Our rating: 2 hearts

The workout: In this 60-minute class, you use hand weights during traditional yoga moves.

The claim: It’s yoga, but the weights make it more challenging.

Reality check: Our tester says she struggled with boredom. Despite the hundreds of yoga poses out there, the instructor led them through the same moves class after class. Still, she appreciates her newly found upper-body strength. (Iron Yoga definitely delivered on that promise.)

Expert take: It’s true, the added resistance of the hand weights makes this class more challenging for your upper body than traditional yoga. But you’d need to build in specific exercises for your lower half to make this a total-body experience.

Is it love? Our tester says she wanted to make this a just-friends relationship long before the 6-week trial was over. She knew it was helping her upper body, but that wasn’t enough to offset the boredom factor.

The bottom line: If you’re looking for the total-body (and mind) challenge of a traditional strong yoga class, this isn’t for you.

Iron Yoga: Combine Yoga and Strength Training for Weight Loss and Total Body Fitness (Rodale Inc., 2005), $11.53; also available on both DVD and VHS from GoodTimes Entertainment, $14.95 and $12.95, respectively; www.ironyoga.com for class info, www.amazon.com to order book, and 800-433-6769 or www.collagevideo.com to order DVD or video

 
By Kathryn C. Kukula