Search - Prenatal Conditioning with Teddi Bryant on DVD

Worst Prenatal Exercise DVD

Mother Brown | 04/29/2010

(1 out of 5 stars)

"I own seven prenatal exercise dvd's: I'm on my third pregnancy, and I like the format of the exercise dvd, I do them a lot -- very convenient with kids. BUT, this particular dvd is my absolute least favorite. It does give you a reasonable amount of exercise (I'm in pretty good shape, and want a real workout even when pregnant; this does make me feel I've done something when I'm done, which is good.). But there are others out there that make your muscles work as hard or harder, without the various annoyances; I'd recommend "Long and Lean", for example. Here's what's wrong with Hot Mamas:

1. The exercises themselves are very boring, repetitive, and sometimes borderline uncomfortable to do while pregnant. It's based on a very old-fashioned boot-camp model, lots of push-ups and marching and (modified) jumping jacks. That's ok, but those type of exercises were developed for men, and they really don't feel all that great, to me, to do while pregnant. I get bored and depressed when it comes time to do yet another set of same old same old push ups. You can get the same upper-body workout with a lot more variety, by breaking up the push-ups with other stuff. I much prefer routines that incorporate yoga and dance and pilates, instead of always with the boring boot camp thing.

2. The flow is horrible. I've done both the long and short versions, and in both cases, you go from one set of exercises to another without any continuity. Instead, you have to waste valuable exercise waiting around to be told what to do next. Other routines don't do this. It's a problem, too, because your heart rate goes down in those seconds; and it adds to the boredom.

3. Cuing is also horrible. After I've done the dvd a couple of times, I like to watch with the sound off, so I can listen to my own music or radio. In this dvd, a lot of the time you're just watching Terri, standing there doing nothing, telling the other women what to do. The camera goes away from the exercise, to focus on Terri, standing there. That's not inspiring, and doesn't give me the right kind of peer pressure to keep going.

4. I wouldn't bother with mentioning this if everything else was great, but the aesthetic is also horrible. I know it sounds mean to say it, but Terri has a bad dye job and too much make-up. The exercise takes place in a whited-out nowhere. I'd rather see an actual studio, a real place. In both cases -- the make-up, the whiting -- it seems try-hard and fake. It's just not good to look at. Also hate that they use a step; I don't have a step, I don't want to do things for which I supposedly need equipment.



So: I figure that most people who gave this good reviews haven't done that many other pregnancy dvds. You really can do better! Try the 10-minute pilates, or long and lean, or the perfect pregnancy workout, or even Leisa Hart.

"

Whew!

Tricky Nikki | Pgh., PA USA | 03/04/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I had been working out regularly before I got pregnant (3-5 days a week)and was "benched" by my doctor for the first trimester. So picking this up at 16 weeks made for a pretty intense workout. (Read: holy crap!) Might have been less so without the 3 month hiatus, but this workout felt like starting over.

This is my forth pregnancy and having come from a pilates/yoga only practice through my last two, I can say this is a thorough, make-you-sweat workout. I would say it is the pre-natal equivilant of the hardest class I took at the gym. This is in keeping with Teddi's philosophy that women want to feel as much like

"themselves" as possible during a period when so many things are changing.

While this is still too long of a workout for me (6 or 7 circuits, I think) I plan to alternate the first half and second half during the week. It's also easy to just go as far as you can into it and work up to adding another circuit every week or so.

The icing on the cake is the stretching/abs work segment which fills my void for a yoga class: the music is soothing and still maintains a beat, Teddi is a calming influence and I often find I'm doing the work with my eyes closed. Looking forward to Teddi kicking my not-so-widened rear post-partum, too!



"

Great Prenatal Workout!

Stephanie A. Watts | 02/11/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a great prenatal workout, especially if you were exercising a lot before pregnancy. I find this DVD is more of a challenge than most other prenatal DVDs. I feel like I actually worked out afterwards!"

Great workout for avid exercisers

K. Subasic | Wisconsin | 02/01/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a great program for pregnant women. It is very comprehensive and provides modifications as you move through various months of your pregnancy. I wouldn't recommend this for those new to exercise. It is intense and you need to be in good shape to tolerate the program safely. The entire program is quite long, but there is a shorter version also offered on the DVD which is nice for when you do not have 90 minutes to exercise."