BarreAmped Bootcamp

I'm a big fan of the barre workout trend. I've used the Ballet Beautiful series, Xtend Barre, the Exhale barre DVD, Leah Sarago's Ballet Body, I've been to Barre3 classes as well as generic barre workout classes. I've taken some regular ballet classes as an adult, and while I love the classical music and French terms and discipline and pink tights while in a real class, when I'm doing a barre "workout" I want something a little peppier. This DVD incorporates the principles of barre work and then takes them up a notch. It's fast-paced with upbeat dance music and (though normally I HATE when people say this and I never believe them) the workouts really do go by quickly . Suzanne is one of the most personable DVD instructors I've seen- she's not sugary sweet or fake or overly bubbly- I feel like the way she speaks in the DVD is the way she speaks in real life. She's definitely encouraging but she's also very quick to offer phrases like "I am shaking like a leaf right now" or "this is tough for me too". It's helpful to know that someone in incredible shape isn't just breezing through the workouts like they're nothing. And speaking of- I love that she is lean and toned and shapely but not unrealistically skinny like some of the other ballet instructors you might see. The way the workouts are divided makes it easy to break them up and do one or two if you don't have a lot of time. The warmup and cooldown/stretch are also separate, which makes it easy to add them on to whatever combination you choose. The workouts are challenging- I workout regularly and am an fairly good shape and though I've used the DVD several times I still find myself having to stop every once in a while to wince and say "whoa". Her line about "shaking to change" isn't just a phrase- she means it! But at the same time I feel like the length of the workouts makes them doable- when I feel like I want to collapse it helps knowing that I only have 5 or 10 minutes left in the segment. One of my favorite things about this DVD (and I don't know if this is offered with every purchase of this title) is that on the back cover there's a code to enter to get a free month of streaming workouts via Suzanne's website. So if you start to get bored with the DVD you can go online and access tons of additional segments taught by Suzanne. I personally love that kind of variety. I've purchased lots of exercise DVDs- ballet, yoga, pilates, aerobics, strength- and this one is definitely the most used of my collection.

Suzanne Bowen's Barreamped Bootcamp was perfectly challenging. It has all the standard barre requisites of tiny pulses with multiple repetitions. The upper body section was nicely choreographed. The moves she selected segued well. I used two pound weights and I felt the burn several times during my routine. I could go up to three pounds at this point in time and I most likely will the next time I do this video. The workout had all the typical ballet type moves for the lower body. It was challenging but Suzanne's encouraging commentary made me want to do more. She is detailed and thorough in her in her instructions. She vaguely reminds me of Karen Voight with her teaching style. I have done Tracy Effinger's Squeeze videos, Tracey Mallett's Booty Barre, The Bar Method videos. Squeeze, Booty Barre, and the Bar Method are all fantastic workouts as well. This particular DVD is good for the days when I want to concentrate on form, technique, and medium paced barre workout. It moves fast enough so that I don't lose interest. The background music does not drown out Suzanne's voice which is nice. The production quality is excellent and that is a big deal for me. I recommend this video for anyone interested in adding more barre workouts to their routine. I am happy that I took a chance and ordered this workout. It exceeded my expectations.

This is a very clear, easy to follow, strengthening workout for the whole body. I'm giving it only 4 stars instead of 5, ONLY because if I can do an entire video the first time through without having to build up to finishing it over time and/or without really getting my heart rate up, it doesn't qualify as being hard enough to call itself "Boot Camp", in my opinion. I know difficulty of workouts is so subjective, so to give you a better idea of my fitness level, here's a bit more info: I don't need to lose weight, but I tend to be very sporadic with my exercising. For example, during the summers I hike/backpack long distances up a lot of elevation in the Rocky Mountains so I tend to get more fit, but in the winters I might get lazy and lose much of my summer progress. Or, I may do exercise videos several times per week for 6 weeks and then nothing for an equal amount of time. So, in other words, I go up and down with my fitness levels and strength. When this video arrived and I used it, I had only started up with videos again that week, after almost 2 months off. So while I have a certain foundation of fitness that beginners wouldn't have, I would not say that I'm in shape enough to be able to make it fully through a tough "Boot Camp" video without having to take breaks. So in other words, if you're in pretty good shape, just look at this as something that will be a good "maintenance" workout, but not one that will push you past where you already are. My one complaint is that I wish the "cardio" segments were actually real cardio that got your heart-rate up more. You basically just do something similar to what you were just doing with the weights, only a bit faster and bigger movements. I was hoping they would be HIIT bursts, which they aren't. But again, for some people they might be. And, the video never says they are, so I can't fault it for that. I was just hoping I'd get a little more cardio in along with the strengthening. Overall, this is a great video. It's just a little on the easy side for anyone who is wanting to be pushed or has a foundation of fitness already. But, I still highly recommend it.