I tend to enjoy instructor Leslie Sansone's DVDs in small doses. I like doing her walking workouts on days when I don't really want to think about my cardio, although I still prefer her routines that are a bit more high energy (e.g., Walk to the HITS Radio Remixes).

I picked up a copy of WALK AT HOME - 3 MILE SLIM & SLEEK WALK used. I was attracted both to the length of the walk and to the the inclusion of Pilates, which I enjoy. In her Introduction, Sansone mentions that she became certified as a Pilates instructor; I was impressed that she actually obtained her certification in this area. The Main Menu lists options to play the full workout or to choose each mile individually. The DVD also has a "Music Only" feature, allowing you to turn off Sansone's instruction if desired. Sansone is exercising alone in her studio for this routine. No equipment is used, but a mat is helpful for the Pilates portion.

Each walk segment is 13-14 minutes long. Mile 1, which moves a bit slower, is also a bit longer at 14.5 minutes. Here Sansone introduces her four basic steps: 1) walking, 2) side steps, 3) knee lifts, and 4) kicks. She incorporates other simple moves, such as hamstring curls. During the first mile, she also spends quite a bit of time doing a step-knee-knee step-back-back sequence. This elevated the heart rate (HR) somewhat, but I struggled to keep my HR up with Sansone's somewhat leisurely pace. The speed does pick up for Mile 2. This section includes more double steps, include double side steps, double knee lifts, and two steps forward and back. For the latter, Sansone adds a "boost," taking the impact up just slightly and adding a shuffle from side-to-side. The pace continues to be brisk, at least at first, for the third mile. Mile 3 also incorporates some strength work, such as a squat/glute lift combination and "Pilates leg circles," a standing leg circle first with the leg on the floor, then balancing. Throughout the workout, I thought that Sansone included less moves for the arms than what I've seen in some of her other routines. She does do what she calls "Pilates arm circles," although these were basically just circling the arms, and none of the other few arms moves particularly enhanced the workout.

Oddly, Sansone concludes the workout without stretching; after starting to leave the set, she returns for a short stretch. This brief (2-minute) segment includes deep breathing, overhead reaches, calf stretches, and hamstring stretches. The Pilates mat routine is about 12 minutes long. Sansone says that five exercises will be included, which are the hundred, single leg stretch, scissors, criss-cross, and swimming. However, she also engaged in bridge lifts between moves. She spends approximately 5 minutes demonstrating and explaining these exercises, with the actual routine being only about 7 minutes long. (And, unfortunately, you can't skip over the instruction and go straight to the workout.) Given this, I would recommend the matwork segment only for those looking for a brief introduction to Pilates.

Overall, I found this DVD to be disappointing. The walk portion was nothing new--although Sansone talks about Pilates principles the entire time, she doesn't incorporate many unique moves into the workout itself. The result is a fairly low-intensity walk that I actually found pretty boring. Fans of Sansone and those at a more beginner level might enjoy this workout, but as a high intermediate exerciser, it wasn't for me, even for a light day.

Instructor Comments:
I think I actually prefer Leslie with a group rather than alone. Yes, she seems more low-key by herself, but I think that having others around adds more interest to the workout...as noted above, I just found this routine fairly boring. ;)

Beth C (aka toaster)