Brooke Burke Body Sexy Abs
How the DVD is set up: This program is divided into 3 workouts, each about 20 minutes long. The first workout is Cardio based. The second is designed around classic core Pilates styled exercises. The third is 16 of Brooke's favorite ab exercises.
Equipment needed: 2 small weights and a mat. She doesn't specify how many pounds. I used 3 pounds and personally wouldn't go over that.
Why I Picked it up: I have a very weak core and I think Brooke Burke is pretty. She has 4 children and I saw a special about her on E! once. She seemed relatable and not annoying.
What I liked: Each moment in each of the workouts is only 30 seconds long. Brooke uses time instead of reps to keep track. I really liked this. To hear an instructors say "8 more" sometimes was discouraging when I could only do 2 more of a certain move. But to hear "10 more seconds" made me feel more successful. It didn't matter how many I did, I just had to keep trying until the time was up. Brooke also demonstrates the move in front of her cast members before the 30 seconds start. I liked this because I could watch her, like they were, and then begin and not feel like I missed 5 seconds trying to figure out what she was doing. I also liked that she collapsed at the end of some of the workouts. It seemed hard for her too. Again, she was relatable because I also collapsed a few times in the core series. The third exercise was really tough for me. But, her encouraging words motivated me and it became a challenge I actually wanted to continue to work on.
What I wasn't too fond of: Little modifications. The entire 60 minutes of programming, she had one cast member modify only one move. There was no mention of "if you have knee trouble..." Or "it's okay if you drop your weights." She'd say "Do what you can do" a few times, but because of some slight lower back issues I have, I modified some moves and just didn't do some others. Again, as an instructor, I knew how to modify. She changes outfits for each workout. The first outfit in the cardio section was my favorite because it wasn't distracting and she had her hair in a ponytail. The following two exercises, she had her hair flowing down and more form fitting clothes. I like the form fitting clothes in the core workouts because you can really see placement of hips etc, but I don't need to see long camera shots of her perfectly lifted breasts. That was distracting. She also kept flipping her hair form side to side and I found my thoughts wondering why she didn't put it in a bun for this. It's a workout video. Average Jane doesn't look like this when she works out! Lastly, none of the cast members looked over a size 4. Sometimes, having different shapes in a DVD is visually appealing to someone just starting a fitness program. It makes them think "if she can do it than I can too." I would have liked at least one of them to always do some modified moves.
Level of Difficulty: The first two workouts were by far my favorite and doable for anyone just starting out. But, there has to be some knowledge of what and how to modify if you have knee trouble or back issues. It is doable and I would recommend it especially for people wanting to tone their core and stomach area. I will probably purchase this because of the classic core moves and it's only $9 on Amazon.com. If it were more, I'd just keep checking it out from the library.
