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The Y Plan Body Confidence workout has been created by Central YMCA who one of the UK’s leading fitness training groups. The exercises shared in this DVD have been developed over the last 20 years to give the best results in the shortest time.

The Workouts

The DVD is set out in a logical order that takes you through a whole workout. So the first workout is an aerobic warmup workout that is very easy to follow.

There are 6 different workouts on the DVD, each lasting 10 minutes. This means that you can put together your own 20-30 minute workouts each week, and change the order and the workouts to create your own personal training session.

The 6 Body Confidence Workouts

The workouts are designed to be done with little or no equipment. With several exercises you are invited to use dumbbells or to hold a water bottle in each hand.

The workouts ensure that the whole body is exercised using a combination of high energy movements to burn fat and slow bodyweight movements to tone muscles.

The DVD allows you to exercise at several different intensities so that you can work at your own pace and then progress as you get fitter and lose weight. For example for press ups 3 versions a demonstrated at once, the box press up, the three quarter press up and the full press up.

The DVD also features fitness expert and author Caroline Sandry, who explains her approach to fitness:

“I am passionate about helping people change their lives through fitness. With these simple but effective 10-minute workouts, we are giving people the tools they need to position exercise in their busy lives”.

This DVD also provides an exercise tips and advice, as well as a behind-the-scenes documentary.

This is a good home fitness workout that will get you fit and toned if you persevere with it. Do a little every day and within a few weeks you will start to see some good changes to your body shape and weight.

Caroline Sandry is a fully qualified Pilates and yoga teacher and personal trainer, having worked with many celebrities including actresses, models and pop stars.

Available from Amazon.co.uk: Y Plan Body Confidence [DVD] [2010]

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Petra Kolbar’s Step by Step Strength Training DVD is a great way for you to learn how to perform strength training workouts as part of  your exercise regime. This DVD also highlights that strength training is for women too.

The instructions are clear and Petra reminds you that you should focus on quality of exercise not quantity. This is often refereed to as keeping good form or technique. Not only quality of exercise give better results, but it also reduces injury and makes the exercises more enjoyable.

Strength training for women explains how strength training not only tones the body to give you healthy and athletic curves rather than fatty ones, but it also explains that strength training increases your metabolism so that you burn fat quicker.

The DVD provides 6 separate workouts which last from 5 minutes to 20 minutes. This ensures that no matter how hectic your life is, you can still fit in a workout. The workouts:

• Upper Body Workout (10 minutes)
• Lower Body Workout (10 minutes)
• Total Body Workout (20 minutes)
• Strength and Balance Training (20 minutes)
• Abdominal and stomach exercises (5 minutes)

Petra performs the workouts with 2 assistants, one of which performs modifications of the harder exercises which can help if you are very new to the exercises.

Exercises performed in the upper body workout include bicep curls, dumbbell rows, tricep kickbacks, diagonal raises, push ups and a variety of other exercises. The lower body workout includes all the main strength exercises, such as squats, lunges and calf raises. These produce strength and help tone thighs, buttocks and the core.

The 20 integrated workout combines upper and lower body for a full body workout. This is great if you want to give yourself a full workout, starting off very aerobic before moving on to some light weight dumbbell exercises.

The strength and balance workout is the most dynamic of the workouts and will provide a great fat burning workout that will tone bums, tums and thighs.

This DVD is called Strength Training but many of the exercises are quite aerobic, especially in the main 20 minute integrated workout. If you want a real strength training DVD that teaches you how to safely and effectively use heavy free weights and resistance machines to build strong, athletic muscle, then this DVD is not for you.

However, if you are looking for a refreshing new full body workout which also includes separate upper, lower, abs and balance workouts, so that you can split your routine across the week, then this DVD does provide that. You can increase the weight of your dumbbells to make this more of a strength workout.

All you need to follow the 65 minutes of these workouts is a chair and a pair of dumbbells. If you perform one of these workouts 3 or 4 times a week you will get fit and start to tone up and strengthen your body. A strong body is a healthy body and this is something that many women neglect. If you want to start strength training for the first time then this DVD is a great place to start.

Order Step by Step Strength Training DVD from Amazom.com