Leslie Sansone: The Tone Every Zone Walk

I'm a big fan of Jessica Smith and have all of her DVD's but I like variety so I decided to try Leslie Sansone. The first LS DVD that I purchased was Walk It Off in 30 Days. If you have seen my glowing review, you know that I absolutely love it! This one incorporates strength training in two segments; both lower and upper body and the third segment is a fast-paced 20 minute walk. I did the whole 60 minutes together for a complete workout session. I would estimate that I burned about 250-300 kcals. The lower segment focuses on the big muscles of the lower body using very few moves. Leslie keeps things simple with squats, lunges, and plies - that's about it. These moves are the biggies that really burn calories and fatigue the muscle. The upper segment focuses mainly on chest, back, and shoulders with a bit of biceps and triceps - again, the moves are simple but you get the most bang for your buck by using them. I was fatigued by the end but only because I used heavier weights (8 - 10 lbs.). I'm at an intermediate level and am used to doing these moves so if you're a beginner use light weights at first. Leslie also incorporates walking into these strength segments which I found very helpful to stretch out my muscles and get some cardio in. Cardio and strength together is great for boosting metabolism and calorie burn. The last segment of fast-paced walking is just fun to do. Leslie walks with a large groups and there's chatting and laughing and everyone is just having a ball. Leslie meets and greets everyone at the end of the segment and I just had to smile. It honestly felt like I was walking with a group of friends - very enjoyable and fun! That's how working out should be - it should never be something that you hate doing. It took me forever to figure this out...really. It makes sense: If you don't look forward to doing it, you will never stick with it and it's just such a drag. Find exercise that you love to do, and you will naturally lose weight without even having to think about it. Anyone at any fitness level can do these workouts - younger, older, whoever, whatever. This is a great place to start for beginners but if you are more advanced, just add more weight and amp up the cardio in the walking segment. Adding hand weights is a terrific way to burn more calories too.

Love her CDs. Great for workouts

I have a handful of Leslie Sansone DVDs and enjoy doing them when I feel like some easier exercise, but I never felt her DVDs offered a complete workout. While I realize that strength training is very important to health, I don't enjoy going to the gym so I need a strength routine I can easily do at home. I love that this DVD combines cardio (via fast walking) with strength training because it provides a well rounded workout that will get you in better shape than cardio alone. The music is upbeat and motivating, and I love the music only option, as Leslie's chatter can sometimes be a bit much for me. I enjoy this workout so much that I've been doing segments of it every day, and it leaves me feeling energized instead of exhausted. In a way, it's structured similarly to something like Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred in that it alternates between short bursts of cardio with strength moves, so it seems to go by quickly. Unlike the 30 Day Shred however, I don't dread doing it and have to talk myself into it each time. It also doesn't involve jumping which hurts my knees and annoys my neighbors. While you certainly aren't going to get ripped doing this DVD, I think if you combine one of the strength portions with the fast walking portion (maybe alternating between upper body and lower body every other day) you would get a full body workout and maintain a healthy level of fitness (and that's all I really care about). I will admit that I sometimes substitute more challenging strength moves like push ups for some of the easier moves she does, like standing bicep curls. The only complaint I have about this DVD is that she doesn't do any moves which specially target the core, so I usually add a few planks into the mix. There's also no stretching segment, so it's important to add that in yourself. Overall this is a fantastic DVD that I look forward to using every day. I highly recommend it and think it could be a great way to introduce some easy strength training into your routine!

**DVD Menu** Play All ( With the option of music only) Circuit 1 - Walk & Upper Body ( With the option of music only) Circuit 2 - Walk & Lower Body ( With the option of music only) Circuit 3 - Fast Walk ( With the option of music only) One thing I noticed is that she's sort of moving away from her traditional mile-structured workouts. There is no time clock in this. There are various new faces of people as well as those you'll recognize, such as Suzy, Marvin, and Janet from Walk To the Hits. Wendy from Five Mega Miles, Carrie from various workouts like her colorful miles, 3 mega miles, and 4-mile power walk. And Nick, the guy always smiling so big. The music is okay. Some of it was awkward, but half of it were some I recognize from her very old DVDs. Her voice and the music balance well together. **Circuit 1** You immediately start up with a fast warm-up, and I say fast becuase it was already fast-pace. Maybe it wasn't even a warm-up. You then move on to upper body sculpt. I would suggest stay within 3 to 5 pound weights. If you're used to weightlifting, go ahead and bump it up. But I had to switch between sets becuase she tired me out. I have to admit, I didn't think she'd really have me tired because her sculpt videos are not that strong. But I believe this surpasses her Firm 30. Afterward, you return to a 2 to 3-minute fast walk, and then you get on the ground and do some more sculpt on the mat. Afterward, there's one more fast walk. But there is no cool down. I burned 83 calories through this. **Circuit 2** It's pretty much the same as Circuit 1, only you're doing lower body sculpt. That means lunges and squats, along with staying at the bottom and pulsing for about four seconds. Those really hurt. You don't get on the floor in this. At the very last round, she'll have you doing those squats and lunges again without weights. I burned 88 calories. **Circuit 3** All it is, is a fast walk. There's no jumping or jogging. But there are shifts. Just one round of it with a side-punch. Toward the end, she'll play around and introduce all the walkers. I honestly, couldn't help but smile. However, there is no stretch at the end. She said she'll leave that up to you. I burned 115 calories. Overall, I think it could have been better organized. What I didn't like was her being off step a lot. Scenes would change and all of the sudden, people are not going with the music, or she changed her step without you knowing. But I was very impressed with the arm toning. I just wish it was a little longer. But I've been a walker for a long time now. So, I pretty much collect almost ever DVD she releases.

I have been a fan of Leslie Sansone's walk workouts for a long time, but I have never owned one that had such an emphasis on strength training and toning. I did all three segments of the workout for the first time today (they are 20 minutes each, for a total of one hour), and I think it's fabulous. The upper body and lower body segments alternate between toning and fast walking, and the final segment is fast walking only. The three segments may be combined in any way. Also by using heavier or lighter weights, it is easy to adjust the intensity of the toning segments. So this workout can be light or challenging, short or long, depending on your needs for the day. As always, Leslie comes across as warm and encouraging without being annoying or seeming fake, and everyone in the room seems to be having a good time. She makes me feel like I'm doing something great for my body without punishing myself to the point of injury. I especially enjoyed her weight loss advice in one of the segments. If I had one criticism, it would be that I wish the camera angles allowed me to follow along with the steps being performed at the end of the fast walk segment, when Leslie walks around the room and thanks each of the background exercisers for joining her. While it is really sweet, it is impossible to see the exercise part. I just had to tell myself that it didn't really matter since it was the cool-down anyway, and I just marched in place in time to the music. Directing an exercise video should be really, really simple--always make sure you can see at least one person's feet and/or arms (whichever is most relevant to keeping up at that particular moment), and make sure the person on camera is doing the moves correctly. Easy peasy, and it annoys me more than it should when that doesn't happen.

This one will KICK YOUR BUTT!! Do the whole thing, don't cheat and do one section and the walk segment...Do it all and you will feel it but it will feel good. I am an avid Leslie Sansone FAN...have been for years and years...even as far back as VHS...this DVD is more current and uses dumbells in the arms segment which is nice. The only thing is she doesn't que you to get ready to use them so you are playing a little bit of catch up when she starts. The beat is good, the different exercise are good: same ones KICKS, WALK UP 2/BACK 2, KICK BACKS, Power Walk -- she adds some variety in this one with double kick backs, etc. Spicing it up a little for us WALKERS! The group had a couple new faces I hadn't see and a few I remember from past programs. She jabbers all the way through the workout (I don't know how she does it -- but it keeps us on track). Good pace, good music, good exercise variety, up to date, easy to follow, can decide how to do the segments on your own. Great product as usual -- pleased and pumped!

This one is my favorite of hers thus far. I like the circuit training with the weights and if you heavy up you can really feel it even more. Some days I do light weights but still get good workout. I try to do all three circuits when I can because it flows well. I hope she does one like this again with weights but make it continuous like 40 minutes plus for a longer workout. All in all, very well paced, she was very focused and wasn't too chatty or distracted with the walkers until the end of the last circuit. I like her a lot and she seems very approachable and friendly and that goes a long way with me. It's just I get annoyed when she gets too chatty during the workout and then I have to stop and reset or do my own thing until she gets back on track. An enjoyable and challenging workout nonetheless. I will say too on her website she has a new miracle miles system and that is the best system and worth every penny. So to those who want more advanced options, consider that system when you visit her website again. I don't see it offered here or elsewhere, but I think it is one of the best low-medium impact systems you will find anywhere.

This makes the 11th Leslie Sansone DVD for my collection. I was interested in this one as it has strength training with the hand weights. I love that the DVD is broke into 3 segments, Upper Body Circuit, Lower Body Circuit and the fast walk. I have been doing all 3 together each time but it is nice to know if I just want to do parts of it I can. I feel like a get a very good work out from this DVD. I feel it is a nice balance between walking and strength training and she has a fun group of walkers, Nice to see Carrie again in this one along with Marvin and Nick. The only negative I have on it is that that it is hard to follow the cool down at the end of the walk as Nick is leading it as Leslie walks around and introduces and talks to the walkers and you don't get the cues when Nick changes the moves. I just keep an eye on what the other walkers are doing so after doing this one a few times I don't find that to be too big of a deal and definitely not enough to reduce my 5 star rating.