These workouts are available separately on VHS; I got the DVD which includes both of them on one disk, plus a bonus “8-Minute Stretch” workout and some extras such as form pointers and previews of other tapes in the series.

The workouts in this series all share the same format: a main screen where they demo the movies, a bar up the side that indicates where in the workout we are, and on the bottom, two clocks---one counts down how much time is left for that specific exercise, and the other counts down how much time is left for the workout as a whole. I found these features extremely motivating; in fact, I often use a kitchen timer in my other workouts to produce the same effect.

Each exercise gets only one set, performed for as many reps as you can fit in with the time allotted (usually this is 45 seconds). The Arms section covers all the body parts, and is a good little workout given the time constraints, but I personally don’t think 8 minutes for upper body is long enough no matter how well-constructed the workout is. If it did not come on a DVD with something else, I doubt it would have interested me.

The ab section was a decent routine of traditional ab work, and I feel it is a useful add-on to have in my collection. The timers make it very motivating and the time goes by quickly. The stretch is a decent routine as well, but note that it is the same routine that is included on the Legs and Buns DVD.

I don’t think any of these routines were designed to be stand-alone workouts, but both the stretch and the abs work are great little add-ons. The arm workout is as good as it can be given the format, but I don’t know what its place would be in a routine.

Joanna