and that is great!

When explaining things, not only does she describe perfectly what you should be doing but she also points to the parts of the body that you are working while she is in those poses. This I find really helpful and it's easy to catch up if you have missed something she's said.

The only thing I don't like about Louise is her accent sometimes, especially the way she says body. It really puts me off lol. But apart from that I love the way she explains things and she's always talking throughout so you know exactly what you're doing. She has a typical soft yoga voice.

4) The Breathing

Now something that puts a lot of people off as I mentioned earlier, is the breathing involved with yoga. Well with yogalates, even though Louise does tell you to focus on your breath sometimes, you don't have to breathe slowly like you do in yoga. Yoga is more deep, long breaths whereas yogalates is more normal paced breathing only focusing on it to take your mind off the exercises sometimes. That way it helps you go further into a pose sometimes than you normally would. I do try to breathe as slowly as possible though as there are a lot of benefits that come along with it, but because of the strenuousness of the exercises, it's often impossible to breathe slowly.

So no mumbo jumbo spiritual deep breathing here!

5) The Results

What amazed me the most was how fast I got results. I was feeling the results a couple of days after I first did the DVD. However I can say that by the second week I was looking a lot more toned than usual, I'd lost at least an inch off my waist and I was a lot more confident and my posture was a lot better too. After the first few times you will notice more from the inside what your muscles are doing. I could especially feel the muscles in my tummy as the first section really tones that area up.

The skin on my legs is also a lot firmer and my thighs have toned up really well. I am looking a lot more healthier, I'm feeling strong but not manly and I'm loving the energy that it's giving me. Although at first the exercises are quite strenuous, you will ease into them after a couple of times, and after a while they start feeling really good and now I love stretching my muscles.

One thing I will point out though is although you are losing weight, you are building muscle so when you weigh yourself you might not like the fact that your weight hasn't changed that much. It's happened to me. I've lost weight, I can feel it, I can see the results, I've lost a dress size, but the scales are saying I'm only two pounds lighter? Then I've realised my muscles are quite strong, especially the one in my calves and they weigh a lot too. With me I've done too much of the strenuous exercises and put on too much muscle and now I have muscles like my fiance in my legs. Also my upper arms are getting a little too muscley so my advice to you is do this DVD once or twice a week but also do a little running/jogging if possible a few times a week too. This will help lose weight better and that way you won't just be doing strenuous exercises. This is particularly for the women who won't want to look too muscley.

6) So Guys Can Do This DVD As Well?

Of course. Yogalates does not discriminate and although it is more popular with women, men can do the exercises just as well as we can. There is in fact a man in the DVD doing the exercises with everyone else just to prove that it's not just for women. One guy I have managed to convert is my fiance. He was the biggest skeptic going when it came to yoga and I even got him doing that. He prefers yogalates though as you don't have to focus on your breathing and it really helps build muscles. He finds it a really good strenuous workout and he too would recommend it to any guys wanting to give it a go.

7) The People In The DVD

I have to mention the actual people who are on the DVD as one thing I loved was the fact they are different shapes and sizes. Granted none of them are big but they don't all look alike. All of them are toned but theres one girl that looks bigger than the rest. This shows to me that yogalates does the best for you. It won't make you look like a size six nescessarily but it will make you look healthy, toned and make the most out of your body. This for me is the best way as I really don't want to look too thin, I like to be toned and defined and have a little shape rather than have no curves at all and most of all, I want to be me.

8) The BenefitsNow just in case you're still unsure whether or not this is for you I'll tell you a few benefits of yogalates.

• It tightens and firms the buttocks
• It helps tone and define the body
• It strengthens the body
• It trims and shapes the waist
• It strengthens the pelvic floor enhancing sexual sensitivity
• It promotes good posture leaving you looking taller and leaner
• It creates more focus and clarity of thought helping to balance your emotions

As well as these it also does a lot of other things and I can honestly say every benefit I have listed is true. I feel a lot calmer, a lot happier and my posture is a lot better. The best thing for me though is I have lost weight and lost a dress size. I'm confident with this DVD and a little jogging on the spot a few times a week, I will continue losing weight until I reach my ideal weight. 9) DVD Extra

As well as the workout you also get a section that gives you nutritional advice. This is good if you are looking for tips on how to eat healthier and if you follow the tips that Louise gives you, you will find that you will gain better results all around. This is because you need to have a healthy diet as well as regular exercise to get the best weight loss results and to be completely healthy. I wouldn't say I found this section completely helpful as I already eat quite healthily however i think she does give some good tips and it is worth a watch anyway.

*** My Overall Opinion ***

All in all I would definitely recommend this DVD. It's the best workout I've ever done and it isn't what most people would think it is. If you don't want to do yoga because you think it's too spiritual then this is probably the best alternative for you. As I said you breathe normally and it is quite strenuous. You definitely feel like you've done a workout afterwards. It's not just for women so all you men reading this feel free to go out and buy it too. Plus the advantage of having the DVD over going to an exercise class is that you get to do it in the comfort of your own home and you don't have the embarrassment of comparing yourself to anybody else. You can work at the speed you want to and you don't have to push yourself too hard. In fact I would recommend to never do too much. Speaking out of experience you will make yourself be in agony the next day and for the rest of the week even sometimes. You'll know when your body has had enough and as soon as you feel that stop. Don't feel bad if you can't even finish the first section. It is strenuous and it does hurt and not everyone can do the whole of the first section the first time around. Let your body recover for at least a day afterwards before you attempt to do the DVD again. I usually aim to do the DVD around twice a week. With the running as well I find out this works the best for me but you'll be able to work it out so that it's best for you, whether you do it once a week or three times a week. So if I've twisted your arm here is the information you need to buy it.

*** Price And Availability ***

You can buy this DVD online from places such as Amazon or Ebay. I bought mine from Tesco a few years back so I aren't sure whether or not they still sell it. There have been newer versions of the yogalates workout but I haven't purchased them yet as I'm still getting to grips with this one and it's working wonders for me so I'm wary of swapping workouts.

Prices will vary depending on where you shop but I can say that I bought mine for 9.99 but on Amazon their price is 6.97 which I feel is a bargain. You may even be able to get it cheaper if you can find it on Ebay. It really is good value for money and a lot cheaper than gym membership!

Aimee xxx
 

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