Rating: 
Summary: If you are not a Smith fan don't bother!
Review: The only thing I found irritating about this video was Smith herself. She is extremely loud and irritating. Just when you begin to really sweat she stops doing the exercise and tells you to continue while she walks around and "coaches". Personally, I do not find it very motivating when the star of the video doesn't do the workout with you. If you don't think Smith would irritate you or if you are a Smith fan you will probably like this video. Just remember to be careful and WARM-UP!! Enjoy :))
Rating: 
Summary: Great, but where's the warmup?
Review: This video has a lot going for it. For one thing, you don't need any equipment other than hand weights and a chair to get started. (Those familiar with videos by "the Firm" will especially appreciate this.) Additionally, the video provides lots of flexibililty. Do upper body, lower body or both at varying levels of intensity. This is all to the good. My problem with the video is this: don't call it a "timesaver" workout and say it can be done in 20 minutes when you don't include a warmup/cooldown. The TAPE takes 20 minutes, but if you're warming up on your own, you need to add that to your exercise time. This may sound picky, but I think it matters when the tape is specifically titled to appeal to the time-crunched. It's somewhat misleading. Kathy Smith is a wonderful instructor and in great shape, although I'm not sure her chest is God-given, (a minor point, and probably none of my business, but I WAS thinking about it during some of the reps.)
Rating:
Summary: Kathy's usual high quality workout
Review: I like Kathy Smith for her good techniques and generally excellent workout videos. Even though she does the same exercises as many other instructors, you know you are doing them correctly with Kathy and feel the benefit from having improved form. I think you will find this workout very effective as you use weights to build resistance. It is in 2 twenty minute segments, the first for arms and the second for legs. If you are at an advanced level, these may not be demanding enough, but for any level up to intermediate they are great. These 2 segments are followed by a 10 minute abdominal workout. Even though the latter is not long, you can still feel it working your abs and achieving results if you do it correctly. The one drawback is that there is no warm-up. Even though Kathy explains you have to warm up before doing the workout, I personally think it would have been better for her to have given the warm-up along with the workout. The only other slightly negative comment I would make is that Kathy is far too "hyper" on this video. I'm not sure what happened to the calmer Kathy of the other videos.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Workout! Great Tape!!
Review: I try a lot of exercise tapes and this is one of the best. Kathy Smith offers an excellent, balanced workout. The two twenty minute segments are nicely paced and offer an intense exercise experience. I've been doing this for just a few weeks and I'm seeing good results already! I feel more fit and definitely stronger. The work is challenging but never too much and there is the option to take the easier or lighter course if it is too hard. Get this and get fit!!
Rating:
Summary: Great workout to get back in shape
Review: I've just started working out again. I think this tape is a great alternative to working out at a gym. I only have about an hour to work out each day but I wanted to get back to weight training and going to the gym takes too long. I use this tape with the campanion timesaver video. I do a 20 minute cardio segment from the Timesaver: Cardio Fat Burner and then a 20 minute segment from this video alternating upper and lower body. I've been using these videos for about three weeks and have already gained strength and endurance.
Rating:
Summary: Fast paced and Effective
Review: Kathy Smith leads you through two separate 20 minute workouts, one for your upper body and one for your lower body, and there is a "bonus" 7-minute abs and back workout at the end. Kathy uses her "dual track" system, so that you can either use lighter weights and do more reps, or heavier weights with recovery time. Kathy is extremly peppy, as usual, which might annoy some people. Frankly, the workout keeps you so busy that you don't have time to think about it! You move from one exercise to the next very quickly, sometimes a bit too quickly. I like this video, though, because you pack a lot into those 20 minutes--it's a great workout for working stiffs like me who really don't have much time to exercise. Many of the exercises themselves are classic moves, like concentration curls, french press, tricep dips, side laterals, flys, lunges, plies, etc. Some of the moves are more unique, especially in the lower body section. The abs section might be too short for some, or plenty for others depending on your level of fitness. I like that she includes a couple of back exercises--we mustn't forget about our backs in our quest to have "washboard" abs. Kathy's cuing is mostly good, at times a little off beat, and once or twice she cues a little late. I like the music, and it's at just the right volume relative to her voice. You will definitely see results if you use it regularly. All in all, a very good workout.
Rating:
Summary: Over 50 years of age
Review: Good workout for the over 50 years of age crowd. Just enough to keep you hanging in there. Not too difficult to keep up.
Rating:
Summary: Kathy does it again
Review: I recently began to incorporate weight training into my exercise program and I decided to go with the tried and true - Kathy Smith. Kathy helped me lose weight with her aerobic videos and I felt that she would be just as effective with the weight training. The workout is divided into two 20 minute sections for upper and lower body workouts. Kathy gets right to the point and doesn't talk you to death. I could do without all the fake smiling by the video participant's, but the workout itself is great. The workout is applicable to first timers as well as those more advanced. I highly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: A Terrific Workout with Terrific Results
Review: I love this tape. I got it about six months ago and have been doing it about twice a week and I couldn't be happier with the results. This tape will get your arms and legs in terrific shape (the ab program is a little too short for me, frankly) if you do it faithfully, and the tape is so enjoyable, that it's easy to do faithfully. As she points out in the video, building muscle helps you lose weight, and this video will help you reach your goal. As other reviewers have stated, she offers two tracks, complete with guidance as to who should do what when, and recommends beginning weights. Her direction is terrific and the tape really flows. She's energetic, without being overly peppy (as I find her in some other videos). Unlike a lot of other tapes, you don't waste time listening to instruction, you are working out for the entire 40 minutes. Kathy Smith has split the tape into two 20 minute workouts (upper and lower body) which is really helpful when you've got limited time to workout. Bottom line, Kathy Smith has designed a terrific workout tape that is easy to stick with and will give you the results you want.
Rating:
Summary: My Personal Trainer would approve!
Review: I've worked with a personal trainer for a year and took a year off to run a marathon. I noticed that once I stopped weight training I slowly gained weight, even with running. So here I'm back again with weights. I'm new to Kathy Smith (probably the only one in the country) and I'm impressed. She does all the exercises that my trainer does and even provides 2 methods for either supersetting (to fatigue) or traditional lifting. The leg workout will get your heartrate up. The arm workout was perfect. I don't recommend this video to beginners. It's much too fast. Great video for a 6-12 week toning. I will mention that a weight bench is helpful and there is a 7 minute ab workout at the end which I didn't even know about. The workouts went so fast I couldn't believe they were 20 minutes.
|
