Swan Arms® Cardio: Digital DVD
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$14.99
Tighten and elongate the thighs, waist, arms and butt while you blast calories and finish with a gentle and restorative stretch. Swan Arms Cardio features low-impact cardio mixed with focused toning to shape lean ballet muscles in all the right places.
Run Time: 60 Minutes
Level: All Levels
37 reviews for Swan Arms® Cardio: Digital DVD
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Meet Mary Helen Bowers
A professional ballerina by training, Mary Helen danced with New York City Ballet for 10 years before graduating from Columbia University and founding Ballet Beautiful. She personally trained Natalie Portman for her Academy Award winning role in Black Swan along with countless other A-list celebrities, supermodels & millions around the world, delivering authentic, results-driven ballet-inspired training.
d7 –
Awesome exercise!
“I love the 30 mins swan arm cardio workout, with 20 mins toning for abs and thighs muscle and gentle stretch for 10 mins, they are really good combination. It’s low impact so it doesn’t hurt my knees, but it definitely will give me great burns for the day.”
M –
Great!
“Great gentle standing workouts. I also really liked the abs combined with the swan arms, as well as the ending stretches. Great customer service!”
Sunshine –
Perfect for standing and floor work
“I am just starting to incorporate Ballet Beautiful into my daily exercise, I am working on keeping my balance better these days, this standing workout is really helping accomplish that goal, only 1 foot is off the floor at any one time, and the foot work is very straight forward so just a few times through and I should be able to keep up and get the cardio effect I am needing. I use the sculpt and burn for cardio as well but lose my balance a lot more often, This workout is helping me get better balance which equals better results in the future. Thank you Mary Helen so much.”
Icube –
Love Swan Arms!
“I have all the Ballet Beautiful DVDs and love Mary Helen’s seemingly subtle but killer workouts. I won’t go into detail about the breakdown of the DVD and the moves, as there is already an excellent review outlining all of that (thanks Leanne!) 🙂 I don’t have a streaming membership for Ballet Beautiful so I only have the other DVDs to compare this to. First of all, the 15-minute Swan Arms workout in the Body Blast DVD has always been my absolute favourite upper body workout. I did this workout almost every day (as an add on to my other workouts or even on its own on rest days) for approximately 6 months before my wedding two years ago and really saw my arms tone up. I was therefore very excited at the release of this Swan Arms Cardio DVD. I held off buying immediately as I had just bought a bunch of new workouts at the time of release and wanted to try waiting for a price drop. Now that I finally have it, I am very happy! 🙂 I didn’t really know what to expect as I knew this couldn’t be a 60-minute version of the express Swan Arms workout with just arm work, and I am pleased with the way the workout is set up. The standing work is fun and easy to follow. I definitely felt the burn in my arms from working them throughout and as mentioned by some others, the leg work is much simpler to keep up with than some of Mary Helen’s other DVDs (Cardio Fat Burn and the standing portion of Sculpt & Burn Cardio). I do not have any ballet experience and was tripping all over myself in the previous workouts, but I was able to follow through with the choreography on my first try this time. The mat work is quite typical of Mary Helen’s style with some ab and thigh work. I did feel a nice burn all over after I was done and was nicely sore the next morning (my arms were actually quite weak.. lol), which is always my way of knowing that I got a good workout! I agree with some of the other reviewers who said that this is not Mary Helen’s most challenging workout and it is not full of new material, but I still liked it enough to give it 5 stars This will be a nice workout for a lighter day and I will definitely be reaching for it often.”
kmhsellers –
sweet spot of cardio, toning, movement, stretching
“I am so pleased with this DVD. I finally did the workout last night and was impressed at how cardiovascular it was given how low-impact it was. I’m in decent – not amazing – shape, and I felt like it was a pleasant challenge for my fitness level. I loved that the exercises moved my whole body almost the whole time. There were some moves that took a little more coordination than I have. I won’t be able to do them and reap the full toning benefits from them until I’ve practiced them some more (honestly I felt like I was trying to rub my tummy and pat my head at the same time), but the cardio was still enough of a workout for me that I felt like it was worth it. I also really loved holding poses at the end of a sequence. But my favorite part of it all was the elongated stretch component. This is something I’ve wanted more of from Ballet Beautiful workouts, so I’m glad to see stretching both in short bursts along the way and a more thorough stretch at the end. As far as variety compared to other BB workouts? I have never done any of the online workouts, but I have all of her DVDs except the prenatal sets. I can’t speak for others who subscribe to the online workouts, but for me as an exclusive DVD-doer, this will be a really nice addition to my workout collection. I’m excited to do it again and make it part of my regular rotation.”
Kimberly –
Love this workout!
“This is a great workout. I subscribe to Ballet Beautiful’s online custom workout and was afraid this workout would be very similar to the swan arms cardio streaming video there. It’s different, and I like this DVD version much better than the streaming swan arms cardio video on balletbeautiful.com.
I’m kind of clutsy by nature and found the cardio challenging, as it has a lot of balancing on one leg and lifting your arms up at the same time. It’s a great series of exercises to work on core stability and balance, which is one of the areas I’m currently focusing on. I’m sure I will get better with some practice.
The mat work wasn’t the hardest I’ve ever done but felt just right given that the cardio portion was difficult for me. I also enjoyed the longer stretch at the end.
I will probably use this workout on recovery days when I want to be active but am still sore or just want to do something a little lighter for the day.”
Rebecca Shacreaw –
Great workout
“I got a wild hair and decided that I would pursue my childhood dream of ballet and I thought this would be a good way to do it. Fast forward 16 minutes in and I am panting, drenched in sweat and feeling the burn. Whoever said ballet dancing is easy is mistaken. If you love ballet and want a good workout this is for you. It will kick your butt!”
Leanne –
A lovely low-impact workout that emphasizes balance, but not as strong as Mary Helen’s other DVDs
“I have all of Mary Helen’s DVDs (even her four Ballet Baby ones, even though I’m not expecting! :-)), and she’s one of my favorite workout instructors. Not only do I adore her personality, but whenever I’m consistent about doing Ballet Beautiful workouts, I see huge differences in my posture and also in my muscle tone. A few years ago, I just alternated her two Classic/Total Body and Body Blasts DVDs for three weeks, and really tightened up. More recently, I’ve been doing Ballet Beautiful for the last two weeks, and it’s really helping me lose some thigh girth that I gained doing one of Jillian Michaels’ programs. I was really excited to get this new workout and do like it and am glad I bought it, but I do prefer her other eight DVDs a bit more.
If you do the entire workout, it comes in at just under 58 minutes long, but you also have the option of dividing it up into shorter workouts.
From the main menu, you have several options:
* Play All — 58 minutes long, including the Elongated Stretch segment
* Standing Cardio: Legs, Arms, and Core — about 30 minutes
* Mat Work: Abs, Thighs, and Butt — about 23 minutes long
* Elongated Stretch — 7 minutes
* Audio Options — gives you the options to play the workout with Mary Helen and music, just with the music, or just with Mary Helen
This is filmed in an all-white room that looks a bit different from her previous backdrops in that you can see large windows and the skyline behind Mary Helen. I wish they had used the space from the Ballet Baby series since that backdrop and the colorful flowers were so soothing in those four workouts; it was more interesting to look at. I usually enjoy the basic backdrop in the BB workouts, but in the Mat Work segment, Mary Helen is lying down on an all-white floor against an all-white wall in a white leotard, and the aesthetic of it felt a bit stark and not that soothing to me.
At the very beginning of the workout, Mary Helen gives a few pointers about form and posture, which is a nice reminder.
The Standing Cardio section includes some plie variations at the start, but is mostly standing leg lifts to the front and back and tendu work, all of which include swan arms motions. For each exercise, you’ll do two sets of eight repetitions. This got my heart rate up nicely, and wasn’t quite as challenging as the cardio segments on Ballet Beautiful: Cardio Fat Burn and Ballet Beautiful: Sculpt & Burn Cardio Blast . For that reason, this would probably be a good DVD to start with if you need to work up to Cardio Fat Burn or Sculpt & Burn Cardio Blast. Also, there isn’t jumping in the cardio segment; you have one leg on the ground at all times, so it’s a more low-impact and quieter workout to do if you’re worried about noise or about it being too high impact.
The leg work is the Standing Cardio half is also more straightforward on this workout than it is on Cardio Fact Burn and Sculpt & Burn; since I don’t have any ballet training (unless, of course, you count those lessons I took when I was four 🙂 ), I had a hard time keeping up with the cardio segments on those other two DVDs the first few times I did them, whereas the Standing Cardio segment on this DVD is easier in terms of its choreography and pacing. Another nice benefit of this Standing Cardio section is that a lot of the moves are done on one leg, so it’s an excellent way to work on your balance and on strengthening your core. This whole section also really works the legs and glutes since you’re doing a lot of work where you extend one leg in back of you.
The Mat Work segment opens with about ten minutes of C-curve work, and uses your arms a bit more than the ab work in her previous workouts. After working abs, Mary Helen moves into outer thigh lifts and small leg circles. There really wasn’t much targeted glute work in this section at all (despite the sub-title of this set), which surprised me. I love her inner and outer thigh and glute work, so really wish that there was more outer thigh work and at least a bit of inner thigh work. There also wasn’t anything that directly targeted the glutes; the outer thigh lifts hit the glutes a bit, but not as much as I was hoping there would be. In my mind, Mary Helen really excels in her mat work for the legs; even though the title of this workout makes it clear that the focus will be on standing cardio, I still wish that there had been more than just ten or so minutes of this workout devoted to leg floorwork.
The Elongated Stretch clocks in at seven minutes long, and it’s part of the 58 total minutes of the workout. This nice, long stretch was a good treat, and is a nice addition to the BB model. Usually, Mary Helen stretches quite a bit between exercise sets (which is great), but doesn’t include a longer stretch like she does here. On her Ballet Baby workouts, she includes longer stretch segments, which I love, but this was nicer in that the slightly shorter length (only seven minutes, compared to ten or fifteen on her Ballet Baby DVDs) means that I’m less likely to skip the end stretch. I hope that future DVDs include a longer stretch like this. It’s the “Baby Bear” perfect length — not too long, not too short, but rather just right.
While I enjoyed doing this for the first time, I kept feeling a bit disappointed in that the segments didn’t feel “fresh” to me. I keep trying to figure out why that is, and think it’s because this past week I splurged on a month of Ballet Beautiful’s streaming workouts since they were on sale for half price, and have been so happy with the diversity of those shorter segments. I wish that she had brought some more of that creativity into this new DVD. The focus on using swan arms throughout each exercise was unique, but many of the exercises themselves didn’t feel as fun to do. I can’t quite put my finger on why I’m not liking this one as much as her previous DVDs . . . but that’s all I can think of.
For some reason, the sound quality on this is also a bit off; Mary Helen’s voice echoes, and it was a bit distracting at first. Once I got into the workout, I didn’t notice it as much, but it’s a shame that they didn’t catch this during the production.
As a random side note, it seems like Mary Helen might have filmed this before she had her baby since she seems to have more of her pre-pregnancy look. She always looks amazing, though, but I thought that this was interesting.
As I mentioned at the start of my review, the Ballet Beautiful workouts are fantastic at shaping your muscles into long, lean lines. Many of the Victoria’s Secret Angels train with her, and so does Alexa Chung. I am an hourglass shape who bulks up really easily in the thighs, and whenever I consistently use my BB DVDs, I slim up and look leaner. My pants fit more loosely, and my muscles look more defined. Her workouts are tough, but you will see results when doing them, even if you don’t add in much cardio.
Overall, I’m glad I bought this workout and know I’ll use it, but I’m not sure that it will get as much use in my repertoire as her other DVDs. I will also update my review when I do this workout again since it may grow on me more when I do it a second time. If you’re new to Ballet Beautiful, I’d suggest starting with her first two DVDs, Ballet Beautiful: Total Body Workout and Ballet Beautiful: Body Blast . I have about 300 workout DVDs in my collection, and those two are some of my most frequently used DVDs since they’re so fantastic.”
Andy –
Love BB And MHB
“I own all the DVD’s and have several streaming videos. I’m in my late 30’s, trying to lose the last 15 pounds of baby weight. I must be the only one that finds her mat work sooo challenging! The mat work on the previous DVD’s is much more in depth and longer – I find I can only do about half the workout and I’m still sore the next day or so. That said, I love having all the cardio options to do regularly and then add in the mat work more slowly. I guess this DVD has been too easy for some, but Swan Arms Cardio has to be my favorite. It’s challenging, but not so much that I can’t do the entire workout. It’s a great full body workout and left me with trembling muscles. I will continue to use all the DVD’s and slowly add more mat work. I can’t wait for the day that my body is not challenged by this workout!”
Kristy –
… MHB knocks it out of the park with another amazing dvd!
“Once again MHB knocks it out of the park with another amazing dvd!! Have been looking for an added cardio addition to the Ballet Beautiful program and mission completed!! The cardio is exactly what is best for the lengthening of the legs and arms and of course the tightening of the tummy! swan arms never get easy but your arms to seem to elongate for days Amazing feeling!!! Mary Helen never limits you to any other exercise outside of her method, but its so satisfying to compliment with this cardio dvd!!!! perfect for those days that you want a full body workout with cardio too!!!! Love Ballet Beautiful!!!!! What every woman should have and feel Love Mary Helen!!! I do have all of her dvds none of the workouts are the same and also a part of the custom workout on her site and all material is always fresh and new! Bonus points for that!”
happy customer –
Tough but productive
“I like it. It’s tough though. This is my first of this instructor’s DVDs. I like her, the background is nice and I like the audio options as well. I can barely do the first 15 minutes even though the steps are smooth and simple. My first goal is get halfway threw it! I’m not in the worst shape ever either this is just precise on muscle usage.”
AC Diaz –
Surprisingly Tough, Nice Change of Pace
“I’ve been a dedicated workout enthusiast for many years and have a ton of home DVDs, etc., including Jillian Michaels, Insanity, etc. I wanted to change things up and try workouts that are supposed to promote lengthening your muscles, so I purchased a few of the Ballet Beautiful DVDs. While Gillian, etc. are all great, this one exhausted me in a surprising way. You are moving your arms constantly, but in a graceful balletic way. I was really beat up at the end and almost embarrassed to say that it was pretty hard to get through. I loved it an am eager to see if this will help with my posture, etc.”
diana –
This is a must-buy. Already a favorite!
“I held off a bit to get this DVD because I have all of her others, plus I’m a member of her online classes. But, I couldn’t help myself, since Swan Arms are my absolute favorite… and I wish I would have gotten it sooner! This DVD is different from anything else I’ve done from her, while offering an incredible workout! I love that she adds a deep stretching section. And I also really enjoyed some of the balance poses… man, do they work your core! I highly recommend purchasing this. I have seen such a big difference in how I feel (and look!) since I’ve been doing Ballet Beautiful! And this one is especially effective- offering a wonderful cardio workout, while staying low impact.”
Natalie –
Get stronger and beautiful at the same time
“This workout video is my least favorite of her series but still love it. The video is not that original since the moves are similar to her other videos.. For example, she adds the swan arms to her ab exercise or butt exercise moves we have seen from her. However, I still love this DVD and all of her workouts and realistically, there is only so much variations you can develop. She keeps the workout still challenging and engaging. I love ballet beautiful!”
Vermont Mom –
New Favorite Cardio Workout!
“I am a huge fan of Ballet Beautiful and the lovely founder, Mary Helen Bowers. This is definitely my NEW FAVORITE cardio workout!! She never ceases to amaze me with the effectiveness of her workouts. She inspires me to love myself, which not every workout trainer does and I think that is partly what makes Ballet Beautiful so unique. I recommend this to anyone. I am 18 and using it and I plan on inviting my mom to do it with me. Treat yourself to this wonderful Ballet Beautiful workout!”
Iron Apple –
This workout will kick your ass!
“This will make you sweat. I run 2-3 miles 3 times a week. When I did this workout, I was sweating and fatigued as if I run 3 miles. All of her workouts will kick your ass.”
Robbie –
I just love Mary Helen Bowers
“I grew up with Denise Austin. Now I found Mary Helen and she is incredible. I just love using her dvds.”
Maranda –
Another great Ballet Beautiful workout
“This is a great complement to backstage workout. All of the ballet beautiful workouts are amazing in terms of results!”
Rosalie –
but she does switch them up a bit so you don’t get bored. Definitely worth a try
“Mary Helen does it again. I can’t get enough of her workout programs. For those who have her other DVDs, you will find many similar movements here, but she does switch them up a bit so you don’t get bored. Definitely worth a try.”
Debi W. –
This is great for fun and targeted toning
“I needed a Ballet Beautiful DVD that was a bit easier to conquer. the mat workout is a tiny bit easier than all the other DVD’s she has made. So far I am struggling to do each rep, but am hoping I can manage this in its entirety after adding it to my rotation, 2 times a week. I am committing to 3 months only using BB DVD’s to tone and concentrate more on the muscle work. I have read a lot reviews from people who swear by this training method. going forward in hope and joy.”
Jessica Paige Usery –
A great workout dvd
“In this dvd, she does some hard moves for me. I have mild cerebral palsy which affects my balance. But I do what I can. I still love the dvd.”
Beckster loves books –
Mary Helen Does It Again!
“Another hit from Mary Helen! I love that the cardio portion of this is low impact and this DVD has mat work and it’s own stretching segment.”
Michelle –
Five Stars
“Love, love, love, this dvd, like all her others!”
Margaret D. –
Five stars
“Another great DVD from MHB!”
Mary Smith –
Five Stars
“No nonsense work out.”
ouida d alsup –
Five Stars
“Great workout and fun as well”
Liin –
Five Stars
“Great workout!”
Elle Anabel –
Five stars
“Love the workout!”
NATIA GAPRINDASHVILI –
Five stars
“perfect”
Stacia Nikolaidis –
Five Stars
“I LOVE THIS!!”
AgnesaB. –
Lovely workout
“I love this DVD – though it brings not much novelty for those already familiar with BB moves and workouts.
This one is great for those who can not jump or do high-impact cardio: you will basically do pliés (both and one leg), tendus, degagés etc. There is a good cardio aspect in this DVD – you will get your heart rate up from moving your arms and from many degagés and also from passé moves. It seems to me that here you will be able to tone the muscles around your knees and all around your legs as well (although I am not sure about the calves). It is very lovely idea to use the arms all the time, even during the mat work! – which is great for engaging your back muscles throughout the workout. The mat work is rather short, but has good abs workout and I like also the stretching part. Overall, it is a great DVD to have in rotation. My four stars are just because this workout feels like a collage of older ones (like Swan Arms cardio online video plus cardio with pliés) which I do not mind strongly, but was expecting something really new.”
CD –
Great total body workout you’ll actually enjoy doing!
“I just finished this DVD workout for the first time and I love it! I am a longtime fan of Ballet Beautiful streaming videos, and this DVD combines some of my favorite moves, which are the arabesque bend-stretch with Swan Arms. Mary Helen is a joy to watch, and the workout looks very pretty and light, but don’t be fooled: It is challenging! I love these exercises because you get a total body workout with toning and cardio, but they’re low-impact. Your heart rate gets up but you don’t feel like you’re going to pass out or die, and you can really feel your legs working. Swan Arms will tone and strengthen your shoulders and back muscles so you get graceful posture, and they’re the perfect antidote to sitting hunched over at a computer all day. After the cardio section, there are specific mat sections for abs and legs – you can really feel the burn (in a good way). This video is a really great daily workout for all levels – you can easily pop this in and tone your whole body. The extra stretching at the end is a nice touch – after all the hard work, taking the time to stretch your muscles feels really good. I highly recommend this workout! Doing Ballet Beautiful will give you a perky butt, great posture, flat tummy, and pretty legs. Thumbs up.”
Dave and Heather –
Works for me!!!
“Mary Helen Bowers has done it again!!! By far my favorite BB video! By all means, I am not a ballerina and struggle with a more athletic, bulky build with certain exercises. I started using BB videos over a year ago and have loved how I can get a great workout that focuses on elongating my muscles and toning those specific “ballet muscles!” The cardio is pretty intense in this video so you definitely get your heart rate up! But MHB also combines some targeted exercises to focus on some serious toning! Good burn for your butt and thighs for sure! This video is very doable for those who don’t quite have that ballet body! I had no trouble with any of the positions. Love it!!!”
Bronwyn Lee –
I love this DVD
“I love this DVD. It is simply wonderful. I am definitely a long way off completing the entire DVD with “graceful co-ordination” but each day brings progress in small steps. Mary Helen Bowers is a wonderful instructor and I hope that there are many more of her DVD’s in the pipeline.”
naarah –
I am always so amazed by how effective all of Mary Helen’s workouts are
“Another solid workout! I am always so amazed by how effective all of Mary Helen’s workouts are, and this is no exception. So inspiring, thank you!”
Cynthia Hannah –
Five stars
“Love this workout, another great one from Mary Helen.”
mojomom –
Great workout!
“Needed something new for no-weight days, and this is a great option! Very good leg burn (especially saddle bags). Love the ab section too!”