TANGOFLEXA Revolutionary Flexibility Training (2 DVD Set)

I wanted so badly to love this workout... between the stellar reviews and the sweet handwritten note the DVD came with, I really went into it with high hopes. Perhaps a bit too high. I feel badly about ruining the 5 star streak that Victoria has here, because she definitely seems like a lovely person- caring, knowledgable, and a good communicator- all attributes that I thought would make this a great DVD for me. My first inclination was to rate this DVD only 3 stars because I did not feel challenged or that the DVD lived up to its promises on the back of the DVD ("revolutionary flexibility training for everyone including athletes, weightlifters, dancers, martial artists, pole fitness, and pilates, practitioners"). There is no way that anyone who is well trained/practiced in those areas is going to drastically benefit from this gentle workout. However, after looking again at the product description on Amazon (which markets the DVD fairly differently than the DVD case itself), I see it does describe the workout as "low impact" (which I would agree with), "relaxing," and as an "inner massage" for your body. Those words should have been cues for me that this workout would not challenge me enough. It was definitely not the best fit for me, but I realize that doesn't mean it won't be a good fit for you. I think Victoria does an excellent job of teaching a low impact flexibility training for beginners, or perhaps those recovering from injuries, after pregnancy, or after any other long period of reduced physical activity where you need to gently ease back into it. For those people, this DVD would likely be beneficial, and that's why I'm giving 4 stars instead of 3 (which would more aptly describe my personal experience with it based on my impression read from the back of the DVD). Since this is a rather pricey workout DVD, I feel compelled to explain a bit more so that other buyers can make an informed decision as to whether this workout is what they are looking for.My biggest issue with this DVD is with the fluffy marketing/branding concepts. I have a biology degree and have worked in the veterinary field for about a decade. Having a science/anatomy/physiology background, I was excited to learn about the "revolutionary" Tangoflex method "supported by neurosurgeons, neurologists, and neurophysiologists," founded by Victoria who the DVD case describes as being a "scientific researcher and expert in flexibility." While Victoria certainly comes across as capable and knowledgable, there is nothing "revolutionary" or otherwise particularly innovative presented in this workout. It is a series of gentle low impact exercises that are based on well-proven concepts of safe stretching- concepts that are by now quite standard in the fitness industry. The whole thing comes from yoga poses (sometimes modified slightly) and warmup exercises I remember doing in physical education in high school. Furthermore, the introduction that explains the "Tangoflex Method" merely talks about how to stretch safely and effectively. Not to say that isn't worth discussing, but this is not anything unique to Tangoflex and referring to it as the "Tangoflex Method" really suggests there are some unique concepts that aren't standard practice everywhere else too. I don't mean to suggest that Victoria does not in fact have scientific knowledge about these things, only that the introduction definitely doesn't go over any major scientific insights and that the things it does go over are standard knowledge of any personal trainer or fitness industry professional. This sort of branding of industry-standard concepts as if they are methods unique to Tangoflex was really the biggest problem I had with the DVD. That doesn't make it a bad workout, but it is a bit misleading and really is just a bunch of marketing "fluff" to justify a high price tag. This branding of already well established ideas is not exclusive to the DVD cover- throughout the workout, which is largely based on a series of traditional yoga poses that have been very subtly modified (or sometimes not modified at all) and renamed with Victoria's personal names for them... for example "the Tangoflex pose" or "the Tangoflex salute" or "tai chi pose" in the video. These are yoga poses that have been around for centuries, and so it feels rather disingenuous to brand these as Tangoflex concepts, or as some kind of modern scientific breakthrough in flexibility training. You can tell that the DVD is highly produced and very polished- so if you are looking for a fitness "brand" to identify with (and I'm sure that helps keep some people motivated- just not me), and if you like a very produced quality, then this may be a good fit for you.I realize that not everyone will be bothered by these marketing/branding techniques like I was, and that the workout itself is not contingent on those. So now I will explain why the workout was not a good fit for me so that you can make the decision for yourself. I just felt the above stuff was worth mentioning... people who don't have a science background are often led to believe certain things with such language/marketing tactics, and I felt it was worth giving my perspective on that. The DVD case has a lot of very flowery "sciencey" language that borders on pseudoscientific. I wouldn't really deem it pseudoscience, but just that scientists rarely use such flowery/verbose ways of describing their concepts because cold hard science speaks well enough for itself. It was clear that a marketer wrote the copy on the DVD, not someone with a science background.In my spare time, I am also a semi-pro fire dancer and have danced for gigs at small private parties as well as huge crowds with tens of thousands of people. I am a dedicated yogi and practice yoga for about an hour nearly every day. Sometimes I like to change up my yoga routine so I don't get bored, and so sometimes I substitute with a belly-dance, hip hop, or circus flexibility workout DVD. That's why I purchased Tangoflex- as a workout alternative for the days I want something different from my yoga routine. I can tell you that this is a very gentle workout, similar to a gentle hatha yoga class. The stretches are low impact, so for those who are out of shape, recovering from injuries, elderly, etc. then this could be a wonderful fit. For someone who is an athlete, this is not going to challenge you enough. The back of the DVD made me think that this was intended for athletes, but the product description online really doesn't make it sound that way. So that's a little inconsistent, but I should have paid better attention to the online description I guess. I will say that the standing exercises seemed better to me. However, the leg exercises where you lay down on the mat were way too easy for me and almost pointless. I also did not find this a very good for preparing for/practicing splits (as I know many are interested in this). It is touched on, but that is definitely not the main focus here. I have several other DVDs that have far better split exercises that help me to get much deeper stretches (though those workouts are not as gentle/low impact and are intended for circus training). I did not feel sore after Tangoflex. I find great enjoyment in deeply challenging myself in my workouts not just with physical strength but with mental concentration, and those things were missing for me here. I love watching myself progress over weeks of practicing challenging exercises, and the pride I feel when those exercises become easier over time and I know I am improving. I don't expect that kind of experience with this DVD.The last thing I have to mention is that I felt a bit bored during this workout. This is largely a personal thing, so I tried not to let it affect my review very much. I have to be honest though... the tango music wasn't for me. I often enjoy yoga to slow relaxing music, but for me this music just did not keep me in flow with it and was not mentally stimulating enough to keep me concentrated, focused, present, and mindful. Clearly, other reviewers have felt very differently and enjoyed the music. But just be aware that the entire DVD is set to slow instrumental tango music, in case that's not your thing. To me it felt more like music I would nap to or get a massage to, rather than a soundtrack for pushing myself physically/mentally. This also carried over into the workout itself. There is some focus on breath that I liked (I love vinyasa yoga's focus on breath working in concert with movement because it keeps me mentally focused/stimulated and present), but much of the workout is long slow sustained stretching. For me, that can get boring unless the stretch is intense and challenging.So, in a nutshell: This is a gentle low-impact workout led by an attractive, charismatic, good communicator. The "Tangoflex Method" is no secret or unique concept and no new scientific discovery (contrary to what the DVD case would like you to thing)- basically just safe and effective stretching techniques that any fitness professional has knowledge of. The workout is largely based on modified yoga poses and old-school gym warmups, with a clear slant toward a tango dancer aesthetic in their modifications. This gentle workout is presented in a very polished (perhaps over-produced) manner (so it's clear what the high price tag is funding), and is marketed with a lot of big claims and scientific (sounding) words on the back cover, but the product description on Amazon is a lot more accurate, presenting it as a gentle safe stretching DVD. The music is slow tango music that is relaxing (at the risk of being unstimulating for some, like myself). This DVD will likely benefit those who are out of shape, beginners, out of practice, recovering from injuries, recently pregnant, elderly, certain physical disabilities, etc. This DVD will likely not be challenging or stimulating enough for the serious athelete/yogi/dancer who is fit and healthy, and anyone who desires a lot of excitement/physical challenge/mental focus will probably be disappointed.

The cover was all broken, the dvd would work at first. Found it works on lastest dvd players not on old dvd players. Over the dvd does work, so decided to keep it.

I started Tangoflex when I saw the feet stretches in Instagram (VictoriaTangoflex) and in theTangoflex page in Facebook. I have flat feet and could never find stretches that I really like, thatwould help release the tension in my feet and lower leg, and that made my feet feel happy.Those stretches felt amazing on my feet and my toes. I decided to buy the DVD to get deeperinto the Tangoflex Method. As a former swimmer (that was a long time ago..), and a mom of twoI have learned a great deal from Tangoflex. I have gone through the entire program (there are 2DVD’s inside the box). And what I love about it and my recommendations are:- Watch the Introduction that is in the DVD#1. The introduction taught me how to perform thestretches, the technique applied to the stretches and the science of the method. Theintroduction is very clear. The instructor is excellent and her verbal cues are precise and welltimed. Her voice is calm and relaxed and, unlike some stretching/yoga dvds, you can tell sheis speaking from long experience--this is not something she studied a little bit and thendecided to make into a production. As a former Computer Animation teacher I like to payattention first to explanation and perform them after.- The 10 minute Balance routine felt amazing!! It taught me how to evenly distribute the weightof my body to my feet, so I can release muscular tension I accumulate during the day. Itreally taught me how to relax my feet and lower leg muscles to compensate for the lack offoot arch.- The 15 minute Core routine feels amazing and really relaxes my lower back better than anychiropractor. It feels like an amazing massage on my back. I love this routine!- The 50 minute routine (dvd#1) is challenging, however it has a pop-up screen with an easierexercise variation, so it is perfect for beginners as well as more advanced flexible people. Atfirst it seemed hard to me, but it gets easier and easier every time I follow this routine.- Body Alignment: After the 5 minute and 10 minute Balance routine I feel ‘aligned', my backfeels healthier and elongated!- I really like the music. It is calm and makes me forget (for at least a few moments) aboutstressful situations and focus deeply into my body.After doing any of the routines this DVD offers I felt muscles I did not even know I had! At thesame time, it feels like my body needs the stretches now. It needs the stretches andcombinations as they are performed and taught in this method because the stretches are allconnected. In Tangoflex everything has an order and a “flow” from one stretch to the next. Ifeel my posture has improved, my range of motion has increased and I don't spend money indoctors anymore. Now I know what I need to do to feel amazing. This in a way feels like amassage from the inside out! After I finish the routines I feel I am lighter, taller, I feel I am glidinginstead of walking. I highly recommend Tangoflex to anyone who wants to increase theirflexibility, work on their posture, body alignment, balance, releasing back pain, all throughrelaxation and breathing.Tangoflex made me look at my body and learn from my body in a way I did not know I could.

Effective

Rating: 4.5/5Any exercise video is hard to review, since every person has a different set of expectations and athletic ability; with that stated:I am one of the most inflexible people I've seen, however I also do an enormous amount of athletic workouts each week, such as running, biking, etc. Unfortunately, none of the activities I do require a high range of motion, so over the years I've gotten really athletic at certain activities, while completely neglecting flexibility (as it never really hindered me).So I've been challenging myself to increase my flexibility, simply as a personal goal (For example, I can't touch my toes, sit on my heels, do the splits, etc). Whats amazing is once you watch people who can do these things, you somewhat start feeling trapped in your own body, and want to match it that much more!On to this video: It's certainly a heavily branded package, trying to differentiate itself from an already flooded exercise market. Most of the stretches themselves aren't really what I'd define as "revolutionary" but for a 50 minute video you get a nice mix of everything - I particularly like balance section, as most other videos I've done neglect this aspect.Is the video difficult? If you are already flexible, you're going to breeze through 90% of these exercises. The video has some of the harder poses with a "harder" and "easier" variation of each stretch, which I appreciated - for example no way could I do the splits, and then reach over and touch one side of toes simultaneously!This video contained a lot of similar stretching techniques I had already seen in Amazon Prime free stretching videos (Example is Ultimate Flexibility: Stretching for Martial Arts - check it out, very good and free!). What I particularly like with this video was the combination of everything in one video: Stretching, balance, core strength.Worth 30 bucks? For me yes, simply because I get bored with just a couple free videos and needed something new to add to my weekly routine. However, if your on a budget, or already highly flexible looking for advanced training, there are certainly many MANY other options out there to look into. If you want a video with a little of everything, a knowledgeable instructor, and soothing music, TangoFlex is a good tool to add to the shelf.