Staying Power is one of a series of new workouts by Tracie. I have seen her DVDs on Amazon many times but have not had a chance to try one.
The series consists of:
Tracie Long Longevity Series: Defining Shape
Designed to increase lean muscle mass, this all-weights workout focuses on the lower body and shoulders.
Tracie Long Longevity Series: Staying Power
An
interval style that delivers a balanced total body challenge, this
workout is designed to improve overall cardiovascular performance.
Tracie Long Longevity Series: Step Forward
This step cardio workout targets the legs with a varying range of motion and tempos that will get you closer to your best legs ever. The run-time for each video is about 50 minutes long, which is perfect for those mornings when I wake up just a bit earlier to fit in a longer workout. It is divided into a bunch of smaller sections that are focused on different areas -- arms, legs, cardio, core, seat -- using hand weights and a medicine ball. I think having a 5-pounder and an 8-10 pounder would be perfect, but I only had 5's, which seemed to work out okay. For convenience, there are customized chapters that group the exercises that focus on certain body parts, which range between 12-ish and 22-ish minutes.
As for the workout itself, it takes some acclimation. Since I am not familiar with Tracie's style, I had trouble keeping up with some of the footwork and sequences. My solution to that is always to just keep moving until I get back on track, but that's just me! It's not that they are difficult movements, but they do start up and progress quickly. Tracie does seem to cue pretty well, though, which is important to me; I just couldn't keep up. Also, there are a lot of forward/backward and side-to-side movements, and very little plyometrics, which are seemingly optional. Besides the footwork, I was nervous to keep a dumbbell behind my knee in some of the seat exercises, mostly because dropping it would make my floor very unhappy.
I did work up a sweat and burned about 300 calories (your mileage may vary!), so while I wouldn't consider this a particularly taxing workout, it does equate to a steady burn. I felt the biggest burn in my upper body because there is a push-up sequence that can get pretty tough, but I do think my upper body in general is weak.
Overall, this workout is a little more tame compared to the likes of Insanity or maybe even Jillian Michaels, but it is still vigorous enough to include in my growing rotation.
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FTC Disclaimer: I was provided a copy of this disc to review but was not compensated to provide a particular opinion of it.
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