Search - Extreme Makeover Fitness - Weight Loss Workout for Beginners on DVD

Good .. But Several Concerns

S. Price | Laurel MD, USA | 06/17/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I am relatively new to the "exercise video scene", but I got hooked on workouts after discovering Kathy Smith. In order to avoid become bored with my routine, I decided to spice up my collection with several other videos. What appealed to me most about this video was that it advertised several different "daily" workouts as well as assorted extras. I figured with seven new routines to do, there was no way I could get bored.

Well .. they do have seven exercise sessions, but they are just different combinations of the same nine "snipets". There are three workout categories (Abs, Upper Body, and Butt, Hips & Thighs) and for each category there are three choices (cardio, toning, cool down). Thus, the nine snipets.

Here are the main things that concerned/disappointed me:

1. As I mentioned, there is actually very LITTLE variety in this video. The silly comments the girls make to the instructor about "taking it easy on them" are cute ..... the first time.

2. The screen will suddenly shoot to split screen, or even TRIPLE split screen right while you are counting your reps. The main problem here is that they put up the two or three screens OUT OF SYNC. This was very disturbing and distracting. On one mini-screen the girl is counting "seven" and on the other mini-screen the guy is counting "nine". I totally lost track of my reps on numerous occasions. In addition, one will have their leg up, the other has their leg down, etc. Much more distracting than it sounds.

3. Each of the nine "snipets" are quite short .. about 10 minutes. They do not "flow" into each other. After one finishes, you have to wait for a menu screen to come up, and then listen to set-up instructions, etc. again for the next workout. The constant start/stop was also distracting and seemed to make me tire out faster.

4. There are not enough reps in each exercise. I guess I got spoiled by my Kathy Smith "Peak Fat Burning" tape. She does each exercise over and over again. On this tape, most exercises only have 10 reps. Just when you get in the groove, and get yourself in "sync" with ONE of the split-screens, you are on to another move.

5. There are no modifiers for varying levels. I think on TWO exercises, the instructor briefly says "you can do this type of jumping jack if you aren't comfortable with the regular way" .. that's IT.

Now .. there are definitely several GOOD things about this video and maybe these problems just bugged me more since I'm a beginner. You will definitely sweat; the instructor is informative about anatomy and WHY you need to work certain muscles .. and sometimes you might only WANT to exercise for 10 minutes. LOL The exercises range from very easy, to quite tough (especially the abs toning) and my heart rate does get up there. I guess I was just hoping for a nice wide variety of routines, and you won't find that here."

Not really for beginners...

CookieCruncher | Oklahoma | 01/11/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The features of this DVD are very simple to navigate. You are given a choice of doing a full workout or a 'time crunch' workout. There are 7 workouts in all, one for each day of the week. Each daily workout gives you an upper-body, lower-body and ab workout. There is plenty of cardio and muscle toning, as well as a bit of yoga-type stretches in the cool-downs. You should expect to devote anywhere from 35-45 minutes on each daily workout.

"Time crunch" workouts are more target-specific (upper-body, lower-body or abs) and take approximately 20 minutes each.

There is no 'real' warm-up on these workouts. I started with Mondays' workout, and was disappointed to see that they immediately started by jogging in place and doing lunges and thigh exercises. There were no instructions to have previously warmed up or stretched, but I would recommend it.

These workouts are not for any beginners that I know, but more like 'intermediate.' Expect to sweat, and burn, and to hate Bob. Overall I really enjoyed the workout portion of this DVD.

I was expecting this DVD to have stories about the three women pictured on the back of the cover (one of whom is featured on the front.) However, their stories are only briefly mentioned, with before and after photographs. There is a section with style tips that features Autumn, one of the guests from Extreme Makeover, that was mildly helpful.

I wouldn't recommend this workout for severly overweight people, but for people with 20 or 30 pounds to lose, it's perfect."

"Feel the Burn"

A. Taylor | Travis AFB, CA USA | 02/07/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I just recently purchased Extreme Makeover Fitness. As someone previously said don't let the "for beginners" fool you. I started with the Weekly Workout for Sunday. It was Cario arms,abs and lower body. I have done TONS of workouts and I don't always feel them which really dissappoints me because I feel I work hard and then feel nothing afterwards. I like the reminder that I have actually worked some muscles. I did Sunday's routine and woke up sore. Not so sore I couldn't walk but "feeling it" sore. I could pin point to you the muscles I worked and that made me feel more confidant that I worked out like I should and that I will get results. It was hard.. and man was I sweating but there were no difficult moves. Also I weigh 200lbs and it was not too difficult for me. I did lower the impact when I started getting TOO out of breath. All in all I think it's a great tape with many features that I will stick with time and time again. I love how you can customize your workout, do a shorter target area or do the full one. Can never get bored. Give it a shot!

"

Best overall!

M. L. Hayes | Nashville, TN USA | 03/30/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This workout video is what I have been looking for. After doing Pilates for a few weeks I wanted something else that I could do at home instead of taking time (and money) to go to a gym. This video gives me a better workout than I would be able to do by myself on a machine. I started doing the daily workout and had that sore feeling you get the day after. I really enjoy the diversity, and not just having to do the same workout every day. I do not think that I will be bored with this video."