As I mentioned in my previous post, I’ve gravitated to my favorite Leslie Sansone workouts first.

I have always loved Walk & Kick.

For so many years, I’ve yearned to make it through all the hardcore kickboxing workouts I’ve ever come across.

I’ve always been drawn to shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Alias, and Nikita and movies like Hero, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and pretty much any other TV show or movie featuring a strong woman, literally, kicking ass. In my head, I aspire to be the kind of woman who could make her body come alive like that.

As I age, I’m not sure if I still have the capability to learn and master a physically demanding martial art.

Although, I have done a ton of reading about Tai Chi. I had an interest in it and then put it aside. I think it’s time for me start making time for a Tai Chi practice.

The closest I’ve come to is doing a full-out kickboxing workout is the original Tae Bo Basic workout from the late 1990’s. Sadly, those original workouts aren’t on DVD (that I know of) and I never kept the videotapes. I would love to revisit those workouts again.
The other workout I loved that had basic kicking and punching moves was Power 90. It’s truly my absolute favorite cardio workout because of the kicking and punching.

So, the thing with the L.S workout is that she does very, very basic kickboxing segments in between her walking segments. Kickboxing involves:
-bob and weave
-punching
-speed bag
-front/back kicks
-side kicks and side punches

It’s a workout I can get through with ease, but it leaves me wanting more.

On Day 3, I did High Calorie Burn from the original WATP DVD. The thing I appreciate the most about the original WATP workouts is that her gadget of choice, the weighted ball, isn’t too distracting. Dumbbells are a perfect substitute. As the years have gone on, Leslie has incorporated some annoying gadgets that I’ve never used because I feel like they slow down the workout.

The weird thing is, even though I make the choice not to use them, while I’m doing the workout I still find myself questioning whether I’m getting the best workout I can without them—like somehow I’m missing out. Of course, I know, I’m not.

Day 4 was L.S’s Walk Aerobics: 2 Mile Walk. This workout, which came out in 1999, was my very first L.S workout. I love this workout as well. This workout has her basic moves, but several more challenging ones mixed it. If there was one L.S workout I would do repeatedly, it would be this one because of the variety and the challenge.  I am so not coordinated and am very intimidated by anything involving dance choreography, but having said that, I do like varied moves. This workout has you moving all over the place and using her basic moves much more creatively than anything she did post 2001. It’s like, when she created the WATP series, she stripped away the creative floor moves and relied on annoying gadgets to substitute for creativity and variety.

By Day 5, I needed just a small dose of Leslie and went for WATP Express 1-Mile Easy Walk. This DVD uses “stretchy bands”. One band came with the DVD. It’s a very thin (and wide) resistance band that I was always afraid I would break if I pulled it too hard. I just used dumbbells for this workout.

Two other workout notes:

Nanette from Drop It Like It’s Hot suggested I try the Couch to 5K program. I’ve had the app on my phone for well over a year now. When I first got it, I felt like I was too heavy to do it and vowed to try it once I got way below 300lbs. Nanette suggested I start using it and, even though, I walk at an incredibly slow speed on the treadmill (like, under 2.0 most of the time), start at the speed I’m at and build up from there.
I haven’t done my treadmill workout yet today, but once I get on it, I’m starting the program.

A few days ago, Heather from HalfSizeMe.com, left a comment that lead me to her blog. I watched her video review of the new Les Mills Pump workout DVDs. I was intrigued and ended up buying them.

A few years ago, when I used to go to the gym, I’d be on the treadmill right by the room where they’d do group classes and I’d watch people do Les Mills workouts. I would have loved to join in, but would have felt awkward being the heaviest person in the room. I’m looking forward to trying them at home. My goal is to get back to the gym at some point. I’d love to walk into a Les Mills class, slimmer, and totally familiar with the workouts.

I just got the DVDs and not the barbell and plates you can also purchase. I’m going to use dumbbells for awhile and, if I stick with these workouts, I was thinking of getting some weighted bars instead of a barbell and plates.

Here’s Heather’s review:

Today’s workout: Get Up & Get Started

What better workout to start out with than this one?

It’s a 1-mile walk and part of the original Walk Away the Pounds series.

Even though I’m excited about this challenge and to see where it takes me, I wasn’t really feeling this workout. I blame it on the fact that I waited until late to do it. I had eaten shortly before as well. I was tired and feeling…heavy.

When I’m doing treadmill workouts, I get bored. I listen to music, audiobooks, and watch TV shows, but still, being on the treadmill is boring. However… Even just doing this 15-minute workout challenged me more than I push myself while on the treadmill and I started to wish I was back on the treadmill.

It’s an effort to move around an extra 200lbs.

Also, when I’m on the treadmill, I tend to go at a moderate pace (moderate for me). When doing this workout, as much as I would like to go at my own pace, there’s something about being determined to keep up with all the background exercisers that motivates me to not go easy.

Not gonna lie: I was able to keep up with the lower body moves, but I spent more time hanging on to my 3lb dumbbells during the “weighed ball” section than I did doing the various upper body moves you’re supposed to do.

I dream of the day I come back to this workout and be like, “I can’t believe there was a time when I couldn’t do this with ease!”

I also think about how, as time goes on, I can make these workouts a bit more interesting (like using a step during the “walking in place” sections).

Next up: the 2-mile workout on the same DVD. After that, I must do my favorite L.S workout, Walk and Kick.

I’m about to embark on something that is either going to change my life or cause my head to explode.

Shortly after starting this blog, I wrote a post about my favorite Leslie Sansone workouts. As I was going through my pile of DVDs, I realized I have accumulated A LOT of Leslie Sansone workouts over the past ten years or so.

Some of them I love and have fond memories of. Some of them I hated. Some of them I’ve never done.

I have a love/hate relationship with Leslie Sansone workouts. When I haven’t worked out in a really long time, I can do one of her 30-minute workouts, get through it well enough, and end the workout feeling a sense of accomplishment. Also, I really, really appreciate that the moves are basic and don’t take any dance skill or coordination (which I have little of).

On the other hand, Leslie has one of those personalities you can only take so much of. (Clarification: “I” can only take so much of. “You” may have a different reaction to her.)

On good days, I appreciate her light banter and giggles. On days when I’m feeling frustrated and agitated, I just want to mute the volume on my TV.

So, I got to thinking about all these workouts and I decided to do a Leslie Sansone workout challenge. Originally, the idea was to just do 30 days. Then I was going to do 45 days. Finally, I settled on 90 days. Why?

Over the years, Leslie has put dozens and dozens of workout DVDs. (If you want to see an extensive list, I’ll include on at the end of this post.) I think I could get through 90 days and do a different workout for each day. Variety is going to keep things interesting.

I also like that her workouts range from 15-60 minutes long which adds to the variety. With so many options, I felt like I couldn’t do a Leslie Sansone workout challenge justice if I only did it for a few weeks.

Of course, the reality is, no matter what theme the workout has, I’ll be doing the same basic moves day in and day out. I may lose my mind because of this…

Also, the first week of August, I’m going to NYC for the BlogHer conference. I’d like to have lost more weight by then. I’m hoping do this challenge will be a fun, cool thing to do to help me lose weight and feel good about attending the conference.

I’ll also be doing a 30-minute treadmill workout each day and walking outside.

Every day, I’ll write a short blog post detailing my L.S workout.

Get into this challenge with me!

If you’re a Leslie Sansone fan and want to join in with me (you may just want to do 14 or 30 days), leave a comment below. We’ll do this together.

If you don’t want to do the challenge, or have no idea who Leslie Sansone is, I double-dare you to get up right now and do this 3-minute mini workout:

As promised, here’s the extensive list of L.S workouts: show