Leslie's 4 Mile Power Walk

[CharM]

Originally Posted by Cher

I'm thinking maybe I should just cancel my order for now since I'm eying the new Cathe workouts and can probably pick up this Leslie one cheap down the road anyway if I decide I want it later... It's not like I don't have enough Leslie workouts right now.

Those are the reasons I took it out of my cart.

[Christine S.]

Hm, I had this one on preorder, but it doesn't sound like one I'd fall in love with. I like her new 5 Day Ultimate Walk, but I don't LOVE it--and this one doesn't sound like it's even as good as that one. I think I'm going to cancel the preorder and save my money for something else.

[lrb04]

Well I ordered this & should be coming in next couple of days. I am going to keep an open mind because I usually like workouts that others don't like. I am new to Leslie & can't really compare old to new. With regards to not being in beat well I not very rhythmic so it doesn't bother me because I can't really tell if they are off beat to the music. Chattering & talking also doesn't annoy me unless it something that is political & I don't think Leslie is going to talk politics. I also ordered her 5 day slim down DVD.

[Joni O]

This Leslie isn't really any different than any other Leslie as far as her being on the wrong foot, etc. I think Miles 2 and 3 are her attempt at interval training. She purposely brings your heart rate way down so she can bring it back up with the jumping, twisting, etc. I think you'd need to do all 4 miles to get that effect though - if you'd really get it at all.

I prefer to ramp up and then keep my HR up throughout the workout. If I want real HIIT, I'll do a workout that can actually provide that. I did really like Mile 1 and would have liked Mile 4 more if I wasn't so frustrated by Miles 2 and 3.

On another note, I think the Leslies that switch back and forth between number of background exercisers and even having any or not, is strange

[rose181]

On another note, I think the Leslies that switch back and forth between number of background exercisers and even having any or not, is strange [/QUOTE]

This doesn't usually bother me because it helps change up a Leslie workout. I also like a change of outfit. Anything to help keep it somewhat interesting and different.

[KathAL79]

OK, I haven't read closely through this whole thread, so forgive me if I repeat some things.

I bought the Costco 2-pack, and I gave 4 Mile Power Walk a whirl today. Here are my initial impressions:

The first mile is a moderate-pace classic walk, with nothing fancy. The second two miles have "power surges," or intervals; for the second mile you do 3 sets of 2 min. of slower walking, then 2 min. of surging (with not a lot of variety in moves; it's like Leslie had basically one set of moves for her slower paced portion and one set of moves for her power surges), and for the third you do 4 sets (so shorter?) [ETA: nope, 3 intervals of the same length] with more variety in the moves. The last mile returns to the moderate pace without any jogging, although you do bouncing. Leslie ends with some upper body and her patented calf/hamstring stretch - seriously, when is that woman going to throw in something for the quadriceps and/or hip flexors? (I always do my own stretch at the end of a Leslie; I definitely had to do extra for my calves here with all of that bouncing.)

I thought based on previews I'd like it more than I do after doing it. I like Leslie's "boosted walking," aka jogging, because somehow she makes it pretty gentle on the joints. But I'm kind of over her recent bouncing obsession now. I do like the greater variety of moves: Leslie even does a turn! But I'm a little worried about Leslie: she does some fist pumping in there, too. I know she's got some Italian heritage, but I didn't realize she lived that close to the Jersey Shore...

I'd caution those on carpet especially to be careful with the twists and make sure sneakers don't get caught on flooring. And in addition to the bouncing Leslie does mini jacks here, too, plus jogging. Of course, you can always just stick with walking, but Leslie doesn't say that as much here as she used to.

There is some music overlap between this and Ultimate 5 Day Walk Plan; I think the warm-up and cool-down/stretch songs are identical, for example. And Leslie still has a thing for using the same song for all the power surges, at least in the first mile that had them; at least it was an interesting song (oh, I forgot the name now, but it has something about Galileo in it).

The crew seems to be a mix of her more professional background crew from 5 Day Walk Plan and some of her leaders (she points out Mary, the taller woman to her left in the blue shirt in the last mile, is a walk leader from California, IIRC). There's one woman stuck way in the back who's sometimes 1/8 of a beat off, sometimes on a different foot, sometimes messing with her hair - you know, how some of us probably are when we're doing a Leslie in the privacy of our homes; I found her kind of distracting in the last mile when I could see her, but she's tiny, so she often disappears behind everyone else. And there is a whoo-er in the big group; I'm not entirely sure who it is. I'm still debating how much is someone whooing and how much is one of the songs, but there's a pretty regular whoo-type sound going on at one point.

I think I like Ultimate 5 Day Walk Plan better and foresee myself using that one much more often. But I can see myself doing the Classics Walk portion of the 4 Mile Power Walk on days when I'm not feeling up for much, as it's not too fast and I can figure something else out for the bouncing bits.

[Joni O]

I always do my own stretches after a Leslie workout. I've never done hers.

[rose181]

Totally agree with both of you regarding Leslie's idea of a stretching routine. What's up with that same lame routine? How hard would it be to mix it up a bit. That would have to be my biggest pet peeve with her workouts.

Kath-Thanks for the review. I'm still on the fence about this one. I have it on order at Amazon but that may change.

[lrb04]

I did this workout today & liked it. I didn't find Leslie off beat but then again I am not musically inclined at all. Like Kath mentioned one exerciser was not in sync with others but not too distracting because she was in back. Leslie's talking was just motivating & workout driven chatter which did not bother me. I didn't think it was a snail pace during surge before she sped up. I thought the flow of the workout was good. I like Leslie because of easy going low impact cardio & she makes me want to walk with her. I have 5 Leslie now & enjoy each for what they offer. I like the colors of the workout clothes & set being bright. Leslie moves are pretty basic but the genius of her workouts is that she helps many people get moving myself included turn the workout on & exercise & feel good not tired & wanting to walk with her again & again.

[KathAL79]

Just wanted to add a little more since I've done the premixes on this.

First, I wanted to correct some info about the second mile of intervals. There are three intervals of 2 min. of slower moves, 2 min. of faster ones, just like the previous mile of intervals. So ignore the bit about 4 intervals in my previous post. (Yeah, I can count...)

Second, just as an FYI, if you select the 2 Power Miles premix (the two interval miles), you don't get the warm-up; it jumps right into the mile. I guess since you start out with 2 minutes at the slower pace Leslie figured you didn't need the warm-up. You do get the cool-down and "stretch" at the end, though. The 2 Classic Miles premix does include both the warm-up and the cool-down (plus Leslie congratulating you for doing 4 miles... ).

I liked this a little better the second time around, when I didn't go into it thinking, "Oh boy, this looked so awesome from the preview clips, and I'm totally going to love it..." I like it all right now. It's still not a fav for me, but it's fine, and I have to admit that the miles do seem to go by pretty quickly.
I still think personally I'm going to use Ultimate 5 Day Walk Plan more than this one because of the ability to choose however many miles I want to do in any order I want to do them; that just fits how I use Leslies (as warm-ups, as add-ons, or as light day cardio workouts).

But I can see how those who are sick of "boosted walking" intervals will probably be happy to see some variety. This one is definitely for you.

And I think I've identified (one of) the whoopers; most of that is confined to the last mile, when Leslie is starting to get a little celebratory. But now I'm feeling a little sorry for the right hand side of the first mile; Leslie's so busy chatting to Kamillah! (I feel like I need to include the exclamation point because that's how Leslie always says her name ) and the others on her right that she never talks to the other women on her left. It's only in the cooldown that she gives a shout-out to the one woman's mom; that's her only acknowledgement of the poor thing who's been walking off to the side for two whole miles. Ah, Leslie. Never change, never change.