TarHeelMom
Cathlete
First Impressions of the TLP Videos
If anybody's interested, here's my two cents' worth about Tracie Long's production company's first three functional fitness videos. They are, in order (and they do have an intended order): Core Foundations with Jeanne Anne Copleston; Functional Strength with Bonnie Geer; and Dynamic Strength and Power with Cindy Thorp.
I am really a monogamist now in my video training -- I'm a true Cathe-ite, and these videos were the first non-Cathe purchase I've made in five years. I honestly don't know what possessed me to do it; Tracie's always been a personal FIRM favorite, but so is Susan Harris and I have never been tempted to buy her later products. The idea of functional training was just very appealing to me and I guess that pushed me over the top. That or a hormone surge coinciding with my credit card being handy.
The jury's still out a little bit on what I think, since I've not yet done the third one and have only previewed it. These videos rate about a "B" so far, whereas I think Cathe's are all "A" (even those that are not my personal faves). I did Jeanne Anne and Bonnie yesterday back to back. I hadn't planned that, but I had some time and after Jeanne Anne I honestly felt like I was at the end of a long Cathe warmup (although pleasantly so), so I kept going with Bonnie.
First impressions are mostly positive. I didn't find them enormously difficult tapes, but all three are full of interesting moves that I've never done before. That alone presented some challenge. It felt really good to do some of the multiplanar training and I definitely saw new uses for the med ball. I will say that I did not use my 8 lb med ball like Wanda did -- I tried it and thought it added too much momentum for me and was not comfortable for one-handed use. Wanda, if you used that 8-pounder all the way through, you must be one BEASTLY woman! I substituted a 5-lb dumbbell wherever I could for the 2-to-3 pound ball that the video crew and instructor were using. Most of the time that worked fine.
After completing two whole tapes, for a total of about 100 minutes, I felt pleasantly worked out through the upper body and had worked up a mild sweat. My legs felt like they'd had a real quickie. I am not sore at all today and don't even think I have the early signs of any DOMS. In my opinion, none of these tapes has any aerobic use. There are several "aerobic" tunes on the third video, but they're very brief almost like Cathe's Boot Camp or C&W. They look like they'll be useful for functional training of the upper body, but my guess is there will be no real aerobic value to them.
Production values are okay, not great. I realize Tracie's production company is brand new and that these DVD's were sort of rushed out -- and it shows. Lots of little glitches. I know people complain about how long it takes SNM to get a Cathe DVD from filming to release, but her attention to detail is not present in these first offerings from TLP Productions. The set is truly barebones (it honestly does look like someone put up three of those black photographer's panels to create a workout "room", complete with carpeting and visible overhead track lighting) and the exercise crew looks like they filmed simply wearing whatever they wore to the gym. There's no uniformity to their clothing or equipment. Chaptering is basic. On one of my DVD's one of the chapters is erroneously indexed and when I click on it I go to another part of the DVD entirely. Music was pleasant but basically forgettable -- not bad, not motivating either. Voice-overs didn't match lips a lot and there were a few sound hiccups between sections. Aside from the sound hiccups there were also camera oddities -- strange camera angles and, as Kathryn mentioned, on the Cindy Thorp video there's a Reebok step that appears and disappears repeatedly during the video. I know equipment (and gloves) sometimes appears and vanishes on Cathe's videos, too, but on the Cindy Thorp video you do get much more of a continuity problem because there is no time allotted for you to go and retrieve, or put away, the step. You just have to know ahead of time to have it positioned where you can grab it or shove it out of the way. Lastly, I felt that all three instructors exhibited poor form on various moves. So did their crew, but that's more forgivable to me, by far, than having the instructor do it.
On the whole, I think I'll keep and use these for a while because they are useful for learning some new and different core training moves, and even a few new stretches. I do think I'll eventually sell them, in all honesty. I believe I will outgrow or at least comfortably "master" these tapes much more quickly than happens for me with Cathe's stuff. I don't say that to be boastful, you guys -- I am at best a high intermediate exerciser and I could never keep up with, say, Aquajock or Wanda or so many of you, on weights OR on cardio capacity. But since I'm notches below many of you on the fitness food chain, I think I'm a pretty fair example of Tracie's target audience, and these videos, IMHO, aren't going to keep her target audience truly challenged for very long. I may also get bored with these tapes or annoyed by the production values, and that NEVER happens with Cathe.
I did preorder Tracie's new "Core Cardio" tape, the one she's filming aboard the USS Yorktown, and I'm looking forward to trying it. My expectation is that it won't be a true cardio workout in the same way Cathe's are, but that it will be well-cued, will have new and interesting moves in it like these three do, and will be a fun addition to my "intermediate" library, at least for a while. I hope Tracie irons out some of the production issues before releasing that one!
Let me know what you think, folks, if you get these.
http://www.click-smilies.de/sammlung0903/sport/sport-smiley-003.gif Kathy S. http://www.click-smilies.de/sammlung0903/spezial/spudniks/spudniklifter.gif
If anybody's interested, here's my two cents' worth about Tracie Long's production company's first three functional fitness videos. They are, in order (and they do have an intended order): Core Foundations with Jeanne Anne Copleston; Functional Strength with Bonnie Geer; and Dynamic Strength and Power with Cindy Thorp.
I am really a monogamist now in my video training -- I'm a true Cathe-ite, and these videos were the first non-Cathe purchase I've made in five years. I honestly don't know what possessed me to do it; Tracie's always been a personal FIRM favorite, but so is Susan Harris and I have never been tempted to buy her later products. The idea of functional training was just very appealing to me and I guess that pushed me over the top. That or a hormone surge coinciding with my credit card being handy.
The jury's still out a little bit on what I think, since I've not yet done the third one and have only previewed it. These videos rate about a "B" so far, whereas I think Cathe's are all "A" (even those that are not my personal faves). I did Jeanne Anne and Bonnie yesterday back to back. I hadn't planned that, but I had some time and after Jeanne Anne I honestly felt like I was at the end of a long Cathe warmup (although pleasantly so), so I kept going with Bonnie.
First impressions are mostly positive. I didn't find them enormously difficult tapes, but all three are full of interesting moves that I've never done before. That alone presented some challenge. It felt really good to do some of the multiplanar training and I definitely saw new uses for the med ball. I will say that I did not use my 8 lb med ball like Wanda did -- I tried it and thought it added too much momentum for me and was not comfortable for one-handed use. Wanda, if you used that 8-pounder all the way through, you must be one BEASTLY woman! I substituted a 5-lb dumbbell wherever I could for the 2-to-3 pound ball that the video crew and instructor were using. Most of the time that worked fine.
After completing two whole tapes, for a total of about 100 minutes, I felt pleasantly worked out through the upper body and had worked up a mild sweat. My legs felt like they'd had a real quickie. I am not sore at all today and don't even think I have the early signs of any DOMS. In my opinion, none of these tapes has any aerobic use. There are several "aerobic" tunes on the third video, but they're very brief almost like Cathe's Boot Camp or C&W. They look like they'll be useful for functional training of the upper body, but my guess is there will be no real aerobic value to them.
Production values are okay, not great. I realize Tracie's production company is brand new and that these DVD's were sort of rushed out -- and it shows. Lots of little glitches. I know people complain about how long it takes SNM to get a Cathe DVD from filming to release, but her attention to detail is not present in these first offerings from TLP Productions. The set is truly barebones (it honestly does look like someone put up three of those black photographer's panels to create a workout "room", complete with carpeting and visible overhead track lighting) and the exercise crew looks like they filmed simply wearing whatever they wore to the gym. There's no uniformity to their clothing or equipment. Chaptering is basic. On one of my DVD's one of the chapters is erroneously indexed and when I click on it I go to another part of the DVD entirely. Music was pleasant but basically forgettable -- not bad, not motivating either. Voice-overs didn't match lips a lot and there were a few sound hiccups between sections. Aside from the sound hiccups there were also camera oddities -- strange camera angles and, as Kathryn mentioned, on the Cindy Thorp video there's a Reebok step that appears and disappears repeatedly during the video. I know equipment (and gloves) sometimes appears and vanishes on Cathe's videos, too, but on the Cindy Thorp video you do get much more of a continuity problem because there is no time allotted for you to go and retrieve, or put away, the step. You just have to know ahead of time to have it positioned where you can grab it or shove it out of the way. Lastly, I felt that all three instructors exhibited poor form on various moves. So did their crew, but that's more forgivable to me, by far, than having the instructor do it.
On the whole, I think I'll keep and use these for a while because they are useful for learning some new and different core training moves, and even a few new stretches. I do think I'll eventually sell them, in all honesty. I believe I will outgrow or at least comfortably "master" these tapes much more quickly than happens for me with Cathe's stuff. I don't say that to be boastful, you guys -- I am at best a high intermediate exerciser and I could never keep up with, say, Aquajock or Wanda or so many of you, on weights OR on cardio capacity. But since I'm notches below many of you on the fitness food chain, I think I'm a pretty fair example of Tracie's target audience, and these videos, IMHO, aren't going to keep her target audience truly challenged for very long. I may also get bored with these tapes or annoyed by the production values, and that NEVER happens with Cathe.
I did preorder Tracie's new "Core Cardio" tape, the one she's filming aboard the USS Yorktown, and I'm looking forward to trying it. My expectation is that it won't be a true cardio workout in the same way Cathe's are, but that it will be well-cued, will have new and interesting moves in it like these three do, and will be a fun addition to my "intermediate" library, at least for a while. I hope Tracie irons out some of the production issues before releasing that one!
Let me know what you think, folks, if you get these.
http://www.click-smilies.de/sammlung0903/sport/sport-smiley-003.gif Kathy S. http://www.click-smilies.de/sammlung0903/spezial/spudniks/spudniklifter.gif
