BarreAmped Cardio Fat Burn

I bought this after using and liking the Barre Amped Bootcamp DVD. Though the title is cardio it's definitely not the usual dance or aerobic cardio you might be used to. So if you're looking for a non-stop steady-state cardio workout then this probably isn't for you. Instead it's more of an interval workout of exercises with large range of motion to get your heart rate up alternated with more typical barre-type toning exercises done at a quick pace. I'm a big barre fan (classes and DVDs) and this one is probably the toughest I've tried. It's deceptive- you think "ok, I'm in my bare feet with just a mat- how intense can the cardio really be?". Then 10 minutes later you're out of breath, sweating, and your legs are shaky. I'm in decent shape and work out regularly so I'm not writing from a beginner perspective. I love that I can do just one or two of the segments on their own if I don't have a ton of time.Forgot to mention- it’s three segments. First is general toning/cardio with weights, second is basically all tabata style cardio and definitely the toughest, third is cardio abs. My go-to and most frequently used is the second segment.

After attending classes at Pure Barre for 1 week free, needless to say, I was pumped! However, the cost to participate regularly in studio is steep and outside of my budget. I read lots of reviews for Barre DVDs to do at home and decided to give this one a try. I definitely sweat, my heart rate elevates, and I feel some shakes. I don’t find this video concentrates on toning the arms like the class does, but it has challenging segments.

Added this DVD for my prenatal workout rotation for low impact cardio. I worked out to her Sleek & Toned Prenatal and Leah Sarago's Fit + Sleek Prenatal all through first pregnancy and wanted a bit more variety and cardio second time around. You'll raise your heart rate enough, but it's not crazy intense. I decided to try another Suzanne Bowen dvd b/c she's great with cueing and I didn't get annoyed/tired of her after much repeating. I've been able to split the difference between the easy and medium fitness level, and then make some pregnancy modifications for abs no planking or twisting etc. Probably wouldn't start here for prenatal since it's not specific to pregnancy or as modular if you're just getting used to working out in 2nd trimester. Before/between pregnancy, I was fairly fit, lifted weights regularly, and ran couple of miles a week.

I can't say enough good things about this video. I really hate work out tapes and this one surprised me. Because of health reasons, I need to do cardio based workouts. If you are diabetic, these are the perfect exercises to try. It's broken into 4 parts, each with a warm up in between and each segment has 'bursts' of cardio. Which is great for getting the heart rate up along with quick breaks. Suzanne is a pleasure to listen to, she takes things nice and easy. And the other instructors working out with her show different ways to do the moves - so basically three levels being shown at the same time - and they are actually real women, not just models who never sweet. lol Plus if you order one of her dvds, you'll get a free month trail on her web page, so you can use a huge variety of workouts.

The recording is super choppy. So bad I can't even use them. I'm sure the workout is great but I'll have to send them back. Super frustrating.

I enjoy this workout. Suzanne is an excellent instructor and explains the moves thoroughly. As much as I enjoyed this DVD, however, there was one thing that turned me off. The cover of the DVD states there is 'free' one month streaming for customers who purchased this DVD. Howvever, when you arrive at her website, you discover that one must input their credit card number in order to access the one "free" month. If you forget to unenroll or cancel a month later, you will be charged the one month fee on your cc. I found this reverse billing practice (of sorts) to be disingenuous and enough to deter me from joining. If you say it's free- it should be free, no strings attached. Be transparent.

I was beyond disappointed in this DVD. The actual workout took forever to get to, and then it started with a warm up (which you already completed in the previous section). Barre camp classes are fast paced, and although this was listed as a high intensity workout, there was nothing fast paced about it. There were breaks after every rep and too many repetitions of the same boring exercise. I did the entire DVD and still felt like I didn't get an arm workout at all. I did get a good lower body workout, but not from any ballet type of moves. And I bought this DVD specifically for the ballet element of barre. There were mixed reviews on these DVD series from other buyers, and I felt this one was the best to go with. I now know I won't enjoy any of the DVDs in this series. For anyone who is looking to duplicate a barre class workout, my advice is to shell out the money for the classes, because I haven't found any DVDs that come close to duplicating them, and this DVD was supposed to be the best.

MERCY! This is a fantastic workout! If you are new to Tabata, HITT, or interval training you might want to take it easy at first. I like this mostly because Susan Bowen, the creator of this workout, an the other women on the DVD actually do this along with you. They sweat and shake just like you're doing during the routines. They are each doing different intensities of the exercises andwhichever one you choose you will sweat. Again, if you aren't use to doing the types of above mentioned exercises I suggest that you follow the beginner lady. I was all overly ambitious and tried to follow the advanced lady and ... well it wasn't pretty; I'll have to work up to that. This is very adaptable to all fitness levels and time friendly. I highly recommend it!