I might cancel my gym membership having discovered Marta Montenegro’s The Montenegro Method of exercise. Billed as a fusion of fitness, sports and science, The Montenegro Method incorporates endurance exercises, aerobics, strength training and a unique combination of movements that will charge every muscle fiber in your body, even after you’ve stopped exercising.
When it comes to appearance, Montenegro won the gene pool lottery. Impossibly long and lean with a six-pack to die for, Montenegro’s appearance in and of itself is a motivating factor. But it’s the combination of her exercises that kept me from becoming bored as I worked out to her dvds. I am particularly enamored of her Endurance dvd which features three 21-minute full body progressive circuit training routines. In this dvd, Montenegro leads you through a series of squats, lunges, plyometric exercises, push ups and planks. There is a warm up and, once you get started, the pace is swift as Montenegro encourages you to keep going. I’m not certain of how her video was produced but it appears that there are no breaks while a makeup artist wipes the sweat from her brow or fixes Montenegro’s makeup. She does the exercises with you, gets sweaty with you (and you will definitely break a sweat) and she becomes winded with you. She constantly reminds you to drink water and to breathe. Just like my trainer at the gym.
Personal trainers everywhere can learn from Montenegro who, instead of having you do a regular series of lunges, for example, combines them with a side or front kick or a lower body jumping jack. I’m frankly amazed at the combinations Montenegro has devised. She’ll combine a series of pushups and then have you go into a plank position. And, just when you think you can’t hold it anymore, the exercise is over and Montenegro is onto the next exercise. The quick pace is part of the success of Montenegro’s videos. Every series of movements is quick and lasts for about a minute each. Once you get the hang of the pace, your mind gets into gear and you start to think, “I can do this. It’s only for another 20 seconds.” Brilliant.
Montenegro keeps up a steady stream of encouraging conversation while reminding you of the correct form for each exercise. In some of the dvds, she works out with another person who shows you the easier form of the exercise.
I must have a library full of exercise videos and dvds that are gathering dust on a bookshelf. With the variety, pace, unique and challenging combinations of moves – they are not so difficult that a novice couldn’t do them, yet even an exercise expert will find them challenging – I doubt I’ll get bored with The Montenegro Method. Of course, as with any exercise program, consult your physician before you begin.
About Marta
Marta Montenegro (MF, MS, CSCS, NSCA-CPT) is a Venezuelan-born journalist, health and fitness expert, professor and Editor-in-Chief of SOBeFiT Magazine. Marta holds master’s degrees in finance and exercise physiology. She has contributed to local and national media outlets on topics ranging from nutrition and diet to sports medicine and personal fitness. Her passion for wellness inspires her daily training sessions, complete with running, boxing and weight training – a routine that rewards her with freedom, stress relief and strength.
Marta has worked with many athletes and celebrities, including pros tennis players Carlos Moya, Fernando Verdasco, and Feliciano Lopez, as well as The Today Show’s Natalie Morales, The Real Housewives of New York’s Bethenny Frankel, and Extra’s Mario Lopez.
TThe Montenegro Method dvds are available at: http://www.montenegromethod.com for $14.98 each for either Strength, Get Toned; Endurance, Burn Fat; or Power, Accelerate Your Metabolism.
