Get Fit For the New Year - DVD Review #1 - Denise Austin

The 411 by Maria:

I used to work out all the time before kids and started when I was very young. It was something I thoroughly enjoyed and after being let go from my Yoga class when pregnant did it on my own until Handsome was born. After that, it was very sporadic and I never stuck with it.  

Denise is someone I have followed for a long time. I enjoy her books and videos so she was the first of the batch of workout DVDs I decided to start with.

What I enjoy most about Shrink Your Fat Zones is that I was able to jump right in. She is working with two others who are modifying the work out for you if you need to keep it low impact. I do! Between my stomach, bum, creaky knees and abdominal issues (multiple abs surgery and a hernia repair this past August) means I NEED to be careful.

None of the exercises were so hard that I felt I couldn't do it. All of them were attempted even with my own modification to make sure I didn't hurt myself. 

Another great feature and probably the best is that Denise has it all separated for you in the main menu. You do the warm up and then can do either arm, belly, back, butt, whatever you want.  This is perfect if you are one of those people like my husband who focuses on specific areas during his work out.  I did the whole thing today and can tell you that I feel good. Denise keeps some of the tried and true methods for the area always throwing in aerobics between everything to keep you moving but also some new methods I had not tried before and feel like these multi muscle exercises are were it is at. Definitely can see how someone can sculpt their body by doing this daily.

The 411 by Maria:

OK...now this is something I can do. Fitting 7 minutes into my day for a workout seems easy enough. This one took me a little longer to catch on to because I am so not coordinated.  I enjoy the breakdown and worked on my butt and legs mostly because the exercises demonstrated in the 7 minute window really are a condensed version of a full hour workout. LOVED this. After three days of these workouts I feel so good. Amazing what a little moving can do for a body.