Australian Louise Solomon has combined the ancient system of yoga with the modern system Pilates, resulting in her own Yogalates. Her intention is to unite yoga's breathing, its internal workout, and its benefits for stress and anxiety together with the Pilates focus on strengthening deeper muscles. But her promise that this can help you lose weight in 28 days cheapens her premise. The implication that neither system is adequate is also misleading. Nevertheless Yogalates will appeal to older, professional women looking for a toning regime. Solomon is not at ease as a presenter: as a teacher her style features constant talking and instruction, which is good if you want your mind occupied, but stressful if you want to clear your mind and relax. Her strengths lie in encouraging knowledge of the body, notably the spine and the natural curves. Those familiar with yoga will gain most from this, otherwise following it can be confusing. The other key problem is that many of the stretches involve a particular resistance band. You can try and make do with a pair of lycra leggings, but eventually you'll give up. [+]

New York City Ballet 2, like its bestselling predecessor, is still designed to sculpt and tone your body; but this second edition has also learned the lessons of the original routine, which was difficult to use for those without formal ballet training. This second workout attempts to be accessible to all, providing a glossary explaining ballet terminology and introducing such steps as Plies and Tendus. Be warned though, this will still take practise if you are new to ballet. The routine itself is also less demanding than the first, but includes one of the best abs workouts to be found on an exercise programme. While the steps do not offer a cardio workout, they are enjoyable once mastered and will make you feel more graceful. Combining ballet and yoga is all the rage at gyms, so a good tip is to tie this in with your favourite yoga programme for that ideal posture and definition. All in all this is a great improvement on the first edition and certainly more enjoyable than watching a Big Brother celebrity's dance routine. On the DVD: New York City Ballet 2 offers pristine images and a 5. 1 Dolby sound. This works wonderfully on the choice of classical and contemporary tracks. [+]

Ex-Eastenders star Patsy Palmer introduces her Urban Workout as a programme aimed at women who have recently had a baby. It's for "shaking your thing and losing pounds in your own home". But once the shots of Patsy and baby are out of the way so is the post-pregnancy angle. Patsy and trainer Lynsey Higgs look like two girls from a band having a laugh rehearsing their dance moves. Urban and fun it is-for about 10 minutes. When the celebrity is a better teacher than the so-called expert, you really wonder who dreams up these concepts. With Patsy Palmer as executive producer, there're no prizes for guessing. Too many moves, too much talking, too much pointless fancy editing and too many repetitions of the catch phrase "grease lightning". Fast forward to see if it gets better, and you'll think you've pressed rewind by mistake. By the time it gets to body conditioning you're likely to have lost interest. [+]