Comments about Kathy SmithKathy Smith is known for her safe, effective workouts, good cuing and her basic, easy-to-follow choreography. Her videos are an excellent place to start for many people, and the range of her offerings and their relatively wide availability at video and discount stores like K-Mart and Target are additional reasons to recommend her. She is an excellent choice for beginner to intermediate exercisers, but her moves will probably be too boring for advanced exercisers. Although she is pleasant enough, sometimes her voice grates on my nerves.
I have to credit Kathy for getting me started in fitness, when I bought her "Fat Burning Workout" around 1988 or so. As a beginner, I liked her skillful cueing, simple choreography, and her calm, reassuring style - no shrieking or preaching like Richard Simmons. In her videos, Kathy usually addresses beginners' FAQs like what muscles you're going to be working, the benefits of fitness and how much exercise you should be doing to get those benefits, and nutritional info. She includes a lot of heart rate checks and exertion checks, plus she makes frequent use of insets and voice-overs for modifications and tips on good form. Kathy's videos have a little more of a "classroom" feel than others, but they're still upbeat and fun, with colorful sets, special effects and (except for her earliest "budget" videos like "Body Basics") quality production and sound. More advanced exercisers might find Kathy somewhat square, but for novices, she provides not just motivation but also an excellent foundation of knowledge about fitness.
Kathy Smith is an overall great instructor. I love her attitude, I love watching her and she gives good overall instruction. She is a very solid instructor. I feel pretty safe buying her videos.
Name your fitness level, your workout needs, and your preferred workout style, and chances are this lady's developed a program that could work for you. She is probably the best instructor in the industry for "newbies" and those for whom safe but effective exercise is top priority. Kathy's choreography is interesting but not too difficult to learn; she "inserts" modifiers to make her workouts easier or more challenging; and her camera operators seldom cut people off at the waist when you're trying to pick up your steps. Her exercise modifications work well with other instructors' routines, and I also appreciate that she introduces her videos with an overview of what the routine will include and some of the "science" behind it. I used her Pregnancy Workout and March to Fitness during my high-risk pregnancy. She got me through it with no exercise-related injuries!
As many other reviewers have commented, Kathy is excellent. Of all of the instructors and videos that I have done, I think she is still my all-time favorite. I have not purchased any of her newer videos, but I feel that I can really trust her cueing, form pointers and style to be excellent.
I am a big Kathy Smith fan; I have almost all of her videos. There are only a couple I didn't like (the Aerobox - incredibly boring, and some of the early ones like Ultimate Workout which, in my opinion, can be downright dangerous if someone new to fitness does it). I like Kathy's low key approach; you can make her tapes as hard or as easy as you'd like.
Everything that Kathy does is always good. Kathy is more geared toward beginner to intermediate, but she is a solid instructor.
Although I only know the work of 3-4 instructors, I find Kathy Smith to be really terrific. Her cueing is right on, her form is great, her tips about using proper technique are really helpful, and she is upbeat and friendly, too. I get the feeling that she really knows what she is doing and that I am getting a very safe and effective workout. Melissa Dewey
I love Kathy Smith!! She is confident, capable, and her physique really motivates me to MOVE!!
Kathy is the best instructor on the market. Her cueing and style make her easy and fun to work-out with. I also like the individuals you chooses in her videos. Not all of them have the tremendous body that Kathy does. I love the modifiers and, as I have progressed, not the intensifiers. Does she change her hair every six months or what??? I love the styles!
Most of the time I really like Kathy Smith's videos. I consider her to have a very dynamic personality and one that also keeps you motivated to keep on going and to do the best you can. However in her new functionally fit videos I found her personality to be very boring, I was truly surprised. I normally look forward to any Kathy Smith video.
This is my first Kathy Smith tape and she is becoming my favorite instructor. She gives great cues and reminders on form which is very important to me because I can suffer from lower back pain. I feel she is a safe instructor who completes all moves properly unlike many Firm instructors. She is energetic and positive. I stayed with Richard Simmons for a long time and now have added Kathy Smith to my list of favorite instructors.
I really like Kathy Smith because she's not too perky and bubbly, or the opposite extreme, serious and driven. She's straightforward, explains things well for beginners, and encourages you without making you feel pressured.
Kathy Smith is a motivating instructor for me. I like the fact that she is not a perky 18-year-old perfect hardbody. She is an attractive "real" woman who is fit. She is straightforward in her approach.
I took to Kathy Smith's style of instruction immediately. Her cues are clean and well-timed, her pointers are clear, and, unlike other instructors, she's able to NOT talk all the time. Her form is superb. You can check this by fast forwarding the tape with the picture on.
I really like Kathy Smith. She is friendly and motivational.
"Kathy Smith is Fitness is America" the ads say. I think that's going to far. She is motivating, moves well and uses good form. She enunciates clearly and is easy to watch. She also seems practised and less natural than many other instructors. She does make well-produced tapes with enough variety for beginners and intermediates to really grow and become healthier. However, she really needs to stop pitching some of those cheesy products she's been endorsing lately. I think they will ultimately hurt her credibility. Get back to making solid tapes!!
Fabulous, one of my all-time favorites!!
Kathy Smith is a real professional. She is an excellent instructor especially for beginners. Her cuing is terrific and most of her workouts are designed for people of all fitness levels. She is very knowledgeble about exercize which I find very motivating. She does this all without being too "cutsy" or "annoying." She was the first instructor I ever purchased an exercise video from and she has not let me down.
Kathy is okay. She's a good instructor, and I can see why she would appeal to many, but her workouts are too easy and/or not very exciting for me. Kathy is really good about giving form tips and showing modifications. She's a likeable instructor. Annie S.
I love Kathy Smith doing Yoga, sculpting, boxing, but I really hate her on the step. I've tried two of her step tapes, and I just thing they are boring! Had to add my two cents.
Abby
I just love Kathy Smith. When I first started to exercise regularly, I bought her weight loss video, and it was great. Good simple intructions and very easy to follow. Every few months I would buy Kathy's workout tapes not to get bored. Now I own about seven of them, I rotate them and I am 50 lb. lighter and still very motivated. I only wish Lifetime television would feature Kathy Smith's workouts in the morning instead of Denise Austin. I would recommend Kathy's videos to anybody who wants solid workout with good instructions and a great instructor. Way to go Kathy!
Beata Rodriguez
I think Kathy Smith is wonderful. I know that there are a lot of good instructors out there, but I trust Kathy Smith and know that every tape that I buy will can only help me. She reminds you of key elements to sustain through out a work out and she is an all around good instructor. Her Functionally Fit videos are awesome. My thighs and glutes have never hurt so good before. I am much stronger due to those videos.
Kelly Hale
I am sure I am going to get poo-poo'd for my comments but I am going to bite the bullet anyway. Tenia
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