All right ... last one ...
The imcomparable Tracie Long leads "Better Burn Better Buns" with her usual perfect cueing, flawless form, and fabulous form pointers. The music in this was loud enough, I love the way Tracie references the weather outside (it was filmed during Tropical Storm Tammy), and it clocked in at just under 56 minutes including the stretch.
You need a med ball (Sherry uses 2#, Tracie uses 4#, and Stephanie uses 5#), rags or paper plates or something to glide on, a golf club or dowel, and a mat if you want for abs at the end. I used a 4# ball and I felt soreness in my lower back in parts of this so go lighter at first until you get used to it.
The warm up uses the med ball and incorporates standing leg walks, twists, and plenty of upper and lower body moves. The stretch is fluid and dynamic without using the ball.
Using your club, stick or dowel we go into full plank (Sherry is on her knees) and walk over the stick in front of us with one hand then the other, and back again. It's much harder than it looks. Then on our stomachs we pull and push the stick out in front, lifting up from the chest as we pull in. Pay attention to the breathing pattern Tracie describes and you will really feel this in your abs. Then the stick is between our legs in full plank again with legs wide, as we step first to one side and the other, alternating legs. I found this a bit easier than the hand part.
Get the med ball for cardio as we lunge to the front and rotate the ball to the side, walk back, and progress to jacks back with ball overhead and down while jacking. Then we do squats while rotating the ball side to side, progressing to small hops instead of squats. In between are standing supermans with the ball out front and the opposite leg back. I don't have to tell you what a balance challenge this is!
Next are slow side hip hikes and kicks like in Slim Series. You are balancing on one leg the entire segment and it BURNS. Then we do a similar mop move as in Core Foundations which consists of pushing the plate or rag in and out while staying in a low squat, then mopping it around in a semi-circle. If you aren't feeling your glutes and outer thighs by now you're made of steel.
Cardio in between involves side crunches with the ball. You really need to be careful with the weight here because if your abs aren't completely tucked in your low back will hurt with too heavy a ball. I would even suggest using a slightly lighter ball for this segment. We also do weaves in and out of the legs with the ball and dips and lunges. It's very fun and very challenging!
Then before we do that other leg we do what I best describe as agility moves. For some reason this segment annoyed me. I couldn't follow the patterns. I'm sure with practice I'll be fine, and it may just be a matter of personal preference. I don't care for the whole "sports drill move" thing. There were leg swings and fast V steps - too fast, if you ask me.
Then we do the other leg as described above. Next is cardio with the med ball again. Step touch which progresses to skating moves with the ball up then down, a move called stir the pot - the ball is out front and you rotate it around slowly, glute lifts with the ball out front and up, and squats with optional jumps.
We then do balance and strength work again, standing on the right leg, turning the toes in on the left and lifting the leg up and down at varying tempos. None of them touch in between but I had to a few times. This time Tracie instructs to keep the hips down, and it's very hard to do but you REALLY feel it if you can manage to pull it off! We then get the plate again and put the left foot on, sliding it back and dipping low to try and touch the hands down, then sliding it out to the side, back, side and in again. This will really burn if you do it right! Sherry uses a dowel here for balance.
Next are what Tracie calls hurdles which for some reason reminded me of limbo! You move your leg around in front and to the side like you're stepping over a high hurdle, then follow it with the other, then pretend you're squatting under a high hurdle twice. She demonstrats it much better than I can decribe it, and as with all the moves in this workout it's much hard than it looks! After this we step touch progessing to a cute little shuffle.
We use the med ball again for weaves and lunges which by this time were very hard for me to do. This is one tough workout!!
We do the other leg then as described above, then we go to the floor for abs. Keep the med ball and dowel close by - you'll need them.
First are lying leg walks but you touch your hands to your feet (or whatever you can reach!) instead of just walking the legs. It's fast. Then we touch the ball to our feet keeping the head up!! OUCH!! Then, just for fun, we weave the ball between our ankles.
As if that weren't enough, we go into bridge position with our feet on the rags or plates and take turns sliding them in and out. If you keep your hips lifted your hams will burn. If you cheat and don't, you may as well skip this part. Then comes a part I had to follow Sherry on - we bend our knees and weave the dowel over our shoes to under our knees, and back out again. Either I have very short arms or I simply can't tuck my core that much. Sherry and I simply lifted as high as we could and slid the dowel down to our ankles. Tracie says this will get easier, and if Tracie says it, I believe it!!
Then we hold the med ball in a V sit (Stephanie has her feet off the ground) and twist back and forth. Side planks follow on our elbows, with hip dips then threads with one hand behind our heads. We then do the other side for the plank moves, and finally we stretch!!
This workout is amazing. I think it's the toughgest of the four, and I give it an A+! My only suggestion is cut out the close-up camera shots because there were times I could not see Tracie's entire body and I needed to, and Sherry was not shown enough. Otherwise, I loved it!!
Carol
