Coronation Street Blog: Keep Fit with Corrie: Week 9 - Vicky Entwistle's Weight Off Workout

Gemma and Michael over at Conversation Street, the Corrie podcast, have been keeping fit the Corrie way!

In week one, they did the Vicky Binns work out
In week two, it was the Kym Ryder work out
In week three, it was the Angela Griffin work out
In week four, it was the Beverley Callard work out
In week five, it was the Debbie Rush work out
In week six, it was Tina O'Brien, Lucy-Jo Hudson and Angela Griffin
In week seven, it was Salsacise with Tracy Shaw
In week eight, it was Fat Brenda's Big Fat Workout!

It's the penultimate week of our Coronation Street fitness journey, and this time we're focusing on Vicky Entwistle's Weight Off Workout.

We always loved a bit of Janice Battersby, but it's probably fair to say she wasn't the most svelte of Corrie ladies during some of her time on the show. This DVD makes no secret of that, with 'before and after' images gracing both the cover and the title menu, and we must say that Vicky's body transformation was pretty incredible!

You can tell by watching the DVD that she's rather pleased with herself, too, as she is smiley and positive throughout - we very much get a vibe of 'If I can do it, you can too!' from her. Congratulations, too, to Vicky for managing to keep herself falling out of her very low-cut top during the DVD - though it's certainly a close call more than once! Joining Vicky is Richard Callender, a gentle giant of a trainer and definitely one of our favourites thanks to his encouraging demeanour and obvious chemistry with Vicky.

Weight Off Workout is an easy to follow routine split over four sections lasting around 50 minutes in total: Warm Up, Fat Burner, Body Toner and Belly Shrinker. There are no gimmicks or dance sections here - it really is just a no-frills set of exercises that get the heart rate up and, if you do them right, do leave you a little sore the next day. The backdrop for the workout is an empty, fairly nondescript exercise hall, and aside from the accompaniment to the warm up, perhaps, the music isn't going to stick in your head either - it serves its purpose, giving you a beat to move along to, but that's about it.

"Think about someone who really gets on your nerves!" advises Vicky during the cardio box section of the warm up. We find that picturing Toyah Battersby going on for the umpteenth time about babies and IVF treatment helps us get through this one. The rest of the routine involves the usual V-stepping, squats, skipping and the like, and though it can get a bit repetitive by the end of its 10 minute run, it's a pretty enjoyable start on the whole.

Fat Burner is more of the same really: a selection of high energy punches, kicks, jumps and skips, lasting 20 minutes in total. You'll almost certainly be a bit out of breath and sweating (or 'glowing', as Vicky insists!) by the end of it, definitely feeling like you've been put through your paces. Vicky and her trainer keep that smile on their faces throughout, though, and are both incredibly encouraging for when the going gets tough.

Body Toner isn't quite so energetic as Fat Burner, with the focus being on controlled resistance activities that you can easily do at home. Slow squats on both one and two legs, press ups and bicep curls are what make up most of the eleven minutes here, though we'd recommend using a pair of hand weights for the curls, rather than just pressing into your palm with your opposite hand, as the DVD recommends.

Then, before you know it, it's time for the Belly Shrinker - a twelve-minute section that's really just five or six minutes of ab exercises followed by a cool down. This may not seem like much for some people, though we've made no secret in our past blog entries of not being big fans of these parts, so no complaints here! Besides, the exercises Richard gets you to do in the Belly Shrinker are no walk in the park and some of the positions he gets you to hold will certainly get you shaking with the strain!

Also included on the DVD are some behind the scenes filming bits, if you like that sort of thing, plus a basic, calorie-controlled eating plan. After all, if you're seriously planning to lose weight, counting the calories is a must!

All in all, we definitely enjoyed Vicky Entwistle's Weight Off Workout. For days when we wanted to feel like we were doing proper exercise rather than just having a dance, this was perfect for us. Nothing fancy, just a selection of easy to follow aerobic and resistance moves. Vicky and Richard make great workout partners, and we reckon that if you were to stick at this one properly, you'd definitely start to see results.

To find out more about our podcast, search for Conversation Street on iTunes, or go to conversationstreet.podbean.com. If you want to follow Gemma’s blog, all about her fitness journey, and her love of food and fashion, head to www.foodfashfit.com