Cardio Burn Balanceball

I just got Cardio Burn Balance Ball and have been enjoying it! Background on me--I'm overweight, and exercise on and off, so I look for workouts that are not jarring to the back or knees.Here's what I like:* The instructor: she's high energy without being screamy. She obviously loves what she's doing. She reminds me a bit of Jennifer Lopez. Her cues are right on, and she makes sure to say things like, "just do what you can," or "if you have lower back problems, do it like this..." That's very reassuring and helpful info.* It's a fun workout! Before I got this DVD, my balance ball had been collecting dust. I didn't realize how fun it is to use it...and how challenging!* There are 2 workouts to choose from, 30 minutes and 50 minutes in length. I've been doing the 30 minute one and it's work for me to get through it.What I thought could have been improved:* There are 2 people behind her exercising along with her. At one point, late in the 30 minute workout, she says, "if you're a beginner, follow the guys behind me." It confused me if they were serving as modifiers all along or just for that one exercise. It seemed to be just for that one exercise, b/c they were pretty much doing the same as she was all through the rest of the workout.* The audio. I could hear her well enough, but she was a hair overshadowed by the music. When it got to the stretching portion, then I was able to hear her just fine. It could be my DVD player or the DVD I got. Like I say, she's certainly audible, just had to turn the volume up one or 2 notches more than normal. No biggie.This is a great DVD if you want to mix up your workout. I would definitely buy another DVD by this instructor.

I bought this DVD because I was looking for a new workout DVD that I could do that wasn't too intense, because I'm out of shape and lunges/squats hurt my knees. I like intense though, but I just want to start slow. I did this workout for the first time two days ago, and again today. No feelings of injury (well my right bicep felt a bit pulled the first and second day, but I iced it and it feels better today). The first day I did it, later that day I was sore in areas that I didn't even know that I worked! I was sore from my calves, to my forearms, and my upper back, but that good muscle soreness. The only thing that wasn't sore was my abs and low back. So it's a great all over body workout. I didn't even realize I was working that hard - I sweated, and moved, but I never felt like I was over-doing it. So it was good. Plus I really like the instructor, the camera focuses on her and not the stand-ins, she is smiley and kind of goofy, and the scenery is beautiful. I really recommend this DVD for beginners. Seasoned exercisers can probably still use it, add weights, and have it be maybe a easier day workout. But you will work muscles that you probably are not working in your normal workouts, the common ones like running, elliptical, and common workout DVD's. So this is a good cross train DVD for people who workout and are in shape.

Let me start out by saying I exercise every day and am the queen of finding tough workouts in a short period of time. I've been doing the Tracy Mallet series and LOVE it. I was getting a bit bored and came in search of additional ball exercise tapes and tried this one based upon reviews of this trainer having great workout DVD's. I've only done the 30 minute section of this tape and while I did break a sweat....it is more for beginners. Not someone who exercises regularly. I'm used to doing ball exercises with weights (Tracy Mallet's) and doing Tanja's arm exercises without any weights didn't appear to do a thing for me. I also thought there wasn't much cardio involved. She has some unique ball exercises that I enjoyed and I will do this again and try the 50 minute version, but honestly, I feel like I get 3x the workout in 30 minutes with my other DVD's as I am with this one in 30. If I have to go 50 to get the same thing, then it's probably not what I'll continue to do. Nice scenery, non-obnoxious music and Tanja was pleasant. Worth a try if you're a beginner...but not if you're advanced.

Up until the age of 40 I was thin. After 40 I was losing muscle tone and put on over 30 lbs of extra weight. I'm getting remarried and I actually ordered my wedding dress two sizes too small so that I was forced to take this extra weight off. I am proud to say that I have lost 20 lbs and am closing in on my goal and I still have 3 months to go. A huge help in taking off this weight was due to this DVD. I went straight into the 50 minute workout and struggled at first but within just a couple of weeks I could start to see changes in my body. I alternate this DVD with Jillian Michaels "No More Trouble Zones" and my body is starting to look slimmer and more defined. I cut my food portion sizes in half and have done no pills or fads, just the DVD workouts. My metabolism is coming back thanks to the muscle tone. Just like Jillian's workouts, this DVD is easy to follow, no confusing dancing around. If you're serious about getting back in shape then this is a great aid in doing so.

There are two things that I didn't like about this workout but that doesn't have anything to do with with the quality of the workout. First she does a lot of standing exercises while holding the balance ball (i.e. lunges and bending with the ball to touch the floor) and when I hold the ball while standing I kind of have to bend at the waist a little. After a while this makes my back hurt. This is not really a problem because I can modify this, I don't have to hold the ball, I can use a small weight or a smaller ball. Secondly, the format of this exercise video is to do a series of exercises, then she repeats them, then she does another series of exercises and repeats them. There is nothing wrong with this format I am just not a fan of these workouts and I tend to avoid them. Overall, this is a good quality workout and the instructor is very good. It didn't seem too difficult or too easy. I would recommend it, but I probably would not purchase this DVD again.

"Cardio Burn Balanceball" is an intense aerobic workout married with balanceball strength. Personally, I found this video to be advanced in nature, and felt that the specific moves required a lot of co-ordination. Quite frankly, I ended up getting lost through much of the routines (when things go faster, I tend to fall apart), and found myself hating everything about the dvd. This being said, I am sure that I would start to enjoy the video over time (when I became used to the expectations); however, the first viewing put me off so much that I haven't popped said dvd into the dvd player since.I really feel that there are better balanceball routine dvds out there.