Tonique Mat Workout

This is the ultimate lower body floor workout led by Sywia Weisenberg . It is chaptered and divided into four main sections: Warmup, On the side, On the back, on all fours. Most of the exercises are done for about 30 reps.
Warmup-when you select this option it is called Cooldown/stretch. There is some strange music and no voice instruction. There is some dynamic stretching but it isn't something I would do as a warmup. I think some light cardio should be done before attempting the main part of the workout or anything else you normally do to warmup before a lower body strength workout.
On the side (17 minutes) You do all exercises on one side then switch sides. exercises are:
Side Leg Raises
Knee to chest - leg into chest and then out
Side knee raise (Clam move without feet touching)
Knee Extensions - knee into chest and then out and up
L-Shape Leg Extension - bent knee into chest, bring up then down and then back out straight out along bottom leg (but not touching bottom leg)
Crunch W/Leg Extension - leg is straight with toes pointed to ceiling and then bring it in when you crunch up
Backward Leg Demi-Extension and press -like a pretzel, bringing knee forward and back then pulsing leg up and down.
Change sides and repeat all.
On the Back ( 30 minutes): warning: get the fire extinguisher ready!
Pelvis Lifts ending with a hold up in bridge, then pulses with hips lifted
Leg Opening - hip lifts with legs together, lower hips and legs open to the sides 20-30 reps then: Open and close with hips lifted and pulsing
Another set of Pelvis Lifts
Long hold in bridge position with feet together.
Right Leg in to chest and extended while in bridge position(warning she says 10 reps but does 25!)
Left Leg in and Extended in bridge position
Right Leg Up and down w/hips lifted
Left Leg Up and down with hips lifted
Side to Side Pelvis Lift
Bicycle- front to back then reverse feet back to front
Leg Circles - loads of reps in both directions
Ab work: Crunch W/Leg Opening -shows modification not crunching to only work the thighs if you have neck issues
Leg Extensions - sitting with hands behind you bringing legs in and out
Side Crunches left
Crunch W/Leg Extensions left side
Side crunches then Crunch W/Leg Extensions on right side Ab drill -sit ups with arms extended Side to side ab drill (like russian twist kettlebell move)
Plank - hold for 1 min.
Push Up/Plank progression- 2 push ups then plank on elbows for 2 seconds, 3 push ups then elbow planks for 3 seconds, 4 push ups then elbow plan for 4 seconds, etc. up to 5 then a short rest then continue in this fashion until 8 pushups. Knee Push Ups (30) Finish with some movements to stretch the upper body.

On all fours (~ 22 minutes?) Leg Knee to Ceiling - donkey kicks
Pulse w/Leg Up
Leg Extensions - leg up, bend knee up in and back (for hamstrings)
Straight Leg Lifts - can bend knee slightly to feel it more in the hamstring otherwise you feel it more in the glute
Brief Child's Pose
Side Leg Lift - fire hydrant move (sylwia says this is "like a dog peeing!"
Leg Extensions W/Push Ups - push ups on knees then come up and swing leg back and up
Bent Knee Lift Leg Extension - bring knee into shoulder and then out and back

Repeat all switching legs then end with some stretches
Set- Plain blue background with white sail looking things.
Music: Cheesy, discolike with some vocals


Leslie

Instructor Comments:
Sylwia: She has a Polish accent which I did not have a hard time understanding. She often miscounts and you will curse her for doing so. But it not done with a Cathe-like witche's laugh - she is so sweet and good natured about it -like she is really looking out for your best interest. She gave good form pointers and was encouraging during the tough parts. And make no mistake: this is one tough workout. Not much for the upper body and core but a killer unweighted lower body workout. Would be great for travel.

lreidgreen

Bringing 60 minutes of ultimate floor work, this workout is designed to hit all areas of the lower body. You'll perform the exercises in 3 stages: 1st on your side, working the inner & outer thighs effectively, then you'll move onto your back to "bring up the rear" and tighten the hamstrings/quads and then you'll pull it together even more by moving your position to your knees (the toughest position yet!). The high reps really tone and define. (if you can't do all the segments at once, the workout is chaptered so you can "pick and choose" and do one, two or as many as you'd like on any given day based on your needs. The workout does include a separate chapter for a warmup. Here, Sylwia takes you through a free flowing rhythmic type warmup. No verbal cues are provided, however, so it is more a "watch me and follow along" type segment. I prefer to do my own warmup and then choose a segment as an "add-on".

On The Side Workout: 17 Minutes
You'll begin with side leg raises and move into knee to chest move. Next is a side knee raise followed by a leg extension. L-shape leg extension which progresses into crunch leg extension (bonus ab work). The next move is backward leg demi extension followed by a backward leg pulse. Following this you'll change sides (finally, phew) and repeat this to the other leg. Once this is finished you are done with the side lying series.

On The Back Workout: 27 Minutes
Pelvis lift-pulse begins this segment. You'll then move into leg opening butt lifts and right leg extensions/left leg extensions. If this isn't enough, next up you'll find the following: right leg lift pelvis up for reps, switching to the left leg. Side to side pelvis lifts follow. The next 3 exercises are bicycle, leg circles and crunch leg opening (and these exercises start to work the abdominals as do the following). Ab workout-leg extension follows. Left side crunch and left side crunch extension work obliques. (repeat to right side) Ab drill is next; this exercise resembles a pilates roll up. Side to side ab drill is the last exercise in this segment.

On The Knees: 22 Minutes
Left leg lift to ceiling begins this segment. Sylwia adds pulses to this at the end of the movement to make it even tougher! Left leg extension follows. Next up is left leg straight lift. After finishing those, rest briefly in child's pose before moving onto left leg side leg lift. Left leg extension pushup followed by bent knee lift leg extension are the last 2 exercises. Switch legs and take it from the top. A few stretches end this session.

Instructor Comments:
review copy

DeniseR

This is a 67 minute all mat toning workout. The focus is on lower body and abs. She does one set that includes pushups but thats the only UB work. Sylwia leads alone on a small set. The production quality is not the best but its not that bad, and I never really notice that kind of stuff anyways. You wont need anything but possibly a mat for this workout.


The dvd is divided up into 4 segments: Warmup, On the side, On the back, on all fours. You can "play all" or select your segments- I dont *thinkg* there is a mix and match option. The name of each move comes across the bottom of the screen at the beginning of each exercise.

This is a TOUGH workout! It is HIGH HIGH HIGH rep no weight floor work. I felt like my legs were going to fall off. But after being almost repped to death- I am not hardly sore today, so thats a bit dissapointing. I am more of a "heavy squat" kind of gal then a "spend 60 min, almost die, and not be sore" type of exerciser. She does virtually every type of LB floor work you can imagine and then some!

The ab work was pretty uninspiring for me. By the end of it I was definately feeling it but the first handful of ab exercisers are just crunch variations and didnt feel extordinarally effective. Of course after spending 15-10 min on nonstop ab movement- I was happy to not be "hitting it hard" for the duration.

I would rate this an advanced w/o- just the sheer number of reps and seemingly nonstop number of (mostly) LB moves and a good amount of ab work, and because of the length and the fact that she jumps right into the work and really wastes no time in this w/o.

Instructor Comments:
I liked Sylwia as a lead but she probably wouldnt be a fav of mine. I dont like that she sometimes will say 10 more, but then theres really 30 more? I dont like being lied to ;) I think her other w/o's are a better fit for me since Im not really a mat work type of girl so I am excited to try those. If you are a mat/ floor work/ barre fan I think you will LOVE this w/o. She has a fairly strong Polish accent, but I didnt have any problems understanding her.

lindseylu8