Amy Bento
I’m reviewing this workout after doing it in its entirety twice.
General workout breakdown: As with all 10 Minute Solution videos, this DVD contains 5 separate 10-min. sections, each with their own focus.
- Arm & Shoulder Sculpt begins with a quick warm-up of reaching up, sweeping to side, shoulder rolls, and quick shoulder stretch. Exercises include scapular press, bent over row, biceps & deadlift-like move, shoulder roll & triceps kickback, and triceps push-up. You end with triceps and shoulder stretches.
- Butt & Thigh Blaster begins with a warm-up of squat, lunge, kick front, squat walk, and side lunge with arm reach. Exercises include skater squat, standing leg lift to side & back, pendulum, donkey kicks, child’s pose, v-sit with x-wrap while moving legs out & in, side-lying single leg lift, and bridge w/ heels up & then knees in & out. You end with knees to chest, hurdler’s stretch, butterfly, and seated forward bend w/ legs in front.
- Total Tone Body Zone begins with a warm-up of side bends, punches, rolling through back, side to side lunges, and static hamstring stretches. Exercises include lunge w/ front shoulder raise + kick w/ reverse pull, side squat w/ overhead press, triceps press back into squat up, v squat forward & back (the squat walk from Butt & Thigh Blaster’s warm-up), chest press forward w/ side leg lift & squat, biceps curl & overhead triceps extension, bicycle in v-sit, and lift & lower in boat. You end with seated crossed leg forward bend, reverse plank, and upper back stretch.
- Sleek & Sexy Abs begins with lifting up and down, twisting, each shoulder to knee, back roll, chop, and back stretch. Exercises begin standing with overhead press & side twist and side bend w/ pull down into side bend w/ side leg lift; you then move to the floor for crunch with legs in table, reverse crunch with legs straight overhead, bicycle, lower & lift on back (the Pilates double straight leg stretch) into kick outs while seated, and superman. You end with child’s pose and side bends.
- 10 Minute Stretch includes arm raises, shoulder rolls, side bend w/ rotation, hamstring stretch, triceps stretch w/ side bend, reclining leg stretches, and butterfly with forward bend.
Amy does several sets right in a row, often switching between tempos or single vs. double limbs, where appropriate, or two different exercises. (In other words, you might do 4 at a slow tempo, then 6 at a fast tempo; do 4 at a slow tempo, then alternate between limbs for 8 fast; or do 2, then do 2 of another exercise). Amy chooses to do more reps of fewer exercises rather than fewer reps of more exercises, unlike on some of the other 10 Minute Solutions.
Level: I’d recommend this to exercisers with some experience in strength training. This is probably best suited for those working out at the low to mid-intermediate level, although the use of a band with a little less resistance would make this approachable for beginner / intermediates while a band of more resistance would bump this up to high intermediate.
Class: Amy alone, who instructs live.
Music: instrumental with a beat. It’s nice but nothing special.
Set: bright interior space with wood floor and exercise equipment and other accessories along back wall.
Production: super crisp picture, clear sound. The instructor’s voice is louder than the music. The camera angles are helpful rather than distracting.
Equipment: a 6’ resistance band (one comes with new DVDs; you’ll want to choose one of an appropriate resistance for your level) and probably also a mat (or equivalent).
Space Requirements: enough room to move your arms and legs around while standing and lying down and to take a step to each side.
DVD Notes: Amy’s introduction can be skipped. As with all of the 10 Minute Solutions, you can play all of the segments in the order they appear, choose one, or create a personalized workout by picking and choosing between the two segments.
Comments: This video would be a good option for someone who can’t or doesn’t want to use weights for whatever reason, such as travel.
This video has inspired some strong feelings both for and against it. I think it’s fine, nice, perfectly acceptable for what it is. (In other words, I don’t absolutely love it and want to do it every day, but I don’t hate or even dislike it in any way.) I have found it useful in my recovery from an illness, since I could easily choose my workout length and resistance by grabbing higher or lower on the band or by using bands of different strengths. Yeah, there are a few “lookie what I can do with the band” moves, but I’d say the same is true for many of the other band workouts I’ve tried have moments like that, especially in stretch portions.
Since this video came out about the same time as 10 Minute Solution Slim & Sculpt Pilates, I’ll just offer a few thoughts on the two. Obviously the major difference between the two workouts using the resistance band is that the Pilates one uses Pilates exercises while the Tone one uses more gym-style or athletic exercises. Slim & Sculpt uses few reps in more exercises, while Trouble Zones uses more reps in fewer exercises. Slim & Sculpt doesn’t really have a quick warm-up for each segment, but both end with a quick stretch or two. I like both of these, as each has their place in my collection, but my affinity to Pilates and fairly large collection of gym-style weights workouts might make me lean towards Slim & Sculpt Pilates.
Instructor comments:
Amy has a pleasant, encouraging personality. She includes a decent amount of form tips but not a ton of form instruction. Amy mirror cues. She seems to be having a good time but isn’t super peppy, over the top, etc. She might have too much personality for some people, however: there’s a bit of a mischievous glint in her eye as she urges you to keep going, and she says a few goofy things like telling you to put your hand on your arm to feel your sizzling hot muscles. As with all of the 10 Minute Solutions, one major focus for motivation is results, specifically in your appearance.
KathAL79
April 5, 2008
