NOTE: I received a free review copy of this DVD from the instructor.

This DVD is a follow-up to instructor Tracey Mallett's popular Booty Barre DVD. Although the original Booty Barre was quite tough, Booty Barre Plus Abs & Arms (or BB+) kicks things up a notch. As the title would suggest, this DVD offers more work for both the arms and the abdominals, and Mallett also places a greater emphasis on the core throughout the workout. However, this is still Booty Barre, and so there is still plenty of work for the glutes as well. Props required for this workout include a sturdy chair, a light set of dumbbells, a small ball (one like 9" Body Back Ball & Pump would work well), and a mat. Mallett is working out in the same studio she used for the original Booty Barre, and there are four female background exercisers, one of whom shows some modifications.

The Main Menu of the DVD offers options to either Play All or to select each of the four chapters individually. I have described each section of the workout in detail below (times in parentheses are approximate).

FUSION WARM-UP (6.5 minutes)
Mallett incorporates some dynamic yoga-type movements into the warm-up, such as chair pose with pedaling the feet and pulsing lunges. She also includes stretches designed to open the hips, but these felt too intense too soon--e.g., leg pulses performed from a standing splits position. The warm-up concludes with sumo squats and side leg lifts.

KILLER ARMS (14 minutes)
For the arms work, Mallett suggests 3-5 lb. weights. She and the crew basically perform three circuits, with the first two circuits each being repeated once.
*Circuit 1: on toes for pec flies, high side bicep curls, and punches; curtsey lunge with leg kick/front arm raise
*Circuit 2: on toes for shoulder circles, high front bicep curl, chest press, shoulder press, and lat pull down; finish bent over for windmill (alternating arms pull back)
*Circuit 3: begin standing for tricep lifts rear, add alternate leg lift; go to floor for about 2 minutes of tricep dip variations

BOOTY BARRE & ABS (34.5 minutes)
As with the original, BB+ uses a chair for the barre work, but a ball is also used for some of the moves. There are four total barre circuits; with the exception of the final circuit, Mallett ends each with brief "cardio"--just like in the original BB, the cardio involves coming around to the front of the chair and performing jumping plank-type moves (a.k.a. mountain climbers).
*Circuit 1 (side to chair): on toes for plies, wide-legged plies, and open fourth position (stepping both forward and back); also grand plies, deep squats, and pelvic tucks; cardio starts in down dog position (upside down V), then 3 pulses to "pike," or jump in the air (balanced on hands only)
*Circuit 2 (side to chair): plie with leg raise, side crunch, side kick, leg circles, knee swings, knee lifts, stork kicks; cardio involves knees in and out to pike
*Circuit 3 (face chair): on toes for closed leg plies, pulses, leg lifts, and cat crunch; grande battement to front and side; warrior balance leg lift lifts, then touch down & raise up; Figure 8 dips to stretch; cardio involves knees in and out, adding rotation
*Circuit 4 (uses ball): ball behind knee for internal/external rotation of hip, hamstring pulses; ball between knees for squats and pelvic tilts; finish seated on chair with ball between thighs for abs crunches

CORE CHALLENGE & CALMING STRETCH (23.5 minutes)
The first 15 minutes of this segment focuses on the abs/core, and the final 8.5 minutes provides a cool-down stretch. Mallett suggests using a single 3 lb. or 5 lb. weight for the abs work.
The core work begins with a more traditional feel. Mallett does start with a modified Pilates roll-up (coming down and up to the "bra line" only). She follows this with several moves propped up on the elbows, including toe touches, bicycles, can can, and rock-n-rolls. Next, she places the weight between the legs just under the knees for a series of crunch variations, including pelvic tilts, double crunches, and classic crunches; she finishes this segment by repeating the rock-n-rolls with the weight. The following sequence is more Pilates-inspired but also more advanced. Holding the weight in her hands, Mallett moves from lying with the weight overhead to rolling up into a bent-leg V-position and then "explodes" into a straight-leg V (or full teaser); she keeps the pace slow and even here. She follows this with the Pilates rollover. Next is the single straight leg stretch, made even more challenging by placing the hands behind the head and then twisting to either side. The final seated move is an alternating "walk up the tree," rolling up one leg, then the other. Following this, Mallett flips over to her stomach for the swan dive, another advanced Pilates move, and then she performs the snake to stretch. To conclude the core work, she does several sets of push-ups.
The stretch segment begins with a wide lunge to stretch the hip flexors. Mallett then moves into a hamstring stretch and encourages participants to move towards a full split (which she and everyone but the modifier perform). Additional floor stretches include wide legged forward bend (adding a twist), seated twist, and a hip/glute stretch. Mallett performs a few brief stretches standing to finish.

At almost 80 minutes total, this is a LONG workout. In terms of stamina and flexibility required, I found this to be an advanced routine--in fact, I would suggest that the Core Challenge segment would only be appropriate for those with good pre-existing core strength as well as prior Pilates experience. With respect to the Booty Barre segment, however, I actually didn't find BB+ to work my glutes as intensely as the original BB. I do think the barre work in BB+ is intense, but I felt it more in my thighs rather than my "booty." I also found that while I really liked many of the moves that Mallett included in the arms section, I didn't feel comfortable just using one set of dumbbells throughout, as this weight sometimes felt too light, sometimes too heavy; unfortunately, there is little time for weight changes.

As noted, this workout is clearly designed with experienced exercisers in mind. Despite the presence of a modifier, I would not recommend this DVD to a beginner. Furthermore, if you were hoping that BB+ was going to be BB2, you may well be disappointed, as this is a completely different routine--with some of the same elements, yes, yet with a totally different feel overall. But if you are up for a challenge, not just for your booty but for your entire body, then the new Booty Barre Plus Abs & Arms might be for you.

Instructor Comments:
I really do like Tracey as an instructor. Although she may look like a Barbie doll, she comes across as quite genuine--I find her enthusiasm to be as real as her accent (which is kind of cute). But the problem I have with Tracey in both BB+ and the original BB (and, to a lesser extent, in her two "Super Fit Mama" workout DVDs, although I really like those), is that she does not seem to be in tune with the fitness level of her audience. Here she includes some moves which require WAY too much flexibility (such as the standing splits in the warm-up), and although she listened to the complaints about BB and had the modifier show more modifications, it is STILL not enough. One last issue I had with Tracey in this DVD is that she sounded somewhat hoarse, as if she had overworked her voice during the rehearsals.

Yet, despite these complaints, I still find Tracey to be very likeable, and as noted above, some exercisers will likely really enjoy this DVD.

Beth C (aka toaster)