Heidi Tanner (WHFN)
Women's Health & Fitness Network Pump is part of the FitPrime series and is billed as a slow & heavy workout. It contains 5 minutes of Pilates, 13 minutes of cardio, 7 minutes of yoga and 30 minutes of weights, and clocks in at 54 and a half minutes. Heidi Tanner leads, dressed in orange and black, and gives constant instruction on modifications and form pointers throughout.
The warm up incorporates balance, mambos and dynamic stretching. The music is great in this workout, as are the colors and the production quality. Another top notch WHFN production!! Core is next with the feet on the high step alternating between hip lifts and traditional ab work. We then use two yoga blocks, one behind the back and one between the thighs, and do rolldowns. If you don't have blocks using a med ball or even a sofa pillow between the thighs would work - as long as you squeeze them - and using any prop behind your back would work as well. The idea is to give you a guide as to how far back to roll. You want to roll far enough to feel the work in your transverse abs. We then finish the core work with reverse curls.
Staying on the floor, Heidi uses the yoga block over her head to do triceps extensions. Easy to modify this up - just grab a weight. I used a 12 pound one but will go up to 15 next time. Just make sure to EXTEND the arms, not lift them over the head as in a pullover motion, to work the triceps. Burner!! Triceps kickbacks are next, leaning over the tall step. I do these standing, and used 2 5# dumbbells. We don't do many, so next time I will use 8# dumbbells. Seated french press is next, and again they are slow but we don't do many, so my 12# weight will be a 15# one next time. What struck me by this time is how fantastic this workout was in terms of easily modifying it!! Also, even though my brain thought I wasn't "working hard enough", by this time I was really feeling it! It's deceiving!!
Leg press is next, and this is slow, on the non-dominant leg first, using a weight and the stick. You can lose the stick and pick up two weights and probably be fine if you are used to working out and doing leg presses. A cardio tune is next, and Heidi tells you how to increase the impact and intensity. It's short, so go for it! We then do leg press on the other leg, then move on to a push-up sequence. VERY deceiving!! My pecs were really burning by the end of this one!
Shoulder work is next, using one light weight (and when she says "light" listen to her!!) and the stick for balance, working one leg and one shoulder at a time, with a balance challenge involved. My shoulders were burning at the end of this one!
One arm lat rows are next, working each arm, then a seated posterior delt sequence. Dips on one leg are next, again using a weight and the stick for balance. We do one arm biceps curls with this one, so using the stick until you get used to the balance challenge might be a good idea. One side is worked, then it's on to the next cardio tune. This one is FUN! A rock step which again Heidi shows you how to modify up, tribal pushes and slides. Fun! Fun! Fun!
We then do the dip sequence on the other side, then move on to squats focusing on one leg at a time. She again uses a weight and the stick, but I used two weights this time. Both sides are worked, and she includes what she calls hemispheres, which are super tough hip circles using the tall step as a balance tool. It's a great stretch for your hips as well!
A lunge sequence is next, using a small weight and the stick. It's faster, and we then do side lunges with the yoga block which will remind you of some of the moves in the TLP's. You can easily use a medicine ball here or a weight in place of the yoga block, and you'll recognize the functional fitness moves here.
The stretch uses the stick, lots of balance, and plenty of yoga moves. A wonderful workout!! A solid A!!
Instructor comments:
Carol_is_fit
Carol_scorpio_47@yahoo.com
March 28, 2005
I may be wrong, but Pump really really
reminds me of the old FP Just Right
Weights+Cardio+Yoga that Anna
Benson lead.
Essentially, this is a weights workout
that incorporates some yoga inspired
stretches, some pilates inspired floor
work and a scant amount of cardio.
Billed as a fusion workout, with
functional fitness, it is, in fact, your
standard weight training moves (with a
few variations of tall box work) with
some old school floor work, some
pilates, some yoga, some stretch. there
is no cardio worth mentioning- certainly
not enough to improve your
cardiovascular condition.
This actually isn't a bad workout, for
what it is. It isn't what the package
states, though. I didn't care for it for a
few reasons. I have lots of weight
workouts and this didn't seem as good
or as fun as those. If I'm going to do a
weight/aero combo, I want something
with more cardio and better weight
segments- this bored me. Most of the
music bugged me. gregorian chants do
not motivate me to workout! I like the
colors of the set, but the statues, murals
and the art over the mirror are
ostentatious. the set reeks of
pretention.
There's something disorganized here.
Get the step, put it away, get a block,
get on the floor, get up... there's no way
to get a buzz since your constantly
moving your equipment around and
changing things. theres no consistency
to really get into something. Sometimes
it even seems to throw Heidi off. At one
point Heidi says to put away your heavy
weight and stick, get the block and step,
then immdeiately says to get the stick
and weight again. You mean the ones I
just had?
Overall- its an okay basic weights
workout emphasizing the lower body
with some yoga-ish stretches and some
pilates-ish floorwork for abs. Theres
one functional fitness activity and barely
five min. cardio. Occassionally Heidi
seems like a schoolmarm in this
workout, but usually seems very nice.
Final verdict- trade pile.
Instructor comments:
I like Heidi. She seems like a really nice
person. She usually comes across with
such a natural personality. She does
here, usually, but sometimes she says
something that seems so bizarre, you
can almost see a dialogue bubble next
to her head. While I think she has a nice
personality, I have yet to really like one
of her workouts.
linda
Just tried this one today, my third from the WHFN series. I love the first on I tried, Upper Body Burn, but more recently, I tried Metaboost, and it just didn't click with me. Therefore, I was apprehensive about giving Heidi another try, but happily for me, I liked this one much better--it reminded me more of Heidi's From the Ground Up, an older FitPrime that I also enjoy.
Anyway, back to Push. It begins with nice warm-up that runs through a sequence of moves several times, similar to what Keli does in UBB. Next it's to the floor for core work, but you're also getting some leg work in with pelvic tilts, or bridge. The abs work, while thorough, wasn't all that intense, but we'll see how I feel tomorrow. Next comes triceps work; Heidi uses a yoga block, but I highly recommend a heavy dumbbell instead--I used 1 8#, and I definitely would go heavier next time. Similarly, Heidi gives you the option of holding one heavy dumbbell for all of the leg work, like the leg presses on the box which are coming up, but I actually used two dumbbells and held them on my shoulders rather than at my sides like Heidi does; doing this, I really felt these moves, especially given that they are performed at a slow, steady pace.
Before you repeat the leg work on the other side, you'll do your first cardio segment, which includes fun, simple steps, some punches, and optional jumps. After the D-side leg presses (Heidi doesn't always cue which side, so you have to remember on your own to start on the ND side first) comes a unique push-up series that has you go from push-ups into an elbow plank and back again--it sounds easy, but it's quite tough, and you're getting in some additional core work as well. Then more cardio, this time with a 5# dumbbell (which was plenty heavy here!) to do some overhead presses combined with leg balances and extensions; this segment really got my HR going, and I DID use the stick. Following this was lat work with a unique twist, literally--Heidi adds a shoulder rotation.
Dips are next, and I would recommend moving the step out of the way even though Heidi says to leave it for balance. Again, I skipped the stick and added weights, which made these tough. After another short cardio segment--this one a bit more dancey in nature and fun as well--the dips are repeated on the other side. The "step kiss" move is a squat where you bring your butt down to just touching the step; Heidi adds a shoulder rotation to this move as well. The "hemisphere leg extension" is another deceptively tough move: leaning over with your back flat and your hands on the box, you move one leg out to side and up (again, remember to start on the ND side), circle back and down, then bring the leg back up and around--Heidi does a lot of reps, and I really felt these!
"Floor kiss" was similar to a move which I've seen called "woodchop" in other videos: you reach down to one side in sort of a twisting lunge, then reach back up, twisting to the other side. I believe that this is a functional fitness move, one of several that are woven into this workout. After repeating the "step kiss" on the other side, Heidi finishes with a nice stretch, first standing, then on the floor--my one complaint here is that the stretches are not held equally to both sides.
Overall, I definitely enjoyed this workout; I think I'll like it even more as I become more familiar with it. It definitely has a lower body emphasis, and if you increase the resistance, you should feel quite challenged. Furthermore, you are working hard enough most of the time to derive cardio benefits as well--my HR was in my target zone for at least half of this workout (it might have been more, but I forgot to turn on my HRM right away!). If you enjoy aerobic weight training-style workouts, don't mind a fair amount of equipment shifting, and like Heidi, I would definitely recommend this video.
Instructor comments:
I like Heidi and generally think that she cues well, but she didn't always cue non-dominant versus non-dominant side here; however, just remember that the FitPrimes always do "non-dominant side first" training and you'll be fine. ;)
Beth C (aka toaster)
February 27, 2006
