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Old 03-17-17, 12:40 PM  
marki64
 
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Tonique

I noticed that there are a few Toniques on You Tube. I subscribed to, I think, Fitness Life (for free) or something like that, and I am finding a lot of vids I have never purchased that are now on You Tube they just come to me every couple days. I don't have to search for them. Anyway, there are a lot of Toniques. I know a lot of people like her here. Is it me, or does she do the same gazillion moves in every vid? Are they boring? What are the likes and dislikes? There are several shorter videos, but they all look the same to me.
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Old 03-17-17, 03:13 PM  
ebianco
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Yes, Tonique has several free workouts online. I think the ones that Sylwia intended, some 10-15 minute workouts on the beach that she wanted to share for free, and some that are unintentional (I would assume), all her Express workouts (Sculpt, Cardio Sculpt, Cardio), her original Tonique DVD, and the Sculpt Dynamics DVD.

To some extent yes, she does do the same gazillion moves in each workout, tons upon tons of lunge variations, downward dog, plank, etc. And she usually aims for about 40 reps per move, sometimes 30 in her shorter or beginner workouts.

A lot of her workouts vary because of the length, sequencing of exercises, settings (her DVDs/downloads have tons of gorgeous settings, or in a studio), and music. Also, some of her more recent workouts (not on youtube) are more upper focused or lower focused. Most of her older workouts are primarily lower focused. I don't think they are boring (although I can see how people may feel that way). I love her workouts, they are repetitive but they have a zen factor. I love, love how she works your whole body but especially your legs and glutes. And they are just such a challenge. I'd say they would be dread inducing except Sylwia is so encouraging throughout her workouts, and they really do get easier if you stick with them.

I've noticed in general (not just Tonique) that older DVDs are now on youtube. Whenever I consider purchasing an older DVD, I always look at youtube first because there's a 50% chance it will already be posted on there.

Sylwia recently said on her Instagram page that she's coming out with new Mexico workouts (not sure how many). But I'm having trouble keeping up as it is I'm delighted she keeps producing downloads for us fans.
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Old 03-18-17, 02:46 PM  
Verine
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I just wanted to chime in here, as I am a relative newbie to Tonique. I started doing Tonique 3x/week beginning this past October. I mostly used Premier, Addicted to Movement (the first 40 min), and some of the shorter downloads (Vienna, Euphoria). At first it was very difficult getting used to doing so many reps, and sometimes I couldn't wait for the sequence to be over. But as ebianco said, the moves and sequences are varied, and I do not find these workouts boring at all. I have worked my way up to doing her longer workouts, and am really proud of myself for the progress I have made. In no way does Tonique become *easy*, but the more you work at it, the more doable it becomes. For example, my lower body is way stronger than my upper, and many of her moves are done in downdog position. I was taking constant breaks and struggling through the upper body parts, but now I am able to do the downdog moves, pushups, and planks with no dread factor (although I still take breaks, they are not as frequent). I also agree with ebianco that you get into a zen-like trance, esp with the longer workouts. I also find Sylwia to be very encouraging, and honestly I feel like a million bucks after I finish doing Tonique. Plus the bulk of her workouts are filmed outdoors in beautiful settings all over the world, which makes me feel happy. I plan to keep Tonique as my mainstay workout (3-4x/week), mixing in the other types of exercise I love--Cathe, dance, kettlebells, kickboxing, Barlates.

One negative is that her website is not very informative in terms of workout descriptions, and some of the lengths are listed incorrectly as well. However, all you need to do is search VF and you can find information about virtually every workout.

Christina
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Old 03-18-17, 08:01 PM  
marki64
 
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Thanks ladies! I will try a couple of her shorter ones. I have to say I don't care for the accent. She is hard to understand. But I'll give it a go.

Ebianco, I also look on you tube before purchasing any dvds these days, as I am finding a few I never purchased. However, I ordered a couple because I like having the dvd with premixes and watching on a bigger screen. But I like the variety I get. I like you tube when I want a quick ab or pilates workout or just trying something different.
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Old 04-02-17, 11:36 AM  
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Has anyone done her download "The Box?" The descriptions on her website are pretty scanty. It appears that it is a "mat workout," which is what I'm looking for. I like Sylwia's floorwork, but I can only take small amounts of most of her standing work. All the work she does in plank position and down dog position (with all those twists and shifts) really wreaks havoc on my dicey back. I do mostly TA, but like everyone, I get bored from time to time.

Oh, and I noticed in the last year+ since I last visited her website, she's added like a gazillion videos. Again, info is pretty nil. Does anyone have any recommendations for her w/os that are shorter 40 min. or less or that can be easily done partially (without missing a whole side or anything) and that have a decent amount of floorwork in them? And that are possibly a bit easier than her standard workout? I'm looking for some fresh stuff, and I like Sylwia's personality and the gorgeous settings of her outdoor workouts. I just don't want a ton of super grueling standing, plank/down dog work.

TIA for any input or info!
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Old 04-02-17, 05:45 PM  
Helen S
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ssgilby View Post
Has anyone done her download "The Box?" The descriptions on her website are pretty scanty. It appears that it is a "mat workout," which is what I'm looking for. I like Sylwia's floorwork, but I can only take small amounts of most of her standing work. All the work she does in plank position and down dog position (with all those twists and shifts) really wreaks havoc on my dicey back. I do mostly TA, but like everyone, I get bored from time to time.

Oh, and I noticed in the last year+ since I last visited her website, she's added like a gazillion videos. Again, info is pretty nil. Does anyone have any recommendations for her w/os that are shorter 40 min. or less or that can be easily done partially (without missing a whole side or anything) and that have a decent amount of floorwork in them? And that are possibly a bit easier than her standard workout? I'm looking for some fresh stuff, and I like Sylwia's personality and the gorgeous settings of her outdoor workouts. I just don't want a ton of super grueling standing, plank/down dog work.

TIA for any input or info!
The Box is very hard on the upper body. It does have mat work. But in between, you put your feet up a wall and do downward dog moves with your feet on the wall. The wall work is tougher than regular downward dog moves because of gravity. You don't need to use a wall. You can put your feet on top of a chair but again, the moves will still be tougher than putting your feet on the floor because of gravity.
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Old 04-02-17, 08:05 PM  
bee
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Originally Posted by Helen S View Post
The Box is very hard on the upper body. It does have mat work. But in between, you put your feet up a wall and do downward dog moves with your feet on the wall. The wall work is tougher than regular downward dog moves because of gravity. You don't need to use a wall. You can put your feet on top of a chair but again, the moves will still be tougher than putting your feet on the floor because of gravity.
Could you also leave your feet on the ground and stay in down dog?
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Old 04-02-17, 08:09 PM  
bee
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I just went to see if I could find a preview of The Box, since I also like mat work. No preview to be found as ssgilby said, but I noticed that on the front page with the description, it says the price is $5.99 but then when you click to add it into your cart it's $10. She must have had a sale and not changed all the prices.
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Old 04-03-17, 01:34 PM  
Helen S
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Originally Posted by Helen S View Post
The Box is very hard on the upper body. It does have mat work. But in between, you put your feet up a wall and do downward dog moves with your feet on the wall. The wall work is tougher than regular downward dog moves because of gravity. You don't need to use a wall. You can put your feet on top of a chair but again, the moves will still be tougher than putting your feet on the floor because of gravity.
I just realized that I was talking about Budapest Spa and not the Box. I don't have the latter. So I'm not sure if it alternates between wall moves and mat work.

Here is a little clip of Budapest Spa. It's not very helpful but you can see the setting.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BGndLwgh...wia_wiesenberg

Here is a cover of The Box with a little description.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BD89aN0B...wia_wiesenberg

Just a little clip of The Box. Again, it's mostly to see the setting:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BDy7E88B...wia_wiesenberg

When I say she does stuff on the wall that is hard. I meant something like this picture. The leg that is high moves up and down so that it is that high and then goes down until it's close to the floor.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BFZYYdPh...wia_wiesenberg
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Old 04-05-17, 02:00 PM  
ebianco
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I had to go back and do some digging, but I found the original thread I posted a review in for The Box: http://forum.videofitness.com/showthread.php?t=215497

To quote myself I really liked that there weren't any pushups, but that doesn't mean your arms aren't working HARD to support you basically the entire workout. I love her crazy bodysuit and the striking contrast of the white background. To rank it among her mat workouts, I thought it was harder than Budapest Mat but easier than Energy Mat, partly due to length and the lack of pushups, but the wall work was of course much harder than just table work on the floor.

Quote:
I previewed The Box (literally filmed in a "box" or tiny alcove with walls on all sides) and it is like I was hoping - lots of table and downdog work with lots of wall work intermixed. The wall work is a lot like her suspension type work - step your legs up the wall and do leg lifts in different ways. Since the wall work is mixed in, and not in a long 10 minute stretch like her suspension style add ons, I think it will make the wall work much more doable. No standing work in this since it's in a box A home exerciser doesn't need a box, just a wall. I'm excited to try this one! At 37 minutes I think it will be very doable, too. Also, towards the end there is a set of plank squat hops but otherwise no impact. And no pushups that I saw! But your arms are basically holding you up the whole workout so I'm sure it's a total body workout.

I did Box today and really enjoyed it. I haven't been doing many Toniques lately so my endurance may not be up to snuff, and I thought this one was very doable, so would generally say it is not one of the harder Toniques. But, my arms were starting to shake when I was in plank or pike positions on the wall. I really enjoyed the mix of table work, down dog, and wall work. My wrists felt it by the end though (I have never had wrist problems) so I would say it is wrist intense.

I laughed when she said she had less than an hour to film, then they were going to fill the box with bicycles

The music is mostly very different than it has been in recent releases.

I felt worked out and sweaty by the end, but not spent. Definitely a good purchase for me.
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