Full disclosure: I received a free review copy of this workout.

OK. A couple of things about my preferences - because they might help you decide if you would like this workout. I am not a big fan of core workouts (but think I should probably do one once in awhile) and absolutely HATE floor work, including ab work. So, when a standing abs DVD came along that was was a combination abs and cardio workout, I was interested.

There is a very short warm up and then Gilad goes straight into the workout. In it, he focuses on the shoulders because you use your shoulders a LOT in this workout. Then, he goes into a series of combinations where you do several moves on one side, then you repeat the sequence on the other side, and then you do the sequence on one side and then the other without stopping. There is a fair amount of side stepping between combinations. I thought that the workout was intense in places, but the overall intensity was decreased because of the breaks with the side stepping.

I enjoyed large parts of this workout. Other parts were more boring to me because of the repetition of the moves. Overall, I think it is a good workout. However, my shoulders were really, really tired after the workout. It would have been better if the workout were less shoulder intensive.

Gilad is his normal motivating self and he does a good job leading the workout. As usual, the scenery behind the exercisers is beautiful and motivating in its own way. Gilad has several backup exercisers behind him and watching them sometimes helped me figure out how to hold the ball or do the move.I remember nothing about the music; it must have been standard instrumental music.

Instructor Comments:
I always think Gilad is motivating, whether I like the workout or not.

Laura S.