Bob Harper’s Yoga for the Warrior DVD Review

bobharperyoga

When I first started getting healthier and working out I didn’t know too much about the proper techniques and methods.  And that included not knowing that it’s a good idea to do some stretching before some of the stuff that I was doing.

Without it I was risking injuries and in fact in sometimes I did feel the occasional twinge or tweak that I probably hadn’t needed to have went through.

I also didn’t realize how much being more flexible in general can help in all aspects of my life, not only in exercising and fitness but also in doing all of the regular day-to-day things.

And with Yoga I knew very little about when I started out.  Sure, I knew as much as anyone who had seen references to it on TV or in books might know and I remember having a girlfriend way back when I was young who did Yoga from time to time.

But I wasn’t really introduced to it nor did I try it until we started doing Wii Fit Plus and then P90X.

Wii Fit Plus has some light fairly easy Yoga but it was a good start.  But P90X has an hour and a half of Yoga for one session.  Fairly hard, especially for someone who wasn’t used to it, and quite long.

After trying a few other Yoga DVD’s like some of Rodney Yee’s stuff, as well as doing the P90X Yoga, P90X Stretch-X, and strengthening my core with other core and ab exercises – I found that I really enjoyed and was getting some great benefits from all of this particular area.  I was getting much, much more flexible and found that bicycling was easier, swinging my leg high to step over an obstacle was no big deal, and while I was certainly no where near the level of flexibility others might be – I still was many times more so than a short year before.

And Yoga is a great way to increase flexibility.

YogaSure, you can consider the relaxation aspect of it and what-have-you, but for me I like it for the stretching and flexibility it is giving me.  And I find almost all of the fitness and exercise I do to be a form of relaxation (even if I’m not relaxing physically) and de-stressor.

So while perusing Amazon and some other websites I came across mentions of Bob Harper’s  Yoga for the Warrior, part of his Inside Out Method series.  Looked good so we decided to try it.

First of all; this is NOT part of the Biggest Loser franchise.  I think you’ll find this harder and in fact it’s probably meant more for someone with intermediate/advanced abilities when it comes to fitness and Yoga then someone starting out.

Not that I’m very experienced with Yoga, but I am familiar with common Yoga moves now, and Bob doesn’t give you instructions in proper form nor explain how to get into them.  He also doesn’t pause and give you time if you’re not real familiar with the proper form.  So it’s probably best if you know something about Yoga and have done it before enough to A) know how to get into proper form as needed in a timely manner B) be flexible enough to get into the various poses and stretches in the first place.

Bob doesn’t even do a lot of the moves but the three others who are doing the Yoga on the DVD with him do.

That’s not to say that if you are a beginner you can’t do this at all.  I have seen a number of reviews from those who have never done Yoga or are new to exercise and have no problem doing this Yoga workout DVD.  They can modify, take breaks, or whatever.

Robert, a large muscular gentleman, is the modifier on this DVD and those who are less experienced or less flexible perhaps, can follow him.    So you definitely don’t need to do the positions exactly perfectly if you are not up to it, and you can still get a good yoga session anyway.  Yet you probably want to start out with another perhaps easier Yoga DVD if you haven’t’ done it before.

Yoga Guy

The two women on the DVD go through the moves in proper form and as instructed.  And they indeed are very flexible.  Like with the “bird of paradise” pose – very hard and the two women are in pretzelized form for this one.  My wife can’t even do this one and she’s very flexible.

As I said above – I’m much more flexible than I used to be but by no means real flexible, but I am proud to say that there are only two poses I can not do (including the “bird of paradise”).  I may not be able to do them terribly well, but I can certainly do them and get a good stretch that I can feel.

So as mentioned previously; this is somewhat intermediate or advanced.  There are many very challenging moves (at least for me) and this isn’t a laid-back, meditative Yoga like you may see on other DVD’s.  There’s really not much in the way of new-agey Yoga philosophy thrown into this.

Not that I have anything against that aspect but I’m doing it for the stretching and exercise and this DVD fits me perfectly.  You’ll find that it’s pretty much straight yoga and exercises, more a power Yoga, with some body weight exercises and modifications and some stuff that will work your abs and core.  And will make you sweat, as long as you’re not phoning it in of course.

This is typical of some exercise DVD’s in that there’s a timer across the bottom of the screen, and it begins with lighter stretching and works on up to more advanced positions.

There’s also no harps and melodic string instructions here either.  There’s a range of instrumental music from generic hard rock to generic poppy rock, and some mellower stuff at the end.

You know right off the bat that Bob means business here, both because of the music as well as how he gets you right into it.

Bob really motivates you on this, rather than teaching you or wasting time showing you the techniques and proper positions – which I like.  I don’t need needless instruction in how to do the moves – I can get that on other DVD’s.  Besides, you can look at the tv screen right?

He’s not quite as intense in this, as you would expect, as in something like “Bob Harper’s Inside Out Method Pure Burn Bob Harper's Yoga for the WarriorSuper Strength” (see my review of it in this blog posting).  But he’s all business-like and will keep you on track.

Well, I shouldn’t say “all business-like” as he does joke with his people a bit.  Like during a taxing move where you hold one leg up for a period of time – he rests his head on the leg of one of the women, putting enough weight on her leg to make her scrunch her face up.  Bob’s laugh, as always, would probably be silly and annoying in other people – but you know the guy is serious about what he’s doing and it ends up endearing.  Besides, you don’t want to make fun of a dude ‘s laugh who can probably kick your ass around the room.

So…I give this one some nice thumbs up.  Good exercise in general, interesting and fun and will make you sweat, as well as feel well-stretched when finished, and Bob’s always motivational and will get you to where you want to go.

Also, on the DVD is a 15 minute Yoga Ab workout (well, it says 15 minutes but it’s slightly more).  Not really a lot of Yoga in it (except the stretching at the end) but some really nice core and ab strengthening exercise for sure.  You definitely want to try this part too.

Again, Robert does the modified versions.  You’ll definitely feel this one, nice bonus on the DVD.

Also see my review of Bob Harper’s Inside Out Method Pure Burn Super Strength.

Yoga Moves

Marc M

I am a web developer and fitness geek, but I have a heck of a lot of differing interests.  Biking, the Internet, technology, movies, fitness, running and walking and hiking, science fiction, photography, graphics, WordPress, flying and aircrafts, pets and animals, history, and much more.  I like to stay very fit but I don’t mind sitting at my computer for work and play either.  I live in upstate New York (that’s far from New York City) in a rural area, yet close to a small city, with my beautiful awesome wife, a bunch of beloved cats and dogs and chickens in a very old multi-century house.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.