I have been interested in giving Kettlebells a try for a while now, but have been hesitant after hearing stories of injuries and inexperienced instructors. So, I was excited to find Kettlebell expert Lauren Brooks on Facebook, and even more excited to find out that she had her own DVD. I asked if I could review it and she kindly sent me a copy along with an extra for a giveaway.
This DVD is fun and super effective. It contains instructions, a warm-up, a short 12-minute workout, and a longer 40-minute workout. As a Kettlebell novice, I loved the introduction and demonstration segments. Lauren reviews the moves methodically so you can follow along and learn proper form. She also reviews recommended starting weights depending on your level of strength.
After practicing my form and reviewing all of the instructions, I decided to give the 40-minute workout a try. I rotated between a 10 pound or 15 pound bell depending on how challenging the exercise was for my personal strength. It was an excellent workout. In between high-intensity segments there are 60 second rest periods. You can use this time to either relax and get some water or do some light cardio like jumping jacks or running in place. By the middle of the workout, you’ll appreciate the rests!
In reviews I have read, some have complained about Lauren’s personality. She’s very matter-of-fact, but I prefer this approach versus some of those instructors who sound like “woo-hoo” cheerleaders.
I am thrilled to now have some Kettlebell experience and plan on making these workouts a part of my weekly routine. Thanks to Lauren for a great introduction to this fun and interesting strength/cardio combination.
PersonalFitCoach.com is hosting a giveaway of this great DVD. Feel free to stop by to enter.
Our latest giveaway is Denise Austin’s Hot Body Yoga, which I received free from Lionsgate. This is another DVD that hasn’t even been released yet. It looks like the release is set for September 7th.
Here’s what it says on the back:
Body sculpting moves to firm and tone!
Find the “Om” at home and get the hot body you’ve always wanted with Denise Austin: Hot Body Yoga! It’s designed to sculpt long, lean, sexy muscle, both workouts include effective moves and poses that burn fat fast. Begin with Yoga Fit for a traditional body-slimming vinyasa, then advance to Yoga Sculpt, using small weights for accelerated toning. Perfect for all levels, this is the yoga practice you’ve been waiting for!
2 Yoga Workouts – 2 Levels
YOGA FIT (30 min): Melt away fat and define a leaner physique with an invigorating flow of traditional yoga moves and balance poses.
YOGA SCULPT (30 min): Punch up your practice using light weights to reshape your arms, chest, back and shoulders while toning the lower body with dynamic moves.
To win, just comment below. Tell us if you do yoga workouts at home or do you prefer a class. Or maybe you like to do yoga in the park — I remember when I lived in London I could look out my window at the community garden and see a group of people doing Tai Chi out on the grass. They looked silly but also as if they enjoyed it. As always, you can continue to comment for one week. Giveaway is open to anyone in the U.S. or Canada. I’ll come back next Monday (the 6th) and post the winner. Good luck!
Now all you have to do is send your email address to me at fig[at!]fitfig.com and I’ll email the gift certificate to you as soon as I can.
Everyone please come back later today for another giveaway announcement. For now I have to go put the baby down for a nap and do my own workout for the day!
I STILL have a broken toe and not much else to talk about, so we’re going to have another fun giveaway here. It’s well-known that I’m a big Cathe Friedrich fan and I like to spread the word about her great workouts, so let’s have a Cathe.com $25 gift certicate giveaway. If you’re interested, just comment below. Tell us if you already do Cathe’s workouts, if you’re interested in trying one, or if you’ve never heard of her before. Or maybe you just want to check out the cool equipment they now sell on her website.
Now all you have to do, Pinky, is send your address to me at fig[at!]fitfig.com and I’ll get this DVD in the mail to you as soon as I can. I’d also like to see that video if you’re really willing to share one with us.
I just got this new Strong and Sexy Full Body Workout DVD with Dr. Teri Jory free from Poise Productions. I’m still recovering from my broken toe (maybe for another week?) so I can’t do it myself just yet. Instead I’m going to do a giveaway to see who else might like to do it.
Here’s what it says on the back of the DVD:
P PILATES, POWER and PELVIC FLOOR O ONENESS of Body and Mind
I INSPIRATION S SCULPTED and SEXY Body
E EMPOWERED and ENERGIZED
EVERYBODY NEEDS POISE FOR INNER AND OUTER BEAUTY…
SECTION 1 (19 minutes)
Sculpts and builds upper body. Forearm strikes and front punches carve and chisel your triceps and biceps while stabilizing your trunk with martial arts stances. (more…)
I just got this new 10 Minute Solution: Rapid Results Fat Burner workout free from Anchor Bay Entertainment. This looks like a fun one I’d like to try but unfortunately I hurt my toe on Thursday (I think I broke it–will see a doc on Monday to be sure) so I’m not fit to do a good workout at the moment. Instead I’m going to do a giveaway to see who else might like to do it.
I love getting workouts like this because it hasn’t even been released yet! It will be in stores on August 3rd. The instructor is Cat Chiarelli. I know I have done one of her workouts before–a Crunch DVD, I think. I seem to remember she had a good personality in that workout, but I can’t find that I blogged about it here. The fact that this is all cardio appeals to me. I sometimes feel like I’d get a better workout with the 10 Minute Solution DVDs if they had a more singular focus (instead of 10 minutes of upper body, 10 minutes of lower, 10 minutes of cardio, etc.) so I like that they’ve done another all-cardio one (there are a couple others with all cardio already). (more…)
I just love this website title: HuffandBuff.com. Isn’t that cute and memorable? It’s even meaningfully related to exercise. Now why couldn’t I thought of that instead of the goofy Fit Fig (or my original Fitness Fig title)? Anyway, you might want to click on over there to check out her giveaways–she’s got some great ones going on right now. So hurry, go over there! (But come back and check on me some time, won’t ya?)
I got the 10-Minute Solution Knock-Out Body for Wii video game free from Activision and as I don’t have a Wii myself it seems like a good time for a giveaway. We have an Xbox 360 and I have a fitness game for that which I haven’t even tried (don’t know why–I think I keep forgetting it exists).
This workout video game looks fun. Here’s what it says on the back:
Customizable and stackable workout sessions allow you to tailor your own workout experience. From cardio to strength training, 10 Minute Solution for Wii is a total-body workout that delivers powerful results while easily fitting into your schedule. (more…)
If you’ve read Fit Fig before, you know I don’t do workouts with the words Boot Camp in them (except for oldie but goodie 10 Minute Solution: Kick Box Bootcamp*). It’s just not my thing. But I’m happy to pass it on to a lucky reader. Perhaps if you win you can come back and tell us how you like it!
To be in to win this DVD, just post a comment at the bottom. Tell us if you’ve done any of the 10-minute solution workouts or how you would like to use this DVD. Would you do 10-minute segments on different days? Tack on 10 minutes (or more) to other workouts? Do the whole 50 minutes as a workout on its own? Or heck, just tell me why you want it. (more…)
I’ve really got to stop calling them “Figaway Giveways.” It’s just so dorky. Anyway, dorky though it may be, the giveaway this past week was a fairly popular one and I was sorry there could be only one winner. To pick the winner, I counted up the number of commenters (each person only got one entry even if they commented twice) and then used the random number generator to choose a winner.
As you can see, it chose #6, Sara (the first Sara, who posted on March 28th). (more…)
I got this set of ChaLEAN New Deluxe Accelerated Fat-Burning Workouts to use with ChaLEAN Extreme but haven’t used them at all. I just prefer to choose other cardio than the CLX cardio as I’m not fond of drills and that sort of thing. I’ve been doing step aerobics or kickboxing instead and I’ve been doing yoga or other flexibility training from other DVDs as well. Instead of going through the rigmarole of trying to return them or selling them, I thought I’d do a giveaway and pass them on to someone else who will appreciate them more.
Here is what is included on 3 discs:
Disc 1: Extreme Intervals
Disc 2: Lower Body Extreme Zone & Extreme Core Circuit
Disc 3: Dynamic Flow Yoga
To be in to win these discs, just comment below. Tell us if you have done ChaLEAN Extreme or if you’d like to do it. Tell us if you would use these just as single workouts or whether you’d incorporate them into a CLX rotation. (more…)
We have a winner for the Total Body Conditioning travel workout. It’s commenter #2, Catherine Harris. Congrats to Catherine! If you’ll email me your address, I’ll get this out to you ASAP.
I have yet another DVD to give away! This one is called Total Body Conditioning with Summer Montabone. For more information on Summer, check out her website here. This workout is designed to work well for travel, as it doesn’t require a lot of heavy equipment.
Here’s how it’s described on the back cover:
Innovative workout options are presented using a ball, a band, or your body weight. Follow Summer and Tanya as they breakdown total body conditioning into warm up, upper body, lower body, core, and cool down. There are endless possibilities for training at home or in your hotel room. Technique tips are given throughout the video. (more…)
We have a winner for the Denise Austin 3-Week Boot Camp workout. It’s Laura, our lovely commenter #3. Congrats Laura! Please email me with your address and I’ll get this out to you ASAP (probably Monday or Tuesday).
Come back in a couple days and I’ll have another giveaway up with a DVD from another instructor.
This is another workout with convenient short segments. I have to confess (as I have probably confessed before) that I do not like workouts with the words Boot Camp in them. I’ve basically stopped ever doing boot camp workouts at all–even from my favorite instructor, Cathe Friedrich. It’s just not a Fit Fig thing. However, if you dig Denise Austin and like doing boot camp workouts, this one is for you! (more…)
We don’t claim to be fitness experts. We don’t dispense medical advice and we're not qualified to do so. We are also neither nutritionists nor personal trainers. We are just women on the journey to better fitness and a richer life. Please consult a doctor if you are starting a new exercise routine.
I have been interested in giving Kettlebells a try for a while now, but have been hesitant after hearing stories of injuries and inexperienced instructors. So, I was excited to find Kettlebell expert Lauren Brooks on Facebook, and even more excited to find out that she had her own DVD. I asked if I could review it and she kindly sent me a copy along with an extra for a giveaway.
