Search - The Bar Method Body - Designer Sculpting on DVD

Excellent non-traditional, full body workout

Beth Cholette | Upstate NY USA | 03/08/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Designer Sculpting provides an excellent full body workout designed to tone your muscles rather than build them up. Instructor Burr Leonard works with 3 other certified Bar Method instructors, one of whom shows modifications of all exercises.

A simple 5-minute warmup begins the workout. Next comes the upper body section (8 minutes), which uses light dumbbells. You will do several different moves to target biceps, shoulders, and triceps. [For those who are familiar with the Lotte Berk Muscle Eats Fat video, you will notice that the upper body portion of this workout is almost exactly the same, as the Bar Method derives from Lotte Berk.] Barre work comes next (two of the instructors use a chair). You will begin in a wide stance and perform several sets of plies; the exercises are then repeated with your legs shoulder-width apart and feet together, on your toes. Again, this section is very similar to Lotte Berk, but you will perform a wider variety of exercises with more repetitions.

Following the standing leg work, it's on to the floor for a tough move known as "the pretzel." With one leg bent in front of you, the other behind, you will raise your leg and make small movements to really target your hips and buttocks areas (similar to Callanetics)--I really felt this the next day! This section is also about 5 minutes long. Ab work comes next: in this 5-minute section, you will perform small movements while keeping your abs scooped with your navel pressed toward the floor. You will then move on to bridge pose to work both your abs and you butt; this section is an additional 5 minutes as you perform bridge with several different foot positions. The workout ends with a 5-minute stretch to release your muscles.

I liked that this workout challenged me without leaving me feel exhausted. I also enjoyed being able to target both my arms and my legs without having to use heavy weights. This is an excellent choice for anyone looking for a different type of full-body workout."

Oh, it hurts, but it's worth it

bibelot | California, USA | 11/19/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have worked out a million different ways. Some were good (elliptical trainers are good for cardio), others not so good (jogging hurt my knees). But no matter what I've tried, and how much weight my scale tells me I've lost, I have never been able to achieve the sleek, long lines that I crave - you know, a dancer's physique, with elegantly defined muscles. I began to believe that I would be stuck with chunky thighs for the rest of my life.

Not anymore. This DVD is brutal but you'll see your body change almost immediately. Within 2 weeks of beginning this workout, I looked in the mirror and realized that my thighs were beginning to trim down. Now, after 6 weeks, all of my pants fit looser in the leg - not to mention the fact that they hang off my hips. Did I mention the incredible butt-lifting benefits? After a few sessions, my rump began to tighten, lift, and acquired a round, plump shape that looks terrific. Even my arms and shoulders have become more toned - I'm only using 2-pound free weights, but the results have impressed me. My arms look trimmer and have lightly defined muscles. My stomach's flatter, and I can really feel all of the muscles across my lower abdominals working. The lingering back pain that I experienced before has disappeared.

There's a downside, of course - the first 10 sessions. You will huff, puff, sweat, and perhaps even curse as you stretch, flex, and work your angrily protesting muscle groups. The thigh work might actually make you cry. You'll walk stiffly, and sit uncomfortably, until your muscles have become accustomed to the work. But once they have, you'll become addicted to how it makes you feel - and, oh yeah, how it makes you look.

I'm excited about working out now, because I've found something that works with my schedule (this workout's only 45 minutes long!) and REALLY achieves results. I look forward to watching my body change as I continue doing the Bar Method."

TARGETS TOUGH SPOTS

Food Fan | New York | 10/23/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"
Overall I like this workout.
This is different than the typical aerobics or dance workout videos. The instructor uses some original and some ballet-like exercises to target tough areas, it really made my hips burn! (there are some pictures on her website [...], but it doesn't show you the actual movement she has you do that makes it so challenging!) I also like how she does a few stretches between each segment that targeted the muscles that was just worked.

She really emphasizes proper posture/form, especially what she calls the "pelvic tuck" (tightening your abs when standing)
She cues/explains the exercises very well; and once you've learned the moves, the DVD has the option to "Workout with music WITHOUT NARRATION" so you don't have to listen to her talk constantly. This video is challenging for intermediate-advance, but the moves are not complicated so it is easy for a beginning exerciser to follow (but do less reps).
I also like how upbeat tecno music, and didn't find it annoying because the music varies throughout the program.

WARM UP

ARMS
Bicep curls
*Shoulder extensions - I like the way she does them, it's intense. She has you keep your arm up and move in small range to isolate that muscle, wonderful for your shoulder posture!

LEGS
Calf raises
Deep knee bends (if you know ballet, it's like a gran plie in 2nd position)
*Inner Thigh Tap - this was suprisingly challenging. With your legs together, bend your knees while heels are liffted off the floor, and then slightly move your knees apart & together.
*Pelvic Tuck with knees bent and heels lifted
**Pretzel - While sitting on the floor, by squeezing your hip/butt muscles the leg that is to the side/back is lifted up about a centimeter off the floor. Initially I thought this would be a waste of time, but it turned out that this is really challenging and makes your hips burn (in a good way). This is now my favorite exercise to target the deep part of the difficult to reach area around the hips.

ABS (there are no traditional crunches)
*While holding a lifted crunch position, she does a long series of internally contracting ab muscles with each exhalation. T

SEAT
*Series of bridges/pelvic tucks that are super-duper-challenging. First she has you do them with legs/knees together, then legs hip width apart, and then legs wider apart. Since this is a long set and she varies the position, it really digs deep into those butt and hip muscles!

BONUS-LEGS
Calf raises
Knees bent and heels lifted
Leg lifts back
(*if you do this after the "seat" pelvic tucks, you will feel the burn 10 times more intensely.)


Complaints:

This is not an "aerobic" workout. There are definitely sections that will make your butt/legs burn, but you aren't necessarily huffing and puffing. Also, isn't a balanced/total body workout (mostly hips/legs), so this would be great to do alternating with some other workout.

There were some sections that felt a little slow for me(I get impatient), but I think that was intentional to make sure good form and to work a muscle longer or to hold a stretch.

I think the bar/chair is an unnecessary prop (except for beginngers doing the standing legs section)."

Excellent (!!!) workout, but hard on the knees

T | CA United States | 07/03/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I have been doing pilates, yoga and weight training for years. The Bar Method was a recent addition to my exercise routine and within three weeks I noticed an unbelievable improvement in the look of my body. I was pretty fit before, too, so such a quick change was remarkable. This is the most effective workout I've ever tried for targeting the butt and hips. Even my boyfriend, who is usually hard-pressed to notice any changes in my body, commented...and this was in less than a month!I was very excited about the routine (doing it 2-3 times per week) until my runner's knee, which had been a recurrent injury in college, started to flare up again. It got to the point where I couldn't really run at all anymore. The pain was the worst after the Bar Method workout, so I stopped doing it and now I can run again. Now I only do the workout once or twice a month. I think that the workout is hard on the knees because many of the thigh exercises are done standing up with your knees bent, into a near "chair" position. If you have bad knees, this video will not be good for them, I don't think. But if you're one of those people who never gets injured, this is the best workout video (for changing the look of your body) that I've ever tried. I wish I could do more of it!"