Rating: 
Summary: Less Than What I Expected
Review: I am a real fan of Kathy Smith. Her cuing is always clear and her movements are not too "dancy". In addition, she typically presents helpful and effective exercise education in her workouts. While this was true in this tape as well, I was a little disappointed in the quality of her routine. It appeared more personal and less scripted than most of her other routines, but the energy Kathy usually brings to her workouts (even the yoga workout tape) seemed to be missing in this one. It had a bit too much "infomercial" approach for my taste (a complaint I also have with some of the other popular workout names).
That being said, there are helpful moves and good information in the workout, and I will continue to use it.
Rating: 
Summary: Fun and works great!
Review: I felt like I was in heaven after doing this workout. Of course Kathy Smith is an excellent teacher, but the star of the video is the shaper ball. It works your abs in such a way that you finally can target your abs without hurting your neck, and it puts you in comfortable positions that you just can't get into on the floor.Plus, its fun! My mom thought I was nuts when I brought this home. But thats what fitness is about, trying out new things and seeing what helps you acheive your goals. This workout is easy, alot of fun, and the stretching you get is the best feeling in the world. Along with a toned body!! I cannot stand traditional ab cruches and sit ups. Uk!! You cannot stick with something that you hate to do. Which is why this workout is so great.
Rating:
Summary: I expected more
Review: I have many of Kathy Smith's tapes and enjoy each one of them. When I saw that she had a tape on using the shaper ball, I was ecstatic. I bought it, got prepared to workout and I must say that I was disappointed. I expected more from her. The video is too short, the exercises are not done for a long period of time and I didn't feel anything at the end. The only good thing about the video is it acts as a guideline for exercises you can do on your own. She gives you quite a few. I recommend that you do the exercises on your own and for a longer period of time. I found this helped me. To sum up, buy the tape if you are looking for a guideline and exercises to try on your shaper ball. Do not buy the tape if you are just going to follow the half hour routine.
Rating: 
Summary: To add fun to your workout try Kathy's Shaper Ball Workout
Review: I have quite a few Kathy Smith videos and decided to give the Timesaver Shaper Ball Workout a try. What fun! Kathy knows how to talk you through every exercise move so you don't feel confused. The day after I used the Shaper Ball Workout, my thighs were sore, but in a good way. I'm pretty much a beginner since I'm not consistent with exercise. With this video, I've easily added it into a daily routine. Yeah, even after a long day at work and two teenagers to raise! I recommend this video to anyone who's looking to start an exercise program or just want to add some variety to their existing routine. As Kathy points out in her video, you can make the exercises more difficult just by how you position yourself on the ball and by adding more repetitions.
Rating:
Summary: A decent ball workout focused mainly on the lower body
Review: I just got a stability ball, and this was one of the first workouts I tried. Kathy and her assistant, Michael, begin with a 6 1/2 minute warm-up: moving with the ball held in your hands, stretching using the ball, and sitting on the ball both to open your hips and to get used to balancing. Next comes a 7-minute abs segment which includes a total of 4 exercises: the first three work your upper abs, lower abs, and obliques respectively while seated on the ball, and the final works the side muscles. The following segment consists of a series of back extensions, the first performed face up on the ball and the last last two performed face down; this section is 6 minutes long. The final section, which I clocked at 9 1/2 minutes, focuses on the lower body. I found the hamstring work to be particularly tough as well as the three sets of wall squats (the last two are performed on one leg). The workout ends with a single stretch, no cool-down, for a total of 29 minutes.
There are two things that I really liked about this video: 1) Kathy shows three different levels of modifications for every exercise, so you can make each exercise easier or more challenging, and 2) brief stretches are included between many of the exercises, and these feel so good on the ball. On the negative side, I did not feel that this workout was very intense, as I would have preferred if Kathy had spent less time instructing and more time actually performing the movements. Furthermore, I would have liked to have seen some upper body work included in the routine. Overall, however, this was a decent introduction to ball work and would be good for those who want to build back and lower body strength.
Rating:
Summary: Good start for beginners
Review: I just recently purchased an exercise ball and have some books demonstrating technique- but I wanted to be able to watch someone actually use the ball rather than just go by still pictures in the books. This was the first video I got, and since I had never set my... well buns on an exercise ball before, I found it to be perfect for me.
Other reviewers have mentioned it's boring or the instructors are too flirty, but I still have to say that this is a great introductory video because it IS easy and the instructors aren't taking themselves too seriously. It's supposed to be fun to keep you motivated, right?
Another reason I chose this video is that I am only 5'0" and so I use a 55cm ball. Other videos I looked at seemed to be using a much larger ball and I wasn't sure if I would be able to do the exercises. When I popped this one into the VCR, I was relived to see that the male instructor, Michael, is a short guy and was using a smaller ball than Kathy- so I knew I wouldn't have any problems.
Once I build up to the higher level workouts shown, I'm sure I'll get bored with this and pass it on to someone else. But for now, at the beginning level, I'm enjoying the workout!
Rating:
Summary: Strange
Review: I like working out with my shaper ball because it makes exercise seem more like fun and less like punishment. But because I needed more guidance on this new piece of equipment than was provided on the chart that came with it, I turned to Kathy Smith, my fitness guru for guidance. I thought, Kathy has not yet led me astray, and I bought this video without question.
Granted, the living room backdrop isn't too inspiring, but that would be easy to overlook, if only... The atmosphere on this tape is very odd, from the moment Kathy introduces her friend, a muscular man in bike shorts, to the end of the cooldown stretches. More than is necessary, Kathy puts in infomercial-like plugs for the shaper ball, which, presumably, if someone bought this tape, wouldn't they already own and love their shaperball? Another thing that adds an element of "weird" to this tape is that Kathy's friend talks too much for an exercise video. There seems to be this weird flirtation between the two of them. Imagine if you will, the ninth grade JV basketball player who has a crush on the senior girl who's captain of the cheerleading squad. That's what you have here on this tape. But the exercises! Once you get past the flirtation and the infomercial, the exercises would be pretty good for a beginner or someone who wants to have a less-intense exercise day, but still put their body in motion. Maybe the thing to do would be to go through the tape twice, and then you'd get a rigorous workout. It certainly isn't up to the standards of the other Kathy Smith videos I know and love.
Rating:
Summary: all talk
Review: I really love this workout. It's easy to follow and is presented in 10-20 minute increments that allow you to fit the workout in to a busy schedule. My only complaint is that the DVD cover indicates that there is an "exclusive 20 minute stability ball workout" included when there is not. Unfortunately, I bought 2 stability balls to go with the 2 DVDs I bought (one for me and one for a friend) before I discovered this. I have sent 2 emails to customer service on the Kathy Smith website and have received no reply...very disappointing.
Rating:
Summary: Kathy Smith - Timesaver Lift Weights to Lose Weight 2
Review: I really love this workout. It's easy to follow and is presented in 10-20 minute increments that allow you to fit the workout in to a busy schedule. My only complaint is that the DVD cover indicates that there is an "exclusive 20 minute stability ball workout" included when there is not. Unfortunately, I bought 2 stability balls to go with the 2 DVDs I bought (one for me and one for a friend) before I discovered this. I have sent 2 emails to customer service on the Kathy Smith website and have received no reply...very disappointing.
Rating: 
Summary: Terribly DISAPPOINTING !
Review: I was hoping for much more than this video gives! I was not CHALLENGED in doing these exercises! & being approx 50lbs over-weight, having back problems + being OUT of SHAPE... I should have been. I DIDN'T even feel like I got a workout!!! I believe much more can be done w/a physio-ball than this video gives. It is too short & not extensive enough in the variety of exercises. + I feel Smith rushes through explanations of the positions & the exercises both.
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