After injuring my back training, I was looking for a way to ease back intro training, work my body and strengthen my back, so when the opportunity came up to review the DDP Yoga app I jumped at it.
I had a chat with the legendary Diamond Dallas Page who originally developed DDP YOGA for athletes like himself who had suffered years of injuries due to high impact sports. We spoke about his path into yoga, because for the first 42 years of his life, Dallas a semi-retired wrestler who you will know from many WrestleMania’s was a guy who “wouldn’t be caught dead” doing yoga.
However, after Dallas blew his back out by rupturing his L4 and L5 spinal discs during the height of his professional wrestling career, at the age of 42 and after seeing three top health specialists Dallas was told he would never be able to wrestle again.
This devastating news didn’t stop Dallas from his pursuit to keep his childhood dream alive, he was willing to try anything including Yoga for the first time in his life.
With experience in many other areas of fitness, Dallas quickly learned how different yoga was from traditional workouts and he started mixing elements of yoga with his rehab as well as traditional workouts. This is how DDP yoga was created, it’s yoga with a Dallas twist.
Amazingly, doing his own method of yoga helped Dallas to returned to better health and he made his return to the wrestling ring at the age of 43 and became champion after being told he would never wrestle again! Dallas continued to wrestle and semi-retired at 49 years old.
Dallas has not only rehabilitated himself, he also has helped many others including fellow wrestler Jake the Snake who was injured but is now back on form and Vader who within a week of working with him, managed to lose 10lbs and bought his blood sugar levels down which is great news for his diabetes management.
DDP yoga successes are not limited to athletes, there are lots of case studies to prove that the DDP yoga workouts get the job done, Arthur Boorman being a great example as he was morbidly obese, weighing almost 300lbs. He could only walk using crutches and leg braces and needed to wear a back brace. He also needed help to dress himself, suffered from sleep apnea and was a prime candidate for a stroke, heart attack or worse.
When Arthur started, the DDP Yoga workouts he needed a chair to balance and straps to hold himself in position. With determination and hard work, he started to shed the pounds loosing over 100lbs and is now able to walk unaided – no longer dependent on crutches. As Dallas puts it, “weight loss just happens to be a really AWESOME side effect of DDP YOGA” and you can’t argue with that.
The program is not just for adults, Dallas found that parents were doing the DDP yoga with their kids, so to be more inclusive he decided to create a special workout for kids, therefore keeping the whole family fit.
Dallas has become a master at teaching DDP yoga to others, as well as motivating individuals to believe that anything is possible as long as you show dedication and hard work.
The app
After speaking to Dallas I was super excited and pumped to get started on the app which is available on iTunes and DVD versions are available too. I was intrigued as to how his yoga would differ from ones I’ve done before, I’m a fan of yoga and have accumulated a few DVDs and books over the years.
The look and feel of the app is great, it is jam packed with great workouts for all levels whether you’re a newbie or a seasoned yoga fanatic there is something for you. He has something for beginners, intermediate, advanced and even an extreme level!
Other great features include live 1-on-1 sessions, prenatal workouts, alternative versions and modified workouts. He also has workouts categorised by duration so if you’re pushed for time you can opt to do a quick 20 minute or 30 minute workout. If you’re someone that gets distracted by music, you can do the workouts without it.
The beginner’s weekly guides take you on a 13-week journey – Dallas takes beginners through each week’s goals and objectives to keep you on a path of health and fitness and really goes the extra mile, including a 1-2-1 call from Dallas which is super encouraging.
I loved that Dallas has an introduction video on the app and also posts weekly Monday motivational messages – Monday’s aren’t the most popular day of the week so a little motivation is always welcomed!
There are some great added value elements of the app – Dallas does live workouts so you can really feel like you are part of the DDP yoga team.
The app also give you notification on when the next live workout is and suggests days for you to workout.
Within the app, you also get nutrition information with Dallas sharing recipes for healthy eating and is working on new recipes to include to keep users on track.
You can really see that the app was designed with the user in mind, a lot of thought and effort has been invested into it.
Working out to strengthen my back
I tested out the app by doing a number of videos in the beginners and intermediate over a period of time with the objective of strengthening my back. Dallas suggested I try a few including red hot core, stand up and moves like broken table.
As Dallas is not your typical yoga guy the works are not typical, he delivers his training with high energy which makes it super fun. He also incorporates signature moves like the Diamond cutter, touchdown, broken table, and my one of my favourite’s superstar! All of these added moves help to make the workout fun and engaging, it’s definitely an amped up yoga class that ends with a bang. The moves really do work your body and Dallas takes the time to explain the moves in detail.
To begin with I tried out the beginner’s diamond basics where Dallas takes you through a number of moves to stretch and strengthen our bodies. What is really helpful about the app is that he has taken the time to break down and talk you through key moves at a slower pace, so not matter your fitness level you can be involved – there’s no excuse. As he takes you through various workouts he has his team showing variations and modifications of the moves so there is something for everyone no matter if you worked out 5 days ago or 5years ago you can choose to follow the modified version you’re comfortable with.
Dallas is a charismatic trainer and I really liked the fact that he emphasis that it’s your workout so you can make it what you want so you don’t feel pressured, he reassures you that its ok to go at your own pace. As I watched Dallas doing all his moves I had to remind myself that he is 60years old and bending like a pretzel so I surely can get there – super inspiring.
I would highly recommend this app, it’s a one stop shop essentially with workouts, motivation and nutrition so if you’re looking for a fun non-traditional yoga workout this is the app for you.
It is certainly an investment worth making for your health and fitness and app that you will reap results from as long as you put in the work. I’ve moved up to intermediate level, but looking forward to moving into advance and extreme so watch this space!
5 out of 5.
W| By Ebony Gayle Via Fitness
