Since going Paleo my family has fallen even more in love with our grill. Paleo and grilling just work well together. The past couple of years I've even been stepping outside my grilling comfort zone more and more. Grilling things I'd never thought to have grilled before and trying new flavor combinations. I have to say I'm pretty thrilled with the results of most of my flavor experiments. In the past I'd never have thought to grill fruit, but it's amazing. Grilling fruit and adding it to traditionally savory dishes? Brilliant. Oh yes, and? New rule: every burger recipe for the rest of forever must contain grilled pineapple. OK, maybe more of a guideline. It's a seriously delicious combination though. This Smoky Grilled Pineapple Burger is always a crowd-pleaser at my house. It's not only Paleo, but Whole30, glutenfree, lower carb, and clean eating friendly. I promise you won't miss the bun! paleo, grilled pineapple burger, smoky...
One thing I hope to do a lot of in 2012 is branch out and try new things. I want to shake things up! New workouts, new trainers, get out of my rut of going to the same trainers, same workouts, same DVDs all of the time. So when I saw Brooke Burke was coming out with workout DVDs I immediately reached out to the PR company.
I was excited to try these DVDs and apprehensive at the same time. Would they be just another one of those celebrity workouts? Would I enjoy Brooke Burke as an instructor?
First, a little info from the back Transform Your Body With Brooke Burke Tone & Tighten:
Author, 40-year-old mother of four, TV star and entrepreneur Brooke Burke proves that you can have an amazing body at any age. She knows what it takes to tone and tighten her body and now she is going to share those secrets with you. In this challenging fat burning workout, Brooke leads you through an engaging sequence of dynamic exercises to help you reach your goals. Whether you're just getting started or ready for a hardcore workout, Brooke Burke will help you transform your body!
The workout consists of three workouts that can be customized; you can do all three together, separately, or any combination. There is a warm up, lower body, upper body, core, and cool down. If you do the entire workout together (as I do) it's roughly 63 minutes.
This is a total body workout that uses body weight and dumbbells for resistance. You will do most moves for one minute at a pace that allows you to focus on correct form as well as the muscles you're working. The sequencing of the moves is intended to take muscles to failure.
For this workout you will need a set of dumbbells to suit your ability level and possibly a mat if you prefer one. Beginners could do this workout without weights, and there are modifications shown for beginners. Advanced exercisers can simply up their weights.
This DVD was one surprise after another for me.
- This is an amazing workout! I burned 445 calories doing the whole thing. Considering it's not hard core cardio this shocked me. If you take out the warm up, cool down, etc that's a great burn in the time (it's roughly 45 to 50 minutes of actual workout time).
- I loooooved Brooke Burke as an instructor. Seriously, I could gush here for paragraphs. She is patient, pleasant, and encouraging. She consistently encourages you to "listen to your body" and "be in your body". She's just a joy to workout with. Love her.
- The workout was fun and I couldn't wait to do it again after completing it the first time. It wasn't one of those what-a-kick-butt-workout-now-I-have-to-convince-myself-to-do-it-again workouts. I enjoy it. In fact I cannot remember the last time I was this instantly smitten with a workout. Probably 30 Day Shred (no, the two are nothing alike).
- There were moves I'd never done before. Not sure why this surprised me, but it did. AND I loved these new moves. My muscles were shaking at the end of several of the sequences.
- I was mega sore the next day. OK, after finishing the workout I wasn't that surprised, but I was s-o-r-e (in a good way of course). This is a great workout!
I enthusiastically give this workout 5 stars and absolutely recommend it. I love it and it will be one of my go-to workouts starting out this new year!
My review of Brooke Burke's other DVD Strengthen & Condition
Disclaimer: I was sent this DVD by the PR company for review. I was not compensated for this post and as always opinions are 100% honest and my own.
