Denise Austin...opinions?

[Trivium Academy]

Uh, I just canceled my Netflix account a few days ago and I saw a ad on tv for Daily Dozen by Denise Austin. I've never watched her but this video seems to have everything I want.

 

With 12 easy exercises in 12 minutes a day, you can get and stay fit with a program that fits your schedule.

 

CARDIO-ATHLETIC (12 min): Rev up your metabolism, and your athleticism, with 12 heart-pumping exercises that blast calories and incinerate fat.

 

CARDIO KICKBOX (12 min): Punch, kick, and shuffle yourself slim with 12 cardio-charged moves that allow you to progress at your own pace.

 

LOWER BODY SCULPT (12 min): Tone your hips, thighs, buttocks, and abs with 12 targeted exercises to slim saddlebags, shape the rear, and tighten the tummy.

 

UPPER BODY SCULPT (12 min): Row, curl, and plank your way to sexier shoulders, arms, and abs with 12 super-sculpting upper body exercises.

 

YOGA STRETCH (12 min): Release tension and improve circulation with 12 yoga-inspired moves to stretch and soothe every muscle in the body.

 

 

I just figured someone has used Denise's DVDs and has an opinion, I want to combine this with daily walking. Is she annoying? I'm not a very coordinated person, dance exercise videos leave me feeling deflated and clumsy which is not the feeling you want during/after exercising.

[Sophia]

Talk about a blast from the past!

 

I had one of her videos in the early 90's, and while the workout itself was o.k., I just couldn't listen to her voice.

It's too cheerful.

I like cheerful people, really, just...ugh.

Maybe your library has one you could borrow and test?

I gave mine away or I'd send it to you.

[Angel]

Too funny! I love Denise Austen, because she is so "sunny!" I don't want to work out with a slave driver:lol: Seriously, the last time that I lost a bunch of weight (after 2nd dd) Denise Austen was who I was using. She used to have a show on Lifetime called the Daily Workout. It was perfect. I like the way she tries to balance the exercises to give you a good workout. I also like that she encourages 30min a day to keep yourself fit:D Definitely check the library and try a couple. Some are harder than others.

 

Good luck!

[Tess in the Burbs]

I personally find her annoying. However, I have done some great workouts with her....maybe turn the volume down??

[Happy]

I like her. I have one of her yoga DVDs. Its a good workout.

[bettyandbob]

your library may have some of her older stuff. I used to do one or two of her workouts regularly. She does a good workout and gives good direction. Her "sunny" personality is really over the top. I think I used to alternate her with something from crunch fitness.

 

She's been around sooo long (at least 20 years) that I'm sure you can borrow something she's done and get a feel of her style and whether you could stick to it for a while.

[Kimber]

I taught aerobics for about 10 years. I own a ton of dvd's and don't use any of them. :-)

 

Anyway, Denise Austin is fine, if you don't have much rhythm or don't care if she gets out of sync with the music. She always starts on the wrong count and doesn't work the right and the left sides evenly. I have never actually seen her in person, although I have taken some instructor training from one or two people that actually have videos and DA is by far one of the worst aerobics instructors out there.

 

I will add that I will probably end up using her videos at home once I can start exercising again. She's perfect for someone recovering for an injury or just getting started. But as soon as you're ready to take it to another level, you need something else.

 

Oh, and her yoga and pilates videos are by far better than those where she has to be co-ordinated and physically move about much. They're actually pretty good.

 

Kimberly

Edited January 28, 2009 by Kimber

[happyWImom]

Too funny! I love Denise Austen, because she is so "sunny!" I don't want to work out with a slave driver:lol: Seriously, the last time that I lost a bunch of weight (after 2nd dd) Denise Austen was who I was using. She used to have a show on Lifetime called the Daily Workout. It was perfect. I like the way she tries to balance the exercises to give you a good workout. I also like that she encourages 30min a day to keep yourself fit:D Definitely check the library and try a couple. Some are harder than others.

 

Good luck!

 

:iagree::iagree:I love Denise too!! I have used her off and on for years. I have done the shows on Lifetime, and I also have a bunch of her DVD's. You get really good workouts, but they don't kill you, and she explains everything really well. I've done a few other people's dvd's and I had to re-play some of the moves over & over to figure them out. Get them-you won't regret it!:001_smile:

[Mommy22alyns]

I really like Denise Austin. Sometimes I want to smack her for being so relentlessly happy, but I take that as a good motivational sign. I used her pregnancy workout during my first pregnancy.

[newbie]

I taught aerobics for about 10 years. I own a ton of dvd's and don't use any of them. :-)

 

Anyway, Denise Austin is fine, if you don't have much rhythm or don't care if she gets out of sync with the music. She always starts on the wrong count and doesn't work the right and the left sides evenly. I have never actually seen her in person, although I have taken some instructor training from one or two people that actually have videos and DA is by far one of the worst aerobics instructors out there.

 

I will add that I will probably end up using her videos at home once I can start exercising again. She's perfect for someone recovering for an injury or just getting started. But as soon as you're ready to take it to another level, you need something else.

 

Oh, and her yoga and pilates videos are by far better than those where she has to be co-ordinated and physically move about much. They're actually pretty good.

 

Kimberly

 

LOL, she grates on my nerves. The new video looks good, but maybe you can watch it on mute.

[Sugarfoot]

Well, for 12 minutes you could probably handle anything...:D

[DB in NJ]

All I can tell you is that I CAN'T STAND her voice. Nothing against her, nothing against her programs (never watch them, 'cause I can't stand her voice!!!!) :lol:

 

Annoying? Yes. I'd rather listen to impaled cats...

[Trivium Academy]

LOL, she grates on my nerves. The new video looks good, but maybe you can watch it on mute.

 

:lol: Once I get the moves down, I'll mute her and listen to music instead-which is very funny b/c that was what I was thinking for any exercise video.

[St. Theophan Academy]

I have her abs dvd - can only stand to do it with her voice off! but, the workouts are good, especially the short quick ones - very practical for busy moms, and effective. I used her pregnancy one through 2 of my pregnancies, but like I said, she irritates the fire out of me. The Dvd I have gives you the option to play music instead of her voice, so once you use them a few times and learn the exercises, you can turn her voice off (if it bothers you :) and just listen to the sound track.

[Veritaserum]

I like Denise Austin. :) I tivo'd her show (Fit & Light) a few years ago. She's sunny and I like that.

[buddhabelly]

I used her pregnancy one through 2 of my pregnancies

 

I loved her pregnancy workout video. Wasn't her own child in it at the end? That was what inspired me....seeing how fit she was after childbirth. ETA: I just Googled it and she was actually pregnant in the video, but there was a "postnatal" section where you were introduced to her baby and she showed you what exercises to do after giving birth. That came out wrong....you know what I mean. I mean WAY after giving birth.

 

So, to Jessica: think Kathie Lee Gifford. Yeah, really. But her workout tapes/DVDs are really effective, so I think I would put up with her for a while until I could mute her. (Sounds like something involving duct tape when I put it that way, huh?)

 

Best wishes. By the way, I just started Jill Miller's DVD a few weeks ago (something about "Core"). Not for the faint of heart, but oh so effective. It is relatively new and by my friends Ian and Mark (Pranamaya -- they act like this big slick company but it is just Ian and Mark).

 

If you ever get to the point where you want a really challenging yoga DVD, try Shiva Rea's "Yoga Shakti." It is like a mini-vacation, because she filmed it at some tropical beach location. I can't do half the stuff on it, but I still like it for what I can do. (ETA: there is nothing inconsistent with Christianity in the Yoga Shakti DVD. Can everyone hear Jessica rushing off to re-enroll in Netflix??)

 

Julie

Edited February 4, 2009 by buddhabelly

[greensummervillian]

I can see how you might find her annoying, but I personally like her.

[Diana in OR]

I have a couple of her dvds and like them. One is pilates and the other is strength training. I went through them a couple of times and did just what you said-I muted the sound and also ff through some parts of it.

[weederberries]

I, too, find her voice and sunny disposition annoying.  I find most aerobics videos annoying.  

 

My pet peeve is deceptive counting and she does it.  "Ok, just 4 more. 10-9-8-7..."  I "fired" a trainer at the gym for counting like that.  I need the right kind of motivation. Pretending this brutality is "so fun!" and not calling it like it is are two ways to really tick me off.  

 

I need somebody who will say, "hey, I'm glad you showed up.  I'm gonna kill you for a little bit, but then it's over."  When I sweat, I get angry, so I don't need anybody pretending this is anything more than what it is...a means to an end.  ;-)

 

I have a couple of Jillian Michaels' videos.  She's straight forward, not overly "cute" and  says "this is hard, but you won't regret it." I much prefer her style.  

[morgan]

I like her. She does have a personality of a bubbly cheerleader, but most fitness instructors do.

[Hoot]

I used her years ago but have always found her voice and personality incredibly annoying.  I'd much rather have more of a drill sargent than a cheerleader.

[trulycrabby]

I am not a huge Denise Austin fan, but this dvd got good reviews on amazon.com. It's a good price, too:http://www.amazon.com/Denise-Austin-Get-Daily-Dozen/dp/B001GP5TL8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1373498549&sr=8-1&keywords=denise+austin+daily+dozen

 

I'd say give it a try.

[Word Nerd]

I like her and bought two of her workout DVDs after trying them on Amazon Prime (Prime's interface--at least on our PS3--is too clunky to use for regular workouts because I can't select only the parts I want to do without fast forwarding and trying to make it stop in the right place). Her voice and expressions make me laugh sometimes, but I enjoy the workouts and find her motivating. I don't want a drill sergeant at all, so her cheering works for me. YMMV.

[serendipitous journey]

I have had very good luck with her eating plans, and her schedules for aerobics + strength + stretching, but not with the actual exercises.  When I found Denise Austin I'd been working out with various strength training stuff from Joyce Vedral which I found much more effective (though Vedral's eating plans are IMHO horrid, and her DVDs are not high in production quality).  Weight Training Made Easy and Definition are good, the College Dorm Workout is great if you are busy and haven't much space/money. 

 

At any rate, when I subbed Vedral's strength training for Austin's I made better progress. 

[hands-on-mama]

 

I loved her pregnancy workout video. Wasn't her own child in it at the end? That was what inspired me....seeing how fit she was after childbirth. ETA: I just Googled it and she was actually pregnant in the video, but there was a "postnatal" section where you were introduced to her baby and she showed you what exercises to do after giving birth. That came out wrong....you know what I mean. I mean WAY after giving birth.

 

So, to Jessica: think Kathie Lee Gifford. Yeah, really. But her workout tapes/DVDs are really effective, so I think I would put up with her for a while until I could mute her. (Sounds like something involving duct tape when I put it that way, huh?)

 

Best wishes. By the way, I just started Jill Miller's DVD a few weeks ago (something about "Core"). Not for the faint of heart, but oh so effective. It is relatively new and by my friends Ian and Mark (Pranamaya -- they act like this big slick company but it is just Ian and Mark).

 

If you ever get to the point where you want a really challenging yoga DVD, try Shiva Rea's "Yoga Shakti." It is like a mini-vacation, because she filmed it at some tropical beach location. I can't do half the stuff on it, but I still like it for what I can do. (ETA: there is nothing inconsistent with Christianity in the Yoga Shakti DVD. Can everyone hear Jessica rushing off to re-enroll in Netflix??)

 

Julie

Is the Shiva Rae workout on Netflix? I can't find any of the workout videos on netflix streaming anymore.

 

I have used Denise Austin before. She was okay.

[Maela]

I like her. I have one of her yoga DVDs. Its a good workout.

This.

[staceyobu]

The Jillian Michael's 30 day shred is on YouTube. It's only 26 minutes and is awesome. I'm on day 23 and down 9 pounds and feeling way more muscular.

[arnold]

Cathe Friedrich is the BEST when it comes to workout dvd's.  She has her own website (cathe.com) and if you go to the "shopping" tab you can preview all of her stuff.

[freeindeed]

I like Denise Austin. She is very perky, but I had fun working out when I watched her shows. She used to have two on Lifetime. I would get up every morning and work out to them.

[Guest DeniseFan]

Full episodes from Denise Austin's Lifetime shows.

Daily Workout
http://deniseaustinfan.blogspot.com/search/label/Daily%20Workout"

Fit and Lite
http://deniseaustinfan.blogspot.com/search/label/Fit%20and%20Lite


Full workout videos.

Workout Videos
http://deniseaustinfan.blogspot.com/search/label/Workout%20Videos


I'm also including an interesting link to a 2007 Washington DC newspaper story in which Denise reportedly giggled when asked by someone if she knew she was the object of so much lust on YouTube and said, “Now I’m worried.†She also said that she was totally unaware of it (yeah right!). I wonder if she has ever read any of the comments and giggled.

Here is the link:
Stretch Comedy: Exercise guru gets indecent exposure. - Washington City Paper (Dave McKenna, 4/20/2007)
http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/articles/1275/stretch-comedy

[parias1126]

I can not watch her. Ugh! My favorite is Cathe Friedrich. She is awesome and most all her workouts are "advanced" which is what I need. She really really works you! I also love Kelly Coffey Meyer, but use her on lighter days since most of hers are not as intense as Cathe's workouts.