The DVD is a total of 88 minutes long. It includes a warm up in the beginning that incorporates some great cardio exercises. The warm up is a little bit long (approximately 16 minutes and 45 seconds) and redundant in the aspect of static stretching. I like to save all my static stretching for the real deal and prefer my warm up to consist of exaggerated range of motion utilizing cardio. While following along with the DVD, I found the routine throughout lacks any emphasis on the neck. I personally need to warm up my neck muscles every time I work out or stretch and to have skipped this important area of the body seems strange to me. I have come from classes in the past where the neck had been neglected only to have my neck stiffen up an hour later. Lucky for me, I am well aware of proper neck exercises and they are easy enough for me to squeeze in on my own prior to resuming the stretching routine. My only concern is that since this is lacking, the lay person will not get to target this area properly.
Moving on, the DVD menu options have a feature that allows the user to skip the introduction and immediately get started with the work out. I like this feature. It also allows you to go directly to specific areas of the body. I found this to be useful for scenarios where I won't be able to participate in the entire routine, as I've said the DVD is lengthy, so being able to skip to an area of the body you'd like to focus specifically on is a great bonus to the DVD's concept.
As I began my work out, I found the stretches to be easy and Felix also offers variations for beginners. As the DVD progresses, the variations for beginners seem to dissipate. A video display of variations for advancing are also incorporated throughout the work out. As you are working through this DVD, some of the follow along becomes difficult. The video variations are often not shown long enough. I found myself to be concentrating on breathing during the stretches as the videos of variations flashed on the screen momentarily and quickly disappeared before I got the opportunity to evaluate the differences. If you are looking to utilize the variations, you will have to be quick to pause the DVD in order to transition yourself properly. The DVD lacks verbal cues. You must pay attention as the DVD has a strong visual learning component. I found this to be throughout the entire five DVD series. The entire series is strongly catered to visual learners. If you are following along, you will need to pay attention as in certain stretches, specifically I first noticed this in the king pigeon poses, Felix changes the stretch without warning.
Felix recommends stretching daily or three to four times a week. She states that doing a little bit every day would be beneficial. She also stresses that during the stretches, you should not be feeling uncomfortable with a lot of pain. It's important to review the introduction of the DVD as she explains how to use this DVD in the best way to suit your individual stretching needs. The key factor is to know your limits and work within them. While using this DVD, there were moments where I personally felt the stretches were moving too quickly. Some of the stretches require a great deal of maneuvering to properly get into the stretch. I felt as though my body couldn't acclimate to the stretch before it was time to move into another stretch. This is something that will be individual and the user will need to be able to pause the DVD in order to get beneficial results. You also want to make sure your body is warmed up properly before using this DVD. I felt as though I had to supplement my stretches in my own way to add to my experience. I found myself utilizing my foam roller to warm up my back before attempting the back stretches as I felt they were quite drastic and lacked preparatory transitioning stretches. The back is an area I yield extreme caution to and don't take stretching this area lightly. Again, this is based on personal preference and resulting from a training regimen I've become adapted to.
In order to get the best out of this DVD, the user will need to have on hand yoga blocks (I used my foam roller) and a resistance band or towel. I also made use out of my yoga mat as certain moves required me to roll the mat in order to protect my knees against the floor. I'm also a pelvic lifter in specific stretches so I found a rolled up mat to be quite handy. I really liked this DVD in the aspect that it is not just pole specific. I find it crosses over nicely into being able to be utilized in other aspects of aerial. I also liked the fact that it does not utilize the pole for the stretches which makes being able to use this DVD just about anywhere.
The aesthetics of the DVD are nicely coordinated. The purple aerial fabric in the back ground are aesthetically pleasing to the eye and add to a feeling of relaxation. Overall, what it really comes down to it the content and I really liked many of the stretches within this DVD. I found it to be another beneficial tool to add to my collection and would recommend this DVD to fellow pole dancers looking for a wonderful work out to add to their fitness repertoire.
No comments:
Post a Comment