Last night my personal training session was canceled so I finally decided to pop in one of my Elle Make Better series workout DVD’s featuring Brooklyn Decker that I talked about in this post.
First off, let me start by saying my home gym isn’t anything fancy. In fact, it’s a small section of our guest bedroom, which is never used because we hardly ever have guests stay over.
So far, this is what it looks like:
Yes, that is yet another box from Marshall’s. It is a larger version of the smaller one I got a couple of weeks ago. It holds an excersice mat, free weights and resistance bands. I may replace the one in my gym room with the smaller one so I can put the larger one upstairs in an area we use more often. I’m going to think about it.
Here is the inside (minus the mat)
Pretty simple. I’m sure my collection will grow. Here is the room:
That is my actual workout area. There’s my pretty blue mat and my stability ball. I just set them out like that for the picture…I typically have them tucked away. Here’s another view so you can get a better idea of the space. That door leads to a full guest bath:
There’s enough room for me to move around and do all of the moves I need to. It looks pretty small in photos, but the space is actually quite good. Here’s a view of my DVD collection. Please note that the TV stand is absolutely horrendous and I plan to replace it:
And…here they are all laid out:
Okay, so back to the topic at hand. Like I said, my trainer canceled, so after doing about 30 minutes of cardio, I decided to pop in Elle’s Make Better “Beauty Sculpt” DVD.
I got an intense workout. In fact, I’m not sure if a beginner could even do the workout. I broke into a sweat and was pretty out of breath, and I’ve got good core strength and work out regularly. I would say these DVD’s are for someone at an intermediate level. I also should mention the Beauty Sculpt routine is an interval training format (so weights and balance moves mixed with bursts of strength cardio.)
That’s the only DVD I’ve done so far from the set of 3, but I’ve previewed them all and they all look great. Another fun feature is that they have little fashion, beauty and travel segments with Brooklyn Decker. Since I could pretty much stare at her perfection all day, those are fun to watch (and you can learn or thing or two from Elle EditorJoe Zee- love him!)
If you are looking for a more intense workout, I recommend this set of DVD’s. I will report back when I try the cardio one. Truth be told, I probably won’t do the yoga one very often, however, I will try it once just for the purpose of reviewing it.
I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this before, but I am not a huge fan of Yoga. I don’t know if it’s because I can’t relax or whatever…but I prefer the fast pace of pilates. I do like Bikram (hot) Yoga though. I guess I just feel I get a better burn with pilates but I do understand that Yoga has great benefits as well.
One more thing I wanted to add that I liked about the videos was that they feature Brooklyn and a trainer. Brooklyn isn’t perfect at all of the moves, which actually made me feel better. You can tell she is working hard, but you can also see she isn’t as perfectly coordinated as the trainer is. It makes me feel better to know it doesn’t have to be perfect and over time it gets easier. Also, her body is amazing, but she isn’t so crazy thin that she wasn’t relatable. I actually found her body to be thin but more achieveable than most models (at least the way it looked in these videos.) Brooklyn is curvy. She’s got boobs and hips!
Here is my list of home gym improvements I’d like to make:
1. Hardwood floors
2. Flat screen TV on wall
3. Prettier TV stand
4. Large, full-length mirror
5. A Bosu ball
6. Inspiration wall (with pics of celebrity bodies to motivate me- though, Brooklyn Decker’s body is motivating enough!)
I think adding those elements over time will make the space more work-out friendly and will encourage me to work out at home more.
Do you have a home gym? Does it motivate you? Let me know in the comments below. Also, if you have some fave workout vids, please share those too!
xoxo,
Veronika.
Have you done the 30 day shred?
What are the main differences between yoga and pilates? I've been wanting to try one of them or both! Do you have to be flexible to keep up in the class?
anon- I haven'd done that video yet, but I have it. I have watched it and it looks pretty intense but do-able for someone at my level.
Yoga is slow- it's more about poses, breathing, balance, flexibility. Pilates is about core and rest of body strength with quicker sets of movement. If you get bored easily, I would say mat pilates is the better choice. I only do power pilates though and stability ball pilates because regular mat pilates can get boring for me too. I like something more fast-paced! 🙂
you may have already mentioned this… what color are your walls in that room??
Also, I love yoga and pilates both… but wanted to mention back in college before doing Bikram or taking other yoga classes, I would use the MTV Yoga dvds, the ones where the girl from the Real World was the trainer. They actually moved at a really nice (quick) pace. I felt like my heart was pumping in addition to all the stretching… It's been sitting in a corner forever, so I'd be happy to send it to you if you want to see if you like it… let me know 😉
E- the wall color is Sherwin Williams "functional grey"
Veronika – definitely try the 30 day shred, it will be espeically beneficial for you as it seems by your posts you're more about toning and not just losing lbs.
I just started Kim kardashian's dvd for the rear end…it has other moves but has a large focus on the behind and I love it – I envy Kim K. so its motivation enough for me to think in the back of my head I may get a tush like hers
Last thing – hardwood floors are great for working out on – I just need to beef up my equipment stock (as do you lol)
j'amami- can you please post the link to Kim K's video? i'd love to tone my butt more! thank you 🙂
I really like the 30 day shred! I've only tried level one and although I can run 2-3 miles without a problem, that dvd still kicked my butt! I did start with 5 lb weights in each hand and would recommend starting with lighter weights. I literally couldn't walk good for 2-3 days and it ruined the rest of my workout week! I also love Jari Love's video Slim and Lean. I usually only go to the squats and lunges section. It has helped me decrease my speed when running and it really, really sculpts your legs if you do it consistently. It only takes about 8-10 minutes per section of video. My home gym is just a little nook in our living room (kind of sad!). I always set up a mirror in front of me to do the squats and lunges. I can check my technique and it motivates me more. Thanks for the new video suggestions!
Your obsession with boxes is so cute!
I've always wanted to try the 30-day Shred, but I'm such a wimp when it comes to exercise!
I think I will have to look into purchasing the Elle DVD's once I am further into my weight loss. I am trying to have a variety of workout options so I do not get bored! As far as a home gym, I work out in my living room after my fiance goes to work. All I have to do is move the ottoman and I have plenty of room.
If you like Pilates, you will love Power Yoga. All the benefits of Yoga but a much faster pace and more intense poses – you definitely get your sweat on so you feel like you've gotten a good work out (I need to REALLY sweat in order to feel like I've gotten a good workout). Keep us posted on the rest of the DVD's – 30 Day Shred is pretty phenomenal. I also recently started 10 Minute Trainer (the P90X guy but shorter workouts) and WOW is it ever tough. I would pay a fortune to do a workout with Jillian 🙂
I love the 30 day shred! I'm also a huge fan of Jillian's other dvds- No More Trouble Zones (for overall sculpting) and Banish Fat, Boost Metabolism (cardio).
Have you taken a vinyasa flow yoga class? Those are my favorite. I definitely get a great workout in and work up a sweat.
Jillian Michaels kicks my butt! Oh my gosh, her DVDs are good but make me feel soooo out of shape. I'm about to start P90x and I'm a little nervous. I am rather small naturally so I'm not looking to lose weight, just really really tone up. I hope it goes well!
And FYI….not to get cheesy but I love your blog! I'm at the same point in my life so I'm interested in all the same things (fashion, beauty, my home, fitness). Plus you seem to be such a sweetheart! Keep up the awesome posts! 🙂
-Jennifer
Jennifer- thank you so much for the very sweet comment. It really makes my day when a reader takes the time to comment and says something so nice 🙂 so thank you!
I have heard people get amazing results from P90X! I will definitely continue to do these fitness posts so I can let people know which workout videos I like best!
Love your room! I adore the gray paint. I just painted my living room the same color! I use my living room as my home gym in addition to going to the gym. My stuff is stowed away in boxes and I have to move the coffee table in order to work out in my living room. I just ordered Tracy Anderson's Perfect Design Series DVDs, I can't wait for them to come!! Her clients (Gwenyth Paltrow, Madonna, Shakira) get fabulous results. Right now I'm doing the 30 Day Shred which I LOVE.
An idea for your TV stand, maybe you could paint it? This website might help you: https://www.younghouselove.com/how-to
XOXO
thanks so much Lynn! I have heard good things about Tracy's videos too 🙂 It's like taking a private personal training session! 🙂
A little off topic, but I have a workout hair question for you. I workout everyday, and so I wash my hair everyday. I'd like to cut back on the number of times I wash it, but I need to wash after every workout because I run. I notice you only wash twice a week but workout often. How are you able to do this?
anon- Basically I plan any heavy sweat activities (hard core cardio, personal training sessionss, spin class) around my hair washing. I know that is crazy but that's what works for me to keep my hair from drying out like crazy by washing it so much.
I'll give you an example:
Let's say I wash my hair Monday morning. So that monday evening I'll either do a pilates class (I hardly sweat) or light cardio with weight training at the gym- I'll sweat a little, but my hair never gets wet. Maybe a tad bit just at the back, but nothing major.
Tusday I'll follow the same as Monday.
Then Wednesday when I've got 3rd day hair, I can do heavy cardio, personal trainer workout or a spin class.
Then I'll wash Thursday morning.
That's what works for me 🙂 Though, I may be lucky because I just don't sweat a lot. I think the only thing that really makes me sweat pretty hard is spin class.
clarisonic discount
I don't live in the USA and I wanted the videos haven't you tried to share it on internet? as a torrent or something like that? Would be really nice 🙂 this is my email [email protected] let me know! many thanks!