Walk Slim 2 Miles and Lotte Berk Method: Basic Essentials

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Yesterday, I thought about doing a 4 mile with but decided I wasn't up to listening to her for an hour (I love but have to be in the mood for her enthusiasm, silliness and constant talk beyond cueing) so instead I did the 2 Mile from Walk Slim. It has 3 jogging intervals that break it up nicely and for once I didn't find 's constant talking primarily to Jim making me nuts. I worked very hard during the two minute intervals and worked harder than normal during the 3 minutes in between each of them and it felt great. Again, this is one I could have done on the rebounder but find I just don't enjoy using it that much and I was also tired so I did it on the floor and still got a good workout in I thought.

After that I tried Lotte Berk Method: Basic Essentials for the first time. I got this from netflix on a whim to see what Lotte Berk Method was about. I thought, from the description, it would be more cardio but it was all strength. The instructor was I think and she was okay but the way she talked just sounded kind of commanding in a pompous kind of way and so I wasn't super thrilled with her. Sometimes she smiled and softened her voice and was more fun. I like instructors that don't take themselves too seriously and who cue in a conversational way. She had a cadence that reminded me a little of The Firm's robotic cueing. The exercise were okay. I think it was broken into a warm up with very high knee lifts which I never find comfortable (my hips are too tight I guess) then upper body on the floor (including pushups with very precise instructions about form, they were done on knees and not very challenging), then standing work. They use a ballet barre, I used a chair. You do squats and leg kicks for thighs and glutes. Then it was back to the floor for abs work. I didn't like this very much either but that might be because I need to work on my abs more. I'm not sure if I was doing it all correctly but it seemed you were contracting your abs through the whole thing and that got to be too intense for me at times (they had a beginner modifier I could have followed but didn't). It ends with "shape by stretch" which was okay but not wonderful either. mentions "the tuck" frequently and I expected her to teach how to do it in a video labeled "Basic Essentials" but she didn't. I know it is an important move for this method. I tried to do what I thought it was based on her saying things about a c-shaped spine and the little bit of Turbo Jam I've done with Chalene's tuck. Either I'm doing it wrong or it just isn't a move I should be doing. I don't have back issues but it made me very uncomfortable and my lower back had an ache most of the rest of the day. I didn't get a lot out of most of this workout, probably it was too basic for me, and the tuck is not a good thing for me I don't think, plus was annoying so I doubt I'll rent this again or get any others from the Lotte Berk Method unless someone can convince me why this is better than Cathe, Jari or others for toning and strengthening. It was good to try it though, now I know a little more about Lotte Berk Method so that's good.