Body Electric Unplugged: Series 1900, Volume 3

This review is for the third volume of Margaret Richard’s Unplugged 1900 series. These workouts were filmed to be shown on PBS, and they originally had background music. However, none of the workouts on the DVDs contain music, due to the cost of licensing it (I think) - hence the name “Unplugged.”

Margaret works out on a platform outside by a brook. The scenery is lovely, and you can hear the water as it flows by. For four of the episodes, she is joined by her friend Heidi. She instructs alone in the other two. Each episode has a warmup, exercises for four or five body parts, and a cool down. The episodes also have a segment entitled “Food for Thought” in which Margaret gives about a minute of thought-provoking commentary on exercise and/or life.

Because the episodes are only 24-25 minutes each, it’s easy to add two or three together to get a good total body workout. The workouts are well chaptered so it’s possible to skip the cool down and warmup in the middle when stringing multiple episodes together. The weight work is more endurance based than strength based, so the weights are relatively light and the number of reps is high. Margaret is one of my favorite instructors, but I wouldn’t say this is her most challenging work. It’s still pretty good, though.

You’ll need dumbbells, ankle weights, a playground ball, and a dowel (for balance). Most episodes require dumbbells, but the other equipment only appears in a few workouts. Below is a description of each episode on the Volume 3 DVD.

EPISODE 1915 w/Heidi (25 min)

Warmup
Deltoids - a variety of front, side, and back raises
Pectorals - flys and bench press
Abs - crunch variations (straight leg, bent leg, knees in and out, and bicycles without a twist)
Inner Thighs - leg lifts, circles, and knee in with lift (this last exercise done only on the first side)
Food for Thought
Cool Down

The warmup is unusually vigorous in this one. Margaret rocks out to music we can’t hear. She uses 5 lb weights for the shoulders and says that “if you’re just watching this, you’d think ‘oh that’s easy, anyone can do this.’ ha ha ha, wait until you try!” and she’s right. In this episode, Margaret also wonders how the pinky finger got its name (and now I wonder too). Even though she works the inner thighs with a different mix of exercises, the time for each side is the same.

EPISODE 1916 w/Heidi (25 min)

Warmup
Back - upright rows and a number of back squeeze variations
Triceps - dips on the floor, something that looks like reverse pushups and unweighted kickbacks
Outer Thighs - leg lifts and clamshell variations, using ankle weights
Calves - reclining heel lifts using ankle weights
Food for Thought
Cool Down

Margaret is very goofy in this one (“Do the elephant, elephant!”). She makes jokes throughout, and she seems really happy. She sings to the music at several points, making me wonder what she’s hearing! You have to pay extra attention to your form in the tricep and calf exercises to make them effective since they are largely unweighted.

EPISODE 1917 w/Heidi (25 min)

Warmup
Quadriceps - squats with a playground ball between the knees
Abs - crunches with the ball under the back
Glutes - lying squeezes/raises with the ball between the knees
Hamstrings - donkey kicks and shallow fire hydrants with the ball behind the knees
Food for Thought
Cool Down

The workout begins with Margaret calling Heidi a bug because the green outfit she’s wearing makes her blend into the greenery in the background. Throughout the workout, Margaret is as goofy as ever. At one point, she tells you not to squat lower than your knees but “if you can, God bless you!” Margaret does not use ankle weights for the hamstring exercises, but it’s easy to increase the intensity by adding them.

EPISODE 1918 w/Heidi (24 min)

Warmup
Calves - raise variations
Hamstrings - glute kicks/pulses
Obliques -side crunches, twists, and reaches
Triceps - overhead press with two weight positions (hanging down and held at both ends)
Biceps - hammer and diagonal curls
Food for Thought
Cool Down

All of the exercises are standing. Margaret wears ankle weights for most of the exercises, and she uses a dowel for balance for the lower body ones. The calf raises are ballet-inspired (first position, etc.). She continues with the insect theme, telling Heidi she looks like a bee. To be fair, though, the colors of Heidi’s outfit are a little bee-like.

EPISODE 1919 Margaret alone (25 min)

Warmup
Calves - reclining heel and raises with a playground ball between the knees
Glutes - lying squeezes/raises with the ball between the knees
Obliques - side plank raises and twists
Back - push downs (an exercise made up by Margaret) similar to a push up
Pectorals - push ups
Food for Thought
Cool Down

All of the exercises are performed on the floor, and at times you can hear the wind in the microphone. Margaret wears ankle weights for the calf and glute exercises, neither of which are new to Volume 3; the calf exercises are very similar to the exercises performed in episode 1916 and the glute exercises are similar to the ones in 1917. Margaret does not give many form pointers when she’s doing “push downs” (sort of like a table top pushup into child’s pose) but she should have — I wasn’t sure where I should feel these, and I only knew from the chapter title that they were supposed to work the back. Margaret is more subdued in this workout, although there are two or three jokes.

EPISODE 1920 Margaret alone (25 min)

Warmup
Inner Thighs - squeezes/pulses with legs in the air, using a playground ball
Outer Thighs - leg lift variations and pulses, lying on your side (slightly different on each side)
Quadriceps - leg lifts and pulses, lying on your back (slightly different on each side)
Abs - crunches with leg variations and oblique twists
Food for Thought
Cool Down

Margaret wears ankle weights for most of the exercises, and she uses a playground ball for a prop/positioning when not actively using it as part of the segment. Wearing ankle weights for some of the crunch variations can be hard on the back, so next time, I won’t do it. Margaret continues to be goofy, especially when the work gets hard (“Think good thoughts. I love my instructor! I love my Maggie Richard!”). There are too many Margaret-isms to recount in this one, but there are some doozies. (For example, there’s the Body Electric “confessional,” the suggestion to add weight, but not “Twinkies weight,” etc.) At one point, Margaret says what a privilege it is for her not only to be able to work out, but also to motivate others, and I feel the same — it’s a privilege to work out with Margaret!

Instructor Comments:
Margaret is great, but she can be a little goofy. In every workout, there’s at least one “Margaret-ism.” She calls the home exerciser her “friends,” and it’s just one of the many things that make her workouts so nice. Margaret doesn’t always do the exact same exercises on both sides of the body, but generally she works both sides approximately the same amount of time.

shawnt