I'm a beginner at barre workouts and this is my only Kathy Smith DVD. I am reviewing it after having completed the workout twice.

Total Body Lift is a no-impact workout that is done barefoot on a mat. You will need a chair, a pair of light dumbells and a towel to perform the exercises.
The workout is divided into a 4 minute warm-up, and a 10 minute each "upper body lift", "thigh lift", "butt lift" and "ab lift". There is no stretch segment, but each segment includes stretches for the muscles that you have just worked.

- Upper body lift: begins with planks and four sets of 5 pushups on the knees "unless you are a superstar". Then she picks up a pair of light dumbells (1-3 lbs) for non-stop upper body exercises. She hits the biceps, shoulders and triceps very well, I think. I like that she explains how to work with light weights effectively, telling you to lift and lower with control, as if you were pulling the weights through thick taffy. My arms feel very well worked after this segment, especially the triceps!

- thigh lift: You start out standing beside the chair for plies to work the front and inner thighs. After plies and pulses you face the chair with a towel between the legs to further work the inner thighs with squeezes and pulses. Then you put the towel behind your knee to work the hamstring with squeezes, lifts and pulses. This segment ends on the floor with the feet on the chair doing lifts.

- Butt lift: You start out standing beside the chair for single leg squats and pulses, then you face the chair for a relatively long series of pulses and small kicks done with one leg first and then the other, hitting the glutes from all angles. This segment really fatigues your glutes! you end on the floor doing glute squeezes and a pretzel.

- Ab lift: Starts out with a demonstration and practice of the c-curve position. Then you do several pulsing exercises, starting by holding on your thighs with both hands, then reaching with one hand and finally both.
I find this position hard to stay in and I'm not sure I do the exercises properly. I want to try doing the exercises with my Overball behind my back for support, as it's used in Barre3
After these exercises you do some side lifts for the obliques, a long series of bicycle crunches and end with leg lifts for the lower abs.

I think this workout is very complete. I like that you can do as little or as much as you have time to do, and the instruction is very down to earth and easy to follow.

Instructor Comments:
Kathy Smith is friendly and encouraging. She does most of the workout with her background exercisers, but takes breaks a few times to show proper form and what the exercise is working on one of her background exercisers.
I find her cuing mostly good. There are a couple exercises that I need to get the hang of because I'm not so sure of the exact positioning. It helps that she tells you how it should feel and what muscles you are working.

topfitmama