This post has been years in the making. I’m excited to get it out at last! After blogging that I was going to engage with it, I finally feel qualified to share my review of the above product, which you can buy here. (That is not an affiliate link. I receive no money if you buy it.) It’s the Trim Healthy Mama Workins’ exercise kit by the creators of the Trim Healthy Mama diet books, sisters Serene Allison and Pearl Barrett.

I asked for this kit for Mother’s Day about 3 years ago from my older kiddos who live out of the nest. I’ve exercised with the kit on and off ever since then. It’s only been for the past six months though that I have been 80% consistent. What is consistent? It’s doing the recommended time of one DVD session (20 minutes) four days a week. So about 20% of the time I have missed a day or two in the week. Then over Christmas break I didn’t exercise at all or last week when I felt swamped.

Anyway, here’s what I love about this kit:

-the affordable price, only $60! It’s a great price for a set of 9 DVDs (8 with exercise routines, then 1 that has introductory instructions from Serene and Pearl and a demo of a protein shake recipe (FP) ), plus the equipment, see next point

-the equipment that comes with it (different strength resistance bands and a door stop). The routines do require a few more things that you will probably have in your home, like hand weights or milk jugs, a baby blanket or a towel, a toy ball, and an exercise ball (if you don’t have balls you can find them cheaply at any big box store)

-the 8 exercise sessions, 1 per DVD, for a total of 8 exercise DVDs. I can cycle through the 8 DVDs in two weeks so there’s no chance I’ll get bored. The 8th DVD actually teaches you how to mix and match the Workins’ elements so you can create your own routines

-that each session is only 20 minutes, and at the end, I’m huffing and puffing. I definitely always feel that I got a great workout! I get more bang for my buck this way! four times 20 minutes a session is so doable! If I were a mom of young children and a nursing baby, I can totally see me doing these routines because I could easily squeeze a DVD into my day in 20 minutes while the baby napped

-that each session involves some stretching, some calisthenics, and some high-intensity cardio

-that I can do these at home and don’t have to get dressed up to go work out in the gym and feel on display or that I’m comparing myself with others. I love that Serene and Pearl do some of the sessions in their pajamas or their grungies! So I do too!

-that each session has three different levels: Gentle Fit, Steady Fit, and Thrill Fit. So that gives the whole thing another “boredom-buster” factor. I still haven’t mastered doing every session at the Thrill Fit level. I’m not sure if I ever will, and I’m OK with that.

-that if I don’t want to hear Serene and Pearl’s voices I can mute them but still hear the music (I’m still not tired of their jokes but I might eventually get there, LOL!)

-that each set of moves has a countdown timer in the corner of the screen so you can see how much longer you have to do it

-that Serene and Pearl tailor the exercises to the feminine form. They talk about how to adjust them to pregnancy, and how to properly do Kegels.

-that it comes with a poster and booklet to teach proper posture, with repeated emphasis during the routines of proper posture, which the two sisters call “secure.” The illustrations are a little crazy but they get the point across.

What I don’t like:

The only thing I don’t like is that one of the pieces of equipment, the door stop, came with no instructions, on paper or a DVD. I had no clue how to use it! Pearl mentions it but never explains how to attach it. They never use it in the DVDs, just talk about it.

I Googled it and finally figured it out. So, I’m here to explain it. You take the strap between the loop and the doughnut shaped thing and put it in the crack between the door jamb and the door, while the door opens, above the top hinge. You then close the door over the strap. It’s so thin that you can do that. Then you attach the blue band to the door stop. The strap is held in place above the hinge with the door closed on it.

Because of that lack of instructions, I give the whole kit 4.75 out of 5 stars. This system really does increase your strength and stamina, in a powerfully short amount of time. On top of that, it’s fun! (For the most part, some of the exercises are not fun, unless you are like Serene, LOL!) It didn’t, however, ever help me lose weight. I had to tweak the THM diet, as explained here, to do that. Years ago I gave up on the idea that working out allows me to lose weight. That may work for some people, but not me. I use exercise as a wellness tool to get stronger, increase my bone density and stamina, and to look better with more toned muscles.

How do I know it has increased my strength? I just went on a sunrise hike this past Monday with my family. The last time I went hiking with my family, my knees ached the whole time! But this time, they only ached on the way down, not the way up. So I chalk that change to doing the THM Workins so much this past school year. My knees are definitely stronger. Yay!!! I’m making progress!

Since I got the kit, Serene and Pearl created a version where you can stream the videos with an annual subscription fee. So that makes the whole thing even more affordable! Go here to get that. You can also just get the DVDs separately here, and the equipment separately here (scroll all the way down to the bottom). Happy huffing and puffing on your way to fitness!