Which body weight workouts or programs gave you the best results?

[gilbjeter]

I find that heavy weight work made my short frame bulkier than I would like. I have since switched to only body weight work ( tonique, piyo, Hoco, etc.) and like the results I am getting. My arms finally look defined and not bulky but I want more! I still want to tighten up the abs. But I feel feel like my workouts are all over the place. I would love to stick to one program that gives me the best possible results. I don't mind combining different programs now that it is summer because I am a teacher and have more time to workout. But come back to school time, I am limited to 1 hour a day. What body weight program or dvd has given you the best results in terms of overall toning?

[catcrazy]

Ballet Body

[Honeydew]

I second Ballet Body!

[Lori_Michigan]

All of Ellen Barrett's workouts, hands down. I'm short (5'4") and quickly put muscle on, and I did heavy weights and high impact stuff for years, and I've never been this lean and toned, and flexible. (and I'm 40!) Plus, zero dread in less than an hour a day!

[adrien_73]

Tracy Anderson Meta Omni is giving me great definition. I believe Tonique would too...but there are a lot of lunges in those and I have bad knees. I may try mixing them in and modifying.

WHat I like best about these is that they are 30 min. total body. I add on 30 minutes of cardio. (NOT her dance workouts!) I use my spin bike or rebounder a lot, but have added in some rowing as well to combine upper and lower body cardio. Some day I might even add on a 30 min kettlebell workout for nostalgia!

Sorry...should add that these use 3lb weights. But that doesn't count as "weights" to me. ;-)

[gilbjeter]

Thank you! I have thought about ballet body and ellen Barrett but I am so afraid of moving away from the intensity thinking of adding Tracy Anderson muscular work to the cardio work I do now. Not sure!!!

[dsa3]

I have been doing DDP Yoga since November. Occasionally, I will do a barre workout and I am stronger and feel better than I did when I worked out with weights.
I will do a weight workout every 2-3 weeks and it's usually an upper body - Cathe's Pyramid. I also walk everyday.

No pain, lean body, clear mind - no complaints!

[Snuckles]

I'm really interested in this topic. I have a natural athletic build and seem to bulk or build muscle easily. My problem spot is my abs. I shy away from heavy weights and prefer light weight hi rep workouts.

I recently added HoCo back into my rotation and love what it's doing for my upper body. I too am looking for more body weight alternatives. I've tried Piyo (too expensive for the couple of workouts that I'd do). I have BodyFit 360 on the way to me, and have pre-order Dasha's 7 Day Lean. I also have Kettlebell Kickboxing which I adore but am not seeing the results that I want.

I'm really not into pilates or barre work. Are there any other suggestions?

[slockhart]

I love high rep/low weight workouts, they have made my upper body very defined. Cathe has some good ones like Power Hour (its a little older, but very good), Muscle Max, High Reps. I have Les MIlls Pump as well, but there are only 2 advanced DVDs in the set, but they are both good. Jari Love's Get Ripped DVDs are also good, I tend to avoid the ones with the cardio added, I like the original weight workouts.

[LoveVA]

Originally Posted by Snuckles

I'm really interested in this topic. I have a natural athletic build and seem to bulk or build muscle easily. My problem spot is my abs. I shy away from heavy weights and prefer light weight hi rep workouts.

I recently added HoCo back into my rotation and love what it's doing for my upper body. I too am looking for more body weight alternatives. I've tried Piyo (too expensive for the couple of workouts that I'd do). I have BodyFit 360 on the way to me, and have pre-order Dasha's 7 Day Lean. I also have Kettlebell Kickboxing which I adore but am not seeing the results that I want.

I'm really not into pilates or bar work. Are there any other suggestions?

I never see this workout mentioned here and maybe I'm the only one who purchased it: Ilaria's Atletica Vol. 4 is a body weight workout lasting 30 minutes. There is an upper body bias in it with push ups, sit ups and some plank work. The primary leg work is through 3 sets of burpees interspersed throughout the workout. I really like it (in fact, I think I need to pull that one out and put it back in my rotation next month). The downsides are that there is no warm-up and there are some sound issues towards the end (it get difficult to hear her), but I think it's a nice, tough workout.