Grade: A++ infinity

I’ve been meaning to try this DVD for weeks since reading about it on my bestie’s blog @ Red Knows How – while she is admittedly better at these workout DVDs than I am, she has been raving about Leslie Sansone – singing her praises and shouting “Hallelujah!” or something. But more importantly I kept thinking, “Walk at home? Isn’t that an oxymoron or something? How do you walk at home? Do you just walk from one side of the room to the other? And how will a DVD help?” I was truly confused but she LOVED it – I had to be missing something.

And oh was I ever – I had Netflix send me the Walk Away the Pounds Express: Easy Walk / Brisk Walk disc and – oh my, this DVD was amazing – I absolutely love it – like added it to my Amazon wishlist loved it. Yes, you are walking in place, but I had no idea how much of a workout walking in place could be – I was fatigued – of course, I’m pregnant so that’s pretty easy for me like a permanent state of being, but even in spite of that I walked one mile in about 10-15 minutes and felt so pumped and proud of myself because it was always just a little challenging but not so much that I quit.

Sansone implements four different basic types of steps – basic walking in place, stepping side to side, small kicks and knee lifts – yes it’s aerobics but I’m just accepting that all of these workout DVDs will be some form of aerobics or another – this one however managed to be simple enough for me to do without feeling like a moron, but challenging enough that I could “feel the burn.” There were other things I liked, too – if you are a regular here then you know how much I [don’t] like workout DVDs – you know that especially when the DVD is kicking my butt that I get all kinds of snarky and find anything and everything to hate about it – usually the people on the screen and their wardrobes and their ability to move in ways that I cannot. This didn’t happen – I could do everything they were doing – I just maybe breathed a bit harder and didn’t look *quite* as cheery about it. I loved that all like eight of them wore basically the same outfit and that it didn’t look cheesy on any of them – basic black workout pants and a blue tank top that managed to seem flattering on all of their different bodies. I also loved that they were all of varying ages but all seemed to have mastered this – from 27 to 72 they had all found success with Walk Away the Pounds – one woman in her 50’s said she lost 60 pounds with this program!

Leslie Sansone seemed very hyped about this program, but especially about walking in general – and I think we all know that walking is one of the best exercises out there – I’d walk all the time if I could – if weather permitted and I was never tired – in fact as a teenager I DID walk all the time for hours and it was awesome. But times change. And the cold weather is not as forgiving as it used to be – with this DVD I was able to walk at home – to walk one mile without leaving my home – I know I was making fun of this concept like two days ago but wow – I love it. Really, if any of you want to buy it for me that’d be cool.

So – Leslie Sansone – you are my first all and out A++ for a workout DVD I think – you are by far the best I’ve ever tried and I would really truly recommend it to ANYBODY – she has a lot of DVDs aimed for any level – if one mile seems puny to you  then I hate you but there are 5 mile work outs too – she’s got it all covered folks. Give one a whirl and I really think you’ll love it.