Finally: A Lot of Leslie - What Has She Done for You?

[Terry]

I am down from intense boot camp style work thanks to my SI Joint crapping out on me. I've been doing Leslie and basic strength training for almost two weeks. What has been your experience with your fitness level doing a lot of Leslie or similar cardio? I'm thinking I might even gain something since I haven't done much steady state cardio since November 2009 when my feet told me to stop running so many miles every week. (Special Note: I just did 5 Boosted Miles. Michael made me bust out in smiles several times. He is a joy spreader.)

[Sara1000]

The SI joint has bothered me also and I found that when I could not walk outside I could still do Leslie and that was a life saver. If you hold 1-3 pound weights as you walk it increases effort without hurting your hips and that allowed me to maintain or even increase my stamina without any impact.

I did continue to do heavier upper body strength work along with walking with Leslie. I also found I could do squats and deadlifts without hurting my hips but that might not be true for everyone. I am also consistent with recommended stretches.

By being really careful not to aggravate my bad hip I allowed it to heal almost back to normal. I still have to be careful but I can walk outside and also do Jessica with slight modifications. HTH - good luck!

[Joni O]

Several years ago, I did nothing but Leslie for 9 months - at least 4X a week while holding 1-pound hand weights. Then one night I was feeling weird, my left arm hurt and my chest was feeling tight. I freaked, went to the hospital and it turned out to be nothing BUT ...

During the stress echocardiagram where you fast-walk on a treadmill until you’re literally ready to drop and they monitor your heartrate and recovery, they took me off the treadmill early saying it was pointless to go further because my cardio capacity had already proven to be very high. The doc said it was obvious that I worked out a lot. A lot? I walked 4 times a week. How hard is that?

[susan p]

Leslie is pretty sneaky. It doesn't feel like that much when you are doing it. But if you are doing it consistently, you can reach a pretty significant level of cardiorespiratory fitness for sure.

When I was doing a lot of Leslie regularly, I found I got a lot STRONGER because when I did strength workouts, I didn't get nearly as breathless doing those big lower body movements. I was able to do more squats, for example, with more weight before I got too breathless.


I also gained some flexibility because I would do add-on stretches after Leslies and I would be SO thoroughly warm!


I feel like Leslie benefitted me in other areas of fitness by giving me a good base to work from.

[rhbrand]

Helped me almost enjoy cardio lol.

I don't generally like cardio, other than walking outside in nice weather. But I can do, and enjoy, Leslie. So I get some cardio in, and if I bump it up a little, get my heart rate up even a little higher.

[Gams]

I think the best thing Leslie has done for me is to keep me moving. On days when I didn’t feel like working out at all, I knew I’d still be able to manage to do a Leslie mile.

[bjones]

I had the same experience of being shocked at how good my cardio shape was doing Leslie's all low impact. The only thing was I found her too boring and repetitive.

[DejaDeb]

When I don't feel like doing anything at all, I reach for Leslie. Besides helping improve my endurance, she's also helped toned my legs and butt!

[ADoll]

Originally Posted by Gams

I think the best thing Leslie has done for me is to keep me moving. On days when I didn’t feel like working out at all, I knew I’d still be able to manage to do a Leslie mile.

Same here. And right now it’s helping me get some cardio in while I’m fighting this nasty cold without wearing me out too much.

[Demeris]

Originally Posted by susan p

I feel like Leslie benefitted me in other areas of fitness by giving me a good base to work from.

This

Originally Posted by Gams

I think the best thing Leslie has done for me is to keep me moving. On days when I didn’t feel like working out at all, I knew I’d still be able to manage to do a Leslie mile.

This

Originally Posted by DejaDeb

When I don't feel like doing anything at all, I reach for Leslie. :

And this