Buff Girl Workout

Ellen Barrett
Year Released: 2001

Categories: Total Body Workouts


This is an interesting blended workout that is very different from other videos I've tried; the closest comparison is Minna Lessig's Strength and Grace, as the Buff Girl Workout also does not use any equipment, and it focuses mainly on the lower body. It appears to be in the Crunch studio, although it is not labelled as such. The background music is loud at times but not overly distracting.

The first 21 minutes of this workout are done in a standing position. I would classify this section mainly as toning; your heart rate does get up at times, but it does not seem to offer sustained cardio benefits. Parts of the standing work are very similar to Crunch Fat Burning Pilates, as there are plenty of knee lifts and squats. However, this section also includes some ballet-inspired exercises such as arm movements and leg kicks. These moves were deceptively simple, but holding up my arms in a dancer's position for all that time definitely made them burn!

The workout then moves on to the floor for 8 minutes of seated and lying toning. This section begins with some seated, Pilates-inspired abs work; again, I was getting pretty tired by the end. The rest of the floor work consists of leg raises for the buttocks combined with hip raises for the lower abs, but I didn't feel overly challenged in either muscle group here. Finally, there was a very brief (2-minute) stretch, making the entire workout about 31 minutes.

I wouldn't recommend this workout for a beginner, as Ellen moves pretty quickly with very little instruction; also, as an intermediate exerciser, I definitely felt challenged at times. I'm not exactly sure when I will wind up doing this workout given that it doesn't fit well into any particularly category, but I can imagine reaching for it on days that I don't really feel like doing traditional cardio or strength work yet want to do SOMETHING in a relatively short period of time.

Instructor Comments:
Ellen displays the same lively personality that she has in her more recent Crunch Pilates videos. However, she is clearly less polished in this earlier effort: her cuing isn't as good and her form is a bit off at times. Also, her background exercisers (several of whom I recognize from the Crunch videos) seem to have difficulties following her and are not always in sync. Although they sometimes offer their own comments during the workout, they don't seem to be miked, so they are very difficult to hear.

Beth C (aka toaster)

08/19/2004