Tracy Anderson: The Pregnancy Project

Pros:1. 30-35-minute workout for each month of pregnancy on 9 discs. This makes it easy to fit in an AM workout at home, especially on days you cannot imagine heading out to the gym.2. Easy to do at home, even in an apartment living room with limited space. Basically, you can do the workouts within the area of a standard yoga mat.3. Simple equipment-- yoga mat, chair, 2-3 lb dumbbells. (If you were not strong on weights before, I recommend doing 2 lb instead of the 3 lb recommended because you do a number of reps and 2 lb made me feel the burn without straining).4. Easy-to-follow workouts overall.5. Option to turn off background music and just hear her voice. (I highly recommend this option. You will get bored of the music if you do these workouts a few times a week. I put on my own workout mix in the background to stay motivated.)6. 2-part workout format of arm series then leg series. I found it helpful to even squeeze in at least 1 series (about 12-15 min.) on a particularly busy day.7. If you do all the reps and watch your form you will definitely feel your muscles being worked. I have been doing the workouts 2-3 times a week for about 3 months now (2nd half of 1st trimester and now part way through my 2nd) and do feel that it is keeping the non-bump areas of my body toned and strong. Actually, I expect to mix in these workouts even later post-pregnancy. Aside from excluding direct ab work, they would be challenging enough for a general gym-goer.Cons:1. 9 separate discs-- would be nice to have fewer and just select the month workout to play.2. Product placement/promos throughout the series, though at least they are separate DVD chapters so you are not forced to watch them every time you put on the DVD.3. Not a lot of variety. For instance, for the early months, you do arm series (mix of different ways to move arms with dumbells) which is good; however, all the leg series is done from a down-on-all-fours position. However, this is a workout you will feel and is part of a whole pre-natal workout routine, not a stand-alone.4. Minimal warm-ups and stretching. The workouts include some of this, but if you are doing these in the morning I recommend doing your own warm-up first and extra stretching after.

I love Tracy. I used her Metamorphosis series to get in shape for my wedding a few years ago so I knew I'd get results with her. Anyway, during my first pregnancy I was so scared to do too much so I walked every morning and swam a little tiny bit. My body ballooned up anyway and once I was able to lose that weight my butt and abs were just not the same-so flabby! Going into my second pregnancy (almost 5 months now!) I knew I needed some extra help so I purchased this set. First of all, I think the price is great for what you get (9 months of workouts) and I just can't say enough about how much I love her program so far. I was a little hesitant to purchase it at first because of some of the negative reviews (bad music, "unsafe" exercises) but I'm so glad I didn't listen! I'll be honest, I haven't been really consistent with my workouts but from what I've done I've noticed a HUGE difference in my body-and so has everyone else! I'm almost to the month 5 DVD and so far the workouts have been challenging but nothing scary at all. Tracy stresses again and again to listen to your body and if it feels uncomfortable don't do it.Anyone who's used a Tracy DVD before knows her music is probably going to be bad (which it is) but you have the option of working out to just her voice OR voice and music. I opt for her voice only and use my own music. Also, I think this series is much more guided than any other Tracy workout I've used in the past-she really explains the movements and COUNTS thank goodness! I'd highly recommend this series and will definitely use Tracy's post pregnancy DVD to help get back in shape after baby #2 arrives. 5 stars!!!

I decided that I should start exercising more regularly when I was 22 weeks along. I am reasonably active, but wasn't doing anything in the first half of my pregnancy because of morning sickness and travel. So I wasn't sure how I would feel jumping into a new routine, but this DVD is great, it is low impact, safe moves that still push me. She does arm work involving 3 lb weights and then drops them for the leg work, which involves being on your hands and knees and lifting your leg up and behind you at various angles for 20 repetitions. You will want a floor mat with some good cushioning.The 'all-fours' leg work seems to work the back a lot, too, which is great for me because I tend to get some back pain and sciatic nerve pain, later in pregnancy. I am hoping to avoid some of it this time.I have done all the DVD's from month 1-6 and then on a day when my back was feeling a little glitchy I tried the 9th month just to see what it involved. I really like all of them, but I think month 6 was my favorite so far.After doing them 6 days a week (plus walking 1-2 miles) I feel like they are helping with my strength and energy levels.I have decided to order a second pre-natal DVD off Amazon to mix up the routine though. I ordered "Expecting More- Sarah Haley's Daily Sweat Pregnancy Program". It looks like it has a higher intensity cardio factor which will be a good balance with this DVD hopefully.I like Tracy Anderson's personality, she doesn't do the cheesy commentary throughout the workout, just a little at the very start of each workout, but then she gets into the routine and is right to business.

Ich bin jetzt im 9. Monat also bei der letzen DVD angekommen. Hatte ich am Anfang noch gedacht, dass der Anspruch bestimmt rapide abnehmen würde und man am Ende nur noch irgendwelchen Alibisport macht, kann ich das jetzt revidieren: Von Monat 1-9 ist das Programm anspruchsvoll und fordernd. Nicht überfordernd, aber auf jeden Fall so, dass man sich nicht fühlt, als hätte man seine Zeit mit Bewegung verschwendet, die man sich auch sparen könnte, so wie ich es bei anderen Programmen für Schwangere empfinde.Es geht hier wirklich darum, sich fit und beweglich zu halten und beweglich ist hier wirklich nicht nur ein Wort. Tracy macht auch im 8. Monat noch Übungen, die andere nicht Mal in ihr Programm für nicht-Schwangere einbauen würden.Dadurch dass sie selbst schwanger ist, vertraue ich auch darauf, dass ich die Übungen dann auch selbst gut machen kann. Sie bietet auch leichtere Alternativen, falls Mal der Bauch oder so im Weg sein sollte.Ich würde die DVDs nicht empfehlen, falls jemand davor keine Sport gemacht hat, sonst könnte es glaube ich etwas frustrierend werden. Tracy hat einige Lieblingsübungen, die sie auch in ihrem normalen Programm macht, die hätten mich eventuell genervt, wenn ich sie nicht ohnehin schon erwartet hätte.Ich hatte bis jetzt eine relativ beschwerdefreie Schwangerschaft, kann aber leider nicht sagen, ob das nun am Sport liegt oder nicht, da ich keinen Vergleich habe. Ich mache die DVDs mindestens jeden zweiten Tag, dazu noch ab und zu Yoga und Spaziergänge.Ich empfehle diese DVDs wirklich weiter, weil ich mich nicht fühle, als müsste ich beimSport Abstriche machen nur weil ich schwanger bin. Ich werde normal behandelt, und mir wird mehr zugetraut als Katzenbuckel und Entspannungsübungen.Da es jeden Monat eine neue DVD gibt, wird es nicht langweilig. Eine Investition, die sich lohnt.Kann mir auch vorstellen, die DVDs nach der Schwangerschaft zu nutzen.

So I was fit going into pregnancy the first time and was clueless about keeping in shape safely while pregnant. I gained a lot and was so out of shape by delivery that at 3 months pp I got stuck on a playground swing because I didn't have the ab strength to get me off:(. 3 years fast forward and I am again in shape and was determined not to fall victim to the same deterioration as last time, I got a pregnancy yoga video which was so boring and slow I couldn't be bothered. I did weights and lunges but again was very careful. Around the 6th month mark I came across this series and ordered, I started at the 6th month video and was so impressed I managed to work my entire body without feeling I over did it. Now I'm onto the 7th month and sort of thought it will be slower and more of a "traditional" pregnancy workout, OMG it was hard in an awesome way. It was quicker paced but with full modifications and felt very graceful I actually stopped half way to go get changed into cooler clothes because i was sweating so much. I can't wait to keep going! I actually would love to hang out with her lol she has a bit of a dry wit, complains a bit about what a pain it is to even stretch down to touch the floor I think she's hilarious and says what I'm thinking which is refreshing. If you aren't fit starting this series or aren't used to fitness classes I'm not such this is your cup of tea.

Nove dvd uno per ogni mese di gravidanza, adatto ai vari cambiamenti di ogni mese....poco impegnativo i primi tre mesi, un po' più intenso nei mesi centrali.

This video is great if you are suffering from nausea and tiredness. It is supportive and focuses on keeping arms fit. I am not interested in loud music and jumping up and down this pregnancy.My last pregnancy I was running up until 6 months and going to cardio classes. Perhaps during that pregnancy, this video would have not been challenging enough.However, every pregnancy is different and this time, Tracy's DVD is perfect. I was doing metamorphis prior to pregnancy so it's great to stay with Tracy and will follow through with her post-pregnancy program.

Each month there's a new DVD which takes 30 mins to do which is adapted to suit your growing body during pregnancy.