Wednesday Workout Review: V. Method Cardio Vusion by Vicki Vara

V.method Cardio Vusion by Vicki Vara is a great workout.  It consists of three segments:  the first, a cardio segment, I would describe as (using a words-starting-with-V theme) “vigorous.”  Deceptively so: Vicki and her two assistants are petite and cheerful, and the 15-minute segment requires only small, light handweights, and yet it’s thorough and challenging.  The next segment, a 17-minute lower body workout, is “vicious.”  Well, not really; but after this segment?  Your. Hips. Will. Hurt.  The final section, at 14 minutes, is “varied.”  Primarily abs and core, but also with some leg work, this section rounds out a workout that’s more challenging than you might expect.

Couple of small quibbles.  First, a very minor (definitely a “might just be me”) issue:  The instructor is wonderful, but at times her voice/enthusiasm veers near the upper boundary of my cheerfulness tolerance.  A slightly more significant quibble (though still not a huge one):  unlike most workout reviews, the instructor doesn’t “mirror” the movements.  When she cues you for your R leg, she uses her own R leg.  Since I’m primarily used to the mirroring approach, this throws me a bit (especially in segment two, where the first few times doing the DVD I ended up facing backwards and couldn’t see the instruction).

But neither of these quibbles gets in the way of a great, thorough, challenging, and invigorating workout!  Highly recommended.