Yogalates - Complete (Box Set) (DVD)

Author's product rating:   

Did you enjoy it?	Loved it
Educational Value	Good
How good are the presenters?	Good
How good is the content?	Excellent
Value for Money	Good

Advantages:	Clear instructions for learning 'at - your - own - pace'
Disadvantages:	A bit dear all in one go .

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

If you check the date of this review, it is post April 1st.
This is not a wind up.
This is not me having a laugh at people who will believe anything they read in Ciao reviews.
This really is a guy in his middle-years who bought Yogalates DVDs for himself!
Sniggers from Tallulahbang & Co making comments about religious old guys getting their kicks in queer places, will be responded to with a dozen 'Off-topic' ratings - you have been warned.!
This is serious.

1 Why on earth ?
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That question, I will tolerate.
Indeed, I will willingly answer it - very willingly, indeed, to avoid all misconceptions.
Let me take you to David Lloyd's Leisure complex early in the morning.
At 7.15 am on Monday, the super-unfit endure the rants and raves of Mrs Hitler in the Body Pump class. Weights are heaved around the room, ( that's the guys ) underneath barbells, in the pursuit of cardiac fitness.
On Tuesday, the after-effects of all those squats has reduced leg 'muscle' to a jelly-like consistency - though jelly is probably much more solid.
But it is time for freestyle spin class - only wimps would miss out on Tony's 45 minutes of cycling terror by saying that they are too sore after Monday's exertions.
So by Wednesday morning, the old, shrivelled, wrecked bodies need some TLC.
Along comes Steve with Body Balance.!
He admits that female bodies are more pliant and supple than male ones, but Body Balance will help the geriatric men to discover a little poise, balance and flexibility.
The programme is a mixture of Yoga, Pilates and Tai Chi.
It really works, When I bend down, on a good day, I can now touch my knees!
There is one problem with this class.
The time delay between an instruction being given by the instructor, and the pupil hearing it, then trying to understand it, figuring out how to do it and arriving at a distant approximation to it, results in pupils being 5 minutes behind the instructor.

So he kindly suggested purchasing DVDs similar to these, practising the moves at home, and so being much quicker in the class next week.

So Steve proved that he was not only brilliant at restraining his temptation to burst out laughing every time he sees us trying to balance, but a genuine desire to deal with our ineptitude.

2 Where on earth?
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This is also a very good question - I know because it was one of the first I asked myself.!
Let's be frank - a fellow going into your average Video shop asking for a set of Yogalates DVD's risks serious loss of face.
Someone in my position could exit the shop to discover the Vice squad waiting to escort me back to the station to help them with their enquiries!
Virgin Megastore is a bit more anonymous and had the 5 DVDs available individually or as a complete set.
At £35 for the set, there were two persuasive reasons for buying the lot.
Firstly, unfit exercise fanatics need all the help available, and so leaving any potential help on the shelf was unthinkable.
Secondly, if any young wise guy makes a crack about the old guy buying Yogalates, the old guy can mutter about them being a present. A single DVD does not look like a present - but a full set does.! Make sense?? - and since they were a present to myself, my integrity remains intact!

3 What on earth?
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So what are the DVDs all about.
They do form a sort of logical series, so let's start at the beginning.
a. Yogalates
This first DVD introduces you to the concepts - mixing Yoga and Pilates moves. It provides two workouts, the first concentrated on the lower body - abs, lower back and pelvis. The second strengthens mid-back, spine, arms and legs as well.
Here are routines with good explanations for complete beginners. There are descriptions and video examples of the full positions and the beginner positions, side by side.
You can really watch and do your routine at the same time - it is well paced.

b. Total Body Toner
The second DVD has four workouts and these are more targetted.
Abs, upper body and lower body are focussed on individually, and the fourth routine combines all three.
By the end, you will find that you have taken the first DVD in your stride and progressed your core stability, flexibility and balance.

c. Ultimate Yogalates
This is more of the same, but different moves and different poses take you up another level.

d. Yogalates Energizer
In this DVD you are provided with a free resistance band !
The stretchy rubber sash adds resistance to some of the other moves, and also opens up a few new moves. Two workouts this time, divided into upper and lower body.

e. Yogalates Firm, Fit and Flexible.
Here is the full body workout aimed still at all levels of ability.
It combines some of all the other exercises, and takes them to a higher level.

4 How on earth?
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Here let me cover a couple of 'How on earth?' topics.

Firstly, the 'How on earth do the five DVDs differ?' question.
Well, they do, especially if you involve the outsize rubber band in your routines.
But, truthfully, I do not think there is sufficient difference to merit buying the lot. I think it is very unlikely that anyone is going to work their way through all the routines in all 5, and there is some duplication.
I would now buy either the first or the last, if I was back in Virgin territory once more.

Secondly, the 'How on earth do I use them?', question.
There will be some folk who will use the DVDs at home, get out a towel, a mat and a cushion, and follow the instructions for each workout.
They should find after three or four weeks, that they are really improving suppleness and balance, and may have lost a bit of weight or a few inches.
For such folk, the DVDs will provide an extended and interesting course of exercise at a much lower cost than a month's fees for a gym.
For me?
Well, again, the actual usage for me is going to be rather more limited.
I don't want or need to go through all the routines.
I have no particular use for exercises that develop the pelvic floor muscles.!?
I am interested, mainly, in watching the difficult positions, like the swan. On the film, you can see exactly the movement needed to get into the position, and exactly where all the bits of the body ought to be at that moment in time.
There is also a very good description from Ms Solomon - wise woman clearly - of the value and purpose of the pose, and the safeguards to take.
She explains when breath should be taken in and when expelled to get the most from the exercise.
The set has already raised my confidence and ability.
Once I get all my prolapsed discs repaired, I will be much more supple! ( No, of course I do not have any medical complaint! - indeed each DVD gives very good instructions about those who are not advised to try the exercises. )

Thirdly, the 'How on earth do you keep your mind focussed on exercise with all that eye candy on view'?, question.
I am not immune to beauty, but my critics would not have asked that question if they had realised that some of those who demonstrate the moves are males, not females.
Females who are used have been well-chosen, in my humble opinion, to do their job well, and neither distract by being too beautiful, nor offend by being too ugly.

5 Down to earth !
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So should you guys all buy them, then?
I am not in to the whole meditation issues linked to yoga, and though there is not too much of that in the DVDs, it could be left out happily.
While I can see some benfit in the breathing issues, my own opinion is that it is a bit over-rated - it could have been reduced happily.
There is too much overlapping in the DVDs, and the total expense is too high as a result.

Yet, my final rating for the set will be high.
I enjoy the DVDs and will use them over and over again.
They are perfect for the purpose for which I bought them - they show how to adopt, benefit from and relax after - all the positions that we do ( or try to do ) in Body Balance.
They are very clear, well-presented and easy to follow.
And lastly, since guys are the ones who are worst at signing up for anything that does not look very macho straight off, this is a great way into the useful regimes of stetching, core strength, flexibility and balance.