3 Mega Miles

At this year’s library sale, I bought a bunch of Leslie Sansone workouts for $1 each. I love Jessica Smith‘s walking workouts so much, I decided that I should try Leslie’s to compare. And if I like them, I have even more walking workouts to choose from. So I bought 5 of her walking DVDs. 3 Mega Miles is the first one I tried and I have a lot of mixed feelings. First, Leslie’s walking workouts are easier than Jessica’s, so they are perfect for a beginner. I wore a 4 pound weighted vest and 1 pound weighted gloves, but that is my new walking workout attire. I wear it for Jessica’s cardio walks, too. It does help increase intensity. Leslie also doesn’t use arm movements as liberally as Jessica. Jessica usually includes some form of arm movement with every move, which increases the intensity. Leslie didn’t even include a single arm movement until 9 minutes into this workout and then she used arm movements sporadically. However, having done so many of Jessica’s workouts, I know tons of walking arm movements and I inserted them throughout this workout to increase the intensity. With all of my additions, I got a decent steady state cardio workout. I burned 380 calories in 50 minutes. Plus, Leslie uses the band for upper body strength exercises and it actually started burning my shoulders and arms out! So that was a big bonus. I am limited (by my surgeon) to lifting no more than 3 pound dumbbells which really limits how much I can work my upper body. I have found ways to work it anyway through Barlates and Tracy Anderson workouts, but still, my upper body isn’t being worked nearly as well as it normally is. However, Leslie’s band work gave my upper body some very nice work.

Now for the negative. Leslie has a very shrill voice and her laugh is more of a cackle. Incredibly irritating. Plus, she frequently says “walk, walk, walk, walk”–it started grating on my nerves after the first few times. Then there is her chatter. Jessica talks a lot during her workouts, too, but it seems natural plus she is so likable. Leslie’s chatter seems forced, like she searching for something to say to fill the time, which just sounds like inane chatter punctuated with forced cackles. I’m going to try to get through all 5 DVDs but I’m not sure I can stand it. We’ll see.

3 Mega Miles contains a warm up, a cool down/stretch and 3 one mile walks. The workout is designed for you to do 3 miles in one walk which is 50 minutes long (including warm up and cool down/stretch). Or you can just choose to do one or two miles if you want to. It is not programmable but the main menu is chaptered and lists each segment separately.  For Mile 1 you have Leslie plus a whole crew of background walkers. For Mile 2 she only has a 2 person crew and for Mile 3 you just get Leslie–no crew.

The warm up is 2:30 minutes and the cool down/stretch is 6 minutes. You need a resistance band for Miles 2 & 3. You are always marching in place between moves.

Mile 1 is 14 minutes.

1. March in place
2. Alternating knee lifts
3. Step side to side
4. Alternating low front kicks
5. Hamstring curls (Leslie calls them hamstring kickbacks)
6. Tap toes out to side
7. Repeat #2
8. 4 steps forward + 1 low kick, 4 steps backward + 1 low kick
9. Double side steps; add a low kick after 2nd side step
10. Repeat #5; add tricep kickbacks
11. Heel digs; add pushing arms in front of you
12. Repeat #8; add 4 steps to the side + 1 low kick after each forward & back
13. Repeat #11
14. Repeat #10
15. Alternate #13 & #14 doing 4 reps of each
16. Step side to side w/ jumping jack arms
17. Low hop w/ jump rope arms
18. Repeat #16 & 17; keep alternating, doing 4 reps of each
19. Repeat #6; bring arms out to sides at shoulder level with elbows bent and hands at shoulders, alternate pushing arms out to side
20. Alternate tapping feet out behind you; add alternating bicep curls
21. Repeat #19 with arms and #20; continue alternating #19 & 20
22. March while pushing arms overhead

Mile 2 is 12 minutes. You need a resistance band for this walk.

1. Mambo with one foot forward and back
2. Mambo with one foot to the side and back
3. Repeat 1 & 2
4. Alternating knee lifts, bringing hands from hip to hip
5. Wide squat and when you stand, twist torso to one side (keeping hips facing forward), alternate sides
6. Repeat #3; start alternating one of each–one forward mambo + one side mambo
7. Jog forward and back
8. In wide stance, shuffle/hop side to side (boxer’s shuffle)
9. Repeat 7 & 8 a few more times
10. Side step side to side while clapping
11. (grab band) Hold one end of band in each hand w/ arms extended in front of you at shoulder level with about 2 feet of band between your hands; add alternating knee raises (still holding band isometrically in same position); tap same side hand to outside of knee as it raises while raising other arm overhead
12. Holding band in same position as #11, step side to side; stretch arms/band out wide and hold; add band pulses
13. Hold band at hips with about 1 foot of band between each hand and tap toes out to side; add pushing hand/band out in front of you with one arm while keeping the other hand/band at waist, alternate arms
14. Wrap band around back and under arms, still holding one end of band in each hand, elbows are bent and hands/band are held at shoulder level, push arms out straight to sides, bring hands together in front of you (arms straight), open arms out to side (a standing chest fly) then bend elbows so you are back to the starting position (march in place throughout)
15. Band is in same position as #14 but arms/band are extended straight out to sides at shoulder level, pulse squat 4x then step one leg back into reverse lunge and pulse 4x (arms band are extended the entire time–it burns!)
16. Repeat #11-13

Mile 3 is 14 minutes long. It is Leslie only–no background walkers. You need a resistance band for this walk.

1. Double side steps; add a clap
2. March forward 3 steps and back 3 steps with a clap
3. Grapevine
4. Boxer shuffle; turn to side and add a punch to the front
5. Alternating low front kicks; add pushing arms in front of you
6. Repeat #2
7. Step side to side with a clap; clap changes to reaching arms overhead
8. Repeat #4
9. Hold one end of band in each hand, raise one arm overhead as an anchor and do tricep kickbacks with other arm
10. Raise arms overhead with about 2 feet of band between hands, pull one arm down to side bringing elbow into side
11. Wrap band around back and under arms, still holding one end of band in each hand and holding hands at chest level, do a chest press, pushing band out straight in front of you while stepping side to side
12. Repeat #9 & 10
13. Repeat #11 but instead of side steps you will squat
14. Set band aside and march in pace while Leslie talks
15. Step side to side
16. March forward 3 steps and back 3 steps
17. Heel digs
18. Low alternating front kicks
19. Double side steps
20. 3 steps in place then tap foot out to side
21. Repeat #15