Herbalife 24fit:: Phase 1, Spine & Pelvis Stabilization

This is the first disc in the Herbalife 24fit set. I don't have the entire set; I had heard good things about the stabilization workouts, so I traded for just this DVD, Spine & Pelvis Stabilization, and Disc 2, Shoulder Stabilization (see my review for that DVD as well).

The Main Menu for this DVD reads as follows:
1) Introduction to Phase 1
2) Stretching
3) Workout: Spine & Pelvis Stabilization
4) Recommended Products (Herbalife supplements)

The Introduction features Bob Forester, Physical Therapist and creator of 24fit. The instructor for this DVD is Samantha Clayton, and she teaches live with three background exercisers. She describes them as being at three different levels: beginner, regular exerciser, and "elite athlete." After doing the workout, however, I think more appropriate descriptions would be beginner, experienced beginner, and low intermediate.

The Stretch is an in-depth, slow, full-body routine. I'm not quite sure why it was necessary to include such a LONG (about 19 minutes) stretch--it's about two-thirds the length of the workout itself! Samantha begins with five deep breaths and then moves into upper body stretches, including neck, shoulders, lats, chest, and triceps. Moving to the floor, the group performs press-ups for the back. Coming to their backs, they perform pelvic tilts, pelvic twists, pretzel stretch, and inner thigh stretch. The final stretches include side-lying quad stretch, cat stretch on all fours, and kneeling hip flexor/hamstring stretch.

The workout itself is about 27 minutes long. Samantha has the Level 2 and 3 exercisers wear ankle weights. They begin on all fours for alternating arms and legs (aka bird-dog) and then move to lying for dead bug. They continue with partial sit up, front plank, bird dog with hamstring curl, and side lying inner and outer thigh lifts. Returning to lying on the back, they complete several sets of glute lifts. The workout concludes standing for squats, both held and pulsing versions.

Although I'm sure that some of the exercises in this routine were effective, this seemed like an overly long workout, especially for rehab purposes. I think I prefer to stick with the shorter practices on other DVDs I have, such as REHAB YOUR BODY AT HOME or TOTAL BODY SOLUTIONS.

Instructor Comments:
I have to admit, I found Samantha to be pretty annoying. She had a rather pronounced cockney-type accent, which wasn't problematic in and of itself, but she also did not speak proper English. I might be a stickler, but it just grates on my nerves to hear something like "you're remembering all THEM cues"! I also did not like her frequent chatter about Bob, the creator of 24fit, and Herbalife supplements.

Beth C (aka toaster)