Stepping Through Pregnancy

As long as I'm red-faced and admitting that I was so positive for 2 1/2 weeks that I was pregnant ( when it turned out I wasn't ) that I bought stuff ( see my review for Expecting Fitness ), I might as well go ahead and review this also. Keep in mind that I'm reviewing it after a couple of times watching it, but not actually doing the workout. I have had 4 kids, so I think I can give a decent review based on my memories of how I felt at that time. First off, here's a breakdown of the video:

Warm Up: 7 minutes
Step Aerobics: 22 minutes
Cooldown: 5 minutes
Toning: 5 minutes
Stretch: 5 minutes

There are 3 women doing this workout, all of whom are at different stages of pregnancy, but all visibly pregnant. 2 have their steps at 6 inches, including the leader Nancy , and 1 is doing the workout on 4 inches. They are all doing slightly differnt versions of the workout, to show you how you can modify if anything is too difficult. Choreography queens ( You know who you are! You thrive on Cathe, Christi, Franny, & other similar videos ) are not going to favor this video unless they have serious placenta brain ( Daphne's term for the total loss of memory function during pregnancy ). As Collage says, this is super low impact, which really limits the choreography. However, even for a choreography lover like myself, I could see myself using this in the 3rd trimester for those low-energy days when I want to do something, but even thinking is a challenge. If you prefer simpler choreography, are having a difficult pregnancy ( very sick and/or low energy ), or are a beginning exerciser to start with, this tape is especially good. When you would want to switch over to this from your regular videos would depend a lot on the individual, and the pregnancy itself. Like I said, I would probably use it in the 3rd trimester, although not exclusively. I got some good modification ideas from it, though. And for those who have never stepped before, it's great! There's even a basic "how to step" section at the beginning. It's broken up into a couple of sections so that if you don't want to do the full 22 minutes of stepping you wouldn't have to.

The toning section isn't very long, but it's nice. It shows some good abs exercises, and a pushup modification you can do using your step. All in all, if I had been pregnant ( She says once again with a red face ) this would be a keeper. I can see why it's a Collage staff favorite. The advice at the beginning is based on the old ACOG recommendations, but anyone can find the updated ones. As a favorite instructor says: You're an educated crowd! :-)

Instructor Comments:
Very likeable. Cheerful without being patronizing or annoying.

ErinF