28-Day Boot Camp DVD review

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

I had ordered a new pair of walking shoes and when I got a notice for a missed package delivery a day before they were supposed to arrive, I was definitely surprised to have been one of the ones chosen to receive Coach Nicole's new DVD ( my shoes arrived on time, the next day)
First I would like to say that the packaging is very attractive.
I will say that I am not looking to use this DVD at this point as a sole workout plan (I have a Curves membership and get my money's worth, if you know what I mean), but after viewing each of the workouts and the warmups and cool downs, I have used it a couple of times in the past two weeks as an alternate when the weather prevents me from my daily walking.
I am an intermediate level exerciser, doing my Curves and walking. Each of the workouts on Coach Nicole's video were challenging and I also do some of the alternate moves, since some moves are just not doable right now. I appreciated that the moves are shown very plainly by Coach Nicole, she warns that the moves will change and does a countdown so that you can keep up without feeling lost all the time, like some videos. The timer on each section is a definite bonus...helps me keep focused, but not run late for other things. The background trainers are also varied, so that you can always tell how to step it up or tone it down without too much trouble.
The workouts are fun, not boring and use basic moves that are built on from simple to harder and faster. Easy to follow.
I printed out the 28-day plan and it appears to be easy to follow. Right now, I do not need another plan, but if I were to change, I would definitely try this one and feel confident of results.
I will say that navigation on the DVD leaves a little to be desired. You have the option to play all workouts or configure your own. I usually pick what ones I want to do (ex. warmup + sculpt & cardio + cooldown), but after each piece, I have to stop the dvd (it automatically moves to the next workout in the list) and go back to the menu to choose the next piece. I might be doing something wrong, and life has been pretty hectic for me the past couple of weeks, so I haven't really had time to figure this out for sure, but it would help if it stopped at the end of each segment you choose and go back to the menu so you can choose the next workout you want. Other than that, I would highly recommend this DVD to someone new to exercise for its ease of following (Coach Nicole is a very easy trainer to understand and keep up with) or to someone with more exercise under their belt, as it is also a strenuous enough workout for an advanced exerciser.
Final analysis...whether you would like a total workout video or just need backup workouts, I would recommend you buy this DVD. It is available at Target and you can get a $3 off coupon at www.sparkpeople.com/28daybootcamp AND you can get 250 Sparkpoints for buying it at Target.

I received this DVD at no cost from SparkPeople and did not receive any form of payment for this review.

Thank you, Spark and Coach Nicole for providing us with such a good workout program and DVD. I think many people will benefit from this program.

Spark On!
Laurie

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R2Day1

Monday, December 05, 2011

Gosh, I thought it would be easy to eat a lot of food for a couple of days...I only ate 1/2 my omlet this morning and was stuffed. Even if I didn't lose weight on this program, I think my awareness of food is well worth the investment. Here's to less of me, soon! (My goal this time around is to not be able to even wear my favorite pants because they are falling off me even with a belt. Right now I can pull them off without unbuttoning and they were my "tight" jeans when I started R1) I am also going to be more strict about protocol this time and aim for 25+ pounds in 30 days. (I lost 18 last round with exercise and not being strict about the 500 calories per day)

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Respect

Thursday, December 01, 2011

Each one of us has joined Spark to have support during a time of crisis. It just happens that the initial crisis is weight loss. Any other benefits/support that we derive from our association with fellow Sparkers is just bonus. We need to remember that.

I have sat down and written long replies to different postings, only to delete half (or all) of the posting because, after reading it over I realized that it wasn’t going to build that person up – it wasn’t going to support them in their journey. I feel that each of you out there need something from me…respect. Maybe that translates to a kind word, maybe a helping hand, maybe an idea that you can decide to use and sometimes even a kick in the pants. But, it isn’t up to me to decide which you need at any given time. Sometimes people post things just to vent them and get them off their chest so that they are no longer hindering the journey they have started. Maybe they should find a less public way of doing that? Or, maybe we should take it as just that…venting..nothing personal…no need to get on the bandwagon and cut the person down to size. If you don’t like something that is said/written…ask why first. Are they having a bad day/week…did something drastic happen in their lives and they are trying to figure out how to cope with it…did they read something that someone else read and took it wrong? Spark isn’t the movies (HELLO…most of the movies are FICTION!)…it is real life. Who are we to criticize how someone else handles over-eating at the holidays? Who are we to say to someone that maybe their spouse doesn’t care anymore because they are FAT (even if the pictures say different)? Remember, words hurt just as much (and sometimes more) than physical abuse. Choose them carefully.

Let’s put it like Thumper’s mom (from Bambi) put it…”if you can’t say something nice, don’t say nothing at all”…If we all treated one another that way in life, the world would be wonderful. I am not saying that we might misinterpret someone’s need at some point and mistakenly post something that turns out to be not so nice for them, but some people just stomp all over other people in their replies. That is just plain NOT NICE. Let’s try this…if you can’t say at least one nice thing in a reply to someone…just don’t reply.

I have always tried to feel out people in the only way I know how…treat them nicely. My father always said that you “get more flies with honey than with vinegar”. I always wondered why I would want to attract flies…unless to dispose of them! Lol, but you get the point. If I get an in-kind response, even if their initial post or verbalization was negative, I treat them as a friend, maybe even one in dire need. If they reply negatively (and I don’t usually get this type of response, so I am purely in guess mode here), I suppose I would just ignore them. It would hurt to receive something like that, but I would get over it. Negativity is all around us…why go looking for it?

So, the long and short of it, I guess, is that we need to respect others on Spark. We need to treat them like we would like to be treated…kindly and with the intent to help them be a better person.

Thank you for listening to my vent!

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Thank You Note

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

I would just like to take a moment to thank those Sparkers that have made my life better. You all know who you are, so I am not going to name names.

For those who may have just joined or maybe you have been on Spark for a while, but have not utilized it as best you can, try reaching out. I have been on the giving and the receiving end of encouragement. Both are rewarding and helpful in our journey to better health. Better health doesn't just mean physically, but it includes our mental, emotional and spiritual being as well. We don't know what is going to happen to us today, but if we have people behind us (or maybe I should say beside us...) that we know we can count on, it doesn't matter. We can get through it. Sometimes it is a few words, sometimes just a hug (emoticon!)

So, just wanted to say Thank you!

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Time change and dark clouds

Tuesday, November 08, 2011

I don't know if the time change is what prompted my dark mood for the weekend, but I spent a lot of this past weekend sleeping. I thought when Monday rolled around that I had gotten it licked. The morning was bright and sunny. Then, I decided to look at our local paper online and clicked on the obits...something I don't always do, but something made me do it. I found the obituary for an acquaintence of mine that I am not close to, but know her and her family well. She was only 2 years older than I am and she passed away last Thursday. Needless to say, my cloud moved back over me and began to rain. I called my mother and all she said was that "you knew Kathy suffered from manic depression, didn't you?"...don't we all!? What was that supposed to mean? Did she give up, was she sick, did she get hit by a car? I emailed my brother this morning and he is going to ask around. I just can't force myself to go to her funeral feeling like this today. Kathy was always smiling...I figured it was a facade most of the time, but...my father was diagnosed with manic depression (amongst other things) and he died 18 years ago at age 66. This brought that back with a vengence. I suffer with bouts of depression...nothing manic, yet. But, trying to cope with all that is changing in my life is hard right now. I guess tomorrow will be another day. Maybe a good night's sleep and a fresh day will help blow this black cloud away.

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