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We Tried It: "WeFitfor2" Couple's Workout
Posted on Aug 25th 2010 1:00PM by Liz NeporentFiled Under: Fitness, We Tried it
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We attempted the new DVD series "WeFitfor2." It did not go well. I should have known it would not go well. My husband and I get along famously -- we've been married a long time and have worked together even longer -- but this is just the sort of "couple's project" he detests and the sort of couple's project I am always trying to get him to do.
The first time I put the disc in the player I couldn't get it to work, and he refused to help me fix it, so it sat there gathering dust until our daughter wanted to watch a DVD and we were forced to figure out what was wrong. Turns out the player had been unplugged. Never thought to check that. Suspicious.
Anyway, before we finally fired up the DVD, I laid out a few ground rules: "No answering the phone, no snide remarks and no beer drinking during the workout."
He laid out a ground rule of his own: "If this sucks I am going to bail."
"WeFitfor2" is a three-disc set starring personal trainer Dean Graham and former competitive ice dancer Lori Lim. It combines fully customizable strength and cardio routines featuring more than 30 exercises and 12 mini circuits along with well-executed demonstrations of all the moves.
It's beautifully shot and expertly produced. And it's clearly aimed at those in new relationships, specifically couples who have decided to skip their date at the mixed martial arts center for a quiet evening at home doing push-ups, squats and circus-style contortion movements in each other's arms.
We started by watching several of the demonstration segments, something that is absolutely necessary if you are going to attempt any of the moves. We tried the abs segment first, starting with the Roman Chair exercise, in which Dean served as the piece of equipment: Lori faced away from Dean, leaned into his chest, grasped on to his bent arms and raised her straight legs off the floor to form an L shape with her body. Right off the bat, we could see there was a major problem with the "WeFitfor2" concept.
Love Hurts
Lori is just a slip of a girl, no bigger than an Olympic gymnast. I'm in good shape and by no means a large person myself, but I'm guessing that even when she's soaking wet and holding a 20-pound weight, I outweigh Lori by a considerable amount. I give my hubby major props for being game enough to attempt this move. I felt it in my abs, but he definitely felt it in his back even more.
Things didn't improve as we attempted more exercises and even tried to make it through one routine. The "Girl Curl," as my husband dubbed it, calls for the guy to gather up the lady as if he is about to carry her across the threshold and then bend and straighten his arms for the purpose of working his biceps. But if the lady is in the hefty range, how can this be safe for either party? I don't say this to be mean or funny; it's just a practical matter.
The same is true for many of the other exercises, like the Piggyback Squat, in which I sat perched atop my husband's shoulders as he attempted to squat up and down, and Assisted Rows, in which I lay on the floor with him leaning over me, while we linked arms and I dragged his arm down as he pulled my arm up. The former is how I wound up flying into the couch, and the later is how I banged my head on the floor.
It was awe inspiring to watch Dean and Lori flow effortlessly through the circuits. Clearly they have practiced for hours and hours. No matter how fit you are, you won't look as good as they do or execute the moves as well, and you and your significant other are no doubt crankier, creakier and gassier than these two are. Lori even shaved her legs for the taping. No one called each other dumbbell as they did in my house, but I couldn't help wondering if it wouldn't be easier -- and safer -- to have used dumbbells for the majority of the exercises.
In the end, the phone rang, and I didn't protest when my husband pressed pause and ran to get it. It was my friend Kathleen, someone he'd normally never talk to, but he stayed on the phone for a good half hour just to make sure I wouldn't make him come back and finish the workout. I can't say I really blame him. I actually think he's pretty awesome for lasting as long as he did. Eventually I turned off the disc and handed him a bag of ice for his foot. Still don't know how that one happened. He winked at me and kept on talking. When his foot heals and my head stops hurting, we will start speaking again.
If you're an extremely fit and coordinated new dating couple who'd like to give this DVD series a try, check it out and let me know what you think. Post your comments here or tweet me @lizzyfit.
If DVDs aren't your thing, try running with your partner instead -- you might be surprised what it does for your fitness, and your relationship.
