I have mixed feelings about this video. On the one hand, nothing has ever given me better arm and shoulder definition than doing Cory's Get hard routine (and I'm counting the years I spent working out in the gym). Being a classic ectomorph, I definitely do not gain muscle easily, and most strength training videos on the market do very little for me. They simply do not offer enough exercises for each muscle group, not enough sets per exercise, and not enough reps per set. Cory's video, by contrast, is very thorough. There are 4-5 different exercises for each muscle group (shoulders, biceps, triceps), and you do 3 sets with 12 reps each for every exercise. Some of the exercises are done in supersets and you have the option of pyramiding your weights. There are also a number of forearm exercise--a muscle group completely neglected by most strength training videos.

The problem with Cory's video (apart from her rather corny commentary) is that she goes through this video like she's trying to set some kind of speed record. There is hardly enough time to change weights between exercises, let alone to rest (and unless your goal is muscular endurance rather than strength, rest is critical). The reps are performed so quick, it's hard not to use momentum (i.e to cheat). I finally got so sick of constantly having to hit the pause button on the remote that I decided to memorize the routine and now do it without the video. I take it very slow and use the heaviest weights possible. Usually I work to failure. Sometimes I do variations of some of the exercises (for instance, I'll do barbell crazy 8's instead of regular barbell curls) or add more exercises on days I'm feeling particularly motivated. I do Cory's routine twice a week, and I have gotten great results. For the first time in my life, my arms don't look like two skinny sticks. I've actually got some real bicep and tricep definition, and even my shoulders and forearms look great. In fact, my husband was so impressed with my results that he's started doing Cory's routine too.

Instructor Comments:
In her efforts to be positive and motivating (I have no trouble believing that she used to be a cheerleader), Cory says some of the corniest things I've ever heard an instructor say on video. She'd be better served giving form pointers (something she rarely does) instead of talking about how you're going to look on the beach or about what men and women consider sexy.

Darian Stanton