tf-galYear: 2007
Distributor: Inspired Wellness/Inspired Distribution (formerly PPI Entertainment/Current Wellness)
Instructor(s): Lizbeth Garcia
October is known as Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and I have bought a new workout DVD from a Goodwill in Arkansas to prep for my upcoming campaign. Specifically, the DVD that I bought is called Shape: Makeover Your Abs, Butt, and Thighs- Fast! which features Lizbeth Garcia, a certified Pilates instructor. As of August 2024, this marks the second appearance of Lizbeth Garcia as a featured instructor; her first appearance was in On the Ball: Pilates Workout for Beginners.
The front cover suggests that it includes a flat pink resistance band, but my copy did not come with the band. Instead, I utilized an unopened package of rubber resistance bands from TKO that have never been used before. On the day that I did the workout for the first time, I did start off with using the light resistance band and then increased the resistance as I progressed. My medium blue resistance band is actually a great substitute for the pink one that used to come bundled with the DVD, since the DVD packaging did not state the resistance of the pink resistance band.
Like its namesake, the workout utilizes the resistance band to target tone the muscles of the abs, butt, and thighs with Lizbeth’s Pilates method, and she describes those areas as the “trouble zones” that most women are concerned about. In addition, Lizbeth states that there’s more to being healthy than “just being fit or thin,” and the main selling point of this DVD is to get people to donate to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF). With the purchase of this DVD from the Shape website, a dollar will be donated to the BCRF to fund research and promote breast cancer awareness. If you or someone you know has breast cancer, you can visit bcrf.org to make a donation or start your own campaign.
The Pilates workout created by Lizbeth herself is a fun and challenging workout that to tighten and tone those trouble zones mentioned earlier. In a few weeks, you will achieve flatter abs, tight buns, and thin thighs, and puts you in touch with your core (powerhouse in Pilates terminology). She describes Pilates as a way to “sculpt without bulk” and every exercise in the workout utilizes the resistance band so your body will naturally respond to the movements.
Lizbeth then points out the students who are featured in the workout: Gina and Erica; Erica will be showing the modified versions for some of the exercises if you need them. The warm-up is pretty straightforward and consists of standing movements using the band; there is a reused audio track from Power 90: Sweat Cardio 1-2, which is where the audio track originated from. In this case, the exercises done in the beginning of this workout are designed to generate heat within the muscles so you are resisting the band with every movement.
I’m not going to go in detail to the specific exercises mentioned in this workout, but I did feel the burn in my thighs and buns. To condense it down a bit, the majority of exercises featured in this workout are similar to those in my other Pilates DVDs. Lizbeth mentions that the usage of the flat resistance band in some of these exercises mimic the same movements done on the reformer, which is a common piece of equipment seen in Pilates studios. This along with the breathing cues (taken from Lizbeth’s other DVD) are important things to keep in mind because they are essential to an effective Pilates workout. The execution of these exercises with the resistance band were great; they help strengthen and tone the lower body in a functional way that really works.
The DVD also comes with a bonus 10 minute upper body workout using the resistance band, and features Yumi Lee as the instructor. In Yumi’s bio (linked under the “additional material” menu), she has worked with many celebrities and is the voice actor of Maya, who is the in-game personal trainer of the video game Yourself! Fitness (renamed to My Fitness Coach for the Nintendo Wii).
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/12_QMD4e14J3f7PdZOLXej7AWhm-jXXJwGmrYuaD7sgY/edit?usp=sharing – (image comparison)
To me, the instructor looks similar to Tomoe Tachibana (one of the six playable characters in Trauma Team who is an endoscopic surgeon). In this case, Tomoe’s original voice actor (Stephanie Sheh) is a perfect fit for the character. If Trauma Team was adapted into a live action series (which did happen before in a failed pilot uploaded on YouTube, but is highly unlikely to happen again), Yumi Lee would be a great addition to the cast because she looks similar to Tomoe. The connection between the characters and their respective voice actors fully enhances the bonus workout in a way that convinces me to look for other workouts featuring Yumi Lee.
The execution of the moves in the bonus upper body workout was a refreshing change of pace, but I did have to modify some of the moves because my resistance band is not that long. Yumi’s cueing is spot-on with what she is doing with the band so that the viewer does not get confused with what to do with the band. With that said, there was an audio track in the second half of the workout that can be heard in 10 Minute Solution DVDs released in 2006-2007, specifically at the beginning of 10 Minute Solution: Prenatal Pilates. Lizbeth’s bio does this DVD, but I won’t be getting it soon.
Because of this DVD supporting the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, there are some sponsors that are featured under the “additional material” menu. The bonus features include Under Armour’s “Power in Pink” campaign which features three breast cancer survivors in this promotional image, a short bio about the BCRF, and some instructor bios of Lizbeth Garcia and Yumi Lee. In addition to that, the DVD comes with an instructional booklet containing facts about breast cancer, information about how diet and exercise play a key role in preventing breast cancer, and a sample cardio-based workout schedule containing this DVD. On the back, there is a promotion for other Shape DVDs that you can get, including the first Pilates for Pink DVD called Firm Up From Head to Toe.
Before I end this review on a positive note, I will have to state some facts about breast cancer: One out of every eight women will develop breast cancer sometime in their life, and it mostly targets middle-aged and older women who are over the age of 50. As of 2024, there are over 4 million breast cancer survivors across the US, even though that number may increase or decrease overtime. Your support to the BCRF and other nonprofit organizations that support breast cancer awareness is essential because October is known as Breast Cancer Awareness month, and I couldn’t be happier with my purchase of this DVD.
Despite the negative reviews on Amazon, this is definitely a keeper in my workout DVD collection. I have another yoga DVD featuring Sara Ivanhoe that I will buy in the future, but I have to think about that first. This is been an eventful week and I wanted to get this review finished before I begin writing reviews for other DVDs that I haven’t reviewed yet.
Happy Breast Cancer Awareness Month!
-tantricflowergal
Rating
Instructor(s): 9/10
Sets: 8/10
Outfits: 8/10
Music: 8/10
Production Value: 10/10
Overall Benefits: 9/10
Exertion: 10/10
Ease of Movement: 7/10
Audio/Visual Modifications: 5/10
Special Features: 9/10
Use of Equipment: 10/10
Total Score: 93
Intensity Level: Low to Moderate Intensity
Impact: Mixed Impact