Saw Mandy's pics & Now I have Joyce Questions

[rosemary]

I saw Mandy's before & after pics on Joyce Vedral's website and now I'm curious. I'm going to check out reviews too, but just wondering what folks think about her videos. How does her aerobic weight training compare to FIRMS & FITPRIME? Does anyone have results to report compared to FIRM results? What level weights have you used with her videos? Any other comments would be appreciated.
(Oh what about video quality, music, etc.?)
thanks
Rosemary

[ColleenM]

I did a search on joyce and came up with a few threads on her workouts:

http://forum.videofitness.com/showth...t=joyce+vedral

http://forum.videofitness.com/showth...t=joyce+vedral

http://forum.videofitness.com/showth...t=joyce+vedral

Colleen

[parothdsue]

I hope that someone who has experience with this answers because I've wondered this too.

[Tait]

I don't do Joyce for the aerobics I get from her and I don't think you get that much anyway. I do Joyce for the results I get from her weight routines.

BTW, I don't really consider the Firms all that aerobic either.

Susan

[Queenie]

I do not think of Joyce's tapes as aerobic weight training at all. I also think Firm/FitPrime tapes have very little cardio, but Joyce's has none. The aerobic effect Joyce gives you is that you waste NO time in between sets/exercises. Because it moves quickly, I use lower weights than I would with the Firm.

The quality of her videos isn't good, the music is hard to hear and bland (overall), but IMO, she is hysterical! She makes me smile and laugh all the time - she's quite amusing and a bit sarcastic. Her workouts are great. I have the Bottoms UP, Fatburning 2 and Definition. If you want to try her without spending a ton of money, I recommend getting Fatburning 2.

[Stephanie_B]

when I did Joyce's tapes I found Definition, Nonstop, and Fat Burning to be pretty aerobic...but admittedly I did Tae Bo in conjunction with them (gosh I think that's exactly what Mandy did too). You have to use appropriate sized weights though and that can be tricky, not too heavy and not to light...although for FB I remember 3s being pretty darn heavy at times (this was about three years ago when I got FB).

Good things is you are in and out, bad thing is Joyce can get on some people's nerves with her corney jokes and IMO bad form; however, I wasn't there to watch her and I found her jokes and personality to be JUST LIKE MY MOM'S (how scary is that LOL). Anyway, I am sure Mandy will post her thoughts. Also Joanne from Canada used Joyce in the beginning a lot so you might want to ask her too...I cannot for the life of me remember her last name though.

[Queenie]

I'm not sure what you guys meant by aerobic... yes, your heartrate will increase while doing a Joyce workout, BUT, there are no cardio sessions or 'spurts' involved. So, that's why I don't consider it 'aerobic wt training' and I really don't think just doing Joyce workouts alone, you get enough of a cardio/aerobic benefit.

Basically, think of her workouts as a fast paced weight training video. I'd say similar to Cory's GHAS, moves quickly and very little rest.

[Kathy G]

but she has you moving around really fast and up and down all the time. I definitely break a sweat every time I do her workouts. I'm still doing aerobic workouts in conjunction with her.

HTH

[Joanna]

I got started with Joyce and had good results, but I stopped using Joyce's tapes for several reasons.

1) They are VERY over-priced. Joyce's books are fairly exact re-treats of her books; I have trouble enough spending that kind of money whent he workout really IS new and revolutionary, but for something already available cheaply in book form, it just became very hard for me to justify.

2) Joyce moves FAR too quickly in most of her tapes, and her form is atrocious. If you must get one of her tapes, go for one where someone else does the counting :-)

3) Joyce does not respond well to customer input. I recall a slew of posts following her 'what would you like to see in my next video' post a few years back requesting warm-ups, stretches, slower lifting speed etc. and she did not follow up on any of it.

4) Her customer service can be a bit shoddy at times. Others have had better experiences than I seem to have had in this regard.

5) I had some personal problems with Joyce which I would rather not go into, that soured me on using her videos for the forseeable future.

What I tell people know, when they ask, is that imho, Joyce's videos are not the best workout you can get for that price. I do however suggest that they explore her books if they are interested in trying Joyce's workouts: the books offer a clear, sound and enthusiastic presentation of the pyramid system and assorted variations that are effective and easy to do. There is nothing the videos offer that the books do not, and the books allow you to go at your own pace.

Joanna

[Mandy]

How does her aerobic weight training compare to FIRMS & FITPRIME?

Her aerobic weight training video/DVD is Nonstop and yes it's aerobic for me because she does the super duper giant setting where you use the pyramid system. It only takes about 20 minutes per workout (upper one day and lower the next). Joyce and the Firm are 2 different type of weight training videos. Some people like me just love joyce and something clicks. I can stay consistant. Some of her workouts are non exhausting weight training which is different from Cathe and the Firm. You see, she supersets in between bodyparts so while one bodypart is working, the other body part is resting. It really works and i look forward to working out with this type of routine. It was so hard for me to stay consistant to say Cathe's Leaner Legs or Firm Standing legs. I did them, but not consistantly. With Joyce, I don't feel wiped out. Yes, I sweat and it's tough with Joyce' workouts but she is so down to earth, funny and most of all it's the workouts she does and I think she has an awesome body for 58 yrs.
Her Fat Burning workout and Definition workouts are tough because she uses the giant set WITHIN the same bodypart and also the FULL pyramid system where you go up the pyramid and then down. These workouts, she uses light weights and moves fast. So if you aren't used to it, you get frustrated and give up and want to quick. You have to use really light weights to start. I still use fairly light weights with Definition (5,8,10) and I have to pause my VCR. Sometimes I do the workout without the video. I use my own upbeat music. I've been using Joyce's workouts for over a year now. I rely on her for weight lifting alone. I use other videos for cardio. But if I have to pick one over the other, nobody is going to stop me from using the weights. That is what reshapes the body. Sometimes when I try and mix up my routines and go back and the Firm SuperSculpt, I MISS the pyramid system and can't believe the Firm only does pushups for chest work! Joyce's weight work is much more well rounded. But basic and down to business. The Firm works too but it took me much longer to get my body in shape using the Firm.

Does anyone have results to report compared to FIRM results?

The Firm is very entertaining and I still use it for my cardio. I love the Firm music more than any video! in fact, I will use Firm music when I workout with Joyce's workout. I know it's strange but I just love Firm music! Especially the Fitprime music

What level weights have you used with her videos? The size of the weights depends on what part of the body I'm working. I use 10,15 and 20's for standing leg work. Joyce recommends using no weights on floorwork(and it works if you can believe me! This was the most hard thing to give up was my ankleweights because I was so used to using them with the Firm. I had to trust Joyce when she told me that for her, they were useless). For upper body, I use 10,15,20lb for Bottoms up,Fast Forward and Weight training made easier chest work. For tricep work I use 5,8 and 10 for kickbacks, 10,15 20 for overhead press, 8,10,12 for one arm overhead press, 10,15,20 for pull overs and tricep press. For lying tricep press I use 8,10 and 12. So there is alot of tricep work! For shoulders, it depends on what workout I'm doing. I can use8,10 and 15 for the slower workouts like Bottoms up, Fast Forward and Weight training made easier. But with Def and Fat Burning, I use 3,5 and 8 lbs with Fat Burning and 5,8 and 10 lbs with Def. Shoulders are my weakest to work. I hate working them! For bicep, I use 10,12 and 15lbs on the slower videos and 5,8 and 10 and sometimes 12 for the faster moving videos.

(Oh what about video quality, music, etc.?) I used to really care about the quality of the video and music. This was #1 until I found Joyce's weight routine. Now what matters to me is the science of the workout. It's the workout that matters. I'm not messing around anymore with workouts that don't work for me. I want a workout that gives results. I know that Joyce workouts aren't for everybody. I was just so amazed at how fast her workouts changed my body because I was so used to having to workout for a long time to get my body in shape. I gain so much weight with my pregnancies and have a hard time losing all the weight. I do lose it but it takes me so long. So when I saw how fast Joyce weight work changed my body in just 7 months, I knew I had found the workout for me. Like Joyce says, it's the best kept secret! I trust Joyce.
If you can stay consistant with them and rotate them, they will work for you.

Mandy