Margaret's Unplugged 2000 series

[lorajc]

no....I actually did a 1/2 hour segment from Classics 1&2 back to back with Turbo Fire Tone. It made for a nice little workout....and wanted to try both of them....thus the back to back thing.

[sherry7899]

Lorajc, I'm still impressed Enjoy all your new workouts !

Sherry

[videofit]

I haven't given up on the 2000 Unpluggeds at all. I've only done what I consider two workouts so far, although they are four shows, since I do a minimum of two shows with the Unpluggeds. I still have 22 more episodes to do! Of course I will love some more than others. I am not worried at all that I've wasted my money. I can't wait to see the shows shot at the Botanical Gardens.

[sherry7899]

Videofit, I didn't at all mean that you gave up on the 2000 series. I was just wondering since I have the 2000 series if it's worth getting the 1900 series.

The episodes shot at the botanical gardens are lovely I hope you continue to enjoy the dvds.

Please take care-
Sherry

[videofit]

Originally Posted by sherry7899

I was just wondering since I have the 2000 series if it's worth getting the 1900 series.

I only have Vol. 1 of the 1900 series and really like it. At some point I'd like to buy the other three volumes just to have a complete set.

[videofit]

I knew Maggie wouldn't let me down! Back on track with 2005 & 2006:

She started with a dancier warmup than usual, which I couldn't follow, simple as it was. She and Heidi looked cute in their color coordinated navy and purple outfits. Margaret was wearing a unitard with a shrug tied under her breasts. She looked very fit and trim. I don't know if it's my monitor or her productions but her hair rinse was purple in some scenes. Margaret goes punk!

2005 used no weights at all. The delt work was strange but I have to admit I began to feel it toward the end. Next time I will add 3 lb. weights to see how difficult it might be or not.

For triceps she did her pushdowns. I'm telling you, once you get the form right, you will definitely feel it.

For obliques, she did side planks with dips (not sure what the move is called) where you bring your elbow underneath your body. She's done it before in the 1900 series. That was tough. She then shifted to sitting ribcage isolations where you move your upper body side to side. Your obliques have been pre-fatigued by the previous plank type moves you just did

Inner thigh floorwork had some new moves which really were challenging. She warns you not to use leg weights but I did and it was pretty tough because she constantly shifted the leg combos, even doing something totally different from one leg to another.

2006: She started with standing pec work which I felt more in my delts and back and she said she did too, so she shifted around a bit to target the chest more but I still felt it more in the back. She followed that set with more back work, including upright rows, which I always do lower than she does to avoid injury. My back was really feeling it by the end. Since most people overwork their chest at the expense of their back, it didn't bother me that chest was given short shrift. She'll make up for it in my next workout.

Quads -- standing squats and pulses, lifting alternate heels. Effective.

Lying outer thighs were good as always. I used leg weights. Beside the usual lifts, she did an interesting circling motion with her knees and that really targeted the saddlebag area.

So for these two short workouts, you only got eight body parts done. The next two chapters will work ten parts. In these Unpluggeds, you never have enough time to do the whole body.

In her Food for Thought segments, she looked very pretty and it looked like they were shot at the botanical gardens.

So I am feeling much more positive about my 2000 series.

[donnamp]

Thanks Videofit for the reviews. I think this one is going on my wishlist. I didn't cave on the sale b/c I see that Mirand Esmonde-white (Classical Stretch) is releasing her new back pain workout and is offering free shipping on two or more items through August. So....I'm gonna cave on that sale - and get back pain relief, the new core workout, and the 2009 series. Next time MR has a sale, I think I'll go for the Unpluggeds though!

Keep the reviews coming, I'm interested in hearing more!

Donna

[lfcjasp]

Darn, Videofit!!! I WANT these!!! I would rather send her a check than use the cc...trying to pay them off and ....well...Darn you, Video!!!

[videofit]

2007: Calf work involving holding that small blue ball between your knees while you raise and lower your body and pulse. Her standard calf work but with the added new twist of alternating your legs. I always hold a pair of 8 lb. dumbbells while doing any of her standing calf work because I want to build my calves. They have shaped up rather well. Small but tangible results in this supposedly hard to build muscle.

Standing hamstring work involved holding the ball behind your knee but it kept falling off so I did it without. Basically keeping your calf parallel to the floor and then pushing your leg back behind the supporting leg. It wasn't as difficult as the Perfect 10 standing hamstring work which really cramps my legs. Still, I felt worked out.

Standing obliques were her usual lifting of the arm across your head over your ear while you bend from one side to the other. Then she added twists, which I like. Some more tilts keeping your hands on your shoulder while you tilt from side to side. I've noticed Margaret has more oblique work in her newer workouts than in her old.

Triceps: she used one 8 lb dumbbell for overhead type work using both and then one hand. I had to drop down to 5 lbs for the one armed work. She worked the muscle from various angles and there were a lot of reps.

Biceps were fairly standard curls and hammer curls with partial and full range of motion in front and to the side.

There was a graceful, rather balletic cooldown with a lot of waving arms.

2008: Another dancy warmup with Heidi, then on to pec flies and presses, only this time Heidi was on an incline step while Maggie stayed on the floor.

On to lying side delts with Heidi working on the bench again and Maggie on the floor, or should I say platform, since these are outdoor workouts. I started with 5 lbs. then dropped to 3 lb. for the rotator cuff. We've seen her do these before. Effective and a change from the standing version.

Back work was her standard reach forward, holding dumbbells, then bring your elbows back as far as you can behind your back while standing. She held the weights at different angles to work into the back differently. I have to say that my back looks great considering she has never done standard heavy lat rows, which I used to do with 15 lbs. She threw in some of those upright rows where, at the top, you bring your elbows back to work the upper back before bringing your arms down.

Glute bridgework with Heidi still on the inclined step. The usual hip lifts with a dumbbell on your hips.

Finally wrapping up with crunches and oblique twists.

Overall a nice workout, nothing surprising, Margaret was in a good mood as she almost always is.

I had a look at the "menu" for Volume 2, with only six shows/chapters, just to see what was on it. There seems to be no chest work at all, which is odd. I'm wondering if it's pushups and merely included/listed as shoulder or back work. I'll keep you posted.

[videofit]

My third day in a row of doing Margaret. I normally take off a day in between but will do so tomorrow.

2009:
Triceps kickbacks from different angles, some standing upright, others leaning far forward. She did them like she did in Sculpture and High Voltage, where she brings them up behind the back, palms outward.

Standing inner thighs were very different for Margaret. You stand with legs apart and pick up then drop a dumbbell by each foot. I've seen this done by Kimberly Spreen and I'm sure there are others. I felt it in my inner thighs but also hamstring and back, so maybe my form was off.

Okay, this outer thigh floor work belongs in the Margaret Richard Hall of Fame. One of her very best in my opinion. I wore five lbs on each leg which really made it tough. Started out with lying side bent leg lifts but then switched to your having to touch your upper foot to the lower foot, then the upper knee to the lower knee, so your leg was rotating in the hip socket. Man, that was a burner for that saddlebag area! Then she did knee touching knee with foot raised up at an angle while your leg was still bent.

Something new for the quads -- down on your knees and you raise and lower your body to nearly a sitting position. I have bad knees so only did about half of these then did the rest standing up. She also had you kind of dance on your knees, moving your hips side to side from a lower position, while you waved your arms.

2010:
Margaret was at the Buffalo Botanical Garden in what looked like a tent filled with plants. She was wearing an aqua hoodie so it must have been chilly in there.

Unweighted delt work, but moving the arms similar to her regular weighted delt work, elbows out to side at shoulder level, bent with palms facing forward, then bringing the forearms in until the palms touched. Then it evolved into a raised praying position, except you pressed your palms together so you worked your front delts and upper chest. Holding them you also raised your arms slightly. Form is very important. Reminded me of that exercise, "We must, we must, we must increase our bust!"

Biceps with 8 lbs and the typical curls but she told you to change the position of your hands and thumb.

Her hamstring - glutes - hamstring floorwork is a classic combo from a lot of her workouts, like High Voltage for example. For hamstrings you didn't just raise and lower your bent leg but also crossed it over the other knee so you really felt it. For bridge work, when she said for the umpteenth time how just raising and lowering your hips slightly by curling the pelvis up helps stretch and release the back, it hit me -- I can't remember the last time I've had lower back pain since I've been doing her workouts so that must be why.

She also mentioned that the reason she doesn't do compound moves is to concentrate on one muscle group and get the intensity she wants. As an aside she said she is as old as Cher, Goldie Hawn and Susan Sarandon. Just goes to show that you can't use the excuse, "But I'm too old to exercise!" any more.