Search - Reebok: Cardio Tone on DVD

Disappointing

Amy Hilliard | VA, United States | 04/12/2010

(2 out of 5 stars)

"I've never exercised to a Reebok video, so didn't know what to expect. I'll give any exercise video a try. However, the one thing I don't forgive very often is when the sides are worked unevenly. Why am I paying for the video except for choreography and the instructor to keep track of repetitions, so I can focus on form and breathing? Only if (1) I can easily keep count myself and do something about the uneven number and (2) the results are very effective would I do a video that works sides unevenly a second time. Unfortunately, the number of reps changes so rapidly in some sections it's going to be almost impossible to deal with the uneven sides. In the cardio sections the instructor did an easy to follow number of repetions per move, but the instructor didn't do the same number of the combinations on each side. So the side you start with, you work more. For the cardio sculpt sections she did an uneven number of repetions per move and per side. I don't understand why couldn't she do 4, 8, or 16 repetitions of each move like most instructors? Plus I thought most of the moves in the cardio sections to be boring.
The video is easy to program. You can do all cardio, all sculpt, or choose any combinations of all six sections. You can also do the sections in any order. The sections are Cardio One, Cardio Two, Cardio Three, Cardio Sculpt One, Cardio Sculpt Two, and Bonus Abs. There is a warm up and cool down no matter how many sections you choose. I really like how easily the video is to program and there are no lengthy introductions between sections.

I have mixed feelings about the warm up. I enjoyed the stretches. So many DVDs skimp on the warm up and cool down sections, it was nice to work out to one at an appropriate level of difficulty. However, I thought some of the cardio moves were jarring and only seemed to last a few seconds. The cool down choreography starts with squats for some reason. Then, you move on to the same stretches as in the warm up.

The Cardio sections use similar choreography as Firm videos. You do a lot of squats, lunges, grapevines, and mambos. Cardio One and Two use different moves and Cardio Three combines some of the moves from the first two together. There are only one or two moves I haven't seen before in other videos.

The cardio sculpt and bonus abs sections use compound moves to work your entire body. For example in Cardio Sculpt One, you so several repetitions of side squats with hammer curls, tap backs with triceps lifts, and side lunges with a move that looks like you are trying to start a lawn mower while holding a dumbbell. I tried to keep up with how many repetitions she did per exercise, but I just couldn't keep track without taking a lot of time to stop and rewind the video. One minute she is doing 4 reps, the next 9, the next 6, and the next 15. Only when she is counting to 4 does she work all the moves and sides evenly. I'm very disappointed because I think the cardio sculpt and ab moves are great. I've never seen some of them in other videos, and I think they are very effective.

I don't know what to say about this video because I really want to like it, but I just can't give it many stars due to the random number of repetitions throughout the entire DVD. I don't feel the DVD is a total loss to me because I'm going to incorporate the cardio sculpt moves into my own routines. However, I doubt most people that buy exercise videos have the time or inclination to do that. It took me a while to decide to give it only 2 stars. I would have rated it 5 stars, if the repetitions had been counted correctly."