In Total Body Workout, instructor and exercise physiologist Tom Holland gets a lot done in a short amount of time. Although this workout is just 43 minutes long, it packs a punch: it's fast-paced, and Tom keeps you moving the entire time. Furthermore, the workout is filmed in "real" time, so there are no edits, no breaks. This is a circuit workout, with Tom alternating free-form cardio intervals (you can do whatever you want here: march, jog, jumping jacks, grapevines, etc.) with strength segments.

The Main DVD menu offers the option of playing the entire Total Body Workout or going to the Exercise Menu, which breaks up the exercises into 19 chapters as follows:

1. Squats
2. Bicep Curls
3. Plie Squats (inside quads)
4. Squats (outside quads)
5. Crunchs
6. Push-Ups
7. Shoulder Press
8. Static Lunges
9. Obliques
10. Dumbbell Rows
11. Front Lunges
12. Raised Bent Knee Crunches
13. Triceps
14. Alternating Front Lunges
15. Front Raises
16. Backward Lunges
17. Lateral Raises
18. Alternating Backward Lunges
19. Putting It All Together

Although it doesn't appear on the menu, Tom begins with a cardio warm-up (again, allowing you to choose the moves) and then does a few brief stretches; he does the same thing to cool-down at the end. The general format of the workout is weighted upper body work, unweighted lower body work, abs, push-ups (these are skipped in a couple of series), 1-minute cardio interval, and repeat. For the "Putting It All Together" segment at the end, Tom repeats every strength exercise once (no abs, push-ups, or cardio).

This workout has some upbeat music (performed by Tom's brother and including some lyrics), but it's just Tom exercising alone on a rather sterile white set. Furthermore, the moves are pretty basic and traditional, so there's not much of a "fun factor" here. However, if you are looking for a no-nonsense circuit workout to target your entire body in a relatively short period of time, Total Body Workout is a solid choice.

Instructor Comments:
Tom reminds me a lot of Gunnar Peterson (Core Secrets); he has a very similar demeanor, and he's there as your one-on-one personal trainer. He cues minimally and does not mirror cue, but overall, he's very likable.

Beth C (aka toaster)