Search - Joyce Vedral: Speedy Non-Stop Fat Meltdown Plus Stomach Zapping Abs on DVD

Great workout!

Ima Teacher | Cleveland, Ohio United States | 07/12/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Great for a quick workout. It packs in a lot in a short time. Easy to do in the living room with a few hand weights. At her age she is in amazing shape and very inspitational. I have been using Joyce's workouts for a LONG time and love the results. She knows what she is talking about."

This ol' lady knows her stuff! :)

M. Bernstine | California | 03/22/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Boring as this DVD is and as repetitious as it is, IT WORKS! Joyce has always been one of the best instructors out there, and I'm glad to see she is still out there getting all of us in shape.

Not a bunch of fancy movements. Just the "same ol, same ol" with fantastic results!

Way to go, Joyce! You still a hot mama! :)"

This Has It All

Khezla Durr | St. Louis MO | 05/14/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I don't know how Joyce packs so much into one video. This one has it all. I was impressed. The workouts are terrific and fast. They get the job done without spending hours at the gym. Wonderful!"

THE workout for the time-crunched. Doesn't get better than t

Joanna Daneman | Middletown, DE USA | 09/24/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I used to lift weights (quite heavy ones, as I had a job that occasionally required very heavy lifting.) I used to go to the gym, work with a trainer and even bench press 90 lb barbells, which for an over-40 woman is not so easy.

Then I got lazy (and fat, hopefully not dumb) and very busy when I started a new career. I have very little time anymore to do anything. I have a collection of Joyce Vedral's books, from full workouts with weights to short, you-can-do-it-in-a-hotel-room workouts with one set of dumbbells and a phone book. But I recently discovered this DVD and this is a GREAT WORKOUT. This does it all, it takes 15 minutes or thereabouts, and you only need minimal space and equipment. When you are finished, you've done strength exercises with weights (good for bones and muscle mass) AND aerobics, AND abs/core.

The equipment you need is minimal. You need a triple set of dumbbells (2,3,5 but working up to heavier ones later on, say 3,5,8 or 5,8,10 so eventually you may have five or six pairs. I have Neoprene Dumbbells and I like them because they don't clank on my laminate floor in the bedroom. I also use a yoga mat and a physio ball for a bench (you need a bench, but I don't have one and the ball works fine.) THAT'S IT. How cool is that? You can have a gym in a space the size of a small bedroom.

The workout is by days, first you do upper body with abs, and then lower body on the next day. The workout takes about 15 minutes and it is done with super-sets. Super-sets are a continuous arrangement of exercises that pair opposing muscle groups (for example, biceps versus triceps) with an additional muscle group (say, lats) and you move through a group of muscles with one single weight. Then you return to the same sequence with a heavier weight and then the heaviest weight, three super-sets in all and YOU WILL FEEL IT. The first set is oh, so easy. But when you hit set #3, you will know you've worked out.

The video is very plain-Jane. The camera has a few angles focusing on Vedral and her workout buddy, who does the counting (sans annoying headset mic) and Vedral offers a bit of encouragement but this is pretty basic. You are there to work and get the job done. The set is simply a laminate floor, 2 benches and mats and the workout team, nothing else. No pretty pots of ferns on a mistily-lit studio floor with vistas of the Pacific Northwest shrouded in fog in the background. And Dr. Vedral has a New York accent which may grate on the Suth'n ladies' sensibilities but she has a pleasant tone (I love Denise Austin, but that raspy soprano makes me want to bang my head against the wall in five minutes of listening to her.)

You can memorize this workout fairly easily as it is logical (think which muscles are opposing and you will get this down in a few repetitions.) So you may not even have to watch the DVD after a while and just grab those dumbbells and be done in 18 minutes.

I like the abs workout--many many different exercises with legs in different positions that work upper, lower and (not so much) obliques. I prefer a certain oblique exercise and I like doing my abs on the physio ball, so I modified this a bit and do some of the abs on the ball rather than on the mat. But it's a very intensive core workout, though nothing like Pilates.

I also modified this a bit and use a ball rather than a bench. I don't have a bench currently in the room (though I'd like one) and the ball is great for the same exercises and it uses your core at the same time as you prop yourself on the ball on your back with legs on the floor. If you aren't used to the ball, you might try to find a simple bench. They can be found at yard sales, Craigslist or sales at big-box and fitness stores and are not so expensive. When you are done working out, you can shove it at the end of the bed and plop a duvet on it, if you work out in your bedroom as I do. I may end up doing this, though the ball is very fun.

Summary: GREAT 18 minute workout. Can be done almost anywhere if you have dumbbells and a bench and a floor. Good for travelers (hotel gyms may have a set of dumbbells) and small spaces. GETS THE JOB DONE. For the lazy-to-get-to-the-gym or time-crunched, this is a life-saver."