Bob Harper’s Yoga for the Warrior: This is part of Bob’s Inside Out Method series which is full of intense workouts that I adore. Yoga for the Warrior consists of a 58 minute yoga workout and a 17 minute ab workout. I really love Bob Harper’s new workouts (not the ones associated with Biggest Loser). And not just his Inside Out Method–though those are what began his creation of crazy intense workouts. He is still putting out very advanced workouts that don’t have “Inside Out Method” written on the front of the DVD. I love them all–they are brutal! Yoga for the Warrior is perfect because I discovered it while doing P90X. Though overall I love P90X workouts, there are a few I’m not crazy about and one I hate–Yoga X. HATE IT. It is endless (90 minutes!!!!), repetitive, hard and boring. Then I found Bob’s Yoga for the Warrior. 32 minutes shorter than Yoga X, just as challenging and not boring at all! It was the perfect substitute for Yoga X! And even after I finished my 90 days of P90X, I continue to do Bob’s Yoga Warrior about once a month. It’s an excellent workout.
Yoga workout: 58 minutes long. For this review I will review each pose that is done; however many of them are done in sequence— chaturanga to down dog to warrior 1 and 2. Though he does add new things on each time, I will not become redundant by repeating every time a chaturanga or warrior is done. Also, all poses are done on both sides of the body. Onward–though this is a challenging yoga workout, it starts easy to warm you up with some nice forward bends and down dogs with leg raises. But then while in down dog you do shoulder presses. Crescent pose where you straighten and bend the front leg multiple times. Next, in order to prepare you to do chaturanga he has you do tricep push ups. Then on to chaturanga and up dog. A mixture of chair and warrior poses. A small recovery break where you do tree pose. Then push ups and awkward airplane. You move onto a flowing extended side angle to reverse warrior and ending in triangle. You break it up with side planks then it’s back up to do twisting triangle. While in down dog you do 20 seconds of rapid shoulder presses then it’s back up to standing to do some balance poses—extending a leg to the front then to the side and holding your big toe if you can. Standing splits to half moon (you are on you right longer than you are on your left). You finish the standing poses with wrapped extended side angle; his very flexible exercisers take it to Bird of Paradise. I found that amusing as I was suffering through wrapped side angle! Bird of Paradise was not happening for me! Then it’s to the floor where you do bridge pose. You can do bridge again, or do a wheel. Happy baby. Next is some abdominal work starting with basic crunches then a scissors series and finishing with a pulsing crunch series with legs straight in the air. The last 10 or so minutes are relaxing stretches. First you sit up and do straddle stretches, twisting glute stretch and seated forward fold. Then it’s back on your back for reclined spine twist and fish pose. The last few minutes are a relaxing meditation, first in dead man’s pose, then seated with legs crossed. Overall, a challenging yet relaxing yoga workout. I love it! And the first time I did it—my legs/hips were sore afterward!
15 Minute Yoga Abs: actually, 17 minute abs, but the extra 2 minutes is a relaxing cool down. This an intense and difficult ab workout. It starts slowly with knee to chest, switching side to side then on to basic crunches to crunch pulses. Next is oblique twists. Back to crunches. You lift your legs straight up and do leg scissors then extended leg crunches with legs straight up in the air. Next is core rotations. Then you get in “half boat” position and do twists, crunches, arm pulses and leg extensions all while in “half boat.” Back to crunches, then bicycles. After bicycles he has you hold the position of one knee up to chest the other straight out (but off the floor) and you do oblique twists touching your elbows to the knee at your chest. It is painful! Next is pulses—knees to chest and pulse both elbows to both knees. Extended leg crunches (legs extended straight in the air). And finally it ends with what he calls mountain climbers but it isn’t the way I’ve always done traditional plank mountain climbers. For this move, while in plank, you bring your right knee to the right elbow and hold for a second, then the left knee to left elbow and hold for a second–and back and forth but pausing each time–first on your palms, then on your forearms. It ends with a two minute relaxing stretch. This is a difficult ab workout. Very well done and it flows, one move to the next. He keeps your abdominals engaged non-stop throughout the majority of the workout–so it hurts! But the good kind of hurts!
**I do have to add this at the end—just because Bob makes a promise at the beginning of the workout that this will be the hardest yoga workout you have ever done. It is a challenging and excellent yoga workout. But it is not the hardest yoga workout I’ve ever done. P90X’s Yoga X is the hardest yoga workout I’ve ever done. That’s not why I hate Yoga X tho—I hate it because it is boring and repetitive. Though I am always looking for the hardest cardio and strength workouts I can find, I am not looking for the hardest yoga. I am looking for effective yoga that does the job and makes me feel good. Yoga for the Warrior does that perfectly.
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