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REVIEW: Davina’s 5 Week Fit Workout DVD, writer Stephanie Wickens tries it out and brings you the pros and cons

Davina Mccall in 2015, main post image

Davina McCall has officially taken the fitness world by storm with her post-pregnancy abs, super healthy lifestyle, and abundance of workout DVDs. Healthista’s Stephanie Wickens reviews her latest DVD Davina 5 Week Fit

Davina Mccall is most known for her bubbly TV personality and excitable energy in front of a camera. But now she has conquered the world of fitness, and as this is my first time trying a workout DVD, I thought this one would be the perfect kick-starter.

I found the thought motivating that I could just turn on my TV and do a workout rather than travel all the way to the gym and back three times a week. When your life runs on a busy schedule sometimes it’s hard to fit the gym in. Theres also the joining fees, and monthly payments to put up with, and it all just seems to be too much hassle sometimes.

For those of you who want to get fit without the expense of gym memberships, or just simply don’t have the time, this on-the-go fitness solution could be the perfect option for you.

The workouts for this DVD have been designed using the latest seven minute training techniques, short bursts, high energy routines.

Davina 5 week fit dvd review, by healthista

How long have you got? 55 Minutes

How many workouts? 6 workouts (plus two warm up videos and one cool down video)

make you feel ring ready as you’re guided through a series of jabbing, hooking, and knee crunches

What Happens?:

1: HIT Workout. (7 minutes)

A high intensity interval training (HIT) workout that includes short bursts of extreme exercise. Each exercise is 20 seconds long followed by 10 seconds of rest. It starts with sprints (which get the intensity up), then it moves on to jab crosses, knee strikes, and burpees. Towards the end your taken back through a series of jog, run, and sprints, and then the workout finishes with lunges. It’s great for getting your heart pumping, and it’s the perfect start for a fitness newbie as it’s a good all-rounder exercise.

2: Box Fit (7 minutes)

This one will get your adrenaline racing, and make you feel ring-ready as you’re guided through a series of jabbing, hooking, and knee crunches that challenges your co-ordination, and creates a satisfying burn for those arms and calves.

3: Ultimate Legs (7 minutes)

This really will give you that ul-ti-mate leg feeling. It features dead-lifts (great for the hamstrings), squats, cross-step lunges, and oh-em-gee – squat holds (there is nothing more evil than a squat hold). At the end you’ll be singing ‘these glutes are on fire.’

it’s a good buy for beginners

4: Full Body Fat Stripper (7 minutes)

This workout does exactly what it says on the tin. It combines cardio and weights to get your sweat dripping. Squat jumps, side steps, single leg dead-lifts, and lunges are also included in this section. Trust me, you’ll feel the fat pouring off you by the end.

5: Ultimate Abs (7 minutes)

This section is an absolute killer, but you really feel your abs getting chiseled as you do 10 reps each of crunches designed for both the top abs and lower abs. It also includes crunch pulses, and wait for it, the dreaded plank. You WILL feel the burn in this exercise as there is hardly any rest in between each set of reps, but if you can push through it it’s sure to give you results.

6: 21 Minute Ultimate Fitness Challenge.

I have one word: Tough. This endurance based workout is 21 minutes long that is a full rounded exercise that targets the upper and lower body. It starts off with cardio, involving knee raises, leg raises, and sidestepping your way to a pumping pulse. It goes on to concentrating on the core with a variation of crunches. It moves on to the weights section, (I recommend using 2kg in each hand). These exercises target your triceps, core, legs, hamstrings and shoulders. Now, don’t start thinking you’ve escaped, press-ups, sit-ups, and the plank are included.

Davina 5 week fit dvd review daily, by healthista
Davina showing off her figure at the 2015 ITV Gala

I would not recommend it to a person at an advanced level of fitness, as they will most probably find the workouts too easy

The pros

There are tutorials that show you how to correctly master the moves, helping to prevent injury. This is great for beginners as long-term safety and results rely on the importance of good form.

I would say it’s a good buy for beginners as you won’t feel too overwhelmed, and the 21 minute fitness challenge is good for building stamina as you get fitter. It’s a great starting point for your journey into a fitter life, and I feel it provides you with the stepping stone to moving on to more advanced workouts.

MORE: Best workout DVDs for results

There are enough sections to mix-and-match your workouts for at least two to three weeks, and not have to do the same workout twice in the same week. There are also two warm up videos to help prevent you getting bored.

There is a section that can help you tailor a workout regime specific to you, called the ‘5 Week Planner’. You can design a different workout each day for five weeks, and it even suggests how often you should have your rest days (which again is great if you’re just starting out). At the end of each workout section, you have the option to continue for three more minutes to give your muscles that extra push.

If you buy the DVD you get freebies on the Get Fit with Davina website.

The cons

I wouldn’t recommend it to a person at an advanced level of fitness, as they will most probably find the workouts too easy and boring.

The warm up and cool down sections are separate so to navigate around the sections you have to keep going back to the main menu.

In my opinion, each section is not good enough on it’s own as a workout, so you would need to combine three or four of them each day to reap the benefits.

Level of difficulty? Beginner to intermediate.

Equipment? A set of dumbbells in same weight.

Buy: Davina 5 WEEK FIT (£12.99 on Amazon)

MORE: 5 best Jillian Michaels DVDs

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