Category Archives: pregnancy

Review of Patricia Friberg’s Belly Beautiful Workout – Prenatal

Patricia Friberg’s Belly Beautiful Workout – Prenatal Fitness for a Beautiful Pregnancy is an excellent addition to a prenatal workout collection. While most prenatal workouts are yoga-based and focus on stretching, Belly Beautiful Workout is Pilates-based and will make you feel some burn, but it is also gentle and precise enough to be done even by a seven-month pregnant woman!

I received a review copy of this program, and was excited to try it because of the props. Patricia uses a Swiss ball and an elastic band in her exercises, and suggests you set up on a sticky mat. Now, this could be annoying if you don’t have the items, though the mat is really optional and the Swiss ball can be replaced in most cases with a chair. But I was glad — for a while, every exercise DVD I bought came with a free elastic band, and I somehow have acquired two Swiss balls I don’t quite know what to do with. So I’m happy to play with a program that teaches me how to use them.

The workout is divided into several sections:

A segment on Pelvic Floor Work (separate from the full workout)
Warm Up
Upper Body
Lower Body
Stretch
Relaxation

There is also an intro and a section on Diastitis recti, and Patricia tells you throughout the workout which moves to avoid if you have the latter.

In general, this is the kind of video that looks super easy to do when you watch it on screen, and is in fact much more challenging. The warmup is probably the only one I’ve done on a prenatal video that really warmed my muscles. The upper body segment uses the elastic band. Most of its moves are not terribly strenuous, but you will definitely feel some of them. (And the upper body tends to be neglected on prenatal workout videos, so I think it’s valuable.) And the lower body segment has some moves performed leaning sideways on the ball that are very difficult by the end. Patricia makes leaning on that ball look easy, but I fell off multiple times while trying to perform the exercises! The one thing I would say is that if, like me, you have weak knees, you should be careful performing these exercises and the lunges in the lower body workout.

This is much harder to do than it looks

The stretch segment is short, but effective (it also uses the ball, to my surprise!), and it leads to what I think is the real gem of the program: the relaxation segment. Now, most programs, even the yoga ones, tell you to relax during shavasana, or in a best case scenario, tell you to picture something relaxing or to relax particular body parts. Patricia sets you up in a position safe for pregnant women and then guides you through a progressive relaxation that is very similar to one in Preparation for Birth: The Complete Guide to the Lamaze Method. It involves tensing each muscle for five seconds and then relaxing it, which is much more effective than just “trying to relax.” How effective? Well, let’s just say that by the end of the relaxation segment, I had relaxed right out of consciousness. Even though I had been awake and alert just a few minutes earlier! I wound up having a wonderful nap on the floor (yes, right on the yoga mat) and will use that segment again just to practice guided relaxation.

I only did parts of the pelvic floor segment, but exercises do teach you how to access the Kegel muscles in a slightly different way than I’ve seen elsewhere, and I can imagine them being very useful. Most of them could also be done sitting at a desk.

You will love this video if:
– you want a bit more of a challenge than prenatal videos usually offer
– you like using props
– you like Pilates-based movements
– you want to focus on your upper body
– you want to practice deep relaxation as recommended by some natural childbirth methods
– you want practice building your Kegel muscles

You will not love this video if:
– you are primarily looking for stretching
– you have weak knees
– you hate having to buy or use props

You can get the video at bellybeautifulworkout.com/.

Review of Amira’s Belly Dance & Yoga For Pregnancy Prenatal Exercise

My exploration of dance-based prenatal DVDs continues with Amira’s Belly Dance & Yoga For Pregnancy Prenatal Exercise, a massive three-and-a-half hour video that includes yoga and strength exercises, dance movement instruction and practice, birthing prep, interviews with health professionals and dancers, and two performances. Amira provided me with a review copy, and in our correspondence she mentioned having intended to make a much shorter program — I guess she got carried away with the research!

Amira’s yoga warmup

So this video is really several programs in one: the first, which most people will probably buy it for, is a gentle conditioning program for pregnant women with a strong dance component. The second is a reflection on childbirth from several different perspectives: Amira’s as dancer, pregnant woman, and researcher, those of a midwife and a chiropractic doctor, and testimonials from six dancers who had children. These programs are also intertwined to some extent. I’ll deal with the second program first.

Amira’s Belly Dance & Yoga For Pregnancy Prenatal Exercise for Childbirth Information

The thrust of Amira’s work is very much about recovering non-Western modes of bodily movement and preparation for childbirth. This can be seen in her introduction, and in little segments between the exercise sections of the workout. My own reaction to this was split. On the one hand, it’s incredibly silly to force women to give birth lying down, and it’s also patently clear that many of the movements in bellydance are precisely what doctors now recommend to pregnant women to alleviate pains and prepare for childbirth. “Ancient wisdom” is a broad and vague category, but there is clearly a lot we can learn from forms of movement that are not sitting at one’s desk. On the other hand, I also tend to resist idealizing either the past or non-Western medicine. Pregnancy is not a disease, but it is dangerous, and a lot of women died in the past who wouldn’t die today in North America or Western Europe. (Maternal mortality is still a major issue around the world, one Hilary Clinton has drawn attention to recently — see this, this, and this.)

Dancer Maggie shares her birth story

This is why what spoke to me most from this part of the video were the testimonials of dancers, who spoke about their own birth experiences. What came out of this was that pregnancy and birth are complicated, messy, and deeply individual. Some wound up having C-sections, some had tough pregnancies but were able to give birth vaginally, and every woman seemed to have a mix of joys and regrets. All thought they had benefited from their dance practice, but in different and nuanced ways — a feeling of femininity, a strengthened bond with the baby, or better body awareness. I loved that this section of the video showed that becoming a mother is not one-size-fits-all deal, even if many of us have ideas about what the “perfect” childbirth might look like.

Amira’s Belly Dance & Yoga For Pregnancy Prenatal Exercise as Prenatal Workout

The exercise section of the video contains five sections:

Yoga Warmup & Stretch
Strengthening
Belly Dance
Exercises During Labor
Cool Down and Stretch

This is quite a bit of material, and you will probably prefer just to do the warmup, cool down, and one of the sections in the middle on a normal day. I’ve tried it all except for the labor exercises, though these are mostly also bellydance movements, with the interesting addition of breathing practice that even women confined to bedrest can do.

The program is extremely careful, and very gentle. While you will stretch and strengthen your muscles, there are no jarring movements or even footwork. Everything is cued slowly and precisely. It means you should do this video on a day when you’re not in a rush (you might be frustrated with the pace), but also that you’re unlikely to injure or unduly strain yourself. Subtitles and inset videos will sometimes show modifications. And the program as a whole is a complete package — every part of your body will be gently stretched or worked, though it won’t feel like an intense workout. The best result was one I didn’t even notice right away. After doing this video, I had almost three days without sciatica pain.

Kitty paws help pregnant pain!

The “Belly Dance” section consists of basic movement instruction, but no choreographies. For women who are new to bellydance, Amira’s instructions will be approachable. More experienced dancers will not find challenging moves or routines, but I think this section would be a great long warmup for a pregnant woman continuing her dance practice. (It doesn’t have lots of lunges or extended shimmies that other warmups I know use, but which might be difficult or dangerous during pregnancy.) What I think is really valuable about this section, even for women who know how to do a chest circle and a maya, is that Amira’s slow and careful repetition of the movements forces you to pay attention to your basics. I found myself really focusing on the fundamentals, striving to extend my range of motion, and working on doing basic movements in a beautiful way. It made me think that there could be a plus side to dancing when pregnant!

And yes, bellydance does feel very good when you’re pregnant! What I found funny was that Amira included a section on arms and hands and claimed that it was for the beauty of the dance rather for any health benefits. Beautiful handwork is my favourite part of bellydance, so I’m with her on that, but I think she’s wrong on one point. Pregnant women are particularly vulnerable to carpal tunnel syndrome, and nothing is as great for that as bellydance hand flourishes are! They’re gorgeous, but they also have health benefits. Go figure.

The summary? You will love this DVD if you want a full but gentle prenatal workout, if you want to luxuriate in movement that will support your pregnancy, and if you want to hear about other women’s thoughts on and experiences of childbirth. You will not love it if you want a fast or sweaty workout, or if you do not want to hear about childbirth practices around the world (there are informational bits between the workout segments). You can get the DVD at www.pregnantbellydance.com.

Review of 10 Minute Solution Prenatal Pilates, with Lizbeth Garcia

I’ve been feeling pretty fit and pleased with myself lately, but 10 Minute Solution Prenatal Pilates pretty much kicked my butt tonight. Maybe it was my body telling me to take a day off, or maybe it was the fact that I was working with the video pretty late in the day. But while I meant to try all five prenatal segments (there is also one postnatal workout), I only did two full ten-minute parts and about half of two others.

Lizbeth shows how it’s done

Despite the fact that this program made me feel, well, weak, I think I’ll wind up a fan. It’s one of the most strenuous workouts I’ve tried so far, without leading to overheating. Both the “Standing Pilates” and “Total Body Pilates” segments have significant arm work, with light weights, which not only feels pretty good for the upper back but reminds you that you can work out more than my hips and back during pregnancy! The “Core Pilates” segment has you prop yourself up with pillows and then do modified pilates abdominal work, and trust me, you will feel this, especially if your other workouts have avoided the abdominal muscles. “Pilates for Buns & Thighs” will give you serious burn in the aforementioned regions, and “Pilates for Flexibility” offers some really delicious stretches. Basically, the pace is fast enough and the exercises challenging enough that you could do just one ten minute segment a day and feel that you had done something for your muscle tone. The DVD allows you to customize your own workout, so you can decide how much you want to do and in what order.

Pregnancy, it turns out, is no excuse to ignore your inner thighs

Lizbeth Garcia is visibly pregnant throughout the exercises — though also visibly buff! I’m easily annoyed by too-peppy workout instructors, but she is just cheery enough without grating. (And there’s something a little rough about her voice that I really like too.) And — I think this is kind of adorable — although the picture on the DVD has her perfectly styled, in the actual video her workout shirt is too short for her belly. I think pregnant women can sympathize!

Working with Prenatal Yoga Complete

I’m not ready to do a review of Prenatal Yoga Complete yet, since I’ve only worked with one program. This is more of a preliminary report!

I wasn’t sure whether to spring for this video, since quite a few people on Amazon did not like it. There are so many options out there, why go for something poorly rated? However, when I realised that it’s basically Iyengar yoga, I was too tempted, and finding a cheap copy in the Amazon Marketplace, decided to go for it.

I don’t have a lot of experience with Iyengar yoga in general. I went to one class at the BKS Iyengar Yoga Studio of Dallas a while ago, and keep meaning to go back. My recollection of the experience was this: I did not feel that drug-like relaxation that I usually get from a yoga practice, nor did it feel like a strain at any point, so I was at first disappointed. However, a little later I felt great, and since that one single class, I’ve found myself recalling the careful, precise instructions for the poses we did even when I’m doing other yoga programs.

That’s my way of saying that I suspect there’s something to this whole Iyengar thing, even if it’s not immediately satisfying the way a more active form of yoga is. And let’s face it, when you want the relaxation and release of yoga, setting up a million different props is probably not what you’re looking to do.

Prenatal Yoga Complete is a modular DVD, which I think is pretty cool. Basically, you choose a trimester and then you get a menu offering practices of varying lengths addressing different pregnancy issues and goals: things like dealing with morning sickness, back pain, or aiming for relaxation. The pregnancy sciatica has been cruel to me lately, so I chose a second-trimester back and hip workout.

The modular construction of the video means that there isn’t flow from one asana to another — each is essentially a different clip. Set up often takes a bit of time, and even though the descriptions are detailed and long enough to allow you to get everything in place, sometimes you will have to pause the video. You need quite a few blankets, bolsters, blocks, etc., but Mary Pappas-Sandonas does suggest substitutions in the introductory clip on props. And a lot of poses are done against a wall, which was a challenge for me since I did not have a free wall handy, but I was able to do most poses just fine without it.

Little did you know that a grand piano is a useful yoga prop!

What I loved is that this program gives you time. If you enjoy that aspect of yoga that is about paying really close attention to every single muscle, aiming towards best alignment, and breathing through a challenging pose, this is the video for you. The props made many of the poses easier to achieve than what I’m used to doing in other prenatal yoga DVDs, but I made up for that ease with attentiveness. And some of the asanas, done carefully, were much harder.

I also loved that this program included a beautiful, ridiculously relaxing, supported shavasana. Instead of a guided visualization or instructions to “relax” different body parts, Pappas-Sandonas leads you through a deep breath relaxation. I found this much more effective. And — the best part — after the clip for the shavasana is over, the video goes to silence. (There is nothing worse than wanting to stay in corpse pose a bit longer but having some ridiculous DVD intro music play on infinite loop.) My sciatica pain isn’t completely gone, but out of all the stretches and programs I’ve done lately for it, this one has been the most effective. I’m looking forward to trying out the other workouts.

Review of Elena Brower’s Element: Prenatal & Postnatal Yoga

At one point while doing Elena Brower’s Element: Prenatal & Postnatal Yoga I thought: “hey, this is like what I know as yoga.” That seemed like a weird thing to think considering the number of yoga videos I’ve been doing lately. But Elena Brower’s program reminded me of the yoga classes I used to take in New York, in the kids’ playroom of our apartment building, with one super-intense and wonderful yoga teacher. It has the same kind of slow, careful movement, with very precise instructions that are sometimes difficult to conceptualize, but work brilliantly once you get what she means. Later, I checked the DVD case and realised Brower does Anusara yoga, which is what we were doing back then. Maybe it’s because it’s what I’m used to, but there’s something about Anusara yoga that really hits the spot for me — more dynamic than just one position after another, but more measured than vinyasa flow.

Pigeon pose — brilliant for prenatal back pain

The program itself is short: it’s about half an hour, and flies by in what seems like less time. There are subtle modifications for pregnant women, things like very careful twists and gentle backbends and squatting work. That said, it doesn’t feel like a prenatal program. It won’t get all the kinks out (at least it didn’t for me), and it’s not so much about relaxing or stretching. Instead, you get warrior poses, some pigeon poses and forward bends and downward dogs and moves in and out of plank, and a final seated relaxation.

While I was doing the video, I felt like I was building strength. It wasn’t nearly as tiring as Jennifer Wolfe’s Prenatal Vinyasa Yoga, but I could feel it. Then, strangely, when I finished the program, I felt like I hadn’t done anything at all! The only difference was that my hips felt looser.

The verdict? I’ll wait a bit and see how my body feels. I loved the precision of Brower’s instructions, the way focusing on one muscle or breath could enable me to stretch further comfortably. I would happily purchase more of her DVDs, and am certainly looking forward to working with the postnatal part of the program. However, I don’t think this video is the complete package for prenatal conditioning or relaxation. Use it in conjunction with other programs.

Review of Heather Seininger’s Yoga Pregnancy: Pre and Post Natal Workouts

Heather Seininger’s Yoga Pregnancy: Pre and Post Natal Workouts is basically the polar opposite of Jennifer Wolfe’s Prenatal Vinyasa Yoga, which I practiced with and reviewed yesterday. Whereas Wolfe’s program seems intended to be as close as possible to a real and vigorous Vinyasa yoga practice with a few modifications, Seininger’s program is short, easy, and seems more focused on giving pregnant women the basic stretches for back, chest, neck, and hips that they need to deal with everyday pains and prepare for labour.

The video also includes a postnatal workout, which I didn’t try for now. But the prenatal workout is just right when you really only want a stretch and a bit of strength building. Seininger has a very calm voice, and she matter-of-factly instructs you how to enter each position, each time giving you a moment to center yourself and find your balance. There are warrior poses, but here you have time to get into proper form and to check your foot placement. Every asana is done carefully, purposefully, and without rushing. There is a brief (too brief!) shavasana at the end. There are modifications shown for third trimester, and these are usually cued verbally as well.

If you’ve done any kind of yoga at all, this probably won’t challenge you too much. But it’s perfect maintenance for days when you want something light, and a good way to start the day.

Review of Jennifer Wolfe’s Prenatal Vinyasa Yoga

I don’t envy producers of workout DVDs. I figure they have a hard time pleasing their audiences — at least that’s what Amazon reviews tend to indicate. And here’s my theory for it: the prospective audience for a workout DVD is fundamentally split: there are the people who are so dedicated to their cardio/yoga practice/bellydance drills that they need videos to supplement their classes and gym visits, and then there are the people who haven’t done anything in a while, and figure the new Laotian dancing yoga & hooping video might be the thing that will inspire them to keep with a workout program. Needless to say, these groups of people will not be satisfied with the same video.

This problem is amplified with prenatal workouts. There are the superfit mamas who aren’t going to let a little thing like the 9-month gestation of human life get in the way of their muscle conditioning, and then there are the ladies whose backs are starting to hurt something fierce and who have been terrified by their natural childbirth books into doing some kind of prenatal yoga.

I tend to fall in the latter camp, but in the case of Jennifer Wolfe’s Prenatal Vinyasa Yoga I’m split. On the one hand, I’ve done enough regular yoga classwork in the past to agree that most prenatal yoga programs really are just stretching. They feel fabulous, but are probably not helping my condition too much. On the other hand — I find this program a bit too strenuous, even when doing all the third-trimester modifications. I actually bought it in a set, Complete Prenatal Vinyasa Yoga & Short Forms, which has a DVD with 15, 30, and 45 minute practices. Because I had time today, I thought I’d jump right into the 75-minute practice on the first video, but this was clearly a mistake. At one point I had to start taking breaks and doing child’s pose repeatedly, and Wolfe does encourage this, but it’s frustrating. And my lower back hurts this evening, making me think that I might have strained myself a bit. However, I’m willing to try the shorter programs and see if I can’t work up to getting something useful out of the longer, 75-minute practice.

For now, I’ll review positives and negatives of the long program, all through the filter of my own likes and pet peeves!

The Pluses

– The workout is generally quite well cued, including verbal cues for the modifications, and the presenters “mirror” what you should be doing, so it’s easy enough to follow.
– Breathing is indicated throughout (though Wolfe sometimes seems to lose track of what breath should go where — this gets confusing).
– While I usually worry about so many lunges and what they might mean for my weak knees, movement in and out of lunges is described very precisely, step-by-step, in a way that minimizes the chances of something going wrong.
– Wolfe repeatedly encourages you to take a break if you need it.
– The practice is vigorous enough to feel like a real workout. You really get warmed up, and you’re definitely building strength.
– There’s a longish squat section that feels really good, and that seems to be just the thing for birth prep.
– This is one of the few yoga videos I’ve ever seen, prenatal or not, that has a decent shavasana: Wolfe does a long, guided meditation, with light music in the background that is not annoying. That’s impressive.

The Minuses

– The safety notes often come in the middle or second repetition of a pose. They should come right at the start!
– This may be an issue with vinyasa in general rather than with this particular DVD, but the move from a lunge to a warrior posture is often too quick to really allow for proper alignment of the feet. Now, this is a video for people who have yoga experience, but being pregnant means that finding your balance and figuring out where your feet are is a longer process, and one that varies daily.
– Those lunges and downward-facing dogs get really repetitive. They also get tiring, but it’s easier to soldier through a program that’s more varied. In 75 minutes, a much greater range of yoga postures could have been done.
– There is a little, but not much, for the neck and shoulder area. Given that this is also an area where pregnant women typically have pain, it would have been nice to have more than a head circle in each direction and an eagle pose.

This is it so far — I’ll report on the other workouts as I use them, but this one was too much for me at present. Still, for building strength it’s probably a very good idea to do something a little more rigorous than sitting on a chair and doing a side stretch.

Review of Sera Solstice’s Goddess Dance: Prenatal Bellydance & Meditation

As much as I tend to hate anything with “goddess” in the title, especially with combined with “pregnancy” or “bellydance,” I love Prenatal Bellydance & Meditation and by the end of it, have a bit of a girl-crush on Sera Solstice. This is the first prenatal bellydance program that leads you through what feels like real dancing. Moreover, the aesthetics of it are simply delightful.

This woman’s dancing is perfection

I’m going to review this from two perspectives — as a prenatal workout and as a dance instructional. The video also has two meditation segments, but I’m not quite into that right now.

Prenatal Bellydance & Meditation as prenatal workout:

Sera is eight months pregnant during the filming of the video, and she explains that she has chosen movements based on what she has found satisfying for her pregnant body. She doesn’t mention consulting any medical literature on safe movements for pregnancy, but nothing she does contradicts any indications I’ve seen. Her backup dancers demonstrate the moves for early pregnancy and postnatal, but there really isn’t too much difference in most sequences.

The beginning warmup is dancey, smooth, but quite minimal — I suggest complementing with your own basic movements like cat stretches, leg stretches, and neck and shoulder rolls. The dance combos themselves are great for a woman who’s growing. Yes, they push a little further than the very basic movements of other prenatal workouts, but it ultimately feels very good. Although Sera often talks about the need to lower awareness to the hips and pelvis, I think the real strength of this program is in what it does for the upper body. I’m in my sixth month of pregnancy, and I end every day feeling pain in my upper back and rib area. While my yoga videos do provide good side stretches, there really is nothing like bellydance to stretch upper abdominals, upper back muscles, and obliques.

The workout as a whole is not heavy on the cardio, but you will feel it, especially if you have been doing lighter, pregnancy-type exercise. I added a necessary cool-down and stretch on my own. There is one hilarious section in which Sera explains the most complicated Kegels I’ve ever heard of, and then guides you to do them along with a series of bellydance movements. This was too much for me! Look, if you want me to move all those muscles separately and precisely, muscles I have never been asked to control to that extent in my life, then I had better be sitting on the ground thinking about that and only that. It’s not gonna happen during an omi.

Prenatal Bellydance & Meditation as dance workout:

I loved the video as a dance workout. I don’t think it would be the right thing for someone trying bellydance for the very first time. Although Sera does give quite lengthy explanations of the movements, using good visuals, you have to pick them up pretty quickly to be able to move along with the video. It takes most women a bit of time to learn a flat-footed maya or an omi or even a chest circle. However, if you have some experience of the moves, her instruction is great for improving your execution of them. The combinations are manageable, but not boring, especially if you also think about getting the hands and arms right.

Most importantly, Sera is a really beautiful dancer. I tend not to get as excited about tribal fusion, since it often seems to lack the fluidity and grace I love about more traditional bellydance forms. Sera is the person to prove me wrong. Her movements are an education in grace, and it’s saying a lot that following her makes you feel like you are dancing.

Disclosure: I received a review copy of this DVD from World Dance New York.

Review of Leisa Hart’s Fit Mama Prenatal Workout

Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy.

This morning I did Leisa Hart’s Fit Mama for the first time. Let’s face it, there’s a need for this kind of program. While there are countless prenatal yoga and pilates DVDs out there, there aren’t quite so many available with cardio workouts. And sometimes cardio is really what you need — not so much to lose weight (obviously), but to get a bit of energy and warm up the muscles in a way that stretches alone don’t accomplish.

In case you can’t tell, you’re supposed to be sexy now.

And, you know, I got it for five bucks at the local Half Price Books.

Having spent almost an hour in Leisa Hart’s company today, I’m pretty much speechless. On the one hand, there are some truly good things about this video. It did get me warmed up, it wasn’t too hard to follow along, the stretching section had a few moves I haven’t seen on other programs (including a very useful stretch for targeting the sciatic nerve), and there were a couple of abdominal exercises that were creative. Also, in the bonus section there is little video with a short stretch program that can be done standing, with a chair. This strikes me as valuable for those of us with desk jobs, who might really feel the need to incorporate a little extra movement into the day. I haven’t watched the labor prep/movements bonus video, but that may be useful too.

But who can say no to a sciatic stretch?

On the ooooooother hand… (you knew that was coming, didn’t you?). Oh lordy, is this video ever annoying. The salsa cardio section is not too bad, but it is quite repetitive. Hart has the idiotic cardio instructor habit of “encouraging” her audience with phrases such as, “Sexy!” “I see what you’re doing there!” “Put a bit of hip into it!” “Sassy!” “Can you be sexy when you’re pregnant?” (Wait, did I hear that last one correctly?)

I mean, really. How sexy can I look when I’m six months pregnant and doing the cardio vid version of salsa in yoga pants in the middle of my living room? Why do I even have to look sexy during this?

Move forward to the so-called “yoga” segment. This section of the program looks like a cardio instructor saw photos of yoga moves in a magazine and assumed they were actually stills from a very active practice. There are only a few positions, and each one involves bouncing in place. Rinse, repeat. Hart demonstrates her yoga cred by constantly mentioning “deep breaths.” Except, instead of taking the slow, deep breaths typical of yoga, she blows out in the loudest and most off-putting manner imaginable. I don’t think this woman has ever been near a yoga class in her life.

So what to say in the end? The video has some real benefits, it gets your blood moving, and the stretches are not bad. (Not complete — nothing for neck or shoulders — but not bad.) If you can enter a zen state where you just enjoy the sheer ridiculousness of it, you will probably get something out of it. I can’t imagine putting myself through the fake “yoga” workout again, but I would do the fake salsa and the stretching segment. At a fiver, it wasn’t a bad purchase, but it’s not a program to chase down.

Review of Annette Fletcher’s Prenatal Stretch & Strengthening

If anyone had told me that pregnancy would make me more likely to exercise — and not just to obsessively buy workout DVDs but to use them too — I would have called them crazy. After all, how could the discomfort of a growing belly make me more energetic? It turns out that at least when it comes to light, yoga/pilates/stretching type workouts, the small aches of pregnancy actually make working out a must!

Stretch with movement

There seem to be a ton of prenatal videos out there (I have about 13, and will try to review them all!), and one of the newest is Annette Fletcher’s Prenatal Stretch and Strengthening. I received a review copy from World Dance New York, and I wager I’m one of the few people to have used this program already! When I first received it, I did the warm-up, lying down moves, and final stretches. It was a weeknight and I was too tired to go for the standing moves too! But today I had a chance to work with the whole program.

After all the introductions (easily skippable), the main program consists of:

Warm Up
Full Body Movements
Standing Exercises
Deep Stretches

No times are given for these segments either on the box or on the menu, which I would have liked so I could time my workout. However, the entire workout is about an hour long.

Annette Fletcher does some classic floor pilates, but well supported

The moves are basically pilates with a bit of yoga thrown in. The only props are two yoga blankets that Annette folds in various positions to support the poses. Nothing is particularly taxing — only in a few of the lying leg exercises are you likely to feel any kind of burn, and warrior poses are held long enough to strengthen but not to the point of exhaustion. The program is great for stretching your entire body while also working on some strength, but moderately enough that you don’t really notice. (I could tell that my endurance had improved by the second use of the video however!)

What I really liked:

– Annette is clear and not annoyingly peppy.
– A number of the positions combine stretching with gentle movement, which really helped me to relax.
– Time is spent on the neck and shoulders — you wouldn’t think these get particularly tense during pregnancy, but they do.
– Some unusual positions or combinations of positions.
– Generally good cueing. For example, there is one adjustment she has you do during a forward lunge that is simply perfect for getting the right stretch.
– An exercise for working on Kegel muscles that is about as clear as such exercises get, considering that it can’t really be viewed on a DVD!

What I didn’t like:

– I know it’s more pilates than yoga, but I missed having a relaxation segment at the end. Then again, it was easy to just turn the computer off and do my own.
– There are a few moments where Annette gives safety cues for knees (“if your knees are uncomfortable, do this”) while the exercise is underway. These guidelines should be introduced right at the start.

Overall, I think the video offers a complete, accessible workout program that tones and stretches without causing discomfort at any point. It’s not broken down by trimester, but Annette offers gradations of difficulty for many of the exercises. I’ve already done it twice in one week, and can see myself returning to it throughout pregnancy and afterward.