Davina: 7 Minute Fit - New for 2015 [DVD]

I've just done 42 minutes of Davina's new 7 Minute Fit and I really like it. I buy her new dvd annually as I think she provides the best home workout on the market. She and her team of experts have a really good idea of what the normal home exerciser wants.Many are familiar with Davina's fitness DVDs and I think it's fair and relevant to compare them when reviewing this year's offering. My favourite dvd of all is Davina Intense, it really is intense and after doing that weekly a couple times a week for the last two years, I'm not fed up of it and it never fails to make me breathless, I also like the shape it gives me. But I'm 46 now and whilst I know I'm not past it yet, I feel like I'd rather not have to feel like I have to bust a gut to keep fit and every time I do that workout I ask myself why I'm doing this and wish Davina, who is the same age as me, would come out with a DVD of workouts that would be effective, fat burning and metabolism boosting but a little bit "gentler". Well my wish has come true! In 7 Minute Fit, there are no heart busting 30 second intervals (Intense) or strenuous knee jarring jumps and thigh expanding lunges (Fit in Fifteen - my least favourite). With Intense you really want to do it as you know you're going to raise your heart level until you think you might drop, but when you've finished you know you've had a good work out. While I was doing 7 Mins, I must admit it felt a little too easy, but it was a more "comfortable" pace and actually when I was finished (I combined 4 of the workouts with the warm up and stretch to make 42 minutes), I could FEEL that I had done something.The warm up is quite basic and easy to do, anyone could have made that up for themselves, nothing like the Intense warm up (which makes you wonder if you really want to carry on!). The 7 minute workouts are more than manageable if you're fit, but you really have to link a few together to feel like you're getting a reasonable workout. I can't imagine being satisfied with doing just 7 minutes. I love the Total Stretch, it's also for 7 minutes and mainly on the floor, which makes a change. I admit I did think a 7 minute stretch would be a bore, but it doesn't involve "holding" the stretches for long and is very fluid and repeats about 5 good moves over about 4 times.Overall, I really like this new DVD and can see myself doing this a couple of times a week or in combination with Intense, but I'll combine the workouts to make a 50/60 minute workout. I'll stick to it on it's own for a while though at first to see how it benefits my shape and if the fat burning keeps my weight under control.I do miss "tummy tight" Jacqui and wobbly Mark (could never keep his balance) , but this new trainer, Ed, seems on the ball, there isn't as much joking around (can get annoying though hearing the same joke time and time again when doing the dvd regularly) but he is amiable enough, easy on the eye (athough not my type) and I like his attention to proper technique, I like to know the most effective positioning and to know which body part a particular exercise is targeting.There is also the added bonus, when purchasing the dvd, of a free 5 week personalised combined exercise and nutrition programme on Davina's newly created website (£5 a month thereafter).Just what I need right now I think.

I've got several of Davina's other workout DVDs and I like them a lot, so I was interested what she would do with this one without Jackie and Mark, the trainers who have accompanied her until now.Fortunately this DVD gives you an excellent, no nonsense workout, which is what I'm always looking for. It's split into a number of different sections, all of which are seven minutes long, and the idea is that you mix and match them according to your preference. If you were really pushed for time, or you were exercising for the first time, you could start with just one, but to get any long-term benefit you'd want to be doing at least three or four sections a few times a week.Ed, the new trainer, clearly really knows his stuff and is very professional and knowledgeable, and also comes across as a nice, genuine sort of bloke. Davina is her usual massively enthusiastic self, which I know some people find annoying, but I can't help liking her; she is an excellent fitness role model with a very healthy approach that promotes fitness and good muscle tone rather than skinniness. She is also honest about when exercises will be tough and when your muscles will start to burn; unlike some celebrities in their fitness DVDs, she doesn't skip around like a show pony in full make-up pretending everything's easy while clearly not putting much effort in.The exercises are not at all complicated or gimmicky: they are are simple, effective, boot camp style exercises that don't require much coordination - there are no dance-type moves or long sequences to learn, and it's nice to see a return to old-school, effective fitness exercises after all the 'dance yourself fit' and zumba type workouts that are all over the place these days.I've seen a few reviews which suggest you won't break a sweat - I would say that you should break a sweat *if you put the effort in* and give each exercise as much intensity as you personally can. If you are used to exercising then yes, obviously you won't find it as a challenging as a complete beginner, but I would say that by putting *your* maximum effort in and by doing as many sections as you can find time for, you should certainly get a decent workout from this DVD. I've also seen reviews claiming that Ed doesn't talk you through the exercises enough, but in fact there is a useful section you can watch where he shows you the correct techniques for a lot of them, and the others are simple enough that you shouldn't *need* to be talked through them, frankly.The fact that you can tailor this DVD by combining as many different sections as you want really appeals to me, and of course you can fit in whatever you've got time for. Some days that might be one sections, other days it might be three or four or six or the whole DVD. It's ideal for people who are busy or get easily bored with doing exactly the same thing every day.My one complaint is that you can't fast-forward the ever-tedious, legally required disclaimer at the start that tells when you should/shouldn't exercise; this is frankly infuriating. But other than that, great.