Hi/Low Med Ball

NSTRUCTOR: Tracey Staehle
DURATION: 50 Minutes
EQUIPMENT: Sneakers, med ball, optional weighted gloves
LEVEL: Solid Intermediate
TYPE: Cardio
MUSIC: Top 40 instrumental, some goodies from the 70's and 80's ("Super Freak" "My First, My Last, My Everything")
IMPACT: Mixed
CHOREOGRAPHY: Moderate

This is a hi/lo workout with some medicine ball training sprinkled in twice from fitness. She is accompanied by two background exercisers, one who does higher impact moves and one that does lower impact. This workout can best be described as aerobic kickboxing with a little dance thrown in.

There are about 9 combos (including the two med ball combos) in this workout. Each combo is built slowly at first and then picks up. The combos are not strung together. This is good for those that like to keep it interesting and don't like a lot of TIFTing. She will do a combo slow, then fast, then you don't see it again. There are a wide variety of movements: kick ball changes, hip twists, hip sways,fast feet,, and lots of kickboxing thrown in. In fact, it reminded me more of a choreographed kickbox workout and less of a hi lo/med ball type workout. Lots of fun! Also, with a little modification, you can adapt for a small space.

The real fun part of this workout was the music! It was very, very good :) Lots of stuff from the 70's and 80's, along with some new stuff mixed in. Tracey and crew are very relaxed and seem to be having a great time during the workout.

The set is the same as Circuit Zone and Strike Zone: a little dark, with dark wood floors and dark walls with a big window. Like they worked out in a loft. I liked it :) Production quality wasn't the greatest. Not as slick as a CIA or Cathe workout, but not as low as Katina Hunter's. Probably on par with Amy Bento's first batch, or a notch above. Oh, and there was a section where the lead instructor's mic went out and they just put the words at the bottom of the screen on what you were supposed to do. I thought that part was very tacky (why didn't they just reshoot?), but it didn't take away from the workout.

As for the med ball sections, it's mostly light toning and ab work. Around 10 minutes worth. I wish she have put that together at the end, as it tended to disrupt the flow a little bit (at least for me).

PROS: music, moves, and obvious comraderie on the set made for a good workout

CONS: a little less than steller production, a little boring start but it picks up. Some folks have complained about the cueing and strange camera angles, but the moves are easy to pick up. I wish that the stretch at the end had more floor stretches and wasn't all upper body. And I wish there were one more med ball portion.

Instructor Comments:
Tracey is very relaxed and seems to be enjoying herself. I like that in an instructor. She also seems to have fun with her crew, which is nice.

bubbles76

Tracey leads this 57 min hi lo cardio workout with 2 background exercisers in a super cute "summer house" type set. You will only need an optional med ball for the two 5 min med ball sections. The music in this workout is ROCKIN', super upbeat and makes you want to MOVE!

I found this workout very unique and fun. The exercises were easy to catch onto but not repetitive or boring- great balance! I love that she combines athletic cardio, kickboxing, old school hi-lo (with a flair), and a lot of good standing core work mixed into the cardio. Great variety of moves and great energy!Tracie adds in tempo changes to keep things interesting! Love that the 1st med ball section (standing core work) comes in after about 30 min of cardio- great way to re-energize, then on to more cardio and finishes with a floor ab section utilizing the med ball.

Cardio Exercises include: elbow strike, hopping pendulums moving forward, front kick w/ a floor touch, hip twists, fast feet, kick-ball change, double run, lots of great punch combos- adding in plyos and feet movements to keep the heart pumping, plyo lunges, power jacks, side oblique knee crunch, fast bob & weave, knee ups w/ punches, dribble- shuffle, ham curls, pony, etc. Med Ball Work Includes: (standing) C-curve for upper & then lower abs, golf swing, torso twist, pendulum ball swings, squat w/ bi curl, (floor) knee crunches, ball extended twists, C curve ball drops, on your side- scissor legs & knee pull, side oblique pulses, etc.

I would rate this is a solid intermediate workout done as is- you can easily adjust your impact & intensity to suit your needs. I found this fun & fresh! Great energy, great music, lots of fun & the time FLEW by! Tracey really found a great balance of choreo and exercises to keep it interesting but not complicated. Tracie does a great job with form pointers & you can really tell she is having a great time. Def a keeper!!! I received this dvd to review.

lindseylu8

I tried various Tracey Staehle workouts and this is the only one I kept. The reason? It's SO MUCH FUN! The music is really good, intrumental but recognizable tunes; the exercisers are relaxed and obviously know each other and give off a relaxed and fun vibe; the moves are varied and interesting, not the same old, same old. She does moves, builds a combination starting out slow and then varying the tempo of the moves, and then repeats the combination, and then moves on. There is "taking it from the top of a combination", but not "taking it from the top of the routine". There are athletic moves, dancey moves, and med ball and there are three premixes on the DVD that gives each of those 3 options. Keep in mind though that the med ball moves are only a very small part of the moves, around 10 minutes. So yes, the title is a misnomer. It's mainly a hi/lo workout with 2 short med ball segments.

Many of the moves are high impact, but it's easy enough to modify. Often, she starts with the low-impact option and you can just stay with it when they go high impact.

I think this is a well designed and well executed workout. It's the only one of her workouts that I have kept over the years.

Instructor Comments:
She's encouraging and funny. Doing this workout is like working out with friends.

Laura S.