3 Mile Weight Loss Walk

Leslie Sansone
Year Released: 2007

Categories: Walking Aerobics


I’m reviewing this workout after doing it several times.

General workout breakdown: This 47.5-min. walking workout has three miles (determined by the music’s bpm). The first one (15 min.) warms you up song by song until you’re moving at a very brisk pace, which continues for the entire second mile (15 min.), led by Mary Kay. Between the pace and the lack of down time (Mary Kay only goes back to marching for a bit before moving you into something else), this mile flies by and is surprisingly challenging. The third mile (14 min.) begins at this brisk pace but then works its way back down to a cool-down pace at its end. Leslie’s usual quick stretch for the upper body and back of the leg follows (3 min.). Light hand weights add a little variety and intensity to the mix, especially in the slower paced portions of the first and last miles.
As with all of Leslie’s workouts, this is not about choreography; you simply repeat whatever step you’re doing until the leader switches. In addition to the four basic steps – walking (or marching in place), side steps, knee lifts, and (front) kicks – Leslie mixes in steps like wide marches, kickbacks (or hamstring curls), double side steps, grapevines, walk up 2 & back 2, etc. She also has a few arm variations, especially with the weights, including moves like reaching up & pulling down, reaching in front & pulling back, biceps curls, triceps kickbacks, etc.

Level: I’d recommend this to experienced beginners through intermediates. Those at a higher level of fitness can find ways to boost the intensity: using the boosters (light hand weights of 1-3 lbs.), adding impact (e.g. turning side steps into skater hops), taking this to a piece of equipment (e.g. rebounder), etc.
I consider myself an int. / adv. in cardio; I normally do hi/lo or step aerobics, kickboxing, etc., but nowhere near a puke in the bucket level. This gives me a decent workout, although I tend to make sure I go deep into the side steps and do some other slight modifications up. At my level I don’t expect much toning or strengthening benefit from the boosters, but they had some variety and a different kind of intensity.

Class: 1 man and 3 women join Leslie and Mary Kay, who instruct live. Leslie and Mary Kay wear mics; the others do not. 2 walkers do the entire workout without the weights.

Music: mostly upbeat instrumentals, with a few vocals (“I’ve Got a New Attitude” shows up). I’ve heard some of it before, whether in other Leslies or other workouts, but most of this is different than what’s in her Walk Slim series, for example. And the pauses between songs that LAC mentioned are definitely noticeable.

Set: bright interior space with “windows” and exercise equipment (as well as some Leslie videos) along the back wall. Like LAC, I think this is a very pleasant space (light and airy, not overdecorated) that I wish Leslie would use more often.

Production: clear picture and sound, with the music is loud enough to be heard without interfering with one’s ability to hear Leslie. Camera angles are usually helpful, although occasionally they could focus more on the instructor leading the workout or on the entire body.

Equipment: sneakers plus an optional pair of 1-3 lb. hand weights (Leslie and gang use donut weights, for which you can easily substitute cheap ankle weights from a discount store; you could also use dumbbells or weighted balls instead).

Space Requirements: Although you can always stay in place when Leslie starts traveling, it’s probably best if you can take a couple of big steps side to side as well as move up and back a few steps.

DVD Notes: The Main Menu offers the options of Full Workout, Mile 1, Mile 2, Mile 3, Stretch, and Credits.

Comments: I’m drawn to Leslie’s newer releases: the Walk Slim series, 3 Mile Weight Loss Walk, 5 Day Slim Down and 5 Day Fat Burning Walk, Big Burn and 5K with a Twist. This is one of my favorites of those.
3 Mile Weight Loss Walk is not all that dissimilar to Walk Slim 3 Fast Miles, especially since they’re both 3 mile walks at a very brisk pace without boosted walking (aka jogging). Weight Loss has a much brighter set, uses the light hand weights (Walk Slim doesn’t use any boosters), and unlike the Walk Slim video where Mary Kay leads Weight Loss has a microphone on her so you can actually hear what she’s saying. The 3 Mile Walk Slim has more variety in steps (although one could argue that’s balanced out by the arm movement variations in Weight Loss). I go back and forth between which is my favorite; whichever is my current favorite seems to be which one I’ve done most recently, as they both have strong pros and slight cons for me. If you like this one, you’ll probably also like Walk Away the Pound 4 Miles, which is another all walking at a very brisk pace video.

Instructor Comments:
Leslie is, as always, positive, upbeat, and encouraging. She’s not the most consistent or clearest cuer, but given the simplicity of the choreography it doesn’t really matter, including if you mirror her or not. Leslie is chatty and kind of silly in parts, including when Mary Kay is leading (for example, she starts sneaking over to say Hi to various cast members), but she does believe exercise should be fun.
Mary Kay is a great instructor! She concentrates on cuing more closely than Leslie: she gives more warning about move changes, counts down more often, etc. She’s more serious and straightforward than Leslie, so they complement each other well.

KathAL79

01/29/2009