Beyond Strong. On the Ball with Jessica R-Three total body workouts!

Posted on January 3, 2014 by EmpowerMoms
A couple weeks ago, Jessica R. sent me her dvd to try for blog review. I love ball workouts, so I was so excited to try it!! 
Here are some pictures of what the dvd and workouts look like. 

The  main Menu

First workout-stretches!! 

So with this dvd you get a stretching segment and then 3 workout segments. 
I liked that the instructor took the time to talk about proper form and technique. Each segment has 3 exercises and you do each exercise 3 times. 
I was expecting this dvd to be more of a “workout” than it was. I would consider this a beginner ball workout and/or those who are doing rehab or want light stretching with the ball. There are alot of rest times in between exercises and sets, so my heart rate did not stay up high enough for this to be considered a “workout” for me. Nothing wrong with that-will be using this dvd in the future for rest/stretching days. 
Jessica’s website about the dvd can be found here: 

http://jessicar.com/store.php

BEYOND STRONG® ON THE BALL is designed to create a balance of strength, endurance and flexibility while developing a strong and stable core. Using an exercise ball, light weights and your body weight, this workout is designed to be a total body workout integrating the whole body and emphasizing proper body mechanics. The end result is a BEYOND STRONG® body.
Designed for all fitness levels, BEYOND STRONG® ON THE BALL consists of three 15-20 minute workouts that focus on your entire body, starting from the core and can be done individually or as a complete one-hour workout: The Basics, BEYOND the Basics and BEYOND STRONG®. Each of these workouts consist of three sets of three exercises performed in a row, using all muscles in conjunction with one another to maximize your workout.

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Michelle Dozois Cardio Interval Burn Remix-NEW Peak 10 advanced

Posted on January 1, 2014 by EmpowerMoms
Today I did a new cardio workout dvd by Michelle Dozois. She sent it to me last month along with 2 other dvds, complimentary for blog review. 
I previewed this dvd last night and watched the movement review section, so I knew I was in for a good calorie burn!! 🙂 
The dvd is from her Peak 10 collection-Cardio Interval Burn Remix and is all new-it was released a couple months ago. 

http://www.collagevideo.com/workout-video/michelles-peak-10-cardio-interval-burn-remix-6368

Certified instructor description: Creative, all-cardio exercises performed at carefully sequenced intensity levels. It’s a proven interval training technique that burns maximum calories without overstressing your body. The format is always consistent — five 10-minute segments, each with two exercise cycles (e.g. left foot starts first, right foot starts second). Within each cycle, the intensity builds in four distinct stages: basecamp, ascent, climb and peak. For example, “base” might be simple V-steps and grapevines, while “peak” is 30 seconds of jump-tucks and air-jacks. The variety is amazing; it’s a smoothly blended mix of athletic, dance, kickbox and plyometric moves (often incorporating varied upper body motions). The add-on cuing and on-screen timer keep you motivated and energized. ©2013. 

Advanced Level, High Impact. 60 mins

Chapter Menu

Movement Review

about 4 minutes of Warm up
 First level is basecamp
Then Ascent 
Then Climb 
Finally, the peak! 
After 5 blocks, then it was time for cool down! 
Big Calorie Burn!!  

MY THOUGHTS:
There are 5 blocks on this dvd.
Each block is 10 minutes long.
Each block has 2 circuits each. You start with doing movements on the right side and then repeat on the left during the second circuit.
I always felt clumsy during the first circuits of each block because I was trying to learn the moves and get use to the dvd.

It is definitely considered advanced. There are no rest periods or water breaks. I followed the modifier on the far right alot of the time. I should get a better calorie burn the more times I do this dvd and learn the movements.
I felt like the warm up was a little fast… almost like I needed a warm up before her warm up. 😉
The final cool down and stretching was very good! I really liked it and felt like it was a good enough stretch for the high impact exercises I did.

I really like Michelle’s teaching ability and happy, bubbly personality. Her dvds are more higher impact and dancy than I’m use to, but I know with time I will get her dvd movements down!  Looking forward to trying more of her Peak 10 dvds.

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Naturade samples review- Vegan Smart Vanilla and Chocolate Shakes and Colostrum Plus Chewables

Posted on December 27, 2013 by EmpowerMoms
Last month Naturade sent me some samples for me to try for blog review.
They sent me some chocolate and vanilla Vegan Smart Nutritional shake samples which can be found here online:
I’ve had the chocolate flavor many times now. I like it mixed with banana, water and frozen strawberries. It mixes very smooth and has a nice taste. No weird after taste!! I also LOVE that its lactose free so I don’t have any issues during and after drinking my shake. 
I also tried the vanilla one. I have tried many vanilla flavor protein drinks and I’ve found them all disgusting, but this one I can tolerate and actually drank the entire cup! 🙂 I prefer the chocolate over the vanilla, but I would still drink the vanilla in the Vegan Smart brand only! 

Here are some specifics about the Vegan Smart shake:

Plant Based Vegan Blend
Naturally Flavored & Sweetened
Great Taste
Low Calorie
All in One Nutritional Protein Shake

  • 20g Non-GMO Protein
    6g Dietary Fiber
    No Cholesterol
    Zero Trans Fat
    Dairy & Soy Free
    Gluten Free
    Whole Food Complex
    Vitamins & Minerals
    Omega 3
    Probiotics
    Digestive Enzymes

All-In-One Nutritional Shake for Optimal Health*

Everything you need in just one serving:
Complete Protein Blend – Contains 5 different non-GMO plant based proteins providing all the essential amino acids in precise proportions, readily usable by the body, for building and repairing tissue and muscle.*
Whole Food Complex – Includes 9 different healthy colorful fruits and vegetables offering naturally occurring polyphenols, antioxidants and flavonoids to support overall wellness.*
22 Vitamins & Minerals – Act as catalysts in thousands of biochemical reactions every day to support normal and healthy cell function.*
Fiber & Omega Blend – Provides 6 grams of dietary fiber to help keep you regular. Also contains over 200 mg of Omega-3 to support a healthy brain, heart and circulatory system.*
Probiotics – Contains 1 billion colony forming units, of “good” bacteria, for supporting digestive health and maintaining healthy intestinal flora.*
Digestive Enzymes Blend – Assists in digesting foods more completely for greater absorption of nutrients and the good health that goes with them.*
Directions (adults):  Mix two level scoops of VeganSmart™ All-In-One Nutritional Shake in 9 to 11 ounces of ice-cold water, juice or non-dairy beverage, shake well and enjoy.
VeganSmart™ is also a delicious, nutrient-supplementing addition to your favorite smoothie recipe – just blend and enjoy! Take one, or more servings daily for optimal health.*
It can be purchased here: 

Next, I’ve been taking the Symbiotics Colostrum Chewables in the orange creme flavor. 
I like them and have been taking them, but it’s hard for me to remember to take them before I eat on an empty stomach. My toddler didn’t like them at all. I think because they were a little chalky and not gummy texture like his vitamins… I like the orange flavor and can’t wait to see how it will help me when taking it regularly.  

They can be found online here:
https://www.naturade.com/product/symbiotics-colostrum-chewables-orange-creme-120-capsules/

Here are the specifics about the Colostrum plus chewables:

Fight back with COLOSTRUM PLUS® Orange Crème Chewables.
You and your children work hard and play hard, encountering environmental and physical stress daily.  This, along with today’s “on-the-go” diets can take a toll o your immune response system.  That’s why your family deserves the benefits of the powerful nutrients in Colostrum Plus, including immune factors, antibodies and growth factors.  Support your demanding lives and improve your wellbeing with COLOSTRUM PLUS® Orange Crème Chewables.*
Rebuild, replenish and promote an improved wellbeing with COLOSTRUM PLUS® Orange Crème Chewables.
The immune factors and antibodies naturally contained in Colostrum help maintain a strong and balanced immune defense with dual action in the bloodstream and in the digestive tract where your need for immune defense may be greatest.  Take charge of your health with COLOSTRUM PLUS® Orange Crème Chewables.*
Be at your best with COLOSTRUM PLUS® Orange Crème Chewables. 
Enhance performance and recovery with growth factors that support strength and stamina while promoting the normal re-growth of lean muscles.  Colostrum and Proline-Rich Polypeptides (PRP), naturally found in Colostrum, are backed by numerous scientific studies with a wide array of health benefits demonstrating the superiority of Colostrum Plus.*
Have confidence with COLOSTRUM PLUS® Orange Crème Chewables. 
Symbiotics guarantees minimums of 1.5% Lactoferrin (14mg), 25% Immunoglobins (240 mg IG) and 3% Proline-Rich Polypeptides (29mg PRP), Colostrum’s most important component.  Our unique BIO-Lipid™ coating insures the availability of the powerful nutrients in Colostrum.  Without this protection, other colostrum products are destroyed by stomach acid and provide reduced benefits.

Colostrum Plus® comes from USDA Grade A dairies that are hormone, pesticide, antibiotic and rBST free. 
Symbiotics uses only the first 2 milkings to guarantee potency and quality.
Directions: Adults
chew 2 tablets twice daily on an empty stomach. During times of environmental and/or physical stress chew 4 tablets daily.
Children
chew 2 tablet twice daily on an empty stomach.  During times of environmental and/or physical stress chew 2 tablets daily.
Look what I won last week from Naturade on facebook!! 🙂 
I got the vanilla Vegan Smart (tried and like it!), the colostrum plus chewables in the cherry flavor (currently taking the orange flavor) and the PRP with colostrum powder (can’t wait to try this!) 
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BurstFit DVD Fitness System review by Dr. Josh Axe

Posted on December 20, 2013 by EmpowerMoms

I’ve had the opportunity the last 2 weeks to do an exercise program called “burstfit” by Dr. Josh Axe that was sent to me complimentary for blog review. I found out about Dr. Axe’s program from my Suzanne Bowen Barre facebook group page.

These workouts are OUTSTANDING!!! I really really enjoyed them!! I’m going to share some pictures and some information about the program, and then my final thoughts at the end of the review.

This is what the dvd program looks like-front and back. You only need good shoes and hand weights for these dvds. One of the dvds doesn’t use any weights, but the other 5 dvds do. It also comes with a bonus workout that you can do on day 7 according to the calendar.




You can read more about BurstFit and 
purchase the program here: 

Q: What is BurstFIT?

BurstFIT is a home fitness program, led by Dr. Josh Axe. It combines interval (short ‘bursts’) training with strength conditioning. Each session is 20 minutes.

Q: Why is it called BurstFit?

Science is showing that it’s more effective for fat loss to train like a sprinter, rather than a marathoner, exercising in short intervals of high intensity, or ‘bursts’.

Q: Is it similar to HIIT?

Yes. There are many forms of HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training), which can be executed in varying amounts of time intervals. The difference with Burstfit is the combination of strength training with the high intensity intervals, to give you the fullest workout possible in just 20 minutes.

Q: Why is strength training involved?

Strength/Resistance training elevates your levels of Human Growth Hormone. This hormone is essential for fat mobilization. It also signals fat burning enzymes and aids in muscle mass development. HGH levels are raised most during sleep, in direct proportion to exercise intensity during your workout.
Strength training can also improve your glucose tolerance and increase insulin receptor sensitivity. This helps your body become a fat burner, rather than a sugar burner. This type of exercise also creates a greater metabolic after-burn than aerobic training, while also increasing fat free muscle, bone density and metabolism.

Q: Can I just do cardio or aerobic training?

No. There are many benefits associated with cardio and aerobic training, but also some negatives. The benefits of cardio is that it can lower your resting heart rate, lower blood pressure, keep your brain young by increasing circulation to the brain and aids in detoxification by stimulating the lymphatic system.
But traditional, long distance cardio training decreases testosterone levels, decreases the immune system post exercise, and raises stress hormone levels (cortisol). Increased levels of cortisol stimulate the appetite, can increase fat storing and slow down or inhibit exercise recovery.

Q: So how do I get the benefits without the negatives?

Burst train to burn fat. Burst training involves exercising at 90%-100% of your maximum effort for 30-60 seconds in order to burn your body’s stored sugar (glycogen), followed by 30-60 seconds of low impact for recovery. This causes your body to burn fat for the next 36 hours to replace your body’s vital energy (glycogen) stores.
You only need to do 4-6 sets of 30-60 second bursts 3 times a week to see marked changes and improvements. More is not always better–make sure you have days of rest.
The Burstfit program takes all the guesswork out and guides you through the best burst training workouts.


This is what each DVD menu looks like. There are 3 workouts on each disc. Each workout is 22 minutes long. There is NO warm up or cool down, so make sure you do your own. They repeat a circuit 3 times with some breaks in between. The last 1-2 minutes is a cardio 20 seconds on/10 seconds off circuit, which brings you to your 22 minutes. 

Day 1 picture collage I posted on my Instagram page (rdevaughn4)
Day 2 picture collage
Day 3-4 picture collage
Day 5-6 picture collage

Each workout has 3 people plus Dr. Axe in it. A girl on the far left who is beginner Level 1 workout. The girl in the middle back row is doing moderate Level 2 moves. And the Guy on the right is doing advanced Level 3. I mostly followed the level 2 girl. Dr. Axe does all the workouts breifly but mostly focuses on showing the different levels of form, as well as showing proper form and what not to do. That helped me alot and I’m glad he did that!! I liked the timer clock on the bottom left so I knew how much time was left for each circuit. The bottom right would show a pop up on what the next exercise would be coming up, which was also helpful!! 

MY THOUGHTS:

Love that its a short workout- 22 minutes!! It’s not super intense, which I like, but I still felt like I got an outstanding workout in such a short time. I wish there was a brief warm up and stretch but I did do those on my own. I liked their gym atmosphere set up and it was easy to hear and see the moves. 
I really liked Dr. Axe’s personality. He was calm and very exact and informative about each move and each circuit. He didn’t hesitate to correct someone’s form and said it it was more important to have good form than to try to keep up the pace with them. 
5 out of the 6 dvds use hand weights, which I LOVE because I’m trying to do more strength training. I used 3 and 5 pound handweights. I especially loved the leg and shoulder workout dvds. I was surprised how sore I felt the next day after the leg workout, but it was a “good, I accomplished something and I’m proud of myself” sore, not a painful sore. 🙂 
This will be a program that I definitely will do again and again!! 
They also released a new BurstFit dvd system called FIRE, which I will also be reviewing soon! I believe that dvd is more cardio based and does include a warm up and cool down. 
The link is here if you’re interested: http://burstfit.com/fire/

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Leslie Sansone Walk to the Hits: Party Songs NEW for Dec 2013-review

Posted on December 19, 2013 by EmpowerMoms
Today I got the newest DVD from Leslie Sansone that was released earlier this month, in the mail from Walmart. I was so excited, I decided to do the entire dvd tonight so I could share my review on it.

$9.98
$9.99 and to view video clip sample

This is what the menu looks like. 

Picture clip from video. I also posted a short video clip on my instagram page tonight. 

The back of the DVD says 47 minutes but I stopped my dvd player timer when she ended the walk before the credits begin. So the workout is truly 45 minutes/3 miles. 
MY OPINION:

I really liked her Walk to the Hits: Radio Remixes from a couple of months ago, so I figured this dvd would be similar except for different music. 
In mile 1 and into mile 2 she does 30 second bursts of HIIT training. She uses the same song for all the HIIT training bursts, but that didn’t bother me. The music was okay. It was upbeat, but I personally didn’t like the music selection. In fact, I think one of the songs might have had a swear word, so until I know for sure, this dvd will not be used for family use. 
The cast was fun-there was alot of talking so sometimes it was a little obnoxious to hear the talking and the loud music at the same time. 
This kind of dvd is more for a “fun workout”, not necessarily a “good, sweaty” workout in my opinion. I prefer the Radio Remixes dvd over this one. 
I probably won’t be doing this dvd very much, but it was a fun workout and 
I would recommend it.  

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