Search - Kelly Coffey-Meyer: NYC Body Sculpting Workout on DVD

A solid full-body strength workout with some unique twists

Beth Cholette | Upstate NY USA | 12/30/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Kelly Coffey-Meyer is a high-energy instructor who offers fun workouts which blend more traditional exercises with unique, interesting twists. NYC is a 54-minute full body strength workout which uses two sets of dumbbells (light and heavy) plus an optional step; Kelly works out in a bright studio with two background exercisers. For the most part, the workout follows a specific pattern: Kelly targets a single upper body muscle group with several exercises using weights, moves on to an unweighted lower body interval, repeats a second set of the upper body moves, and concludes the series with slightly different lower body exercise. Overall, Kelly moves very quickly through the workout--the lower body exercises in particular are performed quickly enough to keep your heart rate in an aerobic zone.

Kelly begins with a 4-minute warm-up that includes basic aerobic moves and ends with dynamic stretches. The first muscle group is back, and Kelly begins with traditional 1-arm rows. More unique are the alternating shoulder blade pulls (palm up, thumb moves to the back) and the back raises with slow lowers. For lower body, Kelly does a side squat and rear lunge off the step; after repeating the back work, she does just the rear lunge, moving into a double-time count. The next exercise group biceps, starting with hammer curls that lower to the side. Kelly then does half bicep curls high and low, adding a 1-arm move to both. The leg series is a side step with a curtsey dip, adding a knee raise to work the obliques. The biceps are repeated, and then it's a side-to-side step with a rear lunge.

Moving to lighter dumbbells, Kelly starts the shoulder work, beginning with a circling lift overhead. She then combines shrugs with an upright row and finishes with a butterfly elbow lift and overhead press. The leg move is a wide squat with a knee lift to the side and then the back; after another set of shoulders, the leg move changes slightly to an around the world leg lift with rear lung. Next comes triceps: French press, elbow touches, and dips with pulses. Then, straddling the step, you do a plie squat, this time keeping the weights in your hand; to finish, you repeat the triceps and then perform the plie squat with the opposite leg forward. Kelly conclude the standing work with an additional move for the legs, a bent-over squat with hands on the step.

The workout then moves to the floor (lying on the step/bench) for chest work, which includes pullovers, wide grip bench presses, flyes, and close grip bench presses. Kelly then does a series of abs work with basic crunches before repeating the chest moves. She finishes this series by moving the dumbbells to hips for pelvic raises to target the glutes/hamstrings. She then moves to the floor for additional abs work. These moves were more Pilates-like and thus more challenging: Kelly starts with a 4-count crunch but then does knee tuck-ins (adding rotation), roll-ups, and half roll-downs with a twist on the end. Moving to side-lying position, she does a short but tough series of hip/outer thigh work on both sides, then repeats the floor abs series. Finally, Kelly concludes the workout with a very short (about 3 minutes) stretch on the floor, first lying for the lower body and then seated for the upper body.

The Main Menu of the DVD offers the following options: Introduction, Start Workout, Workout Options, Coffey Mixes, and Credits. The Workout Options is basically a chapter list (Warm-up, Standing Exercises, Chest to Lower Ab's [sic], Chest to Glutes, Abdominals to Outer Thighs, More Ab's [sic] and Stretch). The Coffey Mixes menu offers several shorter premix options:

Expresso [sic] Mix (no warm-up, 1 set of all exercises, stretch)
Latte Mix (warm-up, 1 set of all exercises, stretch)
Mocha Mix (warm-up, upper body, abs, stretch)
Capucchino [sic] (warm-up, all legs, abs, stretch)

Overall, I enjoyed this workout very much. I did have a few minor issues with it--eg, I thought that the triceps were overworked, and I didn't like the first abs series of basic crunches--but in general, I found the moves enjoyable, and I felt thoroughly worked out by the end. Kelly is a fun yet no-nonsense instructor; I give this workout a final rating of 4 1/2 stars, and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it, especially for intermediate-level exercisers."

Classic

R.R. | Chennai, India | 03/15/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I typically lift heavier. Yet this workout challenges me. It is an enjoyable, never waste a minute, interesting low-weight strength training workout. Nothing goes on for what seems like too long (no repping to death dread) and yet you muscles are pushed to their endurance limit. Kelly is the queen of getting it done without needing to drag out a ton of equipment and yet her workouts are so effective. She also has the most original and fun ways of working the abs and sides of the waist."

Excellent!

dusty | Ohio | 10/16/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I'm a big Kelly fan. This one is an excellent cross train/interval workout moving between upper and lower body leaving you with a great overall worked-out feeling including getting your heart rate up. I own several of her DVDs and I love them all."