Remember when I posted that I ordered The Bar Method Workout after my hip sister Ashley told me it was the hottest thing in San Francisco since sourdough bread?  And how I promised to let you know how I liked it?  Well, after a few gentle reminders by some  sweet commenters, here’s my review:

The GOOD:

First off, I LOVE it!  It’s like nothing I’ve ever tried.  It’s a mix of pilates, ballet, and strength training.  The founder of this method, Burr Leonard, teaches the class.  At close to my own mom’s age, she looks great! She’s very inspiring.

I love that she doesn’t talk down to the audience.  She explains and demonstrates the form and technique and then leaves it up to you to do it.  Her voice is soothing, kind of like having your sweet neighbor teaching the class.

The other 3 women on the video are all owners of Bar Method Centers across the country.  They are real women with real bodies.

All the moves are low impact but intense. The goal of the method is to “lift your seat” and create a dancer’s body.  What I like most is that she spends lots of time stretching, which creates long lean muscles.

There are 2 DVDs, a basic level and an accellerated one.  Both are close to an hour and challenging. By the end of the video I’m sweating and my legs are rubber.

Abs are a challenge for me.  After a 10 1/2 pound baby and 2 more c-sections, my abs are a mess. She does abs a completely diffferent way than I’ve ever done them.   Your abs are engaged the whole time in a pulled in position, eliminating the pouch.

The BAD:

I looked on the website and it claims that this workout gives you enough cardio that you shouldn’t need to suppliment with more cardio.  It also says that this workout is ideal for people who are no more than 30 pounds overweight.  I would tend to agree, although I still think the more cardio you can get, the faster you’ll lose weight.

The exercises rely on really good form, so if you don’t have much experience working out or with pilates, you’ll have to be extremely aware of how you are positioned.

She doesn’t work the biceps very hard.  The triceps are killers but the biceps are pretty light.

All in all, I love this DVD and would recommend it if you are looking to tone, strengthen, become more flexible and change the look of your body.  I’ve been doing it about 3 times a week and have noticed a difference.

BUT, I haven’t lost weight.  Which has more to do with my lack of eating discipline lately than with my lack of exercise.

That’s why I picked up this at Target the other day:

First off, I am NOT a fan of Jillian Michaels.  I find her arrogant, condescending, loud, and grating.  But, my sister Tatertots and Jello, brought this DVD to my house last weekend and we tried it out.  Here’s a quick review and the reason I bought my own copy:

The BAD:

I have to listen to Jillian talk to me as if I’m sitting around with a bowl of Cheetos watching her workout.  She keeps telling me that I have to “fight for it”  and “don’t even THINK of turning off the DVD now”.  OK, OK, I’m not trying to cheat.  If I didn’t want to work-out, I guarantee I would not be watching you berate me for 20 minutes.  I have plenty of shows patiently waiting for me on my DVR. I need to see if there’s a way to turn off her voice.

The two girls on the DVD with her are unrealistically hard bodied.  I can guarantee they didn’t get that way doing Jillian Michaels for 20 minutes a day.

She doesn’t do much stretching at the beginning, middle, or end.  But at only 20 minutes, you have plenty of time afterward to stretch.

There are maybe 4 exercises that Jillian does herself.  Most of the time she is walking around talking and pointing out how the “girls” are positioned and moving.

The GOOD:

It’s only 20 minutes! Even on super busy days, I can find 20 minutes to do a quick workout.

It’s hard! There are 3 levels.  I’ve done all three.  The second one, in my opinion, is the hardest.  I really like level 3.  Level 1 is challenging enough to get a good workout but not enough to contemplate swtiching to your DVR queue.

One of the girls does the modified version of all the exercises.  If you aren’t feeling up to doing the full plank pose, you can follow her.

I like that many of her exercises are “old school”.  Old fashioned sit-ups, jumping jacks, jump roping. Very effective.

There are no breaks. By the end of the 20 minutes, I’m sweating and ready to sit on the couch with a bowl of Cheetos cereal.

So, all in all, a good workout especially if you can find a way not to have to listen to Jillian.

My totally qualified recommendation for a total workout if you’re looking to lose weight is to do both the Bar Method (to change the shape of your body) and the 30 Day Shred( for a cardio boost) 4-5 times a week to prepare for summer swimsuits and t-shirt season.  That’s my plan anyway.

Anyone want to join me???