Egoscue: Pain Free Workout Series, Vol. 2

A really good friend of mine suffers from chronic pain and started reading Pete Egoscue's books and then started doing his exercises. I hadn't seen her for a few months, but when I did I could see the difference in her personality and posture. She could not stop talking about this workout, and went on and on about how much it was helping her.I added this to my exercise regimen as I have an old injury that acts up from time to time on the left side of my lower back. Consistency with this workout is key, and I did this workout every day for an entire month and my back pain as well as some shoulder tightness was gone.Now I do this a few times a week and still benefit from the workouts immensely. Every time I do this workout when I'm done I always feel so good. The time flies and my whole body feels great.Egoscue is a genius and this is the most simple way to feel good and be pain free. I can't recommend this enough.

This is a great workout for someone more advanced. "Advanced" is stated on the label.I have worked out consistently most of my life and am a certified personal trainer. At 59 years old and a life time of tweeks and some injuries, I found that starting off with the Egoscue begginers video then progressing to the advanced has literally been responsible for ending the pain and subsequent misalignment that I was experiencing. I completely agree with another reviewer about some of the more jerking movements though. Having these two videos to add to a variety of workouts has completed the pain free plan. Long story short... My pain is gone, my alignment is back to where it was two years ago and I can perform moves that I was convinced were gone forever...things I could do in my twenties...seriously. DO IT!

I recently picked up both volumes of the Egoscue Pain-Free series at a used book sale. This second volume is labeled "Advanced," and it is meant for those who are regular exercisers. Most (but not all) of the exercises which appeared in Egoscue: Pain Free Workout, Vol. 1 are included here plus many new exercises as well. The workout is not any longer because the instructor, Liba Placek (who modeled the exercises in the first routine) transitions quickly from one move to the next with little explanation.The Main Menu offers several options. First, there is a brief Functional Test (trying to put your palms on the ground); this is supposed to be repeated at the end of the workout. Next, there is the option to select the Complete Workout (41 minutes), with Liba instructing live. Two other workout options are included. The first is Workout with Music only. Here, Liba's instructions are muted--instead the names of the exercises appear on screen, and an audio cue (a bell flourish) sounds when it is time to change exercises. I found this odd and awkward, especially with the loud, revival-like guitar music playing in the background. The final workout option is Workout with Muscular Explanations. Here, Liba's instruction is again muted, and Brain Bradley, the instructor from the first volume, is featured describing which muscles are being activated by each exercise; this segment is designed for medical professionals. The Menu also includes a resources section.Liba instructs the workout alone in a plain studio. She uses a timer for the exercises which require a hold. I have listed all of the exercises below, sometimes offering brief descriptions.1. Standing Arm Circles, 40 forward/40 backward2. Lateral Leg Raises, 10 reps per leg/2 sets3. Standing Elbow Curls, 20 reps4. Standing Windmills (side bends), 5 reps per side/3 sets (moving legs wider)5. Cats and Dogs (aka cat/cow), 10 reps6. Hip Crossover Stretch, held 1 minute per side7. Hip Lift with Oblique Crunches, held 30 sec per side/10 crunches8. Free Crunches*, 20 reps/2 sets9. Flutter Kicks* (lying face-up), 100 reps10. Sphinx Pose, held 30 sec legs narrow/30 sec legs wide11. Active Cobra (pushing soles of feet together), 20 reps12. Opposite Hand-Leg Lifts, lying prone, 5 reps per side (held 5 secs each)13. Opposite Hand-Leg Lifts, hands & knees, 5 reps per side (held 5 secs each)14. Downward Dog, held 1 minute15. Upper Spinal Twist (lying), held 1 minute per side16. IT Band Stretch (lying, bottom leg straight), held 1 minute per side17. Pelvic Tilts, 10 reps18. Full Situps* (with bent knees), 10 reps19. Active Bridges, 10 reps20. Full Situps* (with bent knees), 10 reps21. Supermans (with moving arms), hold 1 minute22. Extended Wide-Legged Forward Bend, held 30 seconds in center and each side23. Extended Side Angle, hold 1 minute each side24. Push-ups (legs spread), 10 reps25. Downward Dog, hold 1 minute26. Push-ups (legs spread), 10 reps27. Free Squat, hold 1 minuteI had some mixed feelings about this routine. On the one hand, I really liked some of the moves, including the opening exercises for the upper body (#1-4), which were not included on Volume 1. I also felt that lying spinal twists and hip stretches were very effective. On the other hand, the exercises that I marked with the asterisk (*) felt very jerky and more likely to hurt the back than to be helpful; I modified or skipped these altogether.The "Pain-Free" label of this DVD seems like somewhat of a misnomer. Some of these exercises are fairly challenging, and they would likely be quite difficult for someone attempting them for rehab work; this DVD is probably better used as prehab/injury prevention for more experienced exercisers. I work out daily, and I am glad to have this DVD available as a means to stretch out areas that sometimes get tight and constricted from regular exercise activity.

This is a great workout DVD. I first bought it more than 5 years ago at the beginning of hip arthritis. It improved my walking tremendously, although, unfortunately, some things happened and I ended up with two .titanium hips after all.The people are dignified, know what they are doing, and explain everything in one of the tracks. There is another track with only the music. It is nicely done. Every muscle gets 'worked over' good!I lost my copy, twice, I don't know how, but I am looking forward to getting my 3rd copy in the mail soon. It is that good.

Great DVD. Great for movement, stretching, and strength.

GREAT buy! Fantastic at targeting weakness in obscure, underutilized muscles. It had my neck feeling better right away. Workout is challenging for postural muscles but not painful, strenuous or exerting. I have done the workout every day since.

I have practiced the Egoscue Method for four months with the help of an accredited teacher. This DVD took the practice to a new level. Not for beginners!

This is my second Egosque workout video. It is great just like the first. Pete and his team at Pain free are amazing.