My workout week: Cardio, barre and weight training

I haven’t written a new DVD review for Fantastic Fitness DVDs in ages because I’ve developed a weekly workout routine that I really like that seems to be getting the best results.
   This means I’m sticking to a few fitness programs each week that are achieving the best muscle tone, keeping weight gain at bay and stirring my metabolism into faster action.
   And I like doing them in a certain combination each week, which also seems to be the best, most result-getting path for me to take.
   Every week, I work out three times, and do one of each of these types of workouts. I sometimes mix up the order, but it usually goes like this:

Monday: Cardio – I love a good, sweaty exercise session that aims purely to get the heart pumping.
   These days, I’m turning most often to TurboFire workouts to get my ticker in top form. This high-intensity cardio program from trainer Chalene Johnson, a next-generation program after her very popular Turbo Jam, offers several challenging-but-doable workouts of various lengths.

Wednesday: Barre – In the continual battle to tone thighs, butt and abs, barre workouts work the best for me.
   So named because they’re done at a ballet barre or a home substitution such as a chair or sofa, barre workouts are extremely challenging but yield extremely good results.
   I also like that they also have a very strong cardio component – doing these workouts gets the ol’ heart pumping!
   These days, my favorite barre workouts on DVD are Carrie Rezabek's Pure Barre (although I have a big problem with the warm-ups, which I have complained about often on this blog) and DVDs from trainer Tracy Anderson, creator of The Tracy Anderson Method.
   Actually, Anderson’s method isn’t exactly a barre workout – it’s more in a category of its own with its emphasis on fluidity and many exercises that are done on a mat. But I include it here because it achieves the same results as a barre workout to target tone the problem areas of thighs, butt and abs.

Friday: Weight training – Once a week, I turn to my set of Bowflex SelectTech weights and my set of ChaLEAN Extreme DVDs to lift my way to leaner muscles and a faster metabolism.
   ChaLEAN Extreme, a program also created and led by Chalene Johnson, emphasizes the slow lifting of weights (or the pulling of resistance bands) to burn fat and encourage the growth of lean muscle.
   Since starting her workouts at the very beginning of the year, I’ve noticed a definite change in the tone of my arm muscles, and of my hamstrings.

Now, this blog entry isn’t meant to say I’ll never try another workout DVD – far from it. In fact, I’m always on the lookout for the next DVD that’s going to deliver a challenging workout and results at home.
   So the reviews will keep coming, just fewer and farther between.