With strength work, I am an intermediate exerciser, who doesn’t really want to move up to advanced work. I have really enjoyed getting into workouts on the ball and Pilates as an alternative to traditional strength training. I’ve gotten into alternating full-body workouts during some weeks with split workouts other weeks.

I recently got the Body Bar DVD with the New Body Bar Workout, Body Bar Challenge, and Body Bar Basic Training. Overall, I think this is a great DVD with three good workouts, two of which are short enough for me to do before leaving for work in the morning. It has a feature where you can Mix and Match the moves you want to do. It plays one section and goes back to the menu, so it’s a bit of a pain, but useful when I want to jump around.

I will be specifically reviewing the New Body Bar Workout. I enjoyed this workout, but not as much as the other two. When I did it the first time though, I kept pushing through it, not wanting to stop, even though it was past time for me to dash upstairs for my shower before work. So, I guess you could say I enjoyed it, even if it wasn’t as much as I enjoyed the Challenge and Basic Training workouts. It has a good flow and is a basic, fairly tough workout.

Keli Roberts leads this workout with two background exercisers, one of which shows simpler modifications. The other shows harder modifications once in awhile. Keli constantly gives descriptions of what she wants, form pointers, tips, and info (like what muscle you are currently working). She stresses form throughout it. It made me pay attention to what I was doing.

She mixes up and lower body moves. Each muscle group seemed like it was worked out, except for maybe the chest. The moves follow the same pattern through most of the workout – first, you do singles; then, you do up three and down one; then up one and down three; and, finally, partials, or pulses. It is a nice, predictable pattern and doesn’t cause too much of a brain drain for me.

Instructor Comments:
She seemed a bit wooden at the beginning of this workout and either I stopped noticing or she got more into it. At the end, I really enjoyed it and thought she did a good job. She is great about stressing form and valuing strength for its own sake.

Laura S.