Davina - Super Body Workout [DVD]

I bought this DVD after being disappointed with the Kelly Brook 'Strictly Come Dancing' one, as people highly recommend it on this site. I am relatively fit with daily walking and 2 gym sessions a week (mainly for weights). I also used to be a fitness instructor so I have an understanding of teaching exercise safely to beginners. Having done - so far - only the Super Pump workout (the one with the extra abs session stuck at the end), I'll say first of all that my overall impression is a good one. The instructor is great, non-intimidating and reassuring. She also does some of the movements in a lower impact form and tells the viewer to copy Davina if they want the option with the jumps etc. Davina is....well herself really. I found it a bit annoying in the warm up when she was pretending to find it really hard, when it clearly wasn't (it was easy even for me!). But I think generally the 'annoying' moments are few and can easily be ignored. Her introduction to the DVD was actually very motivating and full of common sense.
My main criticism is that some of the routines were not explained very well. The instructor went straight into them without first breaking them down for the viewer. I found myself totally lost a few times. I am sure that with a couple more viewings anyone will be able to pick up the routines, as it's not a heavily coreographed video (which is good if you're like me and you want to burn calories rather than spend hours learning a step).
My second issue is that some of the kickboxing type of move could have done with a small tutorial at the beginning, because kicking around in bad form could injure you. I did kickboxing-type aerobics classes before so I knew a bit of technique but I still struggled a bit with the moves. I have Billy Banks' Tae Bo DVDs and he always, *always* gives you a tutorial first.
Finally, and this is a regular problem with fitness dvds, the camera work! Why can't they STOP zooming to the upper bodies of the presenters during a complex aerobic routine? Can they not understand that the viewer NEEDS to see their feet to be able to follow? That was the single most annoying thing in what is otherwise a very good effective workout.
I initially did the Super Pump section without the abs but it kind of finished too soon - it does feel a bit short! - so I went back to the one with the added abs section and fast forwarded to the abs bit. The abs workout that follows is very good and very safely taught.
Despite my criticism, I'd definitely recommend this DVD and I'm looking forward to trying out the other sections once I have mastered the Super Pump one.
UPDATE: I have now done the other part of the workout, the 'toning' one, with the extra legs session at the end, and I found it a lot harder than the cardio workout. I train legs regularly in the gym but still, I was sore for 3 days! So far I've used the DVD 4 or 5 times and I can already see changes in my body shape. To those saying that it's not challenging, my comment is that the instructor does give you the option to make it harder or easier throughout. Yes the moves in the cardio workout are slightly repetitive, but this is IDEAL for people who want to get fit rather than spend the first 5 sessions just learning the moves. And it really is great if you don't have much space around you, which might be the reason why they keep the moves quite simple and confined to a small area. I will also add that the steps that do require co-ordination can be mastered in a couple of sessions (as I have, and I'm really hopeless like that) so again, this is really good to get fit straightaway with no frills.

I now own all of Davina's workout dvd's - apart from the pregnancy one - and, for me, this is definitely the best.

Super Fit (a 40 minute aerobic kickboxing session) is a lot of fun with loads of kicking and punching, which makes it a great stress buster as well as really getting you sweating. It's not as repetitive as the boxing in 'High Energy 5' so you could do it a couple of times every week without getting bored. There is also an add-on 10-min abdominal exercise session which really does the job!

And the Super Sculpt (a 40 minute toning session including fat-burning aerobic intervals) is an improvement on previous Pump and Legs sessions on Davina's dvds. The others are great, don't get me wrong, but Super Sculpt combines squats and lunges WITH the upper body weights repetitions at the same time so you're getting double the benefit. Again there are two optional add-ons if you have extra time to work on your upper or lower body and up the intensity a bit.

One of the things I love about Davina's series is the constant instruction from her and her two personal trainers, Mark and Jackie Wren, so you're always reminded of correct posture to avoid injury. There's also a lot of encouragement in this dvd which, especially towards the end of the aerobic intervals, is much needed. And, as always, the soundtrack is awesome. Plus, the warm up and cool down sessions are very effective in doing their job. I've done four of the workouts since the dvd arrived on Monday (it's now Saturday)and although my shoulders and bum can definitely feel that they've been pushed it's in a good 'this really works' way not an 'ouch, I'm not doing that again' way.

People often criticise Davina's dvds because of the chatting and jokes from her and Mark but personally I find them funny and that it distracts me from the fact that I'm doing a tough workout. However, if you don't want to hear the 'skipping story' again you have the option to switch to Mostly Music so you don't have to.

I've been using her previous dvds for about six months now. I look and feel much better and my back pain (from arthritis in my upper and lower spine) has eased considerably. You only have to look at Davina since she launched the first of her workout dvds to see that they really do work. Unlike other celebs her weight doesn't pile on and off to sell them - she always looks great. This dvd does what it says on the box: It's super, and with continued use I'm sure you'll get a super body too.

I am not one for buying fitness DVDs (since I am a regular at the gym) but I bought this for the days I am not able to get to the gym due to having young children.

It is great as you have the choice of 2 main workouts (super fit - that focuses on fatburn & super sculpt - which is a toning workout). These are both really good workouts that I enjoy doing.

You can also chop & change your routine so you are not doing the same workout routine over & over which can be boring and make you not want to do the DVD. There are 4 additional workouts that add a further 10 minutes to the 2 main workouts focusing on different areas of the body that you want to work on (superpump - is the sculpt workout with extra upper body exercises, superabs - is the fit workout with abdominal exercises, superlegs - is the sculpt workout with leg & bum exercises; and finally super six pack which is a serperate little 10 minutes workout to get a woman's six pack).

The DVD menu makes it very easy to go to the workout you want to do (so no sitting there having to fast forward to the actual workout past the introduction, which I have experienced on the 1 other fitness DVD I have).

Davina is cheery which makes it enjoyable to workout to as it is like being in a aerobic class. This is well worth the money, 5 stars!Davina - Super Body Workout [2008]