Search - Leslie Sansone: Walk Away the Pounds on DVD

Walk away from the computer!

wild animals | 02/18/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I bought this same set of three workouts in a 2-DVD pack (also available on Amazon) for about the same price as the 3-in-1 DVD shown here. I'm guessing this DVD is the better buy, since the 2-pack costs about the same but is twice the size (and size counts when you don't have a lot of room to store DVDs). It can be hard to tell these workouts apart, so I thought I'd mention it.

But on to the workouts: I LOVE them!

I'm not a coordinated person. My best friend used to do Tae Bo DVDs religiously, and occasionally she could con me into doing them with her. My take on Tae Bo was usually flailing my arms and legs all over and bumping into my friend. (That's dangerous.) But I can do Leslie's workouts! They're really, really easy to follow. Although Leslie sometimes does make mistakes (e.g.: she says "We're going to do knee-lifts!" and then starts doing kickbacks), she's very good about telling you ahead of time which movement you will be doing next, and that helps you to keep up.

It's totally silly, but I do love the people who walk behind Leslie during the workouts. They're all obviously in great shape, and they don't break even the tiniest of sweats, but the whole time they say things like "WHOO! I think I'm going to make it through this second mile!" or "I'm going to put my weights down and conserve energy so I can make it to the end!" It makes you feel better about how well you are doing. But, really, deep inside, you know that they are full of it. I mean, they're not even sweating! So, for me, the workouts are more enjoyable because I keep laughing.

Aside from walking in place, there are four basic movements in each workout: knee-lifts, side-steps, kick-backs, and simple kicks. Leslie changes each one a little with arm movements or forward and backward steps. So you might do knee-lifts and move your arms in an arc through the air, or you might do knee-lifts while stepping forward. Unless you have a serious limit to your mobility, you can probably do these steps, even if it means that you have to go more slowly or use modified movements. During each workout Beth--one of the walkers--shows how to do modified versions of each movement.

During each workout, there is a segment that involves using weights. YOU DON'T HAVE TO HAVE WEIGHTS! You will get a workout without them. You could even use something else, like two blocks of cheese or something. Don't wait to buy this DVD because you don't have weights! The movements are the same whether you have weights or not.

Leslie's "Walk-Away Weights" are essentially 2-lb balls, and you carry one in each hand. Any other light weight will work, but you want to make sure that it's easy to hold onto and won't break your foot if you drop it. I have four 1-lb wrist weights that I got in packs of two from a dollar store. I wear two of them on each hand (not on each wrist, or my hands would turn blue).

I only like to buy exercise and yoga DVDs if they have more than one workout, because sometimes you don't have time or energy for longer programs, and sometimes you want a really good, extended workout. This DVD is perfect for that, because of the three different lengths. The one-mile program is 18 minutes; the two-mile program is a half-hour; and the three-mile program is 45 minutes. Great! Having 3 workouts also helps to prevent getting sick of watching the same thing over and over.

There are only a few drawbacks to this DVD, and those won't be considerations for everyone.
1) The exercises in this DVD won't be challenging to athletes and/or people who regularly use advanced cardio exercise videos or programs.
2) People who need constant variety probably won't be able to use this DVD for very long, because there are only four movements (even if there are a lot of variations).
3) If you have a lot of knee, hip, or joint pain, this style of exercise could be painful.
4) In at least one workout, Leslie does talk about how God made human beings to move, and God is smart, and so on, and that will be a turn-off for some people (although I'm not making any judgments either way).
5) If you live upstairs in an apartment, your downstairs neighbors might slowly begin to hate you.

All-in-all, I say "Buy it!""

I love the "Walk Away The Pounds" program

Patty | Niagara, WI | 05/10/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"First off if you get bored with repetative movement this is not the workout for you. I love to walk and use the treadmill but this takes walking to a whole new level. By using just four basic movements and adding arms and direction the three mile walk goes by very quickly and I definatly work up a sweat.

I also appreciate the fact that if I am short on time I can just choose the one or two mile walk for a much quicker workout. Leslie uses 2 pound water weights which you can purchase for $9.95 with a coupon inside the dvd, I just use my 3 pound weights and find them to work great. I like the fact that after doing this workout my muscles are a little sore each day, not like with some other workouts that make you so sore you have to skip doing it for two days.

All in all I think this program works great, keeps my attention focused, and did I mention I lost 3.5lbs the first week I started doing it, even though I had been walking briskly 3-4 miles daily for 4 weeks previous. (it really mixes things up). So my advice to you is order it and use it!!!"

25 Pounds Lost (And Counting!!!)

S. Crowell | Baltimore, MD United States | 02/28/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This collection of three different walking workouts has helped me lose 25 pounds so far! Granted, it's taken me about 5 months to do it, and I've been eating healthier foods, but I credit a lot of my success to these workouts! I'm a former dancer and long distance runner who gained a lot of weight when I went away to college, and I had been searching for a DVD that I felt really comfortable with that gave me a good workout. This is fabulous - the 1 mile is great for starting out, and after 5 months has become a great warm-up and way to start the day. The two mile is invigorating and gets you breathing pretty hard - I think it's a good aerobic workout. The three mile is still challenging, because it keeps you at a very brisk pace, keeping your heart rate up for quite a while.

I've seen a significant difference in my strength, thanks to the use of weights (despite their low weight of 2-3 pounds, they're effective) and the different leg movements used - side steps, kicks, knee lifts. My legs are stronger and thinner - especially my thighs!!! That's reason enough to do this workout!

As a former dancer, I'm pretty coordinated. My mom, however, is not, and she is definitely able to do these workouts with no problem - she loves them because they don't have complex choreography (she finds the steps in Denise Austin's cardio workouts too confusing, so that's a good way to measure the difficulty of these steps).

I recommend this three-in-one DVD with all my heart - Leslie's personality is inspiring without being annoying, and it has helped me get close to my goal, which is my pre-college weight, and I'm sure that I'll get there soon if I keep doing this - only 10 more pounds to go!!!!"

Even better all-in-one

Suzanne Leigh Palmer | Chase City, VA | 08/06/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I had the tapes of this exact same set, but when I got married and moved in with my husband, we acquired a DVD player, and the VHS was out. It's SO nice having all three "tapes" on one DVD so you can choose whichever one you want. My dvd pretty much stays in the player, and it is so much fun! I love using the weights while walking."