Search - Leslie Sansone: Walk at Home - 3 Mile Slim & Sleek Walk Plus Pilates on DVD

The Best to date!!

Fitness_Diva | 12/04/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have to say that this is her Best DVD release to date! Leslie has had many releases in 2009 and I was a person that complained about a few of them. I was rarely a fan of the "Leslie-Only" DVDs as I felt that some had poor production quality and/or felt very rushed especially with cooldowns and stretches. After seeing many ppl's complaints both on her site and throughout the web, Leslie has listened to her fan base and produced IMO one of the best, if not the best, DVD of her career! Let me assure everyone that I am not employed for her nor do I benefit in anyway by giving her fav reviews...I've noticed many of her "reviewers" are in fact employees (which you would know if you are or were a member of her site). I was positive that I would not buy anymore of her DVDs and this one makes me a renewed Leslie Fan!! I tried this for the first time today and was blown away!

The DVD has several "chapters" to it. An Introduction, 1, 2, & 3 Mile Chapters, and the Final chapter is the full length pilates routine done on the floor. She also offers a Music-Only option for anyone who may find this a "plus" when ordering. I personally have to listen to her, she's very motivating and positive. I decided to listen to the intro, something I rarely do and found it informative and helpful. She gives the background info of how Pilates came to be and some factoids for ppl who are interested.

As far as the meat of the workout; it's really quite new and different! There are several new moves and WOW was it great! You have side steps that evolve into sidetaps with knee lifts. There is boosted walking with boosted side steps (lack of a better word/description). She focuses on really engaging the muscle here and it's a main focus. There are arm circles which are done slow and control along with other arm movements. When you follow her instruction with the control, you are sweating! You can feel the core and arms really working all while walking. In the 3rd mile she does some standing leg/pilates work like leg circles and redoes some of the new moves. Her transitions are nice and not jumpy; I saw that 1 person complained about it on another site. If you are a beginner or fairly new to her, this DVD may not be the best choice to start with; she moves quickly, but never jumpy. She does walking in between all of the new moves and gives a countdown. If you are familiar with any of the leading that Mary Kay has done in some of the workouts, she reminds me of MK at times; she's taken to pointing to the direction in which she travels. Although, she doesn't do that throughout, but enough so that the new moves don't catch you off guard.

Music...ah yes, there are some new tunes! I would say overall, the DVD's music has a jazzy-type feel to it. The warmup song and 2-3 others are new; the rest are reused. The warmup I felt very relaxed and energized simply from the music. The style selection truly fits the DVD's tone and purpose. The beat of the music would put this DVD at an intermediate pace. Advanced exercisers or Leslie Walkers would get a great moderate workout and beginners would find a challenge. The workout flew by!

Fast forward to the end of the DVD; something also new here. First let me say we have a "classic Leslie" moment. We get through our cool down, she says her thanks and she walks off the set. Within seconds she's running back in laughing bc she forgot the stretch! I found this to put a smile on my face and had no issues with it whatsoever. She's human and has an error. Could this have been edited, I'm sure, but that's one of those things that fans of her's tend to like; she feels more Huamn that way. She does the stretch, longer in this one compaired to several newer workouts too! Nice! What's new here is that she gives a healthy snack idea of Apples and includes a recipe insert within the DVD. She's interacting with the staff and giving everyone apples telling them the benefits of healthy snacks and some ideas for such. Perhaps not a huge deal for some, but I thought it was great. Just another way to see her interact with ppl and I stood there sweaty, smiling the whole time; I found everything on this DVD very motivating from the Introduction to the Mat work.

Now, the Mat Work. The Mat work she does 5 or 6 different Pilates exercises, all but one on the back; "swimming" is done on the stomach and is done last, if memory serves right. She does about a 5 minute demonstration that includes all of the movements. She gives you just enough time to feel what each one is and what it looks like and is off to the next exercise. After all of the movements have been shown, she puts a routine together for you. You do your movements with "bridges" being your in between exercise just the like walking is in the main workout. Each exercise gets about 2-3 sets. Some sets are longer than others and no count is given. What you are doing here is really focusing on the powerhouse muscles, trying to keep them and the back stabilized, all while building up to the full count. I have never done Pilates before and have often wanted to try, but I don't want to either do 30-60 minutes or I find the instructors to not be my type. She gives you the best of the best for working the core and nothing more. Anyone with a large background in Pilates may be dissapointed. No breathing techniques to be had here and no advanced movements. Although she does show how to make them more advanced as you get stronger. She informs the viewer that she does have a Pilates Cert, but to seek out a true Pilates Professional for the best Pilates workouts. I think that's pretty fair. I was feeling my abs burning during this segment and I could not complete all of the sets. If I do this 2-3 times per week as advised, I know I will see improved strength and posture within my core. It's great for the Pilates Newbie or someone looking to get a quicker segment in without commitment. You can access the Pilates Routine via the main menu without having to do the full routine.

I got up and felt very worked out, sweaty, and at peace. I rarely smile while working out although I do enjoy it. This was one DVD and one workout that I caught myself smiling throughout the DVD Intro to Finish. I don't have a single complaint with this DVD and only hope that she continues to put out amazing workouts like this. If that happens then I personally will take back my complaints about no longer having the group of walkers with her; it was just that good! No walkers were needed to make it any better. In fact, in this walk I think they would have been distracting. It's more than the 4 basics here and I wouldn't want to watch ppl trip over themselves; it would take away from the peaceful feel the workout had. She does't use the black background here so it's brighter and you can see ppl and cars in the background. I actually enjoy that as it gives me something different to look at; call me crazy. You can see a camera come into the picture but it's like an nano-second. They quickly switch to a different view. Only 1 camera jiggling episode to be had, just after the warmup. Only bothers me as it makes me dizzy for some reason. But, it's only once, unlike some of the others that I think did this for an "art-sy" effect. If I someone who had sworn off my FAVORITE INSTRUCTOR due to several complaints from other workouts can swallow my own foot and enjoy the gem that this DVD is, anyone can! Leslie is back and ready for action! She looks fabulous, does a fabulous job, and really feels personable here. If I could have hugged her this morning after my workout, I would have! Now I have a choice for Leslie's Workouts: The 4 Basics or the Jazzed up workout with more flare! She's my favorite and it's nice to not have to use other instructors now for new moves. I love it!

6 hours post workout and my abs are quite sore!"

Leslie's best!

Charlo | Lancaster, PA | 12/29/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have only discovered Leslie Sansone's walking workouts 5 months ago and have 3 of her previous dvds. I was beginning to feel that if you have seen one of them, you have seen them all. They are pretty similar. And I agree with some reviewers that she can be too chatty at times. But all in all, it's a great workout when you don't want to go outside. And when used faithfully, you can get your body in shape and lose weight. In the meantime I have added some Pilates and other strength training dvds to my workout.
Today I received this dvd and have just completed the full routine. It is by far her best workout to date! You have Leslie, one on one, as your personal trainer really explaining the movements and leading in a well thought out routine, with new movements, plus a mat workout in addition to a 3 mile walk. Each mile can be used individually and there is a clock which counts down to the end of each mile. It was challenging, yet not too complicated. And you can choose music only on this one. By the way, the music is new and is much better than the previous ones.
My two sisters in another state also agree that this one is her best. So if you have sworn off of Leslie's dvds, please reconsider. I am so glad that I bought this one."

The best yet!

Sharon | Pennsylvania | 01/14/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have been an avid Leslie fan for 3 years now....she has been "my friend", and "walking partner", through my 114 pound weight loss...and has encouraged me, and kept me motivated in keeping this weight off. This dvd offers some new twists on some of her regular moves, and is peppy enough to really work up a sweat. If you are a beginner exerciser, this one may be a bit fast, and a bit too much to start. If you are an intermediate, or advanced walker....this one is a "must have". Although it says there are pilates moves...they are probably not what an avid pilates person would consider to be proficient....that being said----I enjoyed the integration of the new moves. No need to give you a "walkthrough", as another reviewer did a fine job of that.
I really have to comment , though, on what some other reviewers have said. We are doing these dvds to improve our health, and stay motivated while doing so. If you are searching for someone who is "perfect", has impeccable cueing, perfect camera shots, and NEVER makes mistakes...find an "acting" dvd. Leslie is human....that's what gives me the "connection" to keep going. She is not an oiled up body builder, or a super-human....she is ordinary, just like you and me. She is easy to relate to. Take her for what she is....enjoy her workouts....which "do the trick", and will keep you fit, and healthy..along with a good eating plan. She is the only one out there, in my opinion, whose dvds can be used forever. Adding weights, or adding some jogging to sections, will increase the calorie burn, as well as the toning effect. The idea here....is to look forward to exercising, and feeling comfortable with the instructor, as well as yourself......Leslie meets all criteria.....and has made me LOVE exercising....with any luck---she'll do the same for you.




























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Pilates? Not

Butterscotch | USA | 02/25/2010

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I'm a Pilates enthusiast and really enjoy yoga and Pilate's fitness. This is not a Pilates workout at all. I've watched several of Leslie's walking DVDs, and this is just another of her same ol' same ol' walking, with a few new arm and leg moves thrown in. She says the word Pilates about 100 times in the first few minutes. Maybe by saying the word so often she's trying to convince us we're watching it. She actually refers to all of her moves as Pilates - keep in mind these are the same old moves from all of her DVDs - now they have somehow morphed into Pilates? Ummm... OK. Maybe if she spent less time talking and more time working up a sweat you wouldn't see these glaring errors. Anyway, this DVD is a 3 mile walk with a timer on each mile, which is actually helpful. The first mile is just a warm-up mile; the second mile picks up the pace a bit and has a few new moves - mostly arm circles and backwards stepping; and the third mile is the quickest pace and throws in some leg squats. If you're looking for Pilates this is a huge disappointment and doesn't even come close, but if you like Leslie and want a faster-paced walk than her regular stuff this might be OK to try. There is a 5-minute floor segment at the end; not long enough to be of any value on a regular basis."