Hi friends!  Did you have a good weekend?  Ours was pretty low key but it included hosting a dinner party (gotta break out that wedding china sometime!) and a sushi dinner at an amazing sushi restaurant. One thing that has been a staple on my weekends has been PiYo.* 

I purchased PiYo back when I was pregnant with Cooper but honestly, I found it rather difficult to do with my big belly getting in the way.  Recently, we’ve had a tradition in my house for a PiYo workout on the weekends.  Even the Hubs has been down with it! I love a workout that can bring you together with your significant other and this one really works for us.  The Hubs enjoys the mix of strength and stretch and the fact that it doesn’t require any equipment.  Plus, we can easily do it while the baby sleeps and if he wakes up, well, then we have extra weight on our bellies for core moves!

Here’s my PiYo review!

Background

PiYo was created by Chalene Johnson, whose claim to fame is Turbo Fire and Turbo Jam.  There was a lot of anticipation for her new program to come out and it is no wonder since her workouts are really popular!  The program is a combination of pilates and yoga (hence the PiYo) and focuses on building strength and flexibility.  PiYo’s tagline is “Define Yourself” and it is meant to be a workout program not requiring any equipment, weights or even shoes but you can still become sculpted and toned.  With that promise, I was excited to check it out!

(From my live PiYo class with Chalene last year!)

DVD Breakdown

• Fundamentals– PiYo starts with a Fundamentals DVD that breaksdown all of the moves that you will see in the program.  Honestly, I never completed this DVD.  I have extensive background in both yoga and pilates so I was not that interested in going through the fundamentals and I think that unless you are totally new to this type of workout, this DVD isn’t that useful.
• Align Lower Body– (25 minutes) This video goes through moves designed to target the lower body and relies heavily on asanas from yoga.  It’s a combination of strength and stretch and is a good warm-up to the program.  This DVD is beginner focused.
• Align Upper Body– (35 minutes) Although named Upper Body, this video also focuses a lot on the core.  Expect to do a lot of planks and pushups. I think this is more of a beginner DVD.
• Sweat– (35 minutes) One of my favorite workouts in the entire program, this is a traditional PiYo workout that combines strength, stretching and even a little cardio benefit.  This one feels like a real class and I love the way the moves flow into each other and the class is divided up into focus segments.
• Core– (30 minutes) Chalene is known for her love of working the core so it is no surprise that there is an entire 30 minute DVD dedicated to it in this program.  It starts with standing abs, which I could take or leave, but the seated portion is great and you can really feel the burn.
• Buns– (25 minutes) Short and sweet this buns focused DVD really does get you burning in those legs and booty.  Lunges and squats are key here but Chalene puts them together in some interesting combinations to stay away from boring same old thing!
• Strength Intervals– (25 minutes) This one is tough!  Chalene recommends shoes and there are some opportunities to actually jump in this video.  This one moves away from the traditional yoga and pilates moves to focus on strength training.  There is definitely a cardio component too with some light jogging.
• Drench– (45 minutes) This is, in my opinion, the main workout of the entire set.  It is a 45 minute total body, PiYo class.  I think it is most like the class you would take live (like the one I took with Chalene Johnson!).  It is tough in terms of strength, flexibility, moves and even cardio capacity.  I love that it is a total body workout and it does really push you.  I wish there were a couple more DVDs like this one in the set that are long and really challenging.
• Sculpt– (30 minutes) Similar to Strength Intervals, this DVD focuses on strength more so than flexibility in yoga.  It has slightly less cardio than Strength Intervals but it is still great for total-body sculpting!  There are still some asanas from yoga but Chalene makes them a little bit more athletic.  Also, expect to see some effective moves like tricep dips!

Bonus Workouts:

There are a couple of bonus DVDs that you can purchase with the PiYo set.  I received three with my package:

• Full Body Blast– (30 minutes) This workout uses PiYo Strength Slides but I just grabbed some old washcloths from my linen closet and did the workout barefoot and it worked great for me!  The slides (or washcloths) go under your feet and you use them to slide along the floor, which gives you the benefit of slightly more resistance than normal.  I’ve actually done something like this in the past in pilates classes that I’ve taught to simulate a reformer machine.  Full Body Blast really does target your total body and it is one of the more challenging DVDs in the collection.
• Strong Legs– (30 minutes) Another workout using the slides, this one focuses just on the legs and that is where I think the slides are most effective.  They really create a lot of resistance for things like lunges and it helps target those inner thighs, which are notoriously difficult to train.  This one burns!
• Hardcore on the Floor– (30 minutes)  This is another awesome DVD focused completely on your core but this one takes it to the floor basically from the get-go, which makes me like it a bit more than the Core DVD because I really felt like I was targeting my abs the entire time and working really hard.

Overall Thoughts

I think PiYo is a good program and the Hubs and I really enjoy doing it together.  I would call it a beginner to intermediate program and while it definitely has its roots in pilates and yoga, it is really more of a hybrid workout that focuses on strength exercises.  If you go into it expecting strict pilates and/or yoga, you will probably be disappointed.  But, if you are looking for a creative way to strength train and improve flexibility, you will be pleasantly surprised by this program.  

The videos are mostly short, which is great if you need a quick workout, but I usually combined the videos for longer workouts.  I put together a little guide for combining the workouts that I think is super helpful so you aren’t wasting time uming and ahing over which ones to do!

Even though it is billed as a low impact workout without shoes or equipment, some of the videos suggest shoes and/or equipment for your own comfort, but I do believe you could get away without using anything.

Just like other Beachbody programs, you also receive several guides like a Quick Start Guide, Monthly Calendar and Nutrition Plan to help get you started.  I honestly only find these marginally helpful but if you are completely new to a fitness routine, I think they would be super helpful.  In fact, I think PiYo is a fantastic workout for those just getting into fitness because of its low impact, no jumps, no equipment policy!

Readers, do you workout with your significant other?  What weekend traditions do you have?

*Some of the links in this post are affiliate links.  As always, thank you so much for your support!