Kathy Smith - Functionally Fit - Peak Fat Burning

Rating:
Summary: The One I Keep Going Back To....
Review: Kathy Smith is a professional and this 40 minute workout is great! I keep going back to it again and again even though I have a pretty decent-sized library of workout videos. The intervals are challenging and make the time fly by and I really sweat with this one (although it's still do-able). The moves are very easy to follow, too (very important for a klutz like me). Buy it -- you won't regret it.

Rating:
Summary: Too easy for me
Review: I didn't feel like I got much of a workout using this DVD. I don't think I reached my target heart rate (for fat burning) at all. I was also very bored. I wanted something fairly simple because I get confused/lost easily with more complicated moves and this DVD was definitely simple. My Mom borrowed it and found it challenging (physically). So I guess it's good for beginners.

Rating:
Summary: not difficult to do
Review: After reading the reviews for this DVD, I decided to buy it and try it out for myself. I am relatively fit (workout 4-5x/week for more than an hour), and I broke into a mild sweat. The DVD is ok, but not that exciting and definitely not challenging. The background music is very blah. I dont think there is enough exercises in this coz I always feel I need more after the dvd ends. Probably good for light lazy days when you can't get to the gym.

Rating:
Summary: Kathy Smith Peak Fat Burning
Review: GREAT tape--- I did this tape religiously for 4 months---for the first 8 weeks only 3x a week and then after that 6 days a week----and I went from a size 8 (150 lbs) to a size 2 or 4 (124 lbs of TONED body--I swear---very little fat!--and I am a 40 yr old mom of three). The only thing I did in addition after the 1st six weeks, was I started doing the 'abdominizer' ("rock, rock, rock your way to better abs"), following the tape that came with it as well (10 min max). WARNING---I stopped working out, and after 6 months, the weight started creeping back on....so now I am going back to Kathy Smith Peak Fat Burning !!!!!!

Rating:
Summary: OUTSTANDING VIDEO - Kathy Smith is great!!!
Review: I have been working out to this video 3 times a week for the past 4 weeks. Already, I feel stronger, especially from the squats she teaches you to do correctly. I love that the video is interval style so that you alternate between a hardcore 2 minute sweat-exploding workout and then an active recovery where you bring your heart rate down while toning. So, not a second is wasted. By having the active recovery, I'm also able to continue on with the sweaty parts because I would definitely be getting tired if I did 40 minutes straight of hardcore working out.

Kathy has a great personality and explains the moves very well for beginners. Even people with two left feet will be able to do this video. Kathy's cues are right on, so you don't get lost when switching to a new move.

Also, Kathy likes to change things up so that you don't get bored. The moves are fun and varied. She has a great warmup before the actual workout begins, and a great cooldown with stretches.

In the video, there are 4 other "athletes" doing the routine and you can focus your attention on the ones who do the advanced version, or watch the modifiers who make the moves slightly easier. Kathy tends to do the more advanced moves. There is something for everyone with this video.

I break a sweat every time, and I feel great afterwards. It's a wonderful cardio/toning workout that doesn't require any props. Also, you really don't need that much space in front of the TV to do the routine. If you can walk two steps in every direction, you have enough floor space. After having done this video now for 4 weeks, I am still loving it. When will I get sick of it!???? I don't know. Kathy Smith is just that great. =)

Rating:
Summary: Hard and Great
Review: I found this workout extremly hard, but definatly in a good way. You have to push yourself to the limits. The moves were not hard to follow, so you can jump in the first time and have a great workout.
On top of all this I've found this workout keeps my body in shape and helps me keep the pounds off. It really does do everything it promises!

Rating:
Summary: Way too much choreography
Review: Okay, so I'm rather uncoordinated and it usually takes me some time to learn my moves, but sooner or later I always do. However, I pretty much gave up on this tape after the first quarter of an hour of senseless jumping around during which I found it almost impossible to follow the moves and I didn't really do any sweating. I just want to warn all you exercisers out there who aren't exactly fans of this type of workout: guys, this tape is not for you. Get Minna's Fat Eliminator instead!
I also need to add that Cathy's "Lift Weights To Lose Weight Part Two" IS an amazing tape and I would encourage all of those less coordinated people like myself to grab a copy of that one.

Rating:
Summary: Always a favorite...
Review: This has been my number-one favorite workout for years! I initially had it on VHS, and finally upgraded to DVD. The workout is really upbeat and fun, and really gets your heart pumping. Great for cardio days, alternating with weight training days. No special equipment necessary.

Rating:
Summary: Burn Fat and Tone Your Lower Body with Intervals
Review: Workout Description: 25 minutes of anaerobic / aerobic intervals w/ light toning (using body weight only) with 7 minutes warm-up & stretch, 3 minute cool-down, and 5 minute stretch for a total of 40 minutes
Workout Level: high beginner to mid-/high-intermediate; can be modified to be low, mid-, or high impact; relatively uncomplicated choreography
Instructor: Kathy Smith (Has taught fitness for about 20 years and starred in 25+ exercise videos; received IDEA's Lifetime Achievement award for 2003). Kathy's cueing is good. She's very enthusiastic, which sometimes causes her to trip up her cues. She works both sides evenly and means for you to mirror her moves.
Class: 3 women and 1 man; 2 show low impact modifications and 2 show high impact modifications while Kathy demonstrates the mid-level impact moves
Music / Set: The beat-driven instrumental music speeds up during interval segments and slows down during toning; it's not very exciting. The bright interior set is meant to look like a living room facing onto the backyard. There is a clock counting down how much time is left in the interval at the 1 minute and 30 second marks.
Equipment Needed: sneakers
Caveats: Although 2 exercisers are on carpet, be careful with your foot placement during the slight pivots and shuffles.
Additional Comments: This workout doesn't require too much space. (You need to be able to take one big step front and back and two fairly big steps to each side.) It is a great workout to grow with, as you can increase the intensity when you need more; you can also decrease the intensity when you need a lighter workout. Although this workout is primarily aerobic, less advanced exercisers may want to avoid doing strength training for your lower body the day after doing this workout if that toning involves a lot of squats and lunges. (Do not follow Kathy's recommendation of alternating this with her Functionally Fit Lower Body Firming, as your muscles will not have enough time to recover.)
This workout is labeled "functional fitness," which indicates that the moves are meant to mimic those used in everyday activities or in popular sports (like tennis or basketball). As a result, the routines are not dancy, and the only complicated part is the fact that you have 2-4 moves strung together. This is also an interval workout, which is an effective way of increasing your cardiovascular endurance since you push yourself for the 2 minute interval and allow yourself 3 minutes to recover while still staying active.
This workout focuses predominantly on the lower body, although there is some movement of the torso in the latter part. I sometimes use this alone, although I usually combine it with one arms segment from Tamilee Webb's I Want Those . . . series, some push-ups, and some ab work for a total body workout in just over an hour.
The DVD allows you to choose your chapter, which I use to skip the introduction. There are no extras.

Rating:
Summary: Oldie but Goodie!
Review: This DVD is a little older (1996) which almost discouraged me from purchasing it. I was afraid of outdate moves, cheesy hair, bad music, etc. Luckily, I read the positive reviews.
There are only a handful of really good cardio DVDs out there. This happens to be one of them. She does an excellent job of previewing each move before going into a fat blasting interval. Between the intervals and the active recovery, this workout flies by. You will burn a ton of calories and also get a pretty good buns and thighs workout. I like to follow this dvd with one of the 10 minute upper body sections of Lift Weights 2 Lose Weight. Through a combination of these and other workout dvds (my favorites are the above mentioned Kathy Smith workouts, Tamilee Webb's Tighter Assets, Crunch's Cardio Boot Camp and Cardio Salsa and Donna Richardson's 3 Day Rotation) I have lost 12 pounds and have dropped down to a size 2! If you can't afford a gym membership, this is an excellent alternative.