Crunch Yoga Body Sculpt

THE WORKOUT: Crunch: Yoga Body Sculpt ($12.99 at Amazon.)

REVIEW BY: Sophia

WHO CAN DO THIS: You’ll need some yoga background to get it right and some strength to make it through.

THE BREAKDOWN: This is nice balanced combination of stretch and strengthen, with emphasis on the latter. Crunch DVDs are always great looking with good-looking instructors and classes (hey, is that Jennifer Galardi back there?) and I’ve yet to meet one I didn’t like. Here, instructor Bethany Lyons pleasantly walks a line between yogi tranquil and aerobics instructor upbeat.

The 40-ish minute workout take you through several vinyasas, starting slow and speeding up. This is the kind of workout where the down dogs are your moment to rest and catch your breath. You get lots of planks, lots of crescent lunges, warriors every which way, some side-arm planks, all done at a nice clip. Some boat and bridge poses finish it off.

THE SWEAT FACTOR: I work up a good glow.

BUT IS IT FUN? It’s fun because it hurts just enough to feel effective but not so much that I dread doing it.

WHEN IT'S OVER: You’ll feel energized and that much more muscular.

GEAR AND APPAREL: Nothing special—a mat if you have one.

FINAL WORD: This is a new favorite, as I try to balance my need for strengthening and stretching workouts with the time demands of life.

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