Rodney Yee’s Daily Yoga - Workout DVD Review

Finding time to workout and exercise can be hard.  I find that workout DVD’s can be a good way for someone who is time strapped and budget conscious to get their heart rate up.  I am going to start reviewing some of my favorite workout DVD’s on the blog so you can decide if you’d like to try some of them out!

Rhett and Reina are so excited about this, and I hope you are too!

OK, they are actually excited about the treat

I’m bribing them with to get this picture.

                       Details…

Today we start with my favorite yoga DVD.  Rodney Yee’s Daily Yoga.  I bought it on amazon.com for $6.55.  What a deal! I used it 2-3 times a week while training for the Chicago Marathon and have absolutely gotten my money out of it.

I used to think Yoga was a waste of time.  I thought if I was going to spend the time to workout I really wanted to burn calories, and yoga wasn’t going to accomplish that.  I was SO wrong!

This spring I was trying to figure out how to increase my running mileage without getting shin splints.  I took one yoga class that focused on stretches for runners and found immediate relief.  Since then I’ve been hooked.

                Doesn’t he look all zen?

              I never look this zen… sigh

This yoga DVD is actually 5 “practices” in one.  Each segment is 15 to 25 minutes long.  It’s perfect for a busy schedule to fit in before or after work.   I’ve found the Day 2, Day 3 and Day 4 segments the most useful.

Day 1: Build the Foundation

This is a good one to do if you aren’t familiar with yoga or need to review some of the basics, otherwise I would just skip it.  It’s a little slow.

Day 2: Energize

This is my favorite.  It’s a series of yoga poses put together in a way that almost feels like a dance.  The movement with the poses raises your heart rate enough to feel like you are burning some calories, plus it has some awesome leg stretches for sore runner legs.  My legs literally feel energized after I do this.  It is entertaining enough to do more than once a week.

Day 3: Strengthen the Core

Do you think crunches are the only way to get abs?  This yoga workout will prove otherwise!  It’s a short segment that focuses on core strength from the inside out.  It balances abs with back work, which is the perfect combination to keep you strong.  There is also enough stretching to get the kinks out of your legs.

Day 4: Clean it Out

This is the longest workout segment and I feel it’s the hardest.  It keeps you moving and keeps the blood flowing while stretching leg, arm, back and ab muscles.  You will literally feel like you are pulling toxins out of your body.  If you have trouble reaching some of the poses, use yoga blocks to prop you up until you can stretch further.

Day 5: Calm Down

To be completely honest, I haven’t been able to bring myself to do this segment.  I’m usually operating on an energy level 8-10 to get everything I need to do done and I don’t have time to “calm down.”  As I’m writing this I’m realizing that is all them more reason to give this one a shot. Sorry!

I’m going to rate workout DVD’s with “Running Skirts!”

5 Running Skirts is the highest ranking--

1 Running Skirt is the lowest ranking --

I’ll rank the DVD’s by “Fun Factor”- How fun and how entertaining the video is.

The “Sweat Factor”- How much you sweat.  More sweat means more cardio or elevated heart rate and more calories burned.

The “Great Deal Factor-” A combo of how much the video costs and how many times you will be able to repeat this video before you are bored of it.

I’ll then give it an overall ranking in running skirts! Fun huh?

Rankings for Rodney Yee’s Daily Yoga DVD

Fun Factor:

Alright, let’s be honest it’s yoga not Zumba, so it’s not a party DVD.   But they do manage to make yoga interesting enough for three skirts.

Sweat Factor:

You may break a sweat during the Energize and Clean it out segments.  But this is not the intense sweaty yoga that you will get at a yoga studio.

Great Deal Factor:

Since this DVD has 5 different segments (3 of which I find very useful) and they are all pretty short, you can repeat this video a lot with out getting sick of it.

Overall:

Rodney Yee’s Daily Yoga gets four Running Skirts because it is a wonderful complement to a cardio workout.  It really stretches and energizes your body making you flexible and stronger.  If you are looking to exclusively burn calories though, you will need another DVD or activity.

Do you workout using DVD’s?

Do you have any suggestions for good workout DVD’s for me to try?