Women who are in the postpartum stages often feel confused and frustrated about exercise. Not only are they recovering from giving birth, but they might also be healing from diastasis recti or other pregnancy-related complications. If you or someone you know is looking for a safe, effective workout program to use in the postpartum recovery period, I recommend checking out The Dia Method.

The Dia Method was founded by personal trainer Leah Keller. Leah created the system to provide a thorough at-home workout program for moms of all fitness levels. Leah has designed programs for moms to use during pregnancy and after delivery. Since I had a baby a year ago, I reviewed the postpartum DVD system.

This isn’t your typical workout DVD – it’s a complete set that comes with nine DVDs and a resistance band. You also receive streaming access to videos online for nine months after purchase, and you can be a part of an online community. On the Dia Method website, you’ll see three package options:

• Deluxe: The price for this package is $89.95.
• Digital: This option does not include the DVDs, and is available for $59.95
• Diamond: This package includes live webinars with Leah, for $129.95.

Summary

Here’s a summary of what you’ll find in each DVD:

• Disc One: Firm Foundation – Leah explains diastasis recti and demonstrates how to check for it. She provides a thorough explanation of how the condition happens and discusses its long-term effects. Leah also introduces the core compressions in this DVD, which are the foundation of her program.
• Disc Two: 10 Minutes Flat Workout – The foundational ten-minute workout that is a bare minimum daily requirement for completing the program. This workout is also what the set is named after. By taking a minimum of ten minutes a day to complete this workout, Leah claims you can minimize postpartum pooch and help heal from diastasis recti.
• Disc Three: Mama’s First Steps Workout – A gentle, total-body routine including wall push ups, wall squats, lunges, rows, and resistance band exercises.
• Disc Four: Sexy Mama Workout – Emphasizes the thighs and butt, with lots of lunges, single leg work, plies, and lying hip/thigh exercises.
• Disc Five: Toned Arms and Tiny Waist – Works the upper body with reverse flys, seated twists, overhead presses with the resistance band, rows, and a very small modified crunch called the waist cincher.
• Disc Six: Firm, Flat, and Fabulous – A safe core workout that includes incline planks, side planks, exercises in the table top position, pelvic floor exercises, and modified crunches done with only a head nod and core compression. Leah also includes single leg lifts in this workout. I thought this was a good collection of core strength and stabilization exercises and was happy to not see any full crunches or double leg lifts, since these can aggravate diastasis recti.
• Disc Seven: Brava, Bella! – A total-body workout that uses dumbells, bodyweight exercises, and the resistance band. You’ll be doing a lot of combination exercises like lunges with a tricep extension, balance rows, and squats with an overhead press. There’s also a short, one-minute segment that discusses how to keep your diastasis closed once it has healed.
• Disc Eight: Everyday Moves: Healing Power – Leah discusses some everyday movements that can make diastasis recti worse when done incorrectly: pushing a stroller, picking the baby up and putting the baby down, picking up toys, getting in and out of bed, and sneezing, coughing, or blowing your nose. Leah shows you how to “make each move a healing one” by using core compressions during these movements. I was glad to see this section included, since I think these doing movements correctly makes a huge difference in a speedy recovery.
• Disc Nine: Heal Faster & Flatter – How and why to use supportive apparel, such as a corset. I also appreciated Leah’s discussion of deep abdominal massage for post-cesarean recovery, which was a huge help to my own recovery after two cesareans.

Benefits

Leah provides helpful cues throughout the entire series and is enthusiastic without being annoying. I thought her explanations of diastasis recti were clear and easy to understand, and provided a good base of knowledge on the topic.

All of the exercises she does are safe and effective for women in the postpartum period, and the workouts are also challenging without overdoing it. Since the workouts are only 25 minutes long, they’re perfect for busy moms who want to get a daily workout in but are busy doing all the things new moms have to do.

Drawbacks

Some of the concepts Leah bases her program on have been called into question. For example, core compressions are the foundation of the entire program, and Leah also recommends combining kegels with core compressions to strengthen the abdominal muscles and repair diastasis recti. Some fitness experts have challenged the use of these techniques, so viewers who are well-versed in postnatal fitness and rehab might be critical of their use.

In my own experience, both of these techniques have been helpful in resolving diastasis and recovering after delivery, and I recommend them to women frequently. A recent study on subjects who used the Dia Method after delivery found complete resolution of diastasis recti in less than twelve weeks. So although these exercises are not the end-all-and-be-all of postpartum recovery, they can be helpful when used in the correct way.

I also thought the information could have been organized in a more efficient way. For example, the information on discs one, eight, and nine could have easily fit onto one DVD. However, I liked having a separate DVD for each workout.

All in all, the information Leah provides in this system is an excellent starting point for anyone who wants to recover after pregnancy, and especially for women who are trying to heal a diastasis. Whether you are in the postpartum period yourself or have clients who are looking for a safe way to exercise at home, the Dia Method is one of the most comprehensive resources I’ve found so far.

The Dia Method: 10 Minutes Flat Post-pregnancy System is available for $89.95 at Amazon.com.

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But a recent study in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research examined whether this approach was as effective as in-person training.

Study Desgn

The participants of the study were twenty college-aged women. They were active, which means they did some form of exercise on more or less a daily basis, but they weren’t well-trained athletes. They represented a fairly average gym-goer looking to either lose weight or get into good shape.

Each participant engaged in two twenty-minute workouts in a random order. The two workouts were identical, consisting of six exercises performed in a circuit after a brief warm up. A coach led one of the workouts live, and the other was viewed on a DVD while the participants followed along. The coaching was the only difference between the two workouts.

Calories Burned and Heart Rate

Calorie expenditure and heart rate both improved when the women received live coaching. The calorie expenditure was greater and the average heart rate was higher. The subjects burned an average of a little over half a calorie a minute extra doing the same workout, just by being coached. That amounts to about a twelve-percent increase in calories lost, which is pretty good. And while the workout was only twenty minutes, it was at a pace that the subjects likely could have maintained for a standard hour-long workout.

The fact that heart rate was a full ten beats per minute higher when being coached was also telling. This means the cardiovascular stimulus was more substantial, which would lead to greater cardiovascular health and perhaps more rapid results.

Rate of Perceived Exertion

Rate of perceived exertion, the scale by which we subjectively measure how intense a workout is, was also higher when being coached than when watching the DVD. It’s possible to consider this a negative result. When perceived exertion goes beyond a certain point, exercise would be considered unpleasant and thus a participant would be less likely to partake over time. In that case, although a workout with higher exertion might burn more calories in one session, it wouldn’t be as effective in the long term.

However, that did not occur in this study. Although the participants found the exertion levels to be higher when being coached, they also found the coaching workout to be preferable. In fact, 89% of the participants liked the coaching workout better, despite being more difficult.

Ultimately, while DVDs may be less costly and more convenient than in-person training, there is a big tradeoff. Consider the time savings of a superior workout that allows you to achieve the results you want over a shorter term. Cheaper and more convenient may be meaningless in the face of being less effective.

References:

1. Lauren Killen, et. al., “Live versus DVD Exercise in College Age Females,” Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, DOI: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000000560

Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.

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Last year I traveled to Montreal, Quebec to compete in my first IBJJF tournament. To improve my strength and conditioning for the tournament, I followed the advice in Joel Jamieson’s book, Ultimate MMA Conditioning.

During my training, since I worked full time, trained in the evenings, and traveled on the weekends, I didn’t have a lot of time to read and absorb the whole book. However, I was able to apply some of the key concepts to my training and am glad to say that I didn’t gas out at all during the tournament.

Since then, Joel sent me a copy of his Conditioning Blueprint DVD to review, and I realize now that I could have done an even better job in planning my training blocks. In Conditioning Blueprint, Joel explains some of the most common mistakes trainers make and provides proven techniques to better train athletes for their sports.

The DVD set is broken down into four modules:

Module 1: Conditioning Essentials

In this module, Joel explains how energy systems work and how athletic training affects the body. He also discusses theories about what causes fatigue. Conditioning is a measure of maximum sustainable power output over a given duration. The more power you can exert over a longer time, the better your conditioning will be. Performance comes with good conditioning and a smart use of energy.

I found the lecture in this module a little too complicated at first, but I watched it a couple of times, and since then, I can apply it directly to my training in BJJ. I can see how a new athlete will burn out after giving it his or her all after sixty to ninety seconds, and I understand now that if that athlete improves his or her aerobic capacity he or she will not fatigue as quickly.

The cause of fatigue is something we can’t fully explain, because there are so many variables such as temperature, hydration, glycogen levels, and oxygen supply to the brain. The brain has to make sure it has energy, so it makes your muscles slow down. You’re going to fatigue differently in different sports. Joel explains how understanding the anaerobic power reserve is essential to conditioning and why aerobic fitness is essential to maintaining power output in athletic endeavors.

Module 2: Methods of Conditioning

In this module, Joel begins with an explanation of how to measure fitness levels in athletes and then provides a variety of methods to improve aerobic capacity and conditioning. Joel explains how each of the methods affect the body, how long to do each of the techniques, and when to use them. He works with professional baseball player Howie Clark to demonstrate all of the different methods.

Module 3: How to Write Effective Conditioning Programs

In this module, Jamieson explains how to evaluate athletes in their sport to discover what their strengths are and what they need to work on. This module teaches trainers and athletes how to plan block training to meet their goals or sets of goals. Exercises, methods, intensity, volume, and overall load are decided upon and organized into weekly, monthly, and annual programs, depending upon what’s happening with competition. Sample programs are provided and explained for soccer and MMA.

Module 4: Principles of Conditioning Program Management

Why manage the training process? Joel explains that there are two reasons. The first is to prevent the body from being pushed to a state of overtraining where negative adaptations result. The second reason is to produce maximum results in minimum time by optimizing the loading according to the individual athlete’s ability to recover and adapt to training and other stress.

Jamieson identifies different tools that can be used regularly to monitor progress and recovery including his own invention, BioForce HRV, as well as several free measurement tools. I have the BioForce HRV system and it is a great tool to determine whether your training is working and to improve your overall conditioning. Regular HRV monitoring also helps athletes to prevent overtraining and to plan their training load for best results.

One thing Joel stresses is that communication between the trainer and athlete is important to eliminate any disconnect between how hard the trainer thinks the athlete is working and how hard the athlete feels he or she is working. Sometimes trainers are unaware of what is happening in an athlete’s life outside of training, and Joel talks about the balancing act with training load, training frequency, history, fitness level, nutrition, mental stress, genetics, and sleep.

This DVD set isn’t like most strength and conditioning instructionals. Joel Jamieson doesn’t just give you a cookie cutter program, walk you through the exercises and tell you to follow along three times a week. The best way to describe Conditioning Blueprint is the Maimonides quote, “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” Conditioning Blueprint comes with a lifetime guarantee, so if you’ve bought the DVD set and have not found it useful, you can return it at any time and get your money back.

I think Conditioning Blueprint is best suited for training professionals who are helping clients prepare for their particular sports. However, if you’re an athlete who wants to improve your strength and conditioning but you don’t have a coach, or you want to make sure your coach knows what he or she is doing, you would benefit from watching this DVD set. Be aware that these training tools are for people who are serious about improving their conditioning. They require focus and attention to get what you need out of them. They’re not even close to Shape magazine. Or Jakt magazine, if it exists.

I recommend using Conditioning Blueprint with Joel Jamieson’s book, Ultimate MMA Conditioning, for best results. The first time I tried to read through the book I found it complicated and gave up a lot of times without completing the whole thing. Now that I’ve seen the DVDs, I feel as though I have a better understanding of Joel’s training concepts and the book is easier to work with. It has a lot of the same information as the DVD set, but I found it easier to follow along with when trying to develop my own program.

The DVD set offers video instruction on how to do a lot of the conditioning exercises recommended in the book, which helps a lot, but the strength portion of programming is not provided. I feel more able to create an effective program for myself now that I’ve reviewed both.

“Conditioning Blueprint” is available for $97.00 from 8WeeksOut.com.

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I’ve practiced yoga on and off for a good number of years now. The vast majority of my instructors have been female, with a few notable male exceptions. In the film Yogawoman, the main controversy presented is that yoga was originally an art form practiced by and taught by men.

Given my personal context of yoga, I found that this controversy didn’t resonate and therefore wasn’t the most interesting part of the film. Maybe it’s just that I am spoiled to live in a day and age when yoga, at least in the United States, is dominated by women. For that, perhaps I owe a debt of gratitude to some of the women whose stories are featured in the movie, like Indra Devi, Patricia Walden, Seane Corn, Shiva Rea, and others.

That being said, Yogawoman thoroughly addresses all the ways yoga can positively impact the life of the modern woman. It examines issues such as dealing with cancer, eating disorders, infertility, and depression, as well as how adding yoga to your schedule can actually help you better handle an over-booked, over-stimulated lifestyle. Sections of the film also addressed yoga for special populations, such as the incarcerated and the severely overweight.

The movie flows from the history of yoga, to the passing of yoga into the hands of women, to how yoga itself has been transformed by the fact that women are now practicing and teaching it around the world. One notable example of this in the film was the story of Geeta Iyengar, daughter of B.K.S. Iyengar, who took her father’s teachings and applied them to women’s issues like pregnancy and menopause.

For people who follow yoga, many of the people interviewed in the movie will be familiar to you, as it features fifty different subject matter experts. On the Yogawoman website, you can see the full list of people interviewed and featured. There is also a good amount of fascinating archival footage in the film, ranging from yoga being practiced by men in India to B.K.S. Iyengar instructing classes.

If you are already a yoga practitioner, then you will likely enjoy this movie, as it will reinforce your experience and opinion of the benefits of yoga. If you have only dabbled in yoga, then you may find the movie interesting and you may learn some new aspects of the practice you hadn’t thought about before – or it may just seem like a really long, albeit highly pleasant yoga commercial. If you are not a fan or practitioner of yoga, then this movie isn’t really for you.

For me, the most interesting part of this movie wasn’t the narration by Annette Bening, the famous yogis, or the controversy on which sex yoga belongs to. Rather, I found the idea that women influenced and evolved yoga – that it went the other way – to be interesting. It isn’t just yoga impacting people’s lives, but people’s lives changing the practice of yoga. And, ultimately, if yoga can help you lead a more fulfilled, realized, and authentic life, it doesn’t matter what you look like, where you live, or even what sex you are.

“Yogawoman” is available on DVD for $24.95 and on BluRay for $34.95 at Yogawoman.tv.

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Think your WOD was tough, so you up the ante to a “hero“ WOD? Child’s play.

Think a marathon is a long way? Think again.

Think Ironman is the ultimate? Not even close.

Badwater Ultramarathon? Still not even close. In fact, only forty percent as bad as the event portrayed in this movie. Except that this race is actually four races, each taking four to five days to complete, and each is run across a desert. Welcome to what has to be the toughest race on the planet. Each year I watch amazed as people seem to find new way to test the limits of the human body. From marathon, to Ironman, to Ultraman, to Badwater, and then to Marathon de Sables, none of them even come close to the Four Deserts race.

The race is actually four races combined. Each race is over 250km, to make the total race distance 1000km. The first crazy to accomplish this feat in a single year was superman Dean Karnazes, one of the all-time greats of ultra running. And so was born the Four Deserts Grand Slam. Competitors race each event carrying all their own food and whatever gear they need, and are completely self-sufficient during the race. With each event taking about five days to complete, and running fifty-plus kilometers each day across deserts, you need to be 100% sure that you really want it, because this event is not for the athletically curious. This is for those who want to see what life is like well beyond the outside edge of normal.

The movie Desert Runners chronicles the event following a few different runners. Deserts are categorized by how low the annual rainfall is, and the four deserts raced are Atacama Chile, Gobi China, Sahara Jordan/Egypt, and Antarctica. The Atacama has had zero average rain fall recorded for over 400 years.

Watching the runners dance on the knife-edge of performance and exhaustion in these events makes for enthralling watching. Listening to a guy in his fifties talk about falling, tearing his abdomen, and then finishing the race while continually pushing his hernia back in, and just shrugging his shoulders and saying, “Everyone out here is tough,” makes you realize exactly how tough people can be.

With temperatures soaring into the forty degree Celsius range (approximately 104 degrees Fahrenheit), competitors are pushed to their limits. As the body is asked to rid itself of the heat generated during exercise, it can often shut down. Many of the runners go for periods of fifteen or more hours without being able to keep food or water down, and still they continue.

When asked why he does it, one of the runners explains that he grew up playing baseball. He played through college and into the minor leagues until he had a shoulder reconstruction, which put him out of the game. One day he realized that he was thirty years old and was getting out of breath walking up a flight of stairs. From athlete to out of breath in the blink of an eye. Life has a habit of being like that. And so he took up running that day. Instead of being an astronaut or a ball player, he became an ultra runner, and the running he does now is every bit as much of his identity as baseball ever was as a teenager. I know just how he feels.

The final stage of the second race, across the Gobi, highlights just how punishing this event is. A 99.8km (62mi) run across a searing desert. Runners group together for support and safety. One such pair, young Aussie Samantha Gash and New Zealand ultra running legend Lisa Tamati, are seen staggering together holding hands for a long time, sharing their energy to keep pushing forwards. At about the 75km mark they find speaking difficult, and are struggling to run straight, yet they continue. The dangers of the race are brought home sharply at the end of that stage as one of the other competitors, Nick Kruse passes away.

It’s really only in the third event that the problems with so many big runs in a single year start to show up. Out of the handful of athletes who began the year trying to complete the four deserts, a few start to fall, their bodies not able to continue. One Englishman, Tremaine, a martial arts and self-defense instructor, suffers an injury to his knee before the third stage and gamely tries to run through it, but has to pull out after day one. An American, Ricky, having suffered through days of vomiting at the last race, starts having problems immediately and he too is out. An Irishman, the eldest competitor attempting the Four Deserts, starts to suffer from severe shivering – a terrible omen in a desert – and literally wills his body to the finish line, verbally revving himself up and telling himself to continue.

Yet it is the young Aussie Sam Gash who suffers the hardest race of all. Having spent most of a stage running with her race buddy Lisa, she elects to continue at a checkpoint as she feels like she needs to keep going. Running alone through the Sahara desert, she meets a man literally standing in the middle of nowhere. Confused and thinking slowly due to fatigue she doesn’t realize how strange it all is and he has grabbed her and dragged her into the bushes to rape her. Only the sound of approaching motorbikes scares him away before he succeeds, and Sam grabs her gear and runs for nearly an hour before she finds more people.

Understandably distraught and in shock, she collapses and asks to be taken back to the base camp. But after a few moments to collect her thoughts, and a call home to speak with loved ones, she elects to go back and finish. It ranks up there as one of the gutsiest things I’ve ever seen.

The final race across Antarctica must have been a bit strange for the racers. After spending the previous three races battling heat they find themselves rugged up running in snow and watching penguins slide across the ice only a few feet away. As an example of how extreme the conditions are, the previous races were held in temperatures exceeding 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit), but for the final race they’re battling freezing winds and -22 degrees (-8 degrees Fahrenheit)! Amazingly, the runners who had to quit the previous race come back to finish what they started and complete this final run.

I’m not prone to either exaggeration or emotion, but I thought Desert Runners was one of the most entertaining stories I’ve seen in ages and may have had to wipe some dust out of my eyes at times, watching the courage and determination that everyone possessed. If you’re looking for a great story, with many side stories to follow, as well as motivation to get out the door and attempt something epic, this is a fantastic movie. I loved every second of it, so do yourselves a favor and go watch Desert Runners.

For anyone wanting to stay up to date with a young girl leading the way in both ultra running and social change, please check out Freedom Runners. Samantha Gash will be running the Freedom Trail in South Africa, a 2,350km trail, over a period of 32 days, averaging 80km/day. The goal of this run is to promote female health, education, and confidence.

“Desert Runners” is available for $19.99 at DesertRunnersMovie.com.

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The title of Rodney Yee’s DVD Yoga for Energy and Stress Relief is not deceptive. Don’t buy this DVD if you’re looking for a rigorous yoga workout or want to sweat a lot. But if you tend to feel tension and stress on a regular basis and often think to yourself, “I wish I knew how to just chill out,” this collection of restorative yoga sequences is the DVD for you.

Most of the practices on this DVD are done with the aid of a chair, which was something I didn’t realize until the first time I tried it. At first I was a little skeptical. How good could these sequences be if you do them in a chair? However, the skepticism faded away quickly and was replaced with newfound appreciation for the many things you can actually do with the use of a chair as a yoga prop.

Actually, on an anecdotal note, the first time I did any of the sequences on the DVD was about three hours before I drove to the hospital to have a baby just six weeks ago. I had been in early labor for a few days and was at my wit’s end worrying about when things would finally get going. My brilliant husband said, rather off-handedly, “Why don’t we do that new yoga DVD you got to review?” For some reason this struck me as a great idea, so we did the entire “Awaken and Energize” sequence, which was true to its name. The sequence helped me relax, breathe, and release the anxiety that had been building up over the last few days, but also gave me newfound energy to take yet another walk.

Here’s a brief rundown of the sequences on Rodney’s DVD:

• Awaken and Energize: 20 minutes, with chair
• Gentle Relaxation: 20 minutes, with chair
• Restore and Rejuvenate: 20 minutes, with chair
• Mountain Meditiation: 15 minutes of meditation practice
• Soothe and Stretch: 20 minutes, no chair

You won’t be doing any advanced or even intermediate poses, so if you’re one of those people who is intimidated by yoga DVDs because you’ve never been to a yoga class before, don’t worry. I did it while I was in labor, which is a good indicator of how easy the sequences are. You’ll be doing a lot of gentle stretching, forward folds, hip stretches, and relaxation poses.

Now that I’m in the postpartum period with a newborn, two other young children, and all the other things going on in life, tension, stress, and fatigue are not strangers, so I’ve been a good test subject for this DVD. I haven’t used it as recovery from intense workouts, since my workouts aren’t exactly high intensity yet, but I would also recommend it for that use as well. The sequences are short and easy to do throughout the day. Since I work at my desk, sometimes I’ll just pop this DVD in my computer after a long work session and do one of the sequences in my chair.

Do not expect any intensity from this DVD. Some of the sequences are primarily composed of relaxation poses. That might make it sound superfluous. Who needs to be shown how to relax, right? Strangely enough, though, in my experience it does seem that people who tend to go all out in their workouts or live high-stress lives have a hard time relaxing sometimes. They need a guide and an instruction manual (and I’m speaking for myself here, as well). If you are one of these people, you will benefit greatly from this DVD. If it’s too slow for your taste, that might be because you’re moving too fast.

Yoga for Energy and Stress Relief is appropriate for all fitness levels, from beginner to advanced. Really, this DVD is all about letting go and chilling out, which are activities that can benefit anyone. Doing the sequences on this DVD is also a relaxing way to end your day. In fact, all my kids are asleep so I’m going to go restore and energize now.

“Yoga for Energy and Stress Relief” is available for $9.98 at Amazon.com.

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Rodney Yee’s Power Up Yoga DVD is a fast-paced practice ideal for viewers with yoga experience. I would especially recommend this DVD for athletes as it is a short but effective practice that is ideal for recovery and mobility, as well as building strength and stamina.

If you’re not familiar the different styles of yoga, power yoga (also known as ashtanga yoga) is basically like yoga on speed. Well, maybe not that extreme, but it’s definitely faster paced than other forms of yoga you might have experienced. It’s extremely demanding and requires stamina and endurance. Not surprisingly, power yoga is also popular with athletes and people who frequent the gym.

Power Up Yoga is divided into three parts, each about twenty minutes long. The first section focuses on grounding the feet and energizing the lower body with standing poses. Out of the three segments, this is my favorite to do on its own. It’s a rejuvenating flow that is great to do after a day of desk work or to start off the morning.

The second flow, called “Energize” uses backbends and balancing poses to wake up the spine. This is a short but rigorous flow, which ends with some seated hamstring stretches to recover. Unfortunately I can’t do a lot of this section right now because I’m pregnant, but I’m looking forward to using it after the baby is born and I can do lots of twisty and bendy stuff again.

From here, Rodney moves into the final segment, “Breathe.” This is the least rigorous segment of the three and is a perfect way to finish off the entire hour-long DVD. You’ll spend a lot of time opening the hips in cobbler’s pose and seated stretches, finishing off relaxing in savasana.

Although the DVD is divided into three short segments, I recommend doing them all together for maximum benefit. If you’re an athlete, it would probably do a world of good to do this DVD a few times a week.

Despite the fact that the flow is fast-paced, I was impressed with Rodney’s ability to provide clear instruction. If you’re new to yoga, you might have to go through the video a few times to familiarize yourself with the poses, but if you’re already familiar with a range of yoga poses, you’ll probably find it’s easy to follow along.

In terms of film quality and visual appeal, Power Up Yoga is simple but beautiful. With the Colorado mountains in the background it’s hard to go wrong. I did find the music a little distracting in some parts, but I was probably just being picky.

Although it isn’t one of the longest or most detailed yoga DVDs out there – there aren’t any special features – Power Up Yoga is a great choice for athletes who want to add yoga to their home workout routine. Plus, it goes by so fast you won’t even realize you just did an hour of yoga!

“Power Up Yoga” is available for $12.99 at Amazon.com.

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Throughout all three of my pregnancies, prenatal yoga has been a lifesaver. Even on days when I’m not up to getting in a more intense workout, I try to fit in a yoga session. Its ability to relieve muscular tension, rejunvenate the body, and calm the mind are unmatched and so important during pregnancy. If you’re an athlete and continue training throughout your pregnancy, yoga is a great way to recover from more strenuous work.

Shiva Rea’s Prenatal Yoga DVD has helped me keep up with my yoga practice through my last two pregnancies. It’s a gentle workout that is ideal to do on rest days or when you’re struggling with morning sickness or some of the discomforts of pregnancy. Here are a few things I like about this DVD:

1. Modifications for all stages of pregnancy: Shiva demonstrates first trimester poses while two other women demonstrate modifications for the second and third trimesters. Some modifications require props.
2. Appropriate for all fitness levels: The modifications are not only appropriate for all stages of pregnancy but also all fitness levels. I have recommended this video to some of my doula clients who are complete beginners at yoga and they loved it.
3. Divided into short segments: The entire DVD is a little over an hour long, and it’s divided into three segments so you can either do it all at once or choose a shorter practice. I’ve found during this pregnancy since I have two young children at home, it can be hard sometimes to get in a long workout, so this makes it easy to do throughout the day instead of all at once.

Although it’s not as beautifully filmed as the Yoga Shakti DVD I reviewed a few months ago, the music is calming and there isn’t anything distracting about the set. Shiva Rea’s instructions are clear and the poses are well-demonstrated. I do wish that some of the poses were held a bit longer as it feels rushed at times.

If you’ve been doing yoga for a while and are used to sweating up a storm, be warned that this DVD is a little different. It’s a very gentle, low-impact workout that focuses primarily on breathing and stretching. I like to do this DVD for recovery on days when I’ve already done a more intense workout. If you are an avid athlete you will probably want to combine it with more vigorous activity.

If you’re like many women and work a desk job during your pregnancy, this is also a great choice. It’s amazing how stiff and achy you can get after hours of sitting at a desk. I like to break up a long work day with this DVD when I can, or do it before bed to relieve tension in my neck and lower back.

Overall, Shiva Rea’s DVD is a good choice for pregnant women who want to keep up with their yoga practice during pregnancy. I would recommend it in particular to women who are new to yoga or those who are experiencing a lot of aches and pains during their pregnancy.

“Prenatal Yoga” is available for $9.99 at Amazon.com.

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If you’re a kettlebell enthusiast you probably already know Steve Cotter. A long-time martial artist and founder of the International Kettlebell and Fitness Federation, Steve has a lot of experience under his belt that he brings to his products. One such product is his Extreme Strength! 12 Week Kettlebell Program.

The program is comprised of four DVDs, designed to be followed along like a traditional fitness DVD. The first DVD covers an introduction to the workout, how to do the workout (for example, what to do if you can’t keep up), technique instruction for each of the exercises, and warm up and cool down sequences. The remaining three DVDs cover the 12-week program.

Now, as I mentioned, Steve includes what to do if you can’t keep up with the workouts – and it’s a good thing. At the age of 41 during taping, Steve is a beast and doesn’t appear to have lost a step. So be prepared to have a hard time keeping up unless you choose your weights well, which is a process he helps you through. This is largely a metcon type workout, meaning the workout features a series of weight lifting sets done in rapid succession to keep the heart rate elevated. Keeping the heart going throughout the workout is one of the cornerstones of this type of training, and although Steve regularly takes his pulse along with you, I’d recommend a heart rate monitor as well.

Speaking of equipment, you will need plenty of it to get the full experience of this DVD. Although Steve provides alternative exercises that make it possible to follow along with only kettlebells, the full workout includes a pull up and dip station, a Roman chair, some plyo boxes, a barbell with weights, and a squat rack (full or half). There is other equipment, like chalk and wristbands, that is recommended but not necessary.

That said, since the workout is directed at intermediate to advanced lifters, that basic equipment may well be in your set up already. And I need to emphasize that this isn’t great for beginners. Although Steve does a great job of covering exercise form, my recommendation to use this DVD at intermediate level or above has more to do with Steve’s pace and form. He’s a machine, and maintains excellent form throughout a type of work out that is notorious for causing form to break down. It may be difficult for beginners to use this product safely unless they use weights less than recommended and focus more on form as they go than on keeping pace.

The workout itself focuses on the primary Olympic style kettlebell lifts. The supplemental exercises, although a major component of the workout, are accessory to the main lifts being focused on, in true weightlifting style. I loved seeing him point out that too much variation in a workout is not a good thing. It’s awesome to see a legit coach doing away with this “muscle confusion” nonsense. You may also have noticed I said the workout requires a barbell and squat rack. Steve notes the limitations of kettlebells in the video and includes a few bar lifts for the development of strength and to ease transitions between kettlebells. In this way, the program is very well thought out.

As for Steve himself, I noticed a few more little things I’d like to point out that stood out to me. He is an experienced presenter, but his video presenting skills could use some polish. It’s a trivial matter on a workout DVD, and he is a very likable guy on video, but worth mentioning. That said, he gives the weights of the kettlebells in both pounds and kilos, which I liked. Sometimes it’s the details that make the difference between a good product and a great one.

Ultimately, I really liked this product, but it isn’t for everyone. Like I mentioned before, it’s worth looking at and modifying for beginners, but something else might suit you better. Also, although Steve includes strength development into the program, since this is aimed at experienced lifters, you aren’t likely to develop much in the way of top-end strength on a program like this.

Extreme Strength! is a great product for people interested in advancing their ability to move some kettlebells around, especially in the Olympic lifting exercises. Within that framework, the program will help maintain or slightly build your strength and work on your cardiovascular ability as well, so if you like a jack-of-all-trades style workout, then this one is a great one to check out.

“Extreme Strength! 12 Week Kettlebell Program” is available for $79.99 at IKFF.net.

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I don’t usually like sequels, but Lauren Brooks’ second kettlebell DVD is an exception to the rule. Like the first volume of her three-part DVD series, The Ultimate Body Sculpt and Conditioning With Kettlebells, Volume 2 is another source of effective, challenging exercises, and one that should belong to your library if you are looking for at-home kettlebell workouts.

What really impressed me about Volume 2, however, was the way that it flows so organically from Volume 1. Nerd that I am, I was very careful to get comfortable with Volume 1 before I went on to Volume 2, and I’m glad that I did. Just when I thought I had gotten this kettlebell thing down, Lauren threw in some new and exciting exercises to mix things up, including three of my favorite kettlebell exercises ever:

1. The Turkish Get Up: Lauren uses get ups throughout the video. This video was my introduction to the get up, as well as the TGU Squat Style.
2. The Overhead Squat: It wasn’t my first time doing an overhead squat, but it was the first time with a kettlebell, and I was amazed at how different it was. Lauren uses a lot of overhead squats during the second workout, aptly called “The Smoker.”
3. The Snatch:  Lauren provides really solid instruction on how to execute the snatch properly. She uses snatches in the short workout called “The Finisher,” which is a great way to end any kettlebell workout.

These aren’t the only exercises Lauren introduces in Volume 2. Here are the other exercises that she demonstrates:

• Kettlebell Diamond Pushups
• Kettlebell Diamond Burpees
• Windmill
• Single Leg Deadlift
• High Pull
• Tactical Lunges
• Push Press
• Single Kettlebell Plank

Lauren also includes a short Bonus Ab Workout. This is another one of Lauren’s workouts that I have committed to memory because it’s so simple yet effective. This workout also has a special place in my heart because it was one of the first challenging ab workouts I was able to do after having a c-section with complications last year. When I first started, I could only do the exercises unweighted, and it was great to slowly progress until I could do them with a heavier bell.

This brings me to another bonus about the DVD: although the cover says it’s an intermediate/advanced workout, it’s also suitable for beginners who want a challenge. If you’ve mastered the exercises in Volume 1 but can only do them with a lighter kettlebell, don’t be afraid to move on to Volume 2. Although a lot of the exercises are more difficult on a technical level, they can be easily scaled down by using a lighter bell, or even doing them unweighted, like I did when I first started the ab workouts. That being said, Lauren did choose some more challenging exercises than those presented in Volume 1.

Like in the first volume, Lauren provides good cues throughout and encourages you to challenge yourself without compromising technique or being overly flashy. I always find myself thinking during these workouts: “Hmmm, Lauren Brooks only lives about seven hours away from me. Maybe I could drive out for a weekend training session.” Must be a good workout.

In The Ultimate Body Sculpt and Conditioning With Kettlebell, Volume 2, Lauren Brooks takes the foundation she laid in Volume 1 and builds on it. You know that saying from Girl Scouts, “Make new friends but keep the old”? Think of the kettlebell swing as the old and the snatch as the new. Lauren introduces you to the new without dismissing the old, and that’s what makes this DVD a rare example of a good sequel.

The Ultimate Body Sculpt and Conditioning with Kettlebells DVD, Volume 2 is available at OntheEdgeFitness.com for $39.99.

Curious about the other DVDs in the series? Read our reviews of Volume 1 and Volume 3.

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