Piyo is neither yoga nor pilates

[Helen]

So.... my log has a place to enter 'style' where I put things like aerobics - general, aerobics - high impact, interval training, freeweights, yoga, stability ball, kickboxing, etc... what should I enter for PiYo ? or should I add a new style called 'Fusion'?

[Vee]

Originally Posted by Helen

So.... my log has a place to enter 'style' where I put things like aerobics - general, aerobics - high impact, interval training, freeweights, yoga, stability ball, kickboxing, etc... what should I enter for PiYo ? or should I add a new style called 'Fusion'?

Fusion is good.
Body weight training is also good.

[Joni O]

I'm going to pass. I found the trailer on YouTube, and I don't think it's for me. Too much cardio. I also found some descriptions, and I don't want to do 'powerful athletic moves' and 'get my sweat on.' I prefer something more like Ellen Barrett.

[MARIKA]

Originally Posted by Joni O

I'll have to look for some clips and read that huge PiYo review thread. Chalene has always been a little too "yay rah rah" for me though, so we'll see.

I also don't like when instructors put out DVDs that are outside their area of expertise - not because I'm an expert, but because I believe it takes a lot of training to practice certain disciplines correctly - yoga, pilates, kettlebells. Just because you're in the fitness profession doesn't mean you should take on the responsibility of training others in something you've taken a 4-hour seminar on. (Not that I've heard anyone did that. Just sayin'.)

I feel the same way!

[Helen]

Originally Posted by Vee

Fusion is good.
Body weight training is also good.

I already have Bodyweight as a style option, so thanks Vee - I'll go with that. I kind of have the feeling that the term 'Fusion' is going to fade into history. Remember 'Functional Fitness'?

Originally Posted by Joni O

I also don't like when instructors put out DVDs that are outside their area of expertise - not because I'm an expert, but because I believe it takes a lot of training to practice certain disciplines correctly - yoga, pilates, kettlebells. Just because you're in the fitness profession doesn't mean you should take on the responsibility of training others in something you've taken a 4-hour seminar on. (Not that I've heard anyone did that. Just sayin'.)

I agree with this - Denise Austin doing Yoga/Pilates/Kickboxing, Any Bento and Hip Hop Dance, even Cathe and Barre doesn't feel right.

[catcrazy]

Originally Posted by Joni O

I'm going to pass. I found the trailer on YouTube, and I don't think it's for me. Too much cardio. I also found some descriptions, and I don't want to do 'powerful athletic moves' and 'get my sweat on.' I prefer something more like Ellen Barrett.

I hate cardio, that is why I like PIYO!

[Vee]

All the Piyo conversations have dried up. But I am still not done talking about it.

I am amazed at how quickly excitement died out.

I have completed all Piyo workouts in the base set (I did not get the strength add ons) except Align-Fundamentals and the upper Body in the first disc. I skipped Align because I am (over?) confident. I have done yoga for a long time and believed I did not need it. I don't think I did too badly for having skipped it, but I m curious enough now to give it a try. I am impressed with Chalene's yoga form and cueing. She uses basic yoga poses in this set, but she and the backgrounders execute perfectly within their range of motion.

The best workout for me is Drench. This can be a low-advanced workout in my opinion, if every move were executed with control and through the full range of motion. It is also the most yoga-esque and great fun to do. I would do this workout on "yoga day" and feel I got as much out of it as yoga.

My next best, is hardcore on the floor. Intermediate level, by my rating, and totally worth doing for any fitness level because of the various planes of movement. I haven't seen similar moves, except perhaps in martial arts training or animal-workouts. Chalene makes them a lot more fun than the few other instructors I have seen that use these moves.

Buns and Strength intervals are nice for a change of pace or as finishers after traditional strength training. Sculpt is less intense than Drench. Core is like a lite version of hardcore on the floor for days when time is tight. All are fun to do. I don't regret getting them at all, and will do them again, but they aren't wow enough to qualify as must haves if they were sold separately.

The lower body on disc 1 was a waste of time. I have limited workout time so I need to get more done when I press play. I suspect I may never do upper body. To me disc 1 is like an intro disc. No repeatability.

My only other complaint with this set is there seems to be a lot of repetition of moves between the discs. This is true of power yoga, every workout tends to have variations of sun salutations. Yet, power yoga sessions have so many differences in what happens apart from the sun salutations or in the interspersed poses within the sun salutations. There is so much more to yoga or pilates that Cahlene could have used instead of rehashing as much between discs.

On the plus side, this is the kind of set I could find motivation to do even when I don't feel like working out. I really enjoy Chalene in this set and there is no dread whatsoever.

Overall, if I had to go back in time, I would still spend the money to buy this set.

[katmom]

Vee, like you I am working my way through Piyo and I also did not get the Strength DVD's. I reviewed the Align DVD, but as you said, I was reasonably confident of my ability. And yes, there does seem to be a fair amount of repetition of moves.

The first day I did both the Upper Body and Lower Body back to back which made for a reasonably good total body workout, but I think doing only one of them would have felt too easy. The next workout I did was Sweat which I found to be a pretty good workout. Today, I did Strength Intervals and I also did a quick kettlebell cardio routine that I use for add-on when I feel the need for some extra work. Not sure whether I will do Buns or Core tomorrow.

I am still debating about this set and I think it is the repetitive moves that is the reason for my debate. I don't think I will do Piyo as a full month rotation, but probably use a 1-2 week rotation between kettlebell or strength training rotations.