July - BarreAmped

Read also: 2 weeks later, 4 weeks later

& BarreAmped DVD review

   I've enjoyed using Darebee's Hero's Journey - I've fallen behind on the story installments because of 30 Days Wild, but I have full intention to finish them - but I'll admit that I'm happy to put it behind me.

   This month I'm trying a DVD I've had my eye on for some time, BarreAmped by Suzanne Bowen. There are a few DVDs in the BarreAmped series and they all have few but great reviews on Amazon, but I decided to pick out the original, and the one with the prettiest cover, and that's what I'm using for resistance this month.

   It's barre - bet you didn't see that coming - and I've had a great interest in it for a while, but the only barre workouts I've tried have been from Women's Fitness magazine. I loved it hugely, a combination really of ballet and pilates, but I'm quite looking forward to using a DVD.

   It's broken into 4 workouts - light weight, legs, seated and mat - and are about 10-20 minutes each, and I'm going to divide them in half and use them on alternating days, followed by cardio of some kind.

   Hero's Journey got tougher as you progressed, and I admit to over working myself across the last few weeks by adding on more and more afterwards to the point of doing 1 hour of high-impact resistance and cardio every day. Physically, I'm suffering for it - I was during as well, but I foolishly didn't stop.

   This month, however, and with this DVD, I am set to dial it down, and I think it's for the best. Too much exercise and too little rest doesn't get anyone anywhere, whether their goal is to tone up or lose weight. It's the activity that burns the calories, but it's the resting that creates the change.

   So, after a 60-day workout routine, I'm happy to return to a one-month workout. It feels simpler, and though I quite liked waking up and not knowing what to expect for that morning's workout because it meant I couldn't get in my head about it, I'd also quite like to return to having expectations. It gives you more a marker to tell how far you've come. If I struggle with a move on day 1, then after 5 days of practice, by day 10 I'll see a measurable improvement.

   I have no goodies this month; summer is a bad time for my shop so money is tight, which means indulging my passion for workout clothes and capris in particular has to be forgotten. Which is probably for the best - I have more pairs than I know what to do with and the drawer is seriously fit to burst! One more pair and I'm quite sure it won't close properly anymore.

   As it's a 4-week workout, I'll be returning to posting a 2-week update in the middle of the month, and then a round-up at the end, followed by a review. So, if you're interested in how I'm finding the DVD, and what I make of it so far, come back around the 16th/17th of July!