You may have seen from my Christmas post that I received the Zumba DVD set from my sister. I've been using it all of this month in an effort to stick to my new years resolution, and I thought I'd let you know my thoughts on it so far.
What You Get:
Altogether you get 4 DVDs:
-Basic & 20-minute Express
-Cardio
-Sculpt & Tone
-Live & Flat Abs
You don't get the bracelet unfortunately, I bought this off eBay
And with the DVDs you get 2 toning sticks, and a guide. The guide is really useful as contains meal plan templates, and 3 different workout plans for you to choose from (depending on what you would like to get out of the work-outs).
The Programme:
The first one is one everyone should to - the beginner workout.
This is a 7 day programme which first gets you to learn the basic Zumba moves, and on the last 2 days you do the '20 minute express workout.' I honestly thought I wouldn't get much of a workout with this beginners programme, but I even found learning the dance moves quite hard going! There were a couple of moves I thought were impossible (the 'sabor step' being one of them! clip here), so I'm glad they got you to do that programme for 3 days in total as now I actually know how to do them! Most of them I picked up quite quickly though.
Next you choose a 10-day programme:
I don't want to lose weight, I only wish to majorly tone up, so I chose their 'Sculpt and Tone workout.'
It consists of mixing and matching the three DVDs below, and using the toning sticks for the workouts in the 'Sculpt & Tone' DVD.
I'm currently on day 5 of this workout and I'm really enjoying it. It's basically 3 days of workouts (they tell you which) then a day off to relax. Then another 3 days working out, etc.
Results so Far:
I have actually noticed a few differences:
Mobility: You may have seen me mention that I was recently diagnosed with Degenerative Disc Disorder, and I do struggle to walk far sometimes as I get a lot of pain in my lower back and down my right leg.
Because Zumba gets you to move your hips a lot, you are toning your lower back and building up strength. I did struggle to fully do some of the Zumba moves at the beginning, but now not only can I do them all properly now, but the other day I took my dog for a walk, and not only did I walk the whole way without any pain, but I was actually running about and playing with her which for me is huge!
Toning: I haven't visibly noticed any change in muscle tone, BUT I have definitely felt it. I'm quite a petite person, but I had next to no muscle and practically all of me (especially my bum and upper legs) were very, for lack of a better word, squishy. If I tried to tense my 'muscles' nothing would happen.
-Now there is definite muscle there, and when I tense something actually happens!
Verdict
So far I am very impressed with this workout, and considering that in total I've technically only done 9 days of Zumba workouts, these are huge changes. I'm so happy my sister got me this!
Price: You can buy it off the official website (here) for £49.98 (it's the one at the bottom), and you get a 30 day money back guarantee.
Alternatively (I think this is what my sister did) you can buy it on amazon (here), and currently you can buy it there for £29.99. Personally I would have happily paid the full amount for it - but who doesn't love a bargain?
The other programme they offer in this set is a Cardio workout. I haven't tried this one yet, but I will be doing this one once I've finished my current programme. Then I'll see which one I prefer, and carry on with that one.
If you made it all the way to the end of this post: Well done! This one was very wordy, but I wanted to review it all properly. The next one wont be so long!
I hope you found this helpful if you were thinking of trying out these DVDs - or even Zumba in general.
I do Zumba and Zumba Toning at the local school, I really enjoy it. I find some of the moves a bit embarrasing though. Toning is my favourite, with the sticks. I have noticed my legs and arms are becoming more toned, been doing it since October.
ReplyDeleteHolli x
Dragonmommy123.blogspot.com
I'd love to try out Zumba; it looks like so much fun and the fact that you can feel a difference after just nine days of doing it is pretty impressive! I think I'd have to build up my stamina a little first, seeing as I'm completely out of shape thanks to a long-winded injury.
ReplyDeletebeautifulsmudges.blogspot.com
Sorry to hear about your injury. I was very out of shape when I started, but that was just down to me being really lazy before. I had no stamina when I started, and even now it needs a lot of improvement.
ReplyDeleteBecause of my lack of fitness, even though I knew how to do the moves, I did struggle to do them properly because of my lack of stamina. So I did cheat a bit at the beginning and hit the pause button now and again so I could have a quick drink, and then hit play once I'd gathered myself a bit more. But these dvds do help to build it up.
And you can stay on the beginner programme if you feel you need to get used to it a bit more. I think the good thing about zumba is you can do it at any level: if your a beginner you can just do the foot movements, then as you progress you can start doing all the proper hip movements with it, and then when you find that easy you can really exaggerate the moves and put your all into it. -Sadly I'm not at that stage yet! xx
I know what you mean, some of the movements are! That makes me glad I can do them in my house where no one can see me! Haha. I'd love to join an actual class though, but no one can do it with me and I'm too much of a wimp to go alone!
ReplyDeleteI love the sticks. It definitely helps with the results. That's really good that you're noticing toning - those are the places I need it! I can't wait to actually be able to see myself become more toned too! I'm hoping it will happen before summer xx
I absolutely love Zumba! It's so fun doing it as a class as well, as everyone's just laughing the whole way through. Love your blog - I have really sensitive skin as well so I'm always on the lookout for alternative skincare - will give the oats a go! Super cheap as well!
ReplyDeletePlease pop over to my blog and follow back if you like - I have a giveaway on at the moment so feel free to enter!
www.freshlookbeautyblog.com
I've got the wii version to try! :)
ReplyDeleteLucy
http://lucyywrites01.blogspot.com
xx
Ooh, I was torn between this and the wii version. I know the Kinect version is a lot harder than the wii (not sure if that's always a good thing), but I'd love to know how the wii version compares with the dvds.
ReplyDelete-You'll have to let me know how you get on with it! :) xx