Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I'm new to Jessica Smith's workouts, but have fallen in love with her upbeat personality and cheery workouts this past year. This new set is fantastic! So far, I've only done two of the workouts, but I've previewed the workouts and already love the set and know I'll use it a lot. Just be warned that although it's called Walk Strong 3, it's actually a program that also includes other types of cardio workouts -- not just walking -- and strength and flexibility sessions. That being said, it's a very inclusive program, and the combination of cardio, strength, and stretching workouts make for a well-rounded and thorough program. As a bit of background on my workout habits, I've always considered myself to be an advanced exerciser (my favorite instructors/workouts have been Cathe Friedrich, Tonique, Dream Body, 21 Day Fix Extreme, etc.), but as I've gotten older those more intense workouts exhaust me, and so I've cut back to doing pilates and walking workouts. Jessica's workouts have been just what I've needed, and I always feel good after doing them. Here are some general things to know about the set: * it comes with an eight-week calendar that breaks down which workouts to do each day * there are two modifiers in most of the workouts -- one (Jessica's mom) who does modified moves and one (Beth) who does more advanced moves * you'll need a mat, a chair, a small ball, and some weights (both heavy, medium, and light) in order to do the workouts * two of the workouts use a half-step, but you can do them without one * there is an on-screen countdown timer for all of the workouts, so you know how much time is remaining * the thirty-minute workouts include the warmup and cool down; each one, though, flows right into the cool down, so you may need to take a bit longer to stretch afterwards since the stretch is pretty brief * the set is bright and cheery, and it's really easy to see all the movements that each exerciser does At the start of each workout, a screen will appear that shows you what equipment you'll need for that workout. For the eight weeks, you're doing one workout a day, with one active rest day. The calendar also notes that you can add on any of the fifteen-minute workouts to your schedule, and also encourages you to add on as many of the stretch workouts as you can throughout the week. Some of the workouts are labeled on the calendar as more moderate to higher intensity, whereas others are listed as moderate intensity. There is also a note on the calendar that you can mix in other Walk Strong workouts to change things up a bit. (I have to say, too, that I love the fact that this set comes with a printed, glossy calendar. I hate that many programs nowadays make you download and then print your own calendar since my printer isn't that great. This one is sleek and large.) If you order the program on DVD here on Amazon, the set comes with six DVDs and twenty workouts: * DISK 1 -- Foundations and Flexibility * Introduction -- Welcome to the Program! * Foundations -- Review of form pointers before jumping into the program (30 minutes) * Deep Stretch -- Focuses on flexibility and increasing range of motion (30 minutes) * Yoga Strength + Stretch -- Focuses on core and yoga moves (30 minutes) * DISK 2 -- Cardio Cross Train * Cardio Step Jam -- Moderate-level cardio workout; Jessica uses a step, but you can do it without one (30 minutes) * Boogie I.T. -- Cardio workout with timed intervals ("I.T." stands for "interval training"); (30 minutes) * Cardio HIIT -- Kickboxing intervals (30 minutes) * DISK 3 -- Sculpt * Metabolic Conditioning -- Uses metabolic intervals; Jessica uses a high step for this one, but you can do the workout without a step (30 minutes) * Cardio Interval Sculpt -- Combines cardio intervals with strength segments (30 minutes) * Barre Sculpt -- Barre-style total-body workout (30 minutes) * DISK 4 -- Strength * Total Body -- Uses compound moves to work the entire body (30 minutes) * Upper Body -- Uses heavier weights to focus on the upper body and core (30 minutes) * Lower Body -- Uses heavier weights to focus on the legs and core (30 minutes) * DISK 5 -- Fusion Mix * Barefoot Cardio Core -- low-impact cardio (30 minutes); this one uses the playground ball with low-impact moves to really target your abs/core * Tone + Flow -- barefoot workout that uses lighter weights (30 minutes) * Pilates + Yoga -- mix of yoga and pilates moves (30 minutes) DISK 6 -- 15-Minute Fix (each of these workouts is 15 minutes long) * 1-Mile of Motivation -- one-mile walk * Total Body Training -- total-body strength workout * Streamline Sculpt -- uses one dumbbell to work the entire body, but with an emphasis on the core * Add on Abs -- focuses on the core * Total Stretch -- a total-body stretch workout I really appreciate that Jessica is still putting out DVDs for those of us who prefer them over streaming workouts or downloads. The DVDs come shipped in a case that holds them all, and little square pieces of foam are even put in between each element to make sure that the DVDs don't slip out in transit. As mentioned earlier, this new program is really well-rounded, and incorporates all of the elements of a complete program. I'll update my review with results as I get farther into the program, but, for now, I'll just say that this is another fantastic set by Jessica. She's a kind, motivating instructor, and doing one of her workouts is always enough to get me out of a funk and brighten my day! Happy exercising!