This is a really great upper body workout that uses the Resistaball, dumbbells and weighted balls. The workout is about 42 minutes long and is made of various sections of working the chest, abs, back and arms. The workout uses a lot of moves that imitate sports moves and is designed to help develop strength in areas that tend to get overlooked. The program does one set of repetitions and then moves to something else, which provides a lot of variety. The exercises really get to every section of the upper body and abs. Soleway suggests taking it easy on the first run to develop the stabilizers before adding a lot of weight, and she is right, even if you are advanced. This tape is challenging enough that you need to build up core stabilization before trying to go heavy on the weights. While the moves work the whole torso and arms it really worked my ab section so that I felt it the next day. This is a great tape if you are looking for a program to use the Resistaball, and even the medicine balls. Definitely a tape that would interest intermediate to advanced exercisers who want variety in their strength training.

The workout is set up in sections; I'll try and give a basic description of what is in them:

Warm up- range of motion moves while sitting on and leaning back on the ball.

Ab Challenge 1- various types of crunches laying on the ball with the small of your back nestled into the ball and your legs in a wide squat for support. You do the full range of sitting up starting with your arms across your chest, then hands behind your head, then arms outstretched overhead for a long lever crunch. Then you do a series of twists working the obliques. Then you do a series of boxer crunches holding your arms in a fighting position.

Chest & Shoulders- Using two medicine balls (I used those green balls that Voight uses) or dumbbells you do a series of chest flies and presses. For both of these sequences you do three sets of reps starting from a low squat with your low back against the ball and then pushing up to a table top position with your midback to shoulder on the ball, then pushing up so that you are arcing furthest back. This enables the muscles to be hit at every angle for the chest. One set consists of doing the move with both arms then one at a time. The one at a time really challenges your balance. During the filming of this sequence options are shown to increase the resistance or do the same exercise while in a gym.

There is also a sequence in this where you are in a table top position with your upper back on the ball, and you move a weight from one side to the other. Then you move the ball quickly from hand to hand, twisting side to side.

Upper Back, Chest & Shoulders- For these you lay your stomach on the ball and put your feet out wide to steady yourself. You then do a series of rows bringing your elbow out to the side. Then you sit on the ball and lift one leg up off the floor and maintaining this position you do shoulder presses. You raise the other leg and do lateral raises. (The raises are with both arms then one at a time.) You then lay back on the ball with your lower back firmly snuggled into the ball and do these "ax chopping" moves. You move the weight in a diagonal from over one shoulder all the way down to the opposite knee. The next moves you lay your stomach on the ball and hold out your arm (holding a ball) and twist toward it then away. Then you do a series of front raises while laying face down on the ball.

Arms- You place the ball in front of you, much like a pad to stabilize your arms and do bicep curls. Then you do a series of pushups with your legs on the ball

Side Flexors, Shoulders- Laying on the side of the ball you do a series of side crunches, first without then with weights, rotator exercises.

Ab Challenge 2- This time your laying on the floor with the ball resting on your bent legs and hands. You do a series of crunches rolling the ball up your legs then you pull the ball overhead onto the floor and do leg lifts. Then you do a series of moves moving the ball between your hands and legs. Then you do a series of bicycle crunches.

Cooldown & Stretch- both laying on the floor and laying across ball moves.

Instructor Comments:
Cheryl Soleway presents the exercises in a concise and friendly manner. She is both professional and pleasant in demeanor and shows amazing form and strength. I would love to see her do another tape focusing on the lower body.

Lisa Kucharski