Jessica Smith DVD sets

[Joanna]

I did a search and found many comments about her YouTube workouts, but not as many about her DVD sets. I wanted to order one, but they don't ship to Canada and her digital download options need a special software, which I won't do. I can ship to my mother in Florida if I am willing to wait a couple months to get them so I have not taken them off the table yet :-)

The short version is that I am looking for something new to inspire me post-pregnancy. I had all these plans to maintain my workouts and have a super-fit pregnancy, but I had some sciatic issues early-ish on, and by the time that cleared up, I was too big to really get back into things. I have gestational diabetes now and am doing short walks after every meal to help regulate my blood sugar levels, but I am not able to move super-fast at this point so it's not really for 'fitness' or a 'workout' per se.

Baby is due first week of November. I have no idea what my routine will be like after that. If it's going to be a horrible winter, I'm worried I will be stuck at home (I'm happy to go out with a stroller if it's not too snowy though). And I do have a lot of stuff already---some older Beachbody stuff, ten minute solution, and enough Leslie to sink a ship! And everything that YouTube has to offer...

I know I'll be tired and babies are work etc. but I do hope I can make at least a little time for fitness too, even if I have to start with just doing a few minutes and stopping if I have to. My stepson has made comments before about his sedentary mom, and I don't want it to be that way with me. I don't want to be the mom who just sits and watches.

So, maybe a new instructor will give me some motivation. I know she has a lot of stuff on YouTube but the sets seem to come with a rotation calendar and booklet and so on, and that could be fun. On the other hand, YouTube is free and I don't have to wait for my mother to bring it back for me.

So...worth it? Or should I just start with her YouTube stuff and resist the temptation to throw money on something that's more of a want than a need?

[BunnyHop]

We have a slow internet connection, so I've only ever actually used her dvds. I wouldn't say I have all of them, but it's probably kinda close.

I like them, and the fact that different ones have different length workouts, different intensities and different goals is a help keeping things varied.

Production values are consistently good throughout.

[geojill]

Originally Posted by Joanna

So...worth it? Or should I just start with her YouTube stuff and resist the temptation to throw money on something that's more of a want than a need?

I like her DVD sets, but maybe while you're waiting for it to arrive you can do her YT stuff. She is actually doing a fall back into fitness rotation that gives a DVD option and a YT option...I've pasted the first 3 weeks of the YT version, then you can always sign up on her website to receive her emails for next week's rotation. I'll see if I have links to some of her other YT rotations (ETA: if you go to her YT page and click on playlists, you'll see that she has several things already set up, including her 4 week summer of strength done a year or two ago).

WEEK ONE: GET YOUR GROOVE BACK
Day 1
YOUTUBE: 9-Minute Low Impact HIIT + 15-Minute Jump Start Cardio (feel free to repeat or continue on in the playlist)
Day 2
YOUTUBE: 36-Minute Stride and Strength
Day 3
YOUTUBE: 30-Minute Stride and Step
Day 4
YOUTUBE: 1-Mile Upper Body Circuit + 1-Mile Lower Body Circuit
Day 5
YOUTUBE: 1-Mile Express Abs Walk + 10-Minute Abs Core Conditioning Circuit
Day 6
YOUTUBE: 30-Minute Strength in Stillness
Day 7
Active Rest Day! Do a little gentle movement (not "exercise") that you enjoy today. We love leisure walking, bike riding, swimming, playing laser tag and gardening, to name a few

WEEK TWO: HAVE A LITTLE FUN!
Day 8:
YOUTUBE: 30-Minute Cardio Ball Blast
Day 9:
YOUTUBE: 34-Minute Stride + Strength II
Day 10:
YOUTUBE: 30-Minute Interval Walk/Jog
Day 11:
YOUTUBE: 30-Minute Power Walk + 9-Minute Standing Abs Exercises With A Towel
Day 12:
YOUTUBE: 20-Minute Barefoot Fusion Sculpt
Day 13:
YOUTUBE: 18-Minute Total Body Stretch
Day 14:
Active Rest Day! Do a little gentle movement (not "exercise") that you enjoy today. We love leisure walking, bike riding, swimming, playing laser tag and gardening, to name a few

WEEK THREE: AMP IT UP!
Day 15:
YOUTUBE: 30-Minute Total Body Sculpt
Day 16:
YOUTUBE: 25-Minute Cardio Boot Camp Boogie
Day 17:
YOUTUBE: 20-Minute Upper Body Strength
Day 18:
YOUTUBE: 30-Minute Power Interval Walk
Day 19:
YOUTUBE: 15-Minute Lower Body Blast
Day 20:
YOUTUBE: 30-Minute Stretch, Rest and Relax
Day 21:
Active Rest Day! Do a little gentle movement (not "exercise") that you enjoy today. We love leisure walking, bike riding, swimming, playing laser tag and gardening, to name a few

[bzar]

Hi Joanna - your post made me reminisce about my first pregnancy.

i understand - slim series came out right after i gave birth, and that was my "new series" post pregnancy that i shall never forget. i didn't go hog-wild into the rotation - i just followed along a little bit for 30 minutes. and this was a few months post-partum.

the only Jessica set i purchased was a 4 DVD set that amazon used to carry. it's now available via download. i've never really kept up with doing workouts on youtube for any instructor, including Jessica. i'll go and see them on youtube, and just knowing that they're there gives me some sense of comfort that i can always go there and check them out.

but i do know that Jessica produces quality workouts on youtube AND DVD. i'd say go ahead and try it out until you're really sure you'd like her DVD series.

things change once the baby arrives. i was surprised. just go with it. the odd thing is that i became more fit after my first child was born, not because i followed a magic rotation. in fact, i didn't really work out very much. i rested a lot because i was breastfeeding. oddly, i got back to pre-wedding weight with very little effort. again, it wasn't because of a rotation.

in my first pregnancy, i developed pre-eclampsia toward the end. i walked a little and spent lots of time in the pool near the end.

you'll have plenty of time to work out in due time, but in the beginning, i focused more on getting rest and enjoying my son.

[Leonana]

I find that Jessica's You Tube workouts, at least the older ones, are a bit more challenging than the newer dvd sets. For example, the You Tube ball and step workouts are faster, with more high impact. I think the similar workouts on the Burn Fat dvd are slower, and more toning focused.

However, her newest You Tube workouts better match the level of her dvd's. She mentioned in one of her e-mails that she is currently doing new You Tube workouts, so you could wait and see what she does next. She also has some pre and post natal workouts, done with her sister. Her sister is also pregnant again, so perhaps she will do some newer pregnancy workouts too.

With You Tube, it's never a need, lol. But if I were pregnant, I'd get the newest Walk Strong 2 Jessica set. I wouldn't have to modify You Tube workouts, and I'd have the schedule so I wouldn't have to think about it.

[diggerholliday]

Can you get her other Dvds in Canada,?
I would say try some of her shorter YT videos and if you like them, get her 5 mile or 6 mile standalone videos. Each has 15 minute segments with a specific focus. 15 minutes seems like enough, for me, when you have a newborn.
JMHO

[donnamp]

Originally Posted by diggerholliday

Can you get her other Dvds in Canada,?
I would say try some of her shorter YT videos and if you like them, get her 5 mile or 6 mile standalone videos. Each has 15 minute segments with a specific focus. 15 minutes seems like enough, for me, when you have a newborn.
JMHO

I was just going to recommend these for the same reasons. I would also recommend her new Yoga DVD that has 4 20 min practices on it. If you can find it available her Barre Fitness and Total Body Balance also can be broken down into segments to fit into your day.

Congratulations!

Donna

[BunnyHop]

This discussion prompted me to try the first walk from the 6 mile dvd, and I really enjoyed it.

You can customize it, picking the warm up, walks and cool down as you choose. From the description, there's a nice variety of focus, so even if you stick with this one, you'll get different moves.

I'm slowly learning that the early morning workouts I used to prefer are just not for me. Nowadays, this is about the time of day I feel ready to move a bit and get sweaty (not that I'm ever in the mood for that, but then again, I'm in menopause. ).

One of the main things I like about the Jessica walks is that you can modify to suit your own fitness level. I'll never be in a high intensity mood, but I like that there is always the option, with somebody bouncy to inspire me.

[Joanna]

Thank you, everyone, for the feedback and suggestions. Jill, that rotation looks great and I finding that :-) Sounds like I should give the YouTube ones a try first. I can always get the DVD sets later. One thing which appeals to me about a rotation based on walking workouts is that I can just turn it off and stop if I get interrupted. Some of my Beachbody stuff, you can't do that (e.g. they do the whole right side, then the whole left side, so you can't really stop in the middle.) You could easily do 15 out of 20 minutes of Leslie and not miss much if the baby needs me and I have to turn it off.

[donnamp]

Hi,

Joanna - that is why I started walking w/ Leslie when my DD was young - it was so easy to just stop and take care of whatever needed to be done!

Donna