The S-Factor: Strip Workouts for Every Woman

Rating:
Summary: You Go Girl!
Review:



I say "Amen" to any woman who wants to do this workout!

Guys love women who are comfortable in their bodies! They
love women who can get sexy with their movements! They
want women who workout with stripper moves!

You may prefer to get a video about this same subject, or
you might want some videos about related subjects that
men find also EXTREMELY attractive and compelling
such as the video "Goddess Worship" or "New Free Sex"
or "New Sex Now" --

Amen!

Rating:
Summary: Ok Book, Actual video would be better
Review: At first I was really excited about this book. I thought it was an interesting approach to exercising. As soon as I got the book I started reading it and tried to do the moves as they were shown in the book. Unfortunately that didn't go so well. Seeing pictures is one thing but seeing it in up close and in person is something completely different. In my opinion, to become really good at doing the S factor you would have to have either get a video showing you how to do the moves or take S factor classes with an instructor teaching you step by step. Just having a book with black and white pictures doesn't really do it for me. The book itself was a quick read and had a few good points but overrall it was pretty flat. The book is a good reference but shouldn't be used alone. I would suggest previewing the book FIRST and then decide if you really want to buy it. I would comment on the video but I haven't purchased it yet, but when I do I'll redo this review to tell everyone if the video is worth your money.

Rating:
Summary: Fabulous!
Review: I have to admit that I was a bit sceptical about buying this book and trying the workout. I thought it would turn out to be another trendy, fad workout that I'd try for a couple of weeks and toss aside. Not so at all! Kelley has done an excellent job of explaining the movements and exercises included in the book, especially considering how hard it can be to learn from pictures rather than an instructor. I suppose I may have found it easy to learn because I've had some dance training, but I've practiced with a few friends and they've managed to pick it up easily. I've been working with the book for a couple of months now and practice every single night. I just love it! I can completely see a difference in my body, flexibility and level of comfort with myself. I feel like a new person. I'm definitely going to get the video as well so I can learn more advanced moves and would love to take classes at her studio one day.

Rating:
Summary: Fabulous!
Review: I have to admit that I was a bit sceptical about buying this book and trying the workout. I thought it would turn out to be another trendy, fad workout that I'd try for a couple of weeks and toss aside. Not so at all! Kelley has done an excellent job of explaining the movements and exercises included in the book, especially considering how hard it can be to learn from pictures rather than an instructor. I suppose I may have found it easy to learn because I've had some dance training, but I've practiced with a few friends and they've managed to pick it up easily. I've been working with the book for a couple of months now and practice every single night. I just love it! I can completely see a difference in my body, flexibility and level of comfort with myself. I feel like a new person. I'm definitely going to get the video as well so I can learn more advanced moves and would love to take classes at her studio one day.

Rating:
Summary: Not bad
Review: I liked the workout in the book and I think her explanations of the movements are about as good as you're going to get without having a video in front of you. The workout section is a bit of a pain as the movements aren't listed in order in the book, so the first few times you're going to have to flip back and forth and back and forth. I wasn't sure I wanted to order this book based on most of the other reviews being more a review and history of Sheila Kelly's career, but it's not a bad book at all. If you want to see the moves illustrated better I recommend getting the video, although it doesn't show all of the moves in the book. The workout is a lot harder than it looks and I've found a few muscles I didn't know I had before! You might even find that you want to get a pole of you own. I know I sure do! The pole exercises look to be about the most fun you're going to find in a workout.

Rating:
Summary: Not bad
Review: I liked the workout in the book and I think her explanations of the movements are about as good as you're going to get without having a video in front of you. The workout section is a bit of a pain as the movements aren't listed in order in the book, so the first few times you're going to have to flip back and forth and back and forth. I wasn't sure I wanted to order this book based on most of the other reviews being more a review and history of Sheila Kelly's career, but it's not a bad book at all. If you want to see the moves illustrated better I recommend getting the video, although it doesn't show all of the moves in the book. The workout is a lot harder than it looks and I've found a few muscles I didn't know I had before! You might even find that you want to get a pole of you own. I know I sure do! The pole exercises look to be about the most fun you're going to find in a workout.

Rating:
Summary: lots of fun!
Review: I was a skeptic at first, but this book is pure fun. Those moves aren't as easy as they look, and that's the point--it's a workout! Sheila Kelley does a fantastic job of reminding women that stripping should be about them, and emphasizes the importance of making it your own. I'd give this book 4.5 stars because of that section on pole dancing--and most of us don't have poles to dance with, at least not safely--but I'm definitely intrigued. The most important thing of course is that the exercises really are very enjoyable to do, especially if you get bored easily. Have fun, and thanks Sheila!

Rating:
Summary: "working out can be sexy and natural"
Review: ON THE HEALTH FRONT

It's far from the same old grind

BY DESONTA HOLDER

The Miami Herald
February 17, 2004

I walked into one of Sheila Kelley's workout classes last week in Aventura, expecting to find a few poles to latch onto. After all, the title of her book is The S Factor: Strip Workouts for Every Woman.
But there were no poles and no actual stripping at the Turnberry Isle Resort & Club, where about 200 women, clad in gym attire, gathered on Thursday for the free classes and a book signing by the author. It was a one-time event to show women that working out can be sexy and natural, if you add a few moves inspired by strippers.
''It's strip in the sense of learning the movements, but it has little to do with taking your clothes off,'' Kelley says. ``You strip away social mores like a banana, peel it away.''
Kelley, who has a recurring role on ER, discovered the benefits of stripper movements while preparing for a role in the movie Dancing at the Blue Iguana.

''After two months of prepping . . . I was taut, lean and strong,'' she says. ``I had such great muscle tone. I had danced all my life, but never felt quite as feminine and powerful as I had after the film.''
The S factor, so called because of the curvature of the female body, ''is my passion in life at the moment,'' Kelley says.
And that passion is evident as she takes charge of the class, with lights dimmed and music playing.
We let our bodies take over as we stretch like cats, hands forward, butts pointed toward the ceiling. We tighten our abs while planting our feet and moving our hips in a slow, circular motion. We stand and lower ourselves to the floor, up and down, up and down, feeling it in our quads. We don't walk; we glide like a lioness, dragging one foot diagonally in front of the other, almost in slow motion. We find our organic walk, our predatory walk.
And we don't move to the beat of the music. That's not allowed.
''When I move to the beat, the music has the power,'' Kelley says. ``When you don't move to the beat, everything's about you. You have the power.''
The moves are clearly inspired by stripping, but they also incorporate dance, yoga and Pilates.
For example, one move, The Frisk, is more about flexibility, rather than leaning against a wall with your legs spread, waiting for Officer Friendly to handcuff you.
''It's moving your body into its own shape,'' Kelley says. 'All of a sudden you go, `Hey! That's why I have a butt. That's why I have breasts.' I think women for so long have carried the weight of shame because certain movements make people get aroused. Women need to move their bodies freely. We were made to move.
``My 3-year-old is so unmarred. She moves freely and feminine. It's so breathtaking. I learn from her.''
But ``the message our culture is giving my children is that a woman's body, her breast is obscene and indecent. I take offense to that. What [Janet Jackson] did, you can go after her action. Her behavior . . . was bad, maybe. Go after the behavior, but don't tell my 3-year-old and 9-year-old that her breast is indecent and obscene . . . I find my husband's chest (The West Wing's Richard Schiff) incredibly erotic, but he doesn't have to cover it . . . Modesty should not be a law. It should be a personal issue.''
For women who think the moves are too sexy, Kelley asks: ``Are you looking at it from a male point of view or a female point of view? We need to . . . not get bullied around into thinking it's too sexual. It makes you feel beautiful because you're using your body 100 percent rather than moving up and down like a guy doing guy calisthenics. Look at your beautiful body. It's curving.''
The moves weren't too sexy for Michelle Mendez, 33. The DJ on 97.3 The Coast's Those Two Girls in the Morning show says: ``It's an amazing workout and it brings the sexy girl out in you. You feel very, very, sexy afterward. I'm gonna get a pole and [my fiancé] Honey Bunny's gonna love it.''

Rating:
Summary: Fun, effective exercises - very easy to follow
Review: The book is very well laid-out. It starts with detailed stretches for every muscle group and then goes into some simple floor work. The floor work is very derivative of yoga and Pilates, but with an erotic twist, of course. Floor work is especially good for the abs, but it also works your shoulders, arms, and legs.

After that, it moves on to wall work and some other standing moves. These focus more on your legs, but fear not, your abs are still involved. Then there's a section on pole work, which is great for upper-body strength and burning calories - IF YOU HAVE A POLE IN YOUR HOUSE. I, for one, do not, so I just looked at the pretty pictures and sighed wistfully. Fear not, though - you can buy a stripper pole for your living room if you're so inclined, and if you have $300 just lying around begging to be spent.

Towards the end, there are various routines for you to use once you get accustomed to the individual exercises. There's also a small list of resources for buying exotic dancewear, poles, etc.

All in all, this book was well worth the $15 I spent on it. I can't stress how awesomely detailed each exercise is, with clear photos for each step. And for more advanced exercises, she offers a detailed beginner's alternative until your muscles are ready for the advanced move. Score! Plus, the exercises are fun, sexy, and guaranteed to strengthen your muscles.

On the negative side, Kelley likes to dis strippers and strip clubs - a LOT. I understand that she's probably doing it so that the soccer-mom housewives won't consider themselves "dirty" and "obscene" if they buy this book and do the exercises, but still. Lay off the exotic dancers, eh? She can also be very cheesy in her between-section monologues. On a few occasions, I read something that made me want to bang my head against the wall.

All in all, I recommend this book to anyone who like yoga and Pilates but is looking for something a little more intriguing. And, if you're into fun cardio and have the cash to burn on a pole, I would doubly recommend this book to you.

Rating:
Summary: I love this book!!!!
Review: This is such a fun book with a great work out. It has journal exercises to help get over blocks you have about moving in a sexy way. I am a Pilates Instructor and I love it, but this gives you a sexy edge, and if he is good my husband will love it, Too.