Taking on Stratusphere Sculpt
TrishStratus.com special guest columnist Dan Calvarese returns to give his take on Stratusphere Sculpt.
Yoga was something that never really interested me for the longest time. My preconceived notion about it was all you do is stretch and roll around on the ground. How is that suppose to get you into shape?
In 2012, Trish Stratus, one of my favorite superstars ever from the WWE, launched her first yoga DVD, Stratusphere Yoga, and I decided to give it a whirl. I got my ass kicked and sure enough, changed my mind about yoga. I loved the workout so much, I did it about 5-6 times a week for months on end. Eventually, I admittedly got a little tired of doing the same 50-minute workout day-in and day-out, despite making advances (who'd of thought I'd ever be able to do a ‘crow'?) I could never do in the beginning. But I was thirsty for more and I wanted another DVD from Trish because she made it so easy for beginners, yet challenged me every single time.
Welcome to 2015, where Trish has released Stratusphere Sculpt! I finally received my copy in the mail and I couldn't be more ecstatic.
When I received it in the mail, I loved the sleek look of the cover, the way it complimented the newly repackaged 2012 Stratusphere Yoga design cover, and *shrieks* the sleeve! Call me nerdy, but yes, the cover sleeve that protects DVD cases has always been one of my favorite things. I popped the DVD in and got right to work. Stratusphere Sculpt requires hand weights, a yoga mat, and a fitness ball (or any other elevated surface you can balance on).
In the intro, Trish explains that this workout will include strength and sculpting, along with cardio. The DVD is broken down into five 6-minute circuits, along with a 5-minute warm-up and a 5-minute cool-down, respectively.
Here are my break downs of each of the circuits:
5 minute warm-up
Memory refresher on various cardio and breathing-controlled movements that we learned throughout the Stratusphere Yoga DVD, like warrior two, plank dogs, and warm-up punches. She also throws in some new stuff, such as "yoga burpees", lateral squats, and mountain climbers.
Circuit #1
Focus on arm/chest exercises with the inclusion of weights to get the blood pumping, as well as some squats and crunches thrown in there for good measure.
Circuit #2
Focus on lunges with weights, along with back, arm, and chest presses, all with the use of the fitness ball that the DVD calls for.
Circuit #2
Focus on hammer squats, shoulder presses, lat pulls (remember that big truck you had to ‘pull' in Stratusphere Yoga? Imagine it with weights now!), skull crushers, and some more crunches on the fitness ball.
Circuit #4
Putting the weights down, focus on laying stomach-down on the fitness ball to work glutes and glute curls, supported push-ups and planks, and plank dogs. The weights are used briefly for bicep curls off the fitness ball.
Circuit #5
Still weightless, focus on hip raises, dips, chest presses, rows, and reverse hip raises. All of these are done with the sole support of the fitness ball.
5-minute cool-down
Or should we call this 10-minute cool-down? Start off with a very similar ab routine (I still have nightmares about it!) from Stratusphere Yoga, followed by various stretches and relaxing poses to end the workout in every Stratuspherian's favorite pose – Chillaxana!
All I can say is Trish has done it again! Just like Stratusphere Yoga, this was made to a skill level that anyone with any experience can do, ranging from beginner to expert, but still pushes you to the limit and gets the heart rate going! One new addition I really enjoyed that wasn't on Stratusphere Yoga was the timer, allowing the viewer to see how much time they had left until they move onto the next circuit. On the other hand, each circuit contained 2 sets of each exercise, very similar to Stratusphere Yoga. As a regular gym goer, I like to switch up my workouts and with strength being one of my main goals right now, this is my perfect go-to when I'm too lazy to walk to the subway and ride the train to the gym! I may eat my words sooner rather than later, but I patiently await the next installment to Trish's Stratusphere DVD line!
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