The Kettlebell Goddess Workout

There is so much footage on this DVD that it would be near impossible to describe it all (although another VFer, Carol, has provided some very nice breakdowns of the individual Goddess workouts). Therefore, I'm going to focus on mainly providing an overview of the DVD's format.

The DVD is led by Andrea Du Cane, a Master RKC (Russian Kettlebell Certified) Instructor. She is joined by two other RKC instructors, Nicole Du Cane (who leads the stretch segment) and Kristann Heinz, M.D. The three women are exercising in a rather sparse studio with concrete floors; kettlebells are set about on pedestals. There is NO music during this DVD and very little talking overall--i.e., Du Cane often simply introduces the exercise and the begins the repetitions, with virtually no setup, form pointers, or other information.

The Main Menu of DVD breaks down into MANY different submenu menus, as indicated by ellipses. Here are the options from the Main Menu, with brief comments and times added by me:

*Play All

*Introduction (Andrea provides a 5min overview, including the general layout of the DVD, the option of using 1 or 2 kettlebells, and the importance of wearing flat-soled shoes)

*Quick Start Review...

*Workouts Menu...

*Medical Benefits from Kettlebell Training (Kristann reviews general exercise benefits; 4.5min)

*Pregnancy and Kettlebell Training (Kristann discusses kettlebells and pregnancy; 8min)

*Get the Most Out of Your Kettlebell DVD (this option instructs the viewer to place the disc in a computer drive, which will access a PDF file with additional tips on programming your own workout, breakdowns of the Goddess workouts, and suggestions for workout rotations)

*Contact Information...

*Credits

Quick Start Review brings up a submenu offering tutorials for some of the exercises. These are brief (the entire segment is only 6.5 minutes) but helpful, especially given that few form pointers are offered during the workouts themselves. Here is the submenu listing:

*Play All

*Swing

*Clean

*Military Press

*Front Squat

*Windmills

*Snatches

*Power Breath

The Workouts submenu consists of three options that lead to their own submenus. These are Goddess Workouts - Design-Your-Own-Workout - Bonus Drills.

The Goddess Workouts ALL include the Joint Mobility/Warmup (5.5min) and the Cool Down Stretches (7.5 mins). They range in length from about 20 to 30 minutes, and as noted above, they are described in the downloadable PDF file. They are listed on the menu as follows:

*Artemis: Upper Body

*Athena: Full Body Strength

*Auxesia: Abs & Core

*Callipygus: Legs & Butt

*Nike: Cardio & Endurance

*Odyne: Strength & Cardio Kick-Butt

(Note: I had an odd problem with this particular menu in that while I was viewing it, the DVD kept stopping–not freezing, but acting as if I had hit the "stop" button–which happened several times.)

Choosing "Design-Your-Own-Workout" brings up another submenu with the following options:

*Joint Mobility/Warmup

*Upper Body Drills…

*Lower Body Drill…

*Cardio/Conditioning Drills…

*Abdominal Drills…

*Cool Down Stretches

Selecting any of the "Drills…" leads to yet another submenu which provides pre-set workout options (usually 3, A, B, & C, although there are only two for abs) as well as an actual drills option listing ALL of the exercises available.

The final section of the Workouts Menu is the Bonus Drills. These are a series of unique exercises that do not appear elsewhere in the workout, and they can be selected directly off the menu:

*Clean - Press - Overhead Squat

*Clean - Squat - Press

*Turkish Getup

*Bottom Up Cleans

*Farmer/Waiter Walks

*1-Legged Military Press

*1-Legged Lat Pull

*Crush Curl

*Pyramid Deadlift

*Triceps Dip

This DVD would be best suited to experienced kettlebell exercisers who don't need a lot of instruction and who are looking for a no-frills DVD which offers plenty of options.