Search - Self: Bikini Ready Fast on DVD

Good workout for those less intense days...

Teedums | White Bear Lake, MN | 06/06/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This workout is led by Ellen Barrett, who is best known for her appearances in the Crunch Pilates workouts. She is back with two fellow exercisers in this workout filmed on a beach in Mexico.

This workout is about 30 minutes long and contains 3 segments. I would describe it as more of a toning video with pilates inspired movements. The first segment is more toning, you will see 3 giant sets of exercises, each performed slightly different. The first includes traditional bicep curls, side lateral raises for shoulders, then squats some of which include some of which include some standing ab work. The second set has more biceps, this time hammer curls, side lateral raises for shoulders but with a slightly different twist, and step squats. The third set has angled bicep curls, overhead presses and pulsing squats.

The second segment has more pilates inspired moves, plenty of standing ab work using light weights such as torso circles and ribcage reaches. This segment also includes more toning exercises for arms, but ones that are more commonly seen in pilates work like the zipup, half moons, arm slices, lat pulldowns, figure 8 arms, etc. You will also see some plies, pushups and static lunges in this segment.

The third segment is the shortest of the three and does not use any weights. You start with plyo jumps, basically jumping from one leg to the other, then you will do another set of jumps this time holding briefly and then returning to standing while on the one leg. While you are standing on one leg you will do "figure 8 knees" which are pretty self explanatory. One legged squats follow, and then you repeat the series a few more times. Then you finish off with standing knee cross crunches before cooling down.

There is also a bonus pilates abs routine that Ellen teaches on her own. It is short and sweet, not particularly challenging though.

Overall, not a bad workout. I would recommend it for beginner/intermediate levels mostly or it would be good for days you are not up to anything strenuous. There is a nice variety of exercises, plus some new ones that are interesting. Ellen as always is a very pleasant instructor. The scenery of the video is pleasing to the eye as well."

Toning workout combines high rep/low weight format with Pila

Beth Cholette | Upstate NY USA | 09/27/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is a toning workout led by Ellen Barrett, a Pilates instructor who is well-known for her Crunch Pilates videos (Pick Your Spot Pilates, Fat-Burning Pilates, and Burn & Firm Pilates). Here, she combines more traditional weighted moves with Pilates principles to provide a light full-body toning workout with an upper body emphasis.

Ellen works out with two background exercises on a beautiful beach. They begin with a quick (3 minutes) warm-up that includes plies combined with upper body movements; there are a few static stretches to finish. In the first segment of the workout, Ellen does "giant sets," doing a series of mostly upper body weighted exercises and then repeating the entire series three times, each time with a slightly different twist on the movements. Exercises included in this segment are bicep curls, side raises, squats, and a sort of 1-armed scoop move that is supposed to work the abs in a standing position. For most of the exercises, Ellen does one set of eight and then a second set of smaller pulsing moves. This entire segment was about 6 minutes long, and Ellen finishes with some back stretches.

Next Ellen moves into a second toning segment that seems inspired by the Pilates upper body series; this segment is taught in two separate sequences. In the first sequence, you do another 1-armed scoop moves for abs; again, I didn't really feel it in my abdominals, and Ellen doesn't give much instruction here. Other exercises included are rib cage slides, flies, tricep French press, a "splice" move (stepping to the side and raising your arms to the side with your thunbs up), a torso circle, and a half moon stretch, all performed with the weights for a total of about 6 minutes. In the second sequence, Ellen does single arm figure 8s, "butterfly" arms, upright rows, a lat pull, and lunges for another 6 minutes.

In the final segment, Ellen begins with plyometric jumps to the side, first fast, and then slower, holding for balance. She also includes a single-thigh figure 8 and then a single leg squat, and finally, she repeats the series, substituting a knee lift crunch for the thigh work. This segment comes in at about 5 minutes, and then there is a very brief ("

Fast Results

Andrea | New York | 09/30/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This video is exactly what I needed to break my excercise slump. After just three weeks of use, (only 2x a week) my jeans which were too snug are now big. I've seen a very noticible difference in the hip and lower abdomen areas and my love handles have begun to shrink. My arms are more toned and my legs are tightening up. After three just three weeks, I've been able to go from my tight size 10's to some of my old size 8 jeans.

I have a very short attention span when it comes to working out, so the fact the the video is only 30 minutes long helps to keep me motivated before starting and during the workout.

There is a bonus ab workout too, but it is very short and not as challenging as some of the instructors other videos.


"

Ellen Barrett is a great instructor!

M. Schroeder | Los Angeles | 05/16/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I have three other videos highlighting Ellen Barrett as the instructor (check out Crunch Pilates series). She does it again with this DVD! This DVD has 30 minutes of great toning exercises that get your heart pumping and trust me, you feel the burn. You will definitely feel it the next day, which is a great sign of an effective workout.

The video is long enough to get a good workout, short enough that you don't dread it. The only thing I was disappointed in is the sound quality since it was taped on the shores of Mexico (literally on the beach), the sound just wasn't like her other "in studio" productions (which is understandable). Other than that, this is in my regular rotation of excellent workout DVDs.

If you do not care for leg intensive squats or using dumbbells in your workouts this may not be the DVD for you. However, if you are looking for a great new DVD to work and tone your entire body, this is great.

"