Search - Kathy Smith - TimeSaver Shaper Ball Workout on DVD

Good toning - if you work at it

lizzieflee | Mid-Missouri | 01/26/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Reading that a shaper ball workout is good for those with lower back problems, I asked for and received a ball/tape combo for Christmas. The video tape the combo came with was not very clear, so I was overjoyed when Kathy Smith developed this workout. Balls are really the rage and I've seen them at gyms and in retail stores. 1 - The workout definately allows you to do exercises that may be painful otherwise. I was stretching my full abdominal cage muscles, both upper and lower. You really get a full lower back workout, which is where I needed to focus.2 - Kathy Smith takes some precious time to review the moves, which is fine when you are first beginning. However, once you have the moves down, I would recommend to begin as soon as she moves to a different position, to get the most out of your workout.3 - This is not a cardio-buster workout by any means. While my body felt well stretched and worked, my heart rate stayed only slightly elevated. I would recommend pairing this video with a strong walk or an upper body weight session to get your heart rate up.4 - The more you do the exercise (which falls in the category sculpting and toning-according to Kathy's category)with the ball, the more stable and firm you become. At first I was wiggling all over the place on the ball. You can't believe how much stablizing you do to keep yourself still to focus on the move itself. 5 - This is a good balance and toning tape, and I would recommend it to those who want a low impact, yet strengthening routine. One thing I am disappointed in is that she doesn't do push-ups off the ball, which is very easy to do (and on my first tape).I'm used to high cardio workouts using the Firm tapes or Kathy's cardio tapes. It really brings it down a notch, so don't be disappointed if it's not the fast pace you are used to. Another problem is that she doesn't tell you how much air to put in the ball, which according to my manufacturer's instructions, says, "sit on the ball so that your legs are at a right angle to the floor." It took several times to get the air just right.And one more thing - for those who have several Kathy Smith workouts - she still does the "high five" at the beginning, but this time with the ball! Kind of corny, but a Kathy Smith tape wouldn't be the same without it!"

Strange

April Blake | Genesee, PA | 03/13/2002

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I like working out with my shaper ball because it makes exercise seem more like fun and less like punishment. But because I needed more guidance on this new piece of equipment than was provided on the chart that came with it, I turned to Kathy Smith, my fitness guru for guidance. I thought, Kathy has not yet led me astray, and I bought this video without question.Granted, the living room backdrop isn't too inspiring, but that would be easy to overlook, if only...The atmosphere on this tape is very odd, from the moment Kathy introduces her friend, a muscular man in bike shorts, to the end of the cooldown stretches. More than is necessary, Kathy puts in infomercial-like plugs for the shaper ball, which, presumably, if someone bought this tape, wouldn't they already own and love their shaperball? Another thing that adds an element of "weird" to this tape is that Kathy's friend talks too much for an exercise video. There seems to be this weird flirtation between the two of them. Imagine if you will, the ninth grade JV basketball player who has a crush on the senior girl who's captain of the cheerleading squad. That's what you have here on this tape.But the exercises! Once you get past the flirtation and the infomercial, the exercises would be pretty good for a beginner or someone who wants to have a less-intense exercise day, but still put their body in motion. Maybe the thing to do would be to go through the tape twice, and then you'd get a rigorous workout. It certainly isn't up to the standards of the other Kathy Smith videos I know and love."

I expected more

matata_99 | Canada | 05/16/2001

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I have many of Kathy Smith's tapes and enjoy each one of them. When I saw that she had a tape on using the shaper ball, I was ecstatic. I bought it, got prepared to workout and I must say that I was disappointed. I expected more from her. The video is too short, the exercises are not done for a long period of time and I didn't feel anything at the end. The only good thing about the video is it acts as a guideline for exercises you can do on your own. She gives you quite a few. I recommend that you do the exercises on your own and for a longer period of time. I found this helped me. To sum up, buy the tape if you are looking for a guideline and exercises to try on your shaper ball. Do not buy the tape if you are just going to follow the half hour routine."

A decent ball workout focused mainly on the lower body

Beth Cholette | Upstate NY USA | 01/16/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I just got a stability ball, and this was one of the first workouts I tried. Kathy and her assistant, Michael, begin with a 6 1/2 minute warm-up: moving with the ball held in your hands, stretching using the ball, and sitting on the ball both to open your hips and to get used to balancing. Next comes a 7-minute abs segment which includes a total of 4 exercises: the first three work your upper abs, lower abs, and obliques respectively while seated on the ball, and the final works the side muscles. The following segment consists of a series of back extensions, the first performed face up on the ball and the last last two performed face down; this section is 6 minutes long. The final section, which I clocked at 9 1/2 minutes, focuses on the lower body. I found the hamstring work to be particularly tough as well as the three sets of wall squats (the last two are performed on one leg). The workout ends with a single stretch, no cool-down, for a total of 29 minutes.

There are two things that I really liked about this video: 1) Kathy shows three different levels of modifications for every exercise, so you can make each exercise easier or more challenging, and 2) brief stretches are included between many of the exercises, and these feel so good on the ball. On the negative side, I did not feel that this workout was very intense, as I would have preferred if Kathy had spent less time instructing and more time actually performing the movements. Furthermore, I would have liked to have seen some upper body work included in the routine. Overall, however, this was a decent introduction to ball work and would be good for those who want to build back and lower body strength."