*Disclaimer: Before starting ANY workout routine, consult your doctor. Mine gave me a range for my heart rate, as a guide as to how hard my workouts should be. Don't ever push yourself too hard!*
To start off - Tracy breaks down this workout into 9 separate DVDs - one for each month of your pregnancy. I really appreciate that she broke it down this way, because it makes me feel more comfortable about each of the exercise routines. I feel like the things that you're doing during month one will be very different from month nine - and doing the same routine the entire time might either be too easy or too hard. It is really important to me to keep what muscle tone I can, and maintain my cardio strength as much as possible.
The Workout Routine
When you dive into your DVD, you'll quickly find the movements appear to be simple. The key word here is appear. I am not a dancer. I never have been, I will never be one. Tracy is. The movements are actually complicated, and require some real precision - so this might be a DVD you have to do a few times before you really feel confident in them. I would not think that some of the movements would do much in the way of toning - but somehow after a few reps, my arms were on fire. So clearly, it works. Tracy uses a muscle exhaustion technique, so she works the small ancillary muscle groups as well as the large groups, and she works them until you want to die. This apparently works.
Equipment
This workout requires minimal equipment - which makes it ideal for the living room. You will need decent space, as you will find yourself on all fours for a significant majority of the time kicking out in every direction. You will only need small 3 lb weights, a mat, a chair, and a towel (like a hand towel). That's it. I really liked that this didn't require one of those large balls that OBs like to recommend you use to avoid compressing your Vena Cava. (Who has a place in their house to store those things???)Special Features
The DVD I did on Monday had special features from Tracy's clients. I didn't think at first that I would care about this but I actually really enjoyed listening to these women talk about their pregnancies. Its interesting to me how different the experience is for each person and how this whole process plays out. I'm intrigued to go back and watch all of the other special features on the first three DVDs...
The Day After
Maybe this is weird, but I usually judge a workout by the way I feel after it. After I finished this workout, I made some dinner. My legs and my rear shook the entire time. Not even kidding. The next day when I woke up, my rear was still a little shaky (Standing in certain positions)...almost 24 hours later, my rear just hurts. And my legs. And my shoulders. This total body workout has worked muscles that I didn't even know I had. I was pretty sure this would happen as I had a hard time even making it to 10 of some of the exercises (out of the 20 reps) and there was one I only could do 5 of.
Conclusion
I work out a lot, and typically do pretty extensive workouts - so for me this workout didn't put my heart rate into the danger zone. However, I would still say that it was rather challenging.(Perhaps if I had started it at 1 month, and not month 4, I would have felt more comfortable with the moves and I wouldn't be as sore.) If you are the occasional athlete, or the once a week aerobics gal -- this might not be for you. If you are not a workout fiend, I would not recommend this at all. If you are not pregnant, I would still recommend this workout. In fact, I'd say save the money, don't buy metamorphosis series, and just get this workout - I think you'd get similar results. Over all, I think this is a great workout, and it's one you can feel safe doing as mommy-to-be. Tracy is about 5-6 months pregnant in the video, which also makes me feel better about doing the moves. For $30, this is a great buy, and I'd definitely recommend it.
