Rockin Models: A Rockin’ Workout?

I know, I know. You shouldn’t judge a book (or a DVD) by its cover. But I can’t help it—I feel like a workout DVD gives me a little clue as to what to expect with the photo it chooses for the front cover, and when the promo art for Rockin Models showed five remarkably thin (and gorgeous) women in jeggings, well, I had two thoughts. First, “Are they serious?” And second, “Oh, I’ve gotta try this.”

(Yes, I believe I’m walking that line between totally judgmental and very open-minded. Whatever, it seems to work.)

So, anyway, I began the workout ready to sweat a little and laugh a lot. Because, you know. Jeggings. Led by celebrity trainer Grace Lazenby, it’s a little over an hour long and is a mix of yoga, ballet and burlesque, and features music by Matt Goss, Greg Laswell and Cary Brothers (none of whom I had heard of, but they weren’t bad—a little bit of rock, a little indie vibe, and an interesting choice for the type of workout this provided).

The workout begins with a fast-paced flow yoga interval with pretty standard stuff—a lot of down dogs, a lot of warriors, you know the drill. It got my muscles warm, but didn’t talk much about form, which always concerns me with yoga because it’s so easy to do incorrectly when not done in a live class. But, if you know your downward dogs, you’ll be fine.

From there, it moves into a burlesque section that was a bit repetitive—but really tough. Like, legs-shaking tough. But it doesn’t last too long because you go back to yoga, but slower this time, and then back to “detailing” burlesque/ballet, followed by some solid if not groundbreaking work on the abs, glutes and legs with a lot of moves that felt very Pilates-y.

Now, I really have no beef with the workout itself—it was hard but manageable, there were modifications shown for many of the moves and Lazenby cues well. But I’ve got one major issue with it: The women doing the workout use two hats, a stick and ball, and the DVD cover or back makes no mention of any of this. Now, I guess one doesn’t really need the hat as a dance prop, but it would be nice to be given the heads up. The stick (for balance during the up-and-down burlesque moves) and ball (to be held between the legs during those moves) are necessary. I would’ve loved some warning—heck, even 10 seconds at the beginning of a section requiring a prop would’ve at least given me time to pause the darn thing and grab what I needed.

FBG Rating (Out of 5):

Instruction: ★★★
Long-Term Likeability: ★★★
Music: ★★★★
Fun Factor: ★★★★
Meets Expectations: ★★★★

Overall: ★★★1/2

Best for: Rockin Models is for gals who love the idea of getting a little sexy and having some fun during their workout. If you take yourself too seriously, you might not enjoy it the way you really should!

Do you prefer your workouts with a side of sex appeal, or would you rather bring your sexy back after the post-workout shower? —Kristen