Fit For Pregnancy
Tracey MallettYear Released: 2009
Categories: Pregnancy/Postpartum
I'm 21 weeks pregnant and looked forward to trying this DVD to give my Denise Austin Fit & Firm Pregnancy a much-needed break. It's not perfect, but it's a solid workout that I expect to use often. It's more intense than Denise Austin, but less intense than The Perfect Pregnancy Workout, a good halfway point. I'm giving this a solid B+.
The layout of the DVD is interesting and it contains much more than I expected. There are five sections: 1st & 2nd trimester, 3rd trimester, Core Conditioning/Butt Blasters, Total Body Flexibility, and post-natal Core Conditioning. The set is nice and bright with a modern living room in the background. Tracey leads the workout with two women, one in her 2nd trimester, one in her 3rd. The music is there, I guess, but it was neither good nor bad.
Each of the sections contains more than one segment. I did the 1st & 2nd trimester, and there were three 6:00 sections containing intervals with light cardio (marching in place, side to side steps) followed by weighted sculpting sections with compound moves. I loved these! The cuing is sometimes a bit off, but I used 5 lb. weights and felt my upper body got a good work over.
I then moved on to the Core Conditioning/Butt Blasters section. I liked the Core Conditioning part a lot. Most of the core was worked on all fours which gave me a break from my back-supporting pillow tower. There were different variations on cat/dog which were also a welcome break from the norm and had the benefit of stretching my lower back. One editing glitch should have been fixed: when Tracey is cuing the cat/dog section, her voice is louder as her head gets closer to the microphone she has on her shirt during the rounded back part. I thought it was the DVD until I looked at the screen.
I wish the Butt Blasters section had been as good. My main gripe was that the sides were worked alternately instead of all at once, and moving from side to side has become a real challenge in Month 6 due to a sore pelvic bone and a slight flare up of the SPD that left me immobilized in my first pregnancy. Still, she works the lower body thoroughly.
The number of workout sections justifies the slightly higher than normal cost. The list price on Amazon.com is $17.99, $2.00 less than Tracey's website. I bought my copy from a private Amazon seller and paid $12 including shipping. If it weren't for the slightly off mirror cuing, the microphone issue, and constant moving from side to side on the floor work, it would be perfect.
Instructor Comments:
This is my first experience with Tracey Mallett. I found her to be very helpful and non-annoying.