New Workouts: Everyday Workout for the Everyday Woman

Title: Lisa Whelchel’s Everyday Workout for the Everyday Woman (Acacia)

What’s the goal: Lisa Whelchel says, “I just want to be healthy, have enough energy to enjoy my family, do the work I need to do and, well, OK, if I can fit into the jeans in the way back of my closet that would be OK, too.”

Who’s it for? Women age 40 and older who want a beginners’ mobility-supporting floor workout with easier and harder options, constant cuing, lots of chit-chat and jokes.

Who will be disappointed? Viewers who expect exercise models to wear a size 2.

Format: a dynamic-stretch warmup, two toning workouts and a static-stretch cool-down - available as a 44-minute bout (the warm-up, both workouts, the cool-down); a 24 minute session (warm-up, 15-minute workout, cool-down); or a 29 minute session (warm-up, 20-minute workout, cooldown).

Or you can play either workout by itself.

Exercises range from hip-stability basics like planks and hip bridges to time-efficient standing arm exercises that combine backward lunges and weighted arm motions.

The only high-impact exercise on the tape is a brief bout of jumping in place at the end of the first workout and an optional side-to-side hop in workout 2.

The disc also includes a chatty introduction and a 17-minute chapter with (excellent) posture tips, biographies and an ad for other DVDs.

Gear needed: 2- to 4-pound hand weights, chair, mat

Floor space required: double the width of a yoga mat

Can I do it barefoot? No

Anything especially good? This is a thorough, well-designed selection of easy-to-follow basic movements. It’s a pleasure to exercise with role models who don’t look half-starved and aren’t dressed for moonlighting at a strip club. And their shoes color coordinate with their modest outfits.

Star’s credentials: 1980s TV star (The Facts of Life) had a role in A Madea Christmas in 2013; she also has plantar fasciitis, lower back pain, an old racquetball injury and a cheerful, self-deprecating demeanor.

Workout designer’s credentials: According to her bio on the website of IDEA FitnessConnect, Janice Clark is certified as a personal trainer and corrective exercise specialist by the National Academy of Sports Medicine. She earned a bachelor’s degree in sports medicine from Pepperdine University in California. She owns InnerHealth Fitness Studio in Grenada Hills, Calif.

Who demonstrates the workout? Clark directs Whelchel and two other women. One shows the easiest moves; Whelchel shows a next level; the third woman demonstrates the advanced level.

Distractions? Whelchel’s frequent smart remarks and self-deprecating jokes are distracting, but they’re meant to be.

Price: $16.99

ActiveStyle, Pages 23 on 01/20/2014

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