Jessica Smith Strong + Centered Reviews and Feedback

[Rhonda]

I have done the steady state walk and found it enjoyable. I didn't do it all at once and basically did each mile separately. I used the counter on the VCR and at 15 minutes I stopped mile one, mile two I went to about 31 minutes and the third went close to 50. So it wasn't exact. I did enjoy it.

I have started the fast walk and doing it the same way.

I may be the first one but I kinda Jonio'd the 30 minute fusion sculpt workout. I did like 12 minutes or so and just wasn't feeling it and stopped it and went to do another workout. Not sure but I will try to do it again.

I did get all the DVDs, I think to support Jessica but I haven't like her weight workouts so will have to see how those go.

[Pam61]

Today I did the Fast Walk (interval cardio) and I liked it okay, but prefer the Steady State (endurance walk) to this one! The Fast Walk is definitely a more high energy walk and the intervals I kept all low impact. The pace and tempo are much quicker at the get go, even though Jessica builds up the moves. Maybe I don't want to work that hard, each time it appears on the rotation schedule, LOL. :-) I will probably use this walk on occasion but might try shortening it the next time, somehow. If I could do it in parts, I might be a little more consistent with it in the future. I again like all of the lateral movement but this didn't have the fun factor that I got from Steady State. It was good, but I loved Stead State more, if I had to choose between the two. I also appreciate the Warmup and Cool Down for these walks, with the special attention given to feet/ankles and mobility as well as the hip stretches for all that lateral movement!

[bubbles76]

Pam I hate that your reviews are so positive. I was set on not buying this set, but now I'm wondering if I should. Amazon points burning a hole in my pocket. But I'd need to purge some.

[katalina]

Today was Core Stretch & Strength from Jessica's Flow & Glow. When she said 'plank', I was not happy after yesterday's planks. Thankfully, this one has a lot of variety and there were only 2 sets of planks. I liked the shoulder moves using the gliders.

[Pam61]

Originally Posted by bubbles76

Pam I hate that your reviews are so positive. I was set on not buying this set, but now I'm wondering if I should. Amazon points burning a hole in my pocket. But I'd need to purge some.

Hahaha.

I dunno. I was very excited about Lift and Shift in the beginning, also. Then I started complaining about the dark set and length of workouts. That rotation takes more of a commitment than I guess I wanted, at the time. I also had difficulty with purple player. Non-DVD/streaming is not for me, with such iffy connection.

Funny, I didn't even know that I wanted this set. But, when it was available to order, I took a leap of faith! And, I wanted to support Jessica, also.

[donnamp]

Hi!

I just finished the "Steady Walk" - I only intended to do 30 minutes but I did the whole thing. I enjoyed it and preferred it to the Fast Walk. The Fast Walk wasn't bad, but felt random to me. This one I liked much better - it felt sort of like a cross between her walking videos and her "brain fitness fun" from Walk Strong 1.0 as she does a lot of agility moves and moves that coordinate upper and lower body movements. This one was a winner. But it is hard for me to fit in a full 50 minutes - not to mention the warm-up and cool down - so I may shorten it in the future. There doesn't seem to be a logical stopping place, so I figure just setting my timer for the time I have available will have to do!

I would have liked mile markers or a count down timer or something of that nature.

I didn't miss the backgrounders as much in this one as I did in the "Fast Walk"

I think the music was better in this walk, too.

Donna

[Pam61]

Today I did the Total Body 31 minute workout and liked it! The length was perfect, but I did skip a 2nd set of plank/twist work (on the floor) that I found unnecessary. I used 8 lbs. for my heavier weight and 3 lbs. for my light ones which worked well. Through the majority of the exercise (using heavier weight) there are no compound moves, unless you count lifting back leg (practicing balance) at the same time as deadlift or row moves. She does do some compound exercises with the light weights towards end, but not anything that would be annoying. I liked the choice of exercise and some of these were in Lift and Shift, as well. When she says that "you're not doing an upright row here" you will recognize the exercise, as you keep your elbows up and pointing back with rowing targeting shoulder blade/back muscles. I can't remember the music during the workout (I was so busy concentrating) until we switched to lighter weights. I liked the "oh, oh, oh" song, but can't remember the lyrics. Has a slight Coldplay similarity to me. Again, love the bright set, Jessica's pace, and the exercises that we did....for the most part. I could skip plank work every day and all the time, but shouldn't do so. But, there's very little here...and I will do the circuit one time through...maybe. Favorite exercise are always squats, deadlifts, and most rows. Every body part is covered here...even chest work, too!

[donnamp]

I second Pam's comments!

Even though a lot of the work was done in a hip hinge position, it was very do-able for me -and I have a wonky back/hip - I think what made it do-able was the pace of the workout and the control used. You also do not have to hinge over as far if it doesn't work for you.

I enjoyed it!

Donna

[donnamp]

Hi Everyone -

Total Body Circuit 48 - I was dreading this one - the length of it, the sound of a "circuit" - pretty much all of it! But it turned out to be a really good workout. I really like this series very much. The warm-ups are very thorough and focus on mobility and range of motion. The pacing of the workouts themselves are controlled - I am still a rep or two slower than Jessica, but that is fine (there are no exercise police!). She also focuses a bit on the under-utilized muscles of the body - particularly in the upper back. I can see how doing these workouts could really help w/ posture. She also discusses options and modifications, so even though there is no "modifier" she gives you some ideas about what you can do if what she is doing doesn't work ofr you.

So, overall - a winner!

Donna

[diggerholliday]

Would anyone be able to elaborate on the differences between the Strength and Circuit workouts? Weights used, pacing, cardio intervals, floorwork, etc.
TIA