Rating: 
Summary: I wanted to like this video.....
Review: I would not recommend this video to anyone who wants to work their abdominal muscles. There are only a few very basic exercises that, unless you haven't exercised in 10 years, will not give you results. I am new to the shaper ball but could perform these exercises at the advanced level and still not feel a thing. The only part of the video that was slightly interesting, although just as basic as the abdominal & lower back portions, was the lower body which involved leg lifts & squats.
Rating: 
Summary: A great workout for the moderately fit
Review: I'm almost fifty years old and reasonably fit, and found this tape a very useful addition to my exercise program. The exercises are all explained beautifully, feel challenging and safe, and the variations will easily make the workout more difficult if needed.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Lower Body and Abs Sculpting Workout
Review: In just 30 minutes you can have a great lower body and abs workout that is gentle on your body and still challenging. However, there are a few of things you should be aware of before getting this video: 1) you must have the right sized shaper ball. You should be able to position yourself on your hands and knees with the ball between your torso and the floor. My shaper ball is too big, so I am unable to do any of the "beginner" versions of the exercises. 2) Definitely wear shoes while doing this video-Kathy recommends it, but I tried barefoot anyway. It was way too challenging without the traction shoes provide. 3) Also, it helps if you have a wall within visual range of your television. One exercise puts the ball between you and the wall. Once you have all this in order, it is a great workout! The air cushion the ball provides makes many traditional exercises more comfortable to perform, while actually giving them greater effectiveness.
Rating:
Summary: Not worth the money!
Review: In my opinion, this stability ball workout DVD was not worth the money! The setting of the workout was just akward and not appropriate. The background of the fireplace and of a home in general was not appropriate and it was even more awkard to see the instructor and her partner exercising on carpet! A studio setting would have been more appropriate. The instructor's partner was also another unusual part of the setting. He would mumble chit chat towards the instructor after she had said a direction and it was annoying because you can't really hear him and it's as if the audience isn't suppose to! Their interaction with one another was also very awkard. When the instructor and her parnter would do a move with required movement of the pelvis, they would not only do the move a little too sexually, but they would have this look on their faces toward one another. Just too awkard! Besides the setting of the DVD, the instructor was not very good. She is too long-winded in her directions and after time of doing this DVD, it would be understandable for one to turn the mute button on. Half of the DVD time could have been cut if she would have been a little more quick with her directions. As for the goods things of this fitness DVD, a person could learn news moves to use with their stability ball and the instructor does explain three different methods (beginners, intermediate, and expert) for the exercise that is being shown. It was simply too awkard and the instructor was annoying, and long-winded in her explanations.
Rating: 
Summary: POOR WORKOUT
Review: Kathy Smith, why on earth did you use a ball too small for your height? Stability balls come in different sizes for your height. Knees should be parallel with hips. There are other ball workouts out there that are better than this one.
Rating: 
Summary: I expected more
Review: My thoughts on the video... (1). Each exercise is not done with enough repetitions to have much of an effect - maybe this is because it is a timesaver video or something along those lines. At any rate, the exercises suggested are alright to good (with the exception of the ab exercises and the leg exercises using the ball against the wall -both of which I especially liked :)) but you need to do more of them that what is seen in the video for them to be effective. (2). The "advanced" variations are not that different from the "basic" and yet for some reason (which I find confusing)the person working out with Kathy makes it seem like he is actually feeling an effect from them...hmmm...perhaps I am doing them wrong?? (3). The reason why I gave this video a few stars is that I just took the exercises that they showed in the video and combined them with some other ball exercises that I got from other sources to make a more complete workout. The video is therefore effective in presenting some ideas for working out with the ball but I probably wouldn't actually do the video again.
Rating:
Summary: pitiful
Review: not a good exercise routine, Smith is past her prime and her teaching style is lacking, she needs to step aside and quit producing weak videos like this. The moves were overly talked out and the seemed very boring. Smith was good, was! Leisa Hart is so much better, try her On The Ball Abs video instead.
Rating:
Summary: Good toning - if you work at it
Review: Reading that a shaper ball workout is good for those with lower back problems, I asked for and received a ball/tape combo for Christmas. The video tape the combo came with was not very clear, so I was overjoyed when Kathy Smith developed this workout. Balls are really the rage and I've seen them at gyms and in retail stores. 1 - The workout definately allows you to do exercises that may be painful otherwise. I was stretching my full abdominal cage muscles, both upper and lower. You really get a full lower back workout, which is where I needed to focus. 2 - Kathy Smith takes some precious time to review the moves, which is fine when you are first beginning. However, once you have the moves down, I would recommend to begin as soon as she moves to a different position, to get the most out of your workout. 3 - This is not a cardio-buster workout by any means. While my body felt well stretched and worked, my heart rate stayed only slightly elevated. I would recommend pairing this video with a strong walk or an upper body weight session to get your heart rate up. 4 - The more you do the exercise (which falls in the category sculpting and toning-according to Kathy's category)with the ball, the more stable and firm you become. At first I was wiggling all over the place on the ball. You can't believe how much stablizing you do to keep yourself still to focus on the move itself. 5 - This is a good balance and toning tape, and I would recommend it to those who want a low impact, yet strengthening routine. One thing I am disappointed in is that she doesn't do push-ups off the ball, which is very easy to do (and on my first tape). I'm used to high cardio workouts using the Firm tapes or Kathy's cardio tapes. It really brings it down a notch, so don't be disappointed if it's not the fast pace you are used to. Another problem is that she doesn't tell you how much air to put in the ball, which according to my manufacturer's instructions, says, "sit on the ball so that your legs are at a right angle to the floor." It took several times to get the air just right. And one more thing - for those who have several Kathy Smith workouts - she still does the "high five" at the beginning, but this time with the ball! Kind of corny, but a Kathy Smith tape wouldn't be the same without it!
Rating:
Summary: After Working All Day
Review: This is a great workout for lower body toning. I do not always feel like exercising after working all day, and when I'm tired I sometimes don't feel as if I have the best control over free-weights. Kathy Smith is an excellent teacher on proper technique. I use this video when I am short on time. It really feels as if I've worked my problem areas; my butt and abs. Working out on the stability ball has really helped my lower back to become stronger. Working out on the ball also relieves stress. This video is not an aerobic or upper body workout, so it needs to be supplemented with other videos and activities for all around fitness. I also bought this video for my friend that is new to the stability ball.
Rating:
Summary: not that great
Review: This is not one of my favorite workout videos in the world. It is sort of annoying. She does it with this one other guy who is very muscular and looks like he just got at of high school Kathy and him, whos name is Michael, treat each other like they are high school swwethearts. One thing that I like about it though, is that they show the exercises in three different levels, beginner, intermediate, and advanced. That way you can work at your own pace. I never really feel like I have exercised very much when I use this video, though.
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