Denise Austin - Pregnancy Plus Workout

PRENATAL WORKOUT:
INTRODUCTION (6 min) - A pregnant and young-looking Denise asks "her doctor" questions about pregnancy and exercise. This section also features ACOG guidelines and a summary of what to expect in her video.

WARM-UP (6 min) - Cool Motown music! Denise and two other pregnant women workout on a wooden floor set with two floating (?) windows in a fake sky. Denise cuts into the routine to demonstrate a plie.

LOW-IMPACT AEROBICS (15 min) - Moves are very simple. After 2.5 minutes she interjects to show a proper grapevine move. Takes heart rate 3 times. Bicep and tricep workout seemed too short. Denise doesn't always cue well, and her participants stutter step from time to time.

ABS & THIGHS (5 min) - I really felt it in my thighs! Abs routine was quick.

STRETCH / COOL DOWN (3 min) - Denise leads you through "active relaxation" which is basically lying down on a pillow.

INTERLUDE (3 min) - Meet Denise's first child Kelly and babies of two participants. Denise poses post partum questions to doctor from introduction.

POSTNATAL WORKOUT:
INTRODUCTION (4 min) - How do Denise and her crew look so FIT so soon after giving birth (all 3 have flat abs). The high energy classical music sounds cool.

AEROBICS (9 min) - Denise has a new attitude just like the music said, but her moves are not necessarily new.

FLOOR WORK ( 9 min) - Denise shows how to check for the separation of the rectus abdominal, which I thought was very helpful. Includes Kegels, pelvic tilts, crunches, buttock lifts. I was hoping Denise would share secrets on how to flatten postbaby abs, but the ab routine was disappointingly short.


Giddy and disorganized   December 29, 1999
x (Athens, GA)
19 out of 19 found this review helpful

Though the workout in this video is adequate - it will get your heartrate up, and the exercises are easily performed during pregnancy - I found it harder and harder to face turning it on every morning. Denise Austin's workout is interrupted three times to show pointers on proper form. These pointers could be better given at the BEGINNING of the workout instead of interrupting the flow of the routine, or these pointers could be explained without stopping the workout. Another annoyance is Denise's habit of starting new moves without first telling viewers what she is about to do. Viewers could get used to this after having seen the workout a few times, but for the fact that her repetition counts vary. In an alternating sequence of forward glide-steps and backward marching steps, I counted 4 to the front each time, alternated with 10 steps to the back, then 6 to the back, then 8 to the back. To make it even more difficult to follow, the cameramen tend to focus on the students in her class when they are out of step. To top it off, Denise's normally high-energy style has been transformed in this video to a caricature of cheerleader-like giddiness. This is without a doubt the most annoying video I have ever used.


This Video is Like My Best Friend   March 7, 1999
19 out of 20 found this review helpful

I workout to this video every morning, 5 days a week and it feels great. A former runner, I thought the workout at first was too easy, but as I go through the aches and pains and awkwardness of pregnancy, it feels just right. It also helps me to be consistent - 30 minutes is easy to fit into my morning. I also love Denise and her encouraging comments - it puts me in a good mood. There are two excerpts on form that I either fast forward through or just keep moving. I highly recommend this video during pregnancy.


A nice workout for those short on time   November 2, 2001
reader mom (Lansing, MI United States)
17 out of 17 found this review helpful

I used this video throughout my first pregnancy and have started to use it with my second as well. I found the 30 minute time frame to be just the right length -- both when I was working full time during my first pregnancy, and now that I have a toddler under foot during my second. I tried a few other videos and kept comming back to this one as the only one that was interesting enough to do several times a week. This time around I am alternating it with a pre-natal yoga tape.

Denise keeps it simple, but varied. Unlike some more "serious" workouts, the movements are fun to do and I don't find myself wishing to get on to the next set. The workout is not particulary strenuous, so may not be challenging enough for the very physically fit. I am reasonably fit, but can get my heartrate up by putting some energy into it. I don't find the two explanation breaks to be a problem. After a few viewings, I just continued to exercise through them. Bottom line: a great video for busy moms who don't mind (or can get past) Denise Austin's perky-cheerleader style.