▷▷▷▷ Tracey Staehle's Yoga Solutions DVD Review

This is a perfect stretching yoga dvd.The scenery is spectacular and the music is awesome.Tracey and her crew lead you through a wonderfully relaxing set of poses that leave you feeling calm and at peace.Modifications are shown and you can tell that Tracey, Josef and Bobbi have a genuine affection for each other and enjoy working together. Throughout much of the dvd Josef and/or Bobbi take over instruction and throughout all three give you gentle reminders on what you should be aware of to ensure you are in correct form.

Product Description
Yoga Solutions is your answer for tight stiff muscles. This program has two main uses, a post workout stretch and to increase your flexibility. Escape from the stresses of everyday life with Tracey, Josef and Bobbi as they lead you through a program that targets every muscle group used in the active lifestyle. Included in this program are a warm up to prepare your muscles for lengthening, a seated series, a prone series, a supine series, a standing series, a balance series, a lunge series and a savasana cooldown. Be proactive in your quest to help increase your flexibility and improve your balance and stability. In this workout Tracey is pregnant, so it's appropriate for all fitness levels.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Tracey Staehle's Yoga Solutions DVD

▷▷▷▷ Tracey Staehle's High Intensity Step Mix II DVD Review

You need to understand step calls follow cues with no lead time, but an excellent workout!

Product Description
Tracey Staehle returns with another adrenalin-pumping, advanced level step workout.Over 60 minutes of pure cardio. Packed with both high and low intensity for variation and maximum fat-burning. Featuring 10 innovative step combos exclusively choreographed for this workout. For maximum fat burn, the 10 step combos are alternated with 10 anaerobic intervals. Includes a bonus stability ball section to challenge your core, along with ab work on the step. A modifier is included during the entire workout so you can customize your routine to fit your fitness level level. Includes pre-mixes so you can indulge in longer or shorter versions of the workout.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Tracey Staehle's High Intensity Step Mix II DVD

▷▷▷▷ Tracey Staehle's CoreBlast DVD (released 2007) Review

I am an intermediate/advanced exerciser who is always looking for non-traditional core workouts, so when I heard that Tracey Staehle - who has a reputation for producing innovative workouts for advanced exercisers - was producing a new DVD utlising a variety of equipment, I was very excited. I have Tracey's earlier core workout, Tracey Staehle's Core Strength & Conditioning DVD, 45 minutes of very tough core work using a stability ball, so I was expecting something of similar intensity. What I got, however, was 50 minutes of core work I can barely feel. I would rate "Core Blast" as suitable for beginners or low-intermediates at best.

"Core Blast" provides nine mini-workouts, each about five minutes long, grouped into three 15-minute segments - standing abs; abs on the stability ball, step or BOSU; and floor abs. The standing abs include five minutes each of boxer's bobs and weaves, oblique work with a dumbbell, and medicine ball work. This section is fun and provides a nice warm-up.

The step/BOSU section isn't very challenging. In one exercise called "get up and get down", you sit on the step or BOSU and quickly stand up without using your hands for support. It looked tough on the preview clip I saw, but was surprisingly easy.

The floor section includes planks and a different take on Pilates. The Pilates was fun, but again, too easy.

Throughout the DVD, there is a lot of giggling and banter between Tracey and her background exercisers, one of whom is her sister Jill. This is cute at first but gets very irritating on repeated viewings. Tracey repeatedly refers to Jill as a "rock star" - a descriptor which even appears on the back cover of the DVD!

All up, after doing "Core Blast" several times, I really felt I was wasting my workout time. As well, it's a bother to lug out all that equipment then only use it for five minutes.

If you want challenging ab work which uses different equipment, I would recommend Cathe Friedrich's Hardcore Series: CORE MAX which includes three 20-minute workouts using your bodyweight, a stability ball and a medicine ball; or Mindy Mylrea: All About Abs which is tougher than "Core Max" and incorporates three 15-minute workouts using a medicine ball, a stability ball and your own bodyweight, as well as a bonus 10-minute segment using Mindy's own "gliding disks".

Product Description
This 45 minutes workout takes core training to a whole new level. You will stand, sit, lie down (prone & supine) and feel great afterwards. You determine the length of your workout! Mix the exercises to create the ultimate challege for your mid section. Super-sizzling or short and sweet -- you control the custom fit. Equipment used includes a step, stability ball, and dumb bell. Optional equipment (modifications shown without) inlcude a foam roller, med ball, and BOSU.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Tracey Staehle's CoreBlast DVD (released 2007)

▷▷▷▷ Tracey Staehle's Cardio Sweatfest DVD Review

Cardio Sweatfest, led by relative fitness newcomer Tracey Staehle, is actually comprised of two workouts, a 60-minute kickboxing routine and a 36-minute Hi-Lo section.Either of the two workouts can be selected from the main menu; this will lead you to submenus which include several premixes for each workout.

Kickbox Sweatfest is a drill-style kickbox workout.For the most part, Tracey keeps the combinations quite simple, starting slow at first but kicking up the pace and intensity as you continue.Tracey uses some different terms for some of the moves--eg, back fist/reverse punch, which she also calls temple-sternum--but these are broken down in the "Kickbox Demo" segment featuring Jessica, a martial artist.The workout begins with a 3.5-minute warm-up which starts slow and then incorporates some of the punches and kicks to stretch.For the main body of the workout, there are 8 total combos, each about 6-7 minutes long; with the exception of a few jump kicks, the moves are mostly low-impact, with one of the background exercisers always showing modifications.As mentioned above, each combination features basic choreography (eg, jab-cross-jab-kick), but Tracey mixes things up a bit, sometimes repeating just the kicks or punches at a faster tempo.Following the combinations, there is an additional 7 minutes of arm drills and 3.5 minutes of kicking drills--you definitely will be fried by the end of these!Tracey finishes with a 4-minute cool-down which includes push-ups and some brief stretching for the lower body.The premixes include Shoulder Shredder (19 minutes), Butt Blaster (19 minutes), and Short Sweat (35 minutes; features Combos 4-8).

The Hi-Lo Sweatfest workout has a *slight* Latin flavor but also includes more traditional hi-low moves such as grapevine and some kicks as well.There is a Hi-Lo Combos submenu which features at total of 9 combinations.Unlike in the kickboxing workout, however, these combinations are not stand-alone; rather Tracey teaches this workout in an add-on style with frequent instructions to "take it from the top" and repeat all of the moves.I found the choreography to be a bit trickier here (and Tracey's cueing to be less effective), but given the high number of repetitions, I was eventually able to at least approximate all of the moves.The 4-minute warm-up introduces the opening sequences and also includes some brief stretches.All of the exercises are done up to tempo from the first time around, so your heart rate definitely stays up.In addition, at about the 13-minute left mark, Tracey does a long (4 minutes) jumping jack sequence that is intended to get your heart rate up even further before running through the entire routine one last time.The 6-minute cool-down is led by one of the background exercisers, Donna; it features some of the same choreography as the workout plus some of the moving stretches from the warm-up.The premixes for the Hi-Lo workout include a 44-minute version which incorporates the kickbox drills and an 18-minute combos-only series (no breakdowns).

I'd give the kickboxing portion of this workout 5-stars; the simple choreography combined with intense drills was right up my alley, although those who enjoy more complex workouts may be bored here.I've never been a big fan of Hi-Lo, but the workout here was well-done and also intense, so I'd give it 4-stars.This DVD is a provides plenty of options and is a good deal for intermediate exercisers and above; my final rating is 4 1/2 stars.

Product Description
This ultra intense workout begins with 60 minutes of pure Kickbox. This kickbox routine was choreographed by a martial artist and is for the kickbox lover. It focuses on form and power. Moves are done at varying speeds and muscle tone is something you can expect from this workout! Some of the moves include ridgehand, backfist, innerblock, reverse punch, high blocks and elbow smashes. There are 8 combos total and two lengthy drills focusing on upper body and lower body. Get ready to sweat and burn because this dvd has it ALL. Also included in the kickbox is a preview of some of the moves and how they are executed and why they are used. The music is superb and will keep you kicking for the full 60 mins! The Hi-Lo portion of this workout is a quick sweat that will put a smile on your face while elevating your heartrate. The workout combines easier moves with some latin style "hip swinging" and two intensity spikes to get the heart pumping. If your looking to burn calories, sculpt your upper and lower body and have fun at the same time, Cardio Sweatfest is for you! Both workouts include modifiers and premixes for shorter or longer intensity.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Tracey Staehle's Cardio Sweatfest DVD

▷▷▷▷ Tracey Staehle's Steady State Step Review

This video is very hard in that the instructor does not allow any time to show you the new steps.I have taken Step Classes for years and have several Reebok videos and this DVD has steps I have never seen.They do not look difficult to do, but they are complicated and if you are not given any instruction or time to learn them, it is frustrating to use.I actually have only used the video one time, and I stopped it after about 15 minutes and put in different one.As of yet, I have not had the time to keep stopping and starting and rewinding to watch these new steps slowly so I can learn them.

Product Description
Tracey Staehle's October 2008 release, STEADY STATE STEP, gives you 55 minutes of heart-pumping aerobics that never lets up! "Steady State" is just that--your heartrate will stay elevated througout the entire workout. Tracey's signature combox are fun and creative, and even incorporate traditional moves such as the mambo, a few cha-chas and hops, and more. Interesting yet not difficult to learn, STEADY STATE STEP is another way to add an hour of necessary fitness to your day!

Click Here to see more reviews about: Tracey Staehle's Steady State Step