Wed - Margaret Good and Strong

[Guest guest]

Hi Everyone,

I'm still taking it easy on my calf strain - it is feeling much, much better though. I'm really paranoid about injuries - I think it is b/c my back bothered me for so long that I can't stand the thought of having anything "chronic" hinder my workouts.

Anyway - still not wanting to stress the calf too much so I went with Margaret 's Good and Strong DVD. This DVD has two approx 60 minute workouts on it. MR's DVDs are pricey, but you do get at least two workouts on each DVD and the workouts are all chaptered so you can mix, match, repeat and skip. For those of you lucky enough - some PBS stations carry MR's daily workouts (Body Electric). One of my PBS stations does carry it - they are 30 minute workouts - so you can get a "taste" for her style without purchasing.

MR typical style is to work one muscle group at a time - with high reps and lower weights. Often she uses body weight exercises also. My issue with this style is that you don't really develop a whole lot of "functional" strength doing these types of workouts - how often are you asked to curl something in real life, how often do you do an isolated shoulder move? Often you are curling something while doing something else. She does use push-ups, though so I like that since that works a whole bunch of muscles. She also uses a lot of floorwork for lower body - so if you have any foot, ankle, calf or even knee injuries (depending on the exercise) you can still work your lower body.

I did the first workout on this DVD which was a total body workout. She starts with push-ups - lots of them! I kept up pretty well, but eventually had to finish off a couple on my knees. Next was triceps - presses on the floor - light weights b/c she is non-stop! Then, I think we stood up for bicep curls - different variations/arm positions. Then, I believe it was shoulders - some different exercises here, too - almost like drawing a sword. She added some back on w/ upright rows and some other variations. Abs were next - for this she used a playground ball for positioning (sort of like that "Bender Ball" infomercial). Then it was on to inner and outer thigh work - outer thigh work was done with ankle weights - your typical side lying exercises and variations. Inner thigh was squeezing the playground ball between your knees. She did bridges for hamstrings and glutes. Then, the final

exercise was quads with ankle weights - these were similar to some of the exercises Debbie Siebers does in Slim Series. MR typically stretches each muscle after it is worked and then includes a final stretch. This DVD was filmed outdoors and had some Jazzy type music. She is a good instructor, cues and encourages well. She also looks amazing, I believe she is 60-ish.

After MR's workout I did a Classical Stretch episode (back pain relief) from her 2007 series. My back was a little tight this morning, nothing bad, but these stretches helped!Now, speaking of functional fitness, it is time for me to go shovel the driveway - yes, we got MORE snow and supposedly a doozy is on the way for the weekend!Donna