What is it: A 60-minute interval DVD workout with star-loved trainer (and AKT in Motion founder) Anna Kaiser
Who tried it: Style Editors Brittany Talarico and Catherine Kast
Level of Difficulty: 7 (on a scale from 1 to 10), unless you’re a professional cheerleader or Bar Mitzvah dancer
Courtesy Anna Kaiser
If you woke up today feeling a little guilty about the holiday binge, you’re not alone. But don’t beat yourself up about all the cookies and champagne. We have some fitness news to kick off your 2015 on the right foot.
Celebrity trainer Anna Kaiser (she works with Sarah Jessica Parker and Kelly Ripa) is bringing her famous AKT in Motion workout to your living room.
“In order to get the best results you really need the trifecta — you need cardio, strength and flexibility, you can’t just do one or the other,” Kaiser says of her new Happy Hour DVD workout.
Sarah Jessica Parker gives the high-energy routine her stamp of approval in the trailer below.
“It’s the energy that you bring that on countless occasions have kind of held me up,” Jessica Parker shared. “I think if people commit to the idea of the DVD, they’ll find that they’re enjoying it. That’s there is a reality to the results.”
We were lucky enough to try out the workout with Anna herself. (Unfortunately, SJP couldn’t make it.) Find out how we did, below.
Catherine Kast, Style Writer: Anna Kaiser is like a forest sprite with a really loud voice and really awesome abs. The second her class begins you realize this loud voice is very important: Anna doesn’t use a microphone to direct class, and the music is party-level loud. I felt like I was a cheerleader following the most knowledgeable captain that had ever lived. You learn primarily by watching her, but it’s never intimidating; you try a short series of moves at a manageable pace, and build up your speed and the number of moves in a sequence throughout each song. As All About That Bass and Uptown Funk played, I became totally fine with the fact that I probably wasn’t going to stop moving for the full hour. But don’t think you can tune out even for a second since you’re essentially learning a dance routine that seems 10 times harder than what Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders have to go through in tryouts. I felt like I’d really learned a solid routine just after the first ten minutes of class, and I’m nowhere near Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader level (a girl can dream…).
Without Anna (or one of her equally bouncy trainers), staying motivated and staying in motion for a full hour at the level AKT requires would be tough, which is why I’m lucky I got to experience it in person. That said, just like in our private class, on her DVD Anna is sweating right there with you. When Anna told me that her DVD workout is 60 minutes PLUS a 12 minute warm up and 12 minute cool down I almost wept with exhaustion and gratitude. If you can channel even an iota of Anna’s energy from the DVD that you can from 5 minutes in class with her, you’ll get results. 84 minutes will seem like a Godsend! There is really nothing like working out alongside an amped-up Tinkerbell to get your butt in gear.
Courtesy Anna Kaiser
RELATED PHOTOS: Our New Year’s Beauty Resolutions
Brittany Talarico, Style News Editor: I first learned about Anna Kaiser’s studio from this photo of Kelly Ripa and her amazing abs. Ripa is a devotee of AKT in Motion, so I knew the workout was going to be intense (seriously, take another look at those abs), but I didn’t realize how fun it would be. Not only is Anna’s energy beyond motivating and the music amazing, but you almost forget how much you’re sweating (read: you’re concentrating so hard on mastering the steps). After class I was so invigorated, I immediately came home and did the routine for my husband. Now, I’m going to make him try the DVD with me. This is definitely one of those workouts where the more you practice, the better you get. And who wouldn’t want to start off 2015 with that mindset?
The Verdict: We’re obviously big fans, and one of our resolutions is to perfect the sequence in Anna’s Happy Hour DVD. And once we do, maybe we’ll share a video with you. (Maybe.)
Are you a fan of DVD workouts? Will you try Anna’s new Happy Hour DVD? Sound off in the comments and don’t forget to share your New Year’s health resolutions below, too!
