DVD Review

That lean and toned dancer's body is in thanks to Black Swan, Dancing with the Stars, So You Think You Can Dance and the growing popularity of Bar Method, The Dailey Method, and Body Bar. The differences between the systems may seem subtle at first, but each has a unique focus and avid followers. The Dailey Method, which has locations across the US and studios in Canada and France, has released its first DVD: No Excuses With Jill Dailey ($25). Like the classes, the DVD promises to help you get "longer, leaner, stronger, and more fit" and focuses on ballet bar work, core conditioning, light weights, and stretching.

Keep reading for four reasons you should try it and a video preview of the DVD.

Inspired by the dancer bodies from Dancing With the Stars and Black Swan? If you're home and want a solid workout that's fun and pumps you into a cardio zone, try a dance DVD. Here are three DVD workouts FitSugar staffers have tested and reviewed that will deliver passionate, sweat-inducing moves and make you groove.

• Julianne Hough's Cardio Ballroom ($10). Right from the start, Julianne's upbeat personality gets you excited about the warmups and choreography, and before you know it, you're doing the cha-cha, the jive, and paso doble. This is also the perfect workout video to do with some girlfriends.
• Bar Method Dancer's Body Advanced Workout DVD ($20). Led by cheery and pretty-to-look-at-while-you-are-sweating Bar Method teacher and actress Marnie Alton, the DVD offers a variety of the method's staple moves. Like the class, it starts off slow with leg lifts and light arm exercises (it's recommended you use two- to four-pound weights) and then jumps into the method's secret sauce: intense leg work at the barre.
• Tracy Anderson's Cardio Dance Workout DVD ($30). Anderson believes that dance cardio is the perfect aerobic workout for creating long, lean muscles and a feminine, toned physique. This workout is high-energy dancing full of hopping, jumping, high kicks, and even the '60s dance step the Pony. The eight combinations that make up the workout are like a jazzy version of petite allegro (the jumping section of a dance class).

I'm a sucker for anything related to dancing — especially if it's fun, is put to good music, and is said to help shed the pounds! Something else I'm addicted to? Dancing With the Stars. So I knew I had to get my hands on dancing pro Julianne Hough's Cardio Ballroom ($10) workout DVD.

I've taken a few ballroom dance classes in the past, but what I love about this workout DVD is it caters to both beginner and advanced dancers. Right from the start, Julianne's upbeat personality gets you excited about the warmups and choreography, and before you know it, you're doing the cha-cha, the jive, and paso doble.

Keep reading my review and check out a sneak peek of the video.

Enter to win in the Get Fit For 2011 giveaway by completing any challenges you may have missed, like FitSugar reader oatmealrunner, who shared her review of the Jillian Michaels Yoga Meltdown DVD for the eighth challenge of our Get Fit For 2011 giveaway.

I've decided in an effort to stay fit and save some cash, I am going to try a variety of DVD workouts (via Netflix) and give you my review. This way you know what videos are worth renting/buying and which ones you can leave on the shelf. Now onto the review.

I purchased the Yoga Meltdown workout DVD sometime ago but have not thoroughly reviewed it. Being an fairly dedicated yogi (6 years of practice and counting), I was curious to see what Jillian was going to do — yoga and yelling don't exactly mix if you ask me — but I was willing to go into it open-minded.

The DVD consists of 2 workouts: level one and level two. I felt that level one focuses a lot on arms, whereas level two is more about the legs and abs. Each workout is approximately 30 minutes, which is great if you're strapped for time.

See the review when you read more

I've never had the pain pleasure of taking a Physique 57 class — partly because the classes are only offered in Los Angeles and New York and partly because I'm scared of my legs publicly buckling in a certain pose. Well forget both of those excuses, because I've just learned that the Physique 57 3-Disc Workout Series Volume 2 ($50) is now for sale, which means I can start working on my moves from the comfort of my own home.

Wondering what's different from the previous version? Volume two is said to offer more choreography and challenging moves and includes an additional 30-minute thigh and seat booster workout. Kelly Ripa constantly sings the praises of this workout routine, so it'd be interesting to see if the at-home workout holds up to the studio version. Here's what Kelly had to say about her experience with Physique 57:

I am totally hooked on this sculpting class I discovered at [New York City gym] Physique 57. It's transformed my body in ways I never thought possible. I'm a short person, but I'm becoming longer and leaner. The class works your glutes, your abs, and your obliques. It's all about building muscle, then stretching it out.

If you really want to lengthen and tone, you may also want to check out the Bar Method Dancer's Workout DVD.

You can view a trailer of the Physique 57 Vol. 2 workout after the break.

Barre-based workouts have become increasing popular thanks to Natalie Portman's dancer bod in Black Swan, the Tracy Anderson Method, and barre3; and Bar Method, a ballet-inspired sculpting program with studios across the US, is no exception. The method, which is taught as an hour-long class, focuses on isometric movements, light weight work, stretching, and subtle moves at the barre. It is also one of the workouts Kelly Osborne used to get fit. As someone who practices it weekly, I can attest it's a serious workout, so I was excited (and even a little scared) to challenge myself with the Bar Method Dancer's Body Advanced Workout DVD ($20).

Led by cheery and pretty-to-look-at-while-you-are-sweating Bar Method teacher and actress Marnie Alton, the DVD offers a variety of the method's staple moves. Like the class, it starts off slow with leg lifts, light arm exercises (it's recommended you use two- to four-pound weights), and then jumps into the method's secret sauce: intense leg work at the barre. They recommend you use a chair or portable barre, but I found a ledge in my living room worked just fine for the "water-ski thigh-work" and more balletic "arabesque" exercises, and the floor and my yoga mat worked swell for the abdominal "clam shell" exercises. The routine was tough, and like the last "Accelerated" Bar Method DVD the ab exercises were killer. I wish the DVD included a chapter showcasing a few of the moves that are easier to perform with a makeshift barre, but the chapters with form instruction made up for it.

Is this DVD good for beginners? Keep on reading for the answer and a video clip of the workout.

For the eighth challenge of the Get Fit For 2011 giveaway, we're asking you to review a fitness DVD or workout — tell us why you love it or why you'd leave it. Besides getting the chance to win some fantastic prizes, you'll also be sharing valuable information with the FitSugar Community. Check out what readers are saying about these workouts from trainers Shiva Rea, Denise Austin, and Shape magazine.

• Yoga Shakti with Shiva Rea — FitSugar reader shaneelyse loves that she can personalize her workout with Shiva Rea's Yoga Shakti DVD by using the matrix to pick and chose poses. The DVD is set in India and the Maldives, but what's even more inspiring than the scenery, she writes, is "Shiva Rea's instruction. It is clear and concise, and the practices, which range from advanced beginner/intermediate to very challenging, are filled with options and modifications."
• Shape: Ultimate Bikini Body Workout — sleepydean was pleasantly surprised by Shape's bikini body DVD. She found the trainer is tough but likable and explained: "I have various other circuit type training DVDs but this one changes things up with cardio bursts that I haven't seen before."
• Denise Austin Fat-Blasting Yoga — ladyboarder9669 likes how Denise keeps the workout moving: "I think it's perfect for the intermediate yogi. It doesn't have too advanced poses but great poses that help you work up a sweat by the end of the workout."

Be sure to share your DVD review in our Get Fit For 2011 group to enter our weekly giveaway of a $100 Nike gift card and a chance to win our grand prize — a four-day fitness boot camp in LA, which includes a nutritional consultation with the C&J Nutrition team!

This is your year to get healthy and fit, and FitSugar is here to help. We've created weekly challenges for our Get Fit For 2011 giveaway that will help you stay on track.

This week's challenge: Write a blog post reviewing a fitness DVD in our Get Fit For 2011 community group. We want to know why the workout rocks or just doesn't float your boat. Include an image of the cover and we might just post it on FitSugar!

By meeting this challenge, you will be automatically entered for a chance to win our weekly prize — a $100 Nike gift card and our grand prize! At the end of the three-month challenge, we will pick a grand prize winner at random from all of the weekly challenge entries. Remember, the more you participate, the more chances you have to win the grand prize: a Get Fit Boot Camp in Los Angeles that includes a round-trip flight to Los Angeles, a four-night stay at the W Hollywood, a personal training session with celebrity trainer Jeanette Jenkins, a nutrition consultation with C & J Nutrition, and four workout sessions with our very own FitSugar editors that will be featured on PopSugar LivingTV.

If you're ready to join the fun and feel the community support, log in and head directly to Get Fit For 2011. Need a little help making a blog post? Here are tips on posting in our group.

You have until 11:59 p.m. PST on Sunday, March 6, to complete your second challenge. Ready. Set. Review!

Bob Harper has been reshaping bodies for 11 seasons now on The Biggest Loser, and now he's focusing his baby blues on you. His latest DVD, Ultimate Cardio Body ($15), subtitled "Extreme Weight Loss Workout," makes me think of the show, but Bob seems kinder in this video even though the workout is relentless.

Inside a brightly lit modern studio, Bob and a cast of four, with two women confusingly both named Leah (I kept thinking Bob was getting the gals mixed up), lead you through an hour-long workout combining old-school strength training with old-fashioned cardio moves. Get ready for high-knee marching, running in place, and jumping jacks. These bouts of cardio alternate with basic strength training moves for the lower and upper body, sometimes combining the two. Be prepared to do squats and and plenty of them. You will add a little jumping action to both squats and lunges, and making these moves air borne knocks your heart rate out of the fat burning zone straight into the cardio training. Bob does offer variations if you're not quite up to jumping, but if you're having knee troubles, this workout is not for you. It's heavy on the lunges, squats, hopping, and jumping.

Learn my likes and dislikes of the workout when you read more

If you only have a short window of time to spare but want a solid workout, a DVD concentrated on strong and sculpted abs is a smart pick. You don't need a lot of space, you won't get terribly sweaty, and if you do it just right, ab work can be an incredibly effective workout. Here are four DVD workouts FitSugar staffers have tested and reviewed and will deliver moves to strengthen your core.

• Fit in 5 Total Body Tone ($15): If the core is what you have in store, the abs workout by Fred DeVito and Elisabeth (Liz) Halfpapp will surely meet your needs. The core fusion workouts (there are two separate 10-minute routines) require nothing more than a mat and a wall. You will push your way through 45-degree sit-up positions, participate in roll downs (similar to Pilates), and crunch the 20 minutes away.
• Shiva Rea — Creative Core Abs ($10): The sequencing is very fluid and dance-like, so the time goes by really quickly. It definitely doesn't feel like yoga. Shiva encourages you to explore your range of motion, and even though this video was focused on the abs, the movements strengthened and stretched my upper and lower back, hips, quads, shoulders, and neck too.

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