Strength and Grace

Minna Lessig
Year Released: 2000

Categories: Total Body Workouts


I just did Strength and Grace the other night. I had
previewed it, but never actually done it before. Really, the main
reason I got it is because it was cheap and on DVD (good enough
reason in my book to buy almost anything). It's part of the Optimizer Balanced Blend DVD, along with Fat Eliminator, but it also comes as a stand alone workout on VHS.

For a reference point I am an advanced exerciser who has been doing yoga for many years. I usually prefer more traditional strength workouts (a la Cathe or Firm), but have been delving into functional fitness type strength tapes recently. Being something of a yoga purist, I have not liked many of the tapes that incorporate a little bit of yoga but I must say that I really
liked this one.

The workout starts with a short dancy style warmup with large arm and leg movements. Then she does several yoga/toning combos where she combines a strength move with a yoga posture, for example a curtsey lunge and tree pose, and moves through the sequence for several repititions. Most of the combos include balance work of some sort. She does have one exerciser clearly demonstrating an easier variation of all the moves. After the standing work there is floor work with planks, pushups, ab work, seated forward bends and twists.

It was a little strange for me doing yoga type moves in shoes, but
it is very well done. She instructs the yoga postures very well and
gives excellent form pointers. I like the way she combines the
strength moves with the yoga postures. It flowed well , clocked in at
about 45 minutes and, yes, it was fun.

Next time I do it I am going to
take my shoes off when she moves to the floor. It has the dreaded
curtsey lunges, but she does them slowly and without weights so it is
easier to avoid knee tweakage. The ab work was Pilates flavored and
it also included some of the psoas strength moves that my yoga
teacher has been having us do all quarter. I am going to try to do
this one more often. I consider it one of the better fusion tapes out
there and a pleasant surprise.

Instructor Comments:
Minna Lessig is an excellent instructor and comes across as very sweet and down to earth on tape. She also seems to be having a lot of fun and has a good rapport with her background exercisers. She gives excellent form instruction and has a pleasant, calm voice.

Loretta S

08/11/2002