I bought a lot from Mary. I was so bummed I did not get anything from Collage and I am so freaking bored with everything I have that I am rotating my oldies (Cathe, Jari Love, Beachbody stuff) with Tonique. I am getting ridiculously good results, but I need new stuff. So yes, I bought a lot. Mostly one or two workouts each of Cathe, Michelle Dozois, Mike Donavanik, Jessica Smith, KCM 30 mins to fitness, the one Tonique I've been wanting, and a really cool one from a British instructor called Caroline Pearce. Except for Cathe and Tonique (which I've been doing for about a month), all the rest are new instructors to me.
I have been previewing the videos and there are a lot of new and cool moves I've never seen before. I'm doing my first Michelle Dozois tomorrow. Caroline Pierce's Total Cardio Burn is a really cool video. It reminds me of Tonique's style since it is only the instructor and it is a voiceover, but the exercises are more traditional circuit style total body exercises instead of one hundred thousand squats and lunges. Don't get me wrong I love Tonique (I did it today!), but I cannot bring myself to do it 6 days a week every week. I absolutely love Jessica Smith and Michelle Dozois is a delightful addition to my collection. Kelly is also really good, I bought Body Shop and Your Best Body from the 30 mins series and she packs a lot for a 30 minute workout. Mike D is also really good, very advanced, with one exerciser showing the low advanced modification, but there are some things I would change about Mike's videos, starting with the bad music you can barely hear and the lack of useful premixes.
If there's anything I can say about my new stash is that nobody does an advanced video like Cathe, she's the queen. Not only the workouts are amazing, but the cueing, camera shots, the sets, the music, premix options, even the background exercisers are on point. Sometimes the noises in the background can be so distracting, but that is rarely the case with a Cathe workout. That being said, Michelle Dozois puts a low advanced level workout with a high level of fun. It is a nice addition for sure. Her Peak 10 workouts are really cool, especially the ones with Cardio and Strength. I'm doing More Cardio Strength tomorrow and Cardio Strength Remix next Sunday.
The rest of the new workouts I bought are rated intermediate. Never thought I would like intermediate rated workouts, but let me tell you that is my discovery of the year. There are a lot of amazing workouts rated intermediate based on their length and not necessarily on their intensity. These instructors usually show harder modifications, if weights are used they can be increased, and best of all I don't get ridiculously hungry afterwards. I find that I eat a lot, understandably so, when I do advanced workouts all the time and instead of losing weight I start to gain weight. I think having a couple of days set for advanced workouts is good to break plateaus, but in my case I need to balance them out with an intermediate to advanced or low advanced workout other days of the week.
I will definitely put that Tracie Long workout on my wishlist. I remember her from the Firm's Tortoise and Hare workouts. She was really good, but I never bought one of her workouts when she left The Firm. Now that I'm getting into intermediate workouts, she is one I will consider. Jessica Smith's 10 Pounds Down Better Body Blast and Shape Power Pink Flat Abs 5 Ways are also rated intermediate and very good workouts. So is Caroline Pearce's Total Cardio Burn. All three can be made harder either with the use of heavier weights (if the moves are not done at a very fast tempo) or since all three are divided in short segments, more than one segment can be done at the same time to burn more calories. I am so glad I got those 3 on sale. I saved a ton of money and they are really versatile and good.
