Suzanne Bowen’s Slim & Toned Prenatal Barre Workout is a fantastic and safe, yet challenging pregnancy workout.

I’ve been a fitness addict for years so the very first thing I did when I found out I was pregnant was buy prenatal exercise DVDs. I wanted workouts that were safe, yet challenging and not too woo woo spiritual yogini ‘hold your tummy and smile’. My goal was to come out of pregnancy with a body that was still fit and capable of keeping up with the demands of motherhood a.k.a chasing after two twin boys. And yeah, I wanted to get back into my old clothes again.

Of course I had the added challenge of being pregnant with twins, which meant during the first trimester my super high pregnancy hormones meant I was sick as a dog and seriously depressed. Then at about 22 weeks my tummy popped and I was suddenly big. Like strangers saying ‘wow you must be about to pop!’ big. UGH!  Although by that stage I had gained 11 kilos, so I couldn’t blame them.

But if there is one thing I have stuck with throughout it is this DVD. It’s challenging enough that I still feel that I am getting a workout, yet the moves are smooth and there’s no leaping around the lounge and risking either wetting myself, or losing my balance and taking out the TV set. Pregnancy is so glam. My muscles always feel well worked and nicely ‘burned’ if you know what I mean. And Suzanne’s cuing is fantastic – she reminds you of form constantly and offers great tips without all the dreaded USA cheerleader style encouragement that you so often get with fitness DVDs. Though she instructs you throughout I never once have felt annoyed by her, which is so rare with workout DVDs. And frankly, her body is pretty darn motivating whenever I am feeling pooped as well.

The 20-minute cardio is very leg-heavy so it’s more of a strength-plus-cardio rather than a cardio workout. I absolutely love the legs and upper body sections as well. It’s great arm toning and I am pleased to say that my arms do look pretty good. In fact, when I am tired and over everything (which is an almost permanent state for me right now) this is about the only thing I can motivate myself to do. Other workouts feel like you’re wasting your time doing nothing, but this is easily done with a belly and really does make me feel like I will get results. Another great thing about this DVD is that she reminds you to kegel and ‘zip up’ your core throughout, so you do work the other important muscles (the pelvic floor) too.

I’ve done barre method (too easy!), physique 57 (too hard!) and a few other barre style workouts before and I have to say this one is just right. I will be sticking with Suzanne Bowen and buying some of her non-prenatal DVDs for post-baby.