Last year, I lost a ton of fitness, so this year I've restarted trying to regain fitness capacity. I started with about 15 minute workouts and have worked up to 40-45 minutes max. In the process, I've built up my cardio capacity and strength. I'm still not to where I want to be, but it's nice to see improvement. At this point in time, I'm looking for workouts that engage me and encourage me to work out for longer and harder than I have been able to for a long time and it's working.

When this DVD was anounced, I was surprised at my interest because I don't have a workout machine. But, I immediately wondered if I could use my gliding disks with this workout - doing my own thing sliding around the room while they are all on their cardio machines. After trying both workouts on the DVD, the results are mixed. I did each of the workouts and enjoyed them both - but I wondered if I would pull out the DVD again in the next few months to do them again. I guess only time will tell. I used my gliding disks and my Fitstix. It occurred to me that I could wear light hand weights to enhance the level of effort during the cardio sections. This conflicted feeling means that I think that the workouts are well done and worth doing - if you click with them.

Kelly leads these workouts on a bright and fairly plain set. She encourages you to use whatever machine you have and gives multiple examples: she and Sam are on treadmills; Lori uses an elliptical, and Marcus is on a spin bike. Both workouts are basically the same pattern - warm up on the machine, do a cardio interval for 1.5 minutes and then one strength move for a minute, and finally cool down on the machine. I liked the first workout more than the second; I thought the strength moves were a bit more fun in the first. Most of the time, you need just one dumbbell, although there were a few moves that used two. So, all you need for the workout is something for the cardio and 2 dumbbells.

Throughout the workouts, Kelly gives tips and form pointers for the different machines. She also tells people on treadmills to follow Sam in getting on and off the treadmill because she, Kelly, gets on and off at full speed while Sam slows the treadmill down before getting off. I'm not sure though that they always showed Sam at those times.

Overall, I liked these workouts and thought some of the strength moves were fun, especially the hot potato squat and the dumbbell throw (although I didn't let go of it). The strength segments seemed short since they were only 1 minute, so you always seemed to be moving, either on or off the cardio machines. For those who like to longer sets, this pattern might not be very good. The fact that I was getting on and off gliding disks made it easier to move quickly. I was engaged throughout the workouts, but I wonder if this might be a short-term like - I might get tired of these workouts sooner rather than later. We'll see.

Instructor Comments:
She seems to really believe in this workout and genuinely wants to give people with cardio machines a good workout.

Laura S.