{"id":4009,"date":"2010-01-11T09:44:03","date_gmt":"2010-01-11T14:44:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=4009"},"modified":"2015-12-30T06:42:34","modified_gmt":"2015-12-30T11:42:34","slug":"review-of-start-fitness-now-with-kim-lyons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=4009","title":{"rendered":"Review of START FITNESS NOW with Kim Lyons"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>You probably remember that November was American Diabetes Month.\u00a0 I\u2019m sorry, I didn\u2019t get you anything.\u00a0 Then December was declared National Awareness Month \u2013 okay, that declaration was by The Onion<\/a>, but my take away on these two months is that we should at least be spending 1\/6th<\/sup> of the year focusing on our health.\u00a0 And now with January and the new year upon us, Kim Lyons, a former trainer on NBC\u2019s show The Biggest Loser, wants you to focus 12\/12ths of the year on creating a better you.\u00a0 That\u2019s just one of the goals of the new series of exercise videos she\u2019s created called START FITNESS NOW<\/a> (heretofore to be called SFN). \u00a0The series also claims to have a solution targeted to type 2 diabetics and includes information on the disease and its treatment by Dr. Shaila Singh, MD.<\/p>\n

This is the first time I\u2019ve ever reviewed an exercise video.\u00a0 It\u2019s also \u00a0pretty much the first time I\u2019ve ever tried to follow one, but I hope that doesn\u2019t disqualify me from having an opinion.\u00a0 I believe, after all, that I\u2019m the exact market Kim Lyons is looking to attract. The overweight type 2-diabetic-who-should-diet-but-doesn\u2019t-make-the-time-although-they-know-they-are-being-stupid market.<\/p>\n

The skillful marketing elements on SFN \u00a0catch you right away.\u00a0 The box of three DVDs\u00a0 pictures Kim Lyons (very attractive). Big font that she is \u201cFrom the Biggest Loser\u201d (very popular TV Show). \u00a0Smaller font that these are 20-minute workouts (Geez, you can spare 20 minutes-can\u2019t you?).\u00a0 And right at the top the claim that this is the \u201c2 in 1 Solution to Beating Type 2 Diabetes\u201d (a growing targeted market).\u00a0 It all comes together in a very nice package, although, one quick tip to the producers: the DVDs, while color-coded, don\u2019t seem to have any graphics on the box noting the order of the videos (\u201c1\u201d, \u201c2\u201d, \u201c3\u201d), and that would help.<\/p>\n

Beyond her All-American girl persona and looks, Kim Lyons is upbeat, positive, engaging, enthusiastic and if you are going to sweat through 20 minutes, she\u2019s the coolest workout partner you could imagine.\u00a0 From my admittedly limited exercise video experience, and being old enough to remember the heyday of Jane Fonda and everyone wearing leg warmers (I rebelled, actually), I believe that much of the attraction of a video and thus, a program, comes down to the spokesperson. SFN is all about believing that Kim Lyons truly wants you to be healthy and she\u2019s willing to subject herself to doing this series JUST FOR YOU.\u00a0 And she pulls it off.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Kim’s DVD Set<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Kim is with you the entire time, working through exercises from the simple sitting-in-a-chair movements in the first workout, to the more difficult cardio and weight training in workout 6.\u00a0 She talks throughout the whole series, which for me was very helpful.\u00a0 She cajoles, she chats and she exudes an optimistic \u2013 and realistic \u2013 attitude towards the working out process you are both going through.\u00a0 She embodies the \u201cYes, I Can\u201d-era of the Obama Nation (polarized as it is, can\u2019t we all agree that being healthy is a good thing?).\u00a0 You really feel like Kim is your partner on the journey.<\/p>\n

The journey, at least in the SFN world, takes place in a \u201cliving room\u201d with a couch, a comfy chair and two stylish end tables with lamps.\u00a0 It\u2019s not a big sweaty gym.\u00a0 It\u2019s not all about a big piece of space-age exercise equipment that will work every muscle you think you have \u2013 and some you didn\u2019t know you had – and then fold-up to fit in your wallet.\u00a0 SFN implies, very smartly, that you can just get up from the comfy couch where you were watching Top Chef<\/em>, jump into a quick 20-minute workout, and then collapse back down.\u00a0 Of course that\u2019s not what you should do, but the simplicity of the workout location helps make it easier for you to imagine yourself making the effort.\u00a0 Even though almost anyone could see through this idea, it\u2019s still a great idea.<\/p>\n

But back to Kim.\u00a0 I liked Kim\u2019s manner as she cheers you on.\u00a0 She explains what muscles the movements are affecting and pushes you forward with phrases like \u201cmake new goals\u201d and \u201cstay positive\u201d and \u201ckeep breathing.\u201d\u00a0 As I mirrored her movements, I felt like a supportive friend, not a brutal personal trainer, was gently pushing me.\u00a0 I\u2019ve watched The Biggest Loser off and on since it started and it\u2019s one of the most heart-rending \u00a0shows \u00a0on television. I applaud every brave contestant, but between the crazy challenges and the trainers that yell at you, I just can\u2019t always watch the show.<\/p>\n

SFN\u2019s exercises are not great challenges, which makes you feel like you can set goals and reach them.\u00a0 SFN 1, called The Beginner\u2019s Workout, starts simply: you and a \u00a0comfortable chair.\u00a0 Kim starts slowly with isometrics and small resistance exercises, all while sitting down.\u00a0 Movement increases with a 10-minute cardio walk in both of the beginning workouts.\u00a0\u00a0 Kim introduces the use of a towel and light hand weights to help with strength and muscle training. It wasn\u2019t too difficult to do, although when she starts mixing in some simple arm movements you begin to question your coordination a little (at least you\u2019re at home and not in a class looking like you\u2019ve got three left feet).\u00a0 All in all, it\u2019s a good introduction to the system and not very difficult.\u00a0 A little sweating, but not so much that you get to really offend people yet.<\/p>\n

Kim\u2019s patter in SFN2 \u2013 Sit Down & Shape Up, the Intermediate level – continues with the positive reinforcement along with increasing resistance, weight training and longer cardio walks.\u00a0 She is still using the chair, but also more weights.\u00a0 I started to find it a little more difficult, and using the weights definitely contributed to some soreness the next day, but it still seemed deceptively simple to do.\u00a0 The Healthy Cardio Walk and Super Cardio Walk in the two routines on this disc were all about increased movements, but also included even more of her discussion on nutrition and setting goals.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know if she\u2019s copyrighted \u201cmarch it out\u201d yet, but she loves that phrase.\u00a0 I definitely noticed that I was breathing heavier on the Super Cardio walk in workout 4 because of the addition of the weights.<\/p>\n

SFN3 \u2013 Stand Up & Slim Down (the Purple box \u2013 did I mention she has outfits in each video that match the box color?).\u00a0 More weights, more varied resistance.\u00a0 More legs, and no chair for the last 2 workouts in the series. More focus on legs.\u00a0 The last workout called the Mix It Up Cardio Walk incorporates a lot of what you\u2019ve done before and I think was a good wrap-up to these six routines.\u00a0 Kim emphasizes that you should keep trying to incorporate these simple work-outs into your every day life.\u00a0 She also mentions that you shouldn\u2019t eat Fruit Loops, which was a tiny blow to what I thought was our blossoming relationship, but in my heart (and pancreas) I know she\u2019s right.\u00a0 I was sweating even more, but it was a good sweat.<\/p>\n

After completing the entire routine, I can say that I think it\u2019s just right for someone like me. Kim\u2019s positively cheery attitude is infectious and definitely made me want to keep going through all the levels. Here\u2019s my free idea to the producers, though: I wonder if it would be possible for her to record the same exercises with a variety of different chatty patters, so every day you work-out with her, you could select other conversations with new stories \u2013 what did she do last night? Is she having romantic troubles? Her thoughts on whether or not \u201cUp In The Air\u201d deserves that much acclaim, etc.<\/p>\n

Now let\u2019s talk Type 2 diabetes.\u00a0 Finally, right?\u00a0 The major issue I have with the whole series is that its approach on diabetes doesn\u2019t add much information to what I believe is typically laid out by physicians to patients who have already been diagnosed.\u00a0 Perhaps the producers sincerely think that the information doled out by Dr. Singh (who certainly appears reputable) and which mostly boils down to \u201ceat sensibly and do this exercise program\u201d is a way to reach out to a segment of the market \u2013 the Type 2 diabetic \u2013 who is looking to change his or her health and bad habits.\u00a0 However, calling it a \u201c2-in-1 solution\u201d comes off as if it is some major advancement in this area while really it just a reinforcement (albeit positively) of a game plan typically well known to Type 2 diabetics.\u00a0 It\u2019s all in the execution, though and that\u2019s on the individual.\u00a0 Dr. Singh\u2019s segment is also listed as a \u201cBonus Feature\u201d which makes it feel more like what it is \u2013 an add-on to a fitness video.<\/p>\n

My problem, and in this way I feel very typical, is that I know I have a problem with my health, yet I\u2019m not taking care of myself the way I should be.\u00a0 I have failed relationships with Jenny Craig and Seattle Sutton and Mrs. Nutrisystem.\u00a0 I realized a while ago that I don\u2019t feel like I\u2019ll ever be successful following a pre-planned diet.\u00a0 I do walk a lot (hey, I live in Brooklyn and have twins), but a sensible regimen with achievable goals would certainly be better.\u00a0 I need something that works for me, but I realize that I still have to work to make it work.\u00a0\u00a0 The videos are a good start. I lost a few pounds.\u00a0 My sugar numbers are good, but not great.\u00a0 Most importantly I feel like it\u2019s something I can follow for a longer-term lifestyle change.<\/p>\n

I think the combination of easy-to-accomplish exercise goals, along with the extra reinforcement that I need to find a healthy diet that works for me and most importantly, the pushing of my new friend Kim Lyons, makes the Start Fitness Now series a worthwhile venture \u2013 no matter what the month.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After completing the entire routine, I can say that I think it\u2019s just right for someone like me. Kim\u2019s positively cheery attitude is infectious and definitely made me want to keep going through all the levels.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":131,"featured_media":4048,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1457],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nKim Lyons - Exercise For Type 2 Diabetes<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=4009\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"ASweetLife Team\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"8 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=4009\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=4009\",\"name\":\"Kim Lyons - 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