This video is just what it claims to be--two weight workouts, one upper body workout and one lower body workout. You can do them separately or together. It is supposed to be adaptable to all levels depending on the weight that is used. As others have mentioned, for the upper body work half of the class uses heavy weights and few reps, and the other half uses lighter weights with more reps. While this sounded like a great idea to me, I don't feel that it translates well to the video. It is difficult to see what the people lifting heavy weights are doing, and what kind of stretches they are using. This won't be a problem for those used to lifting, but for newer folks this will be confusing. Also, the reps go *way* too fast to use heavier weights for the number of sets that are done. I like the way the exercises are sequenced, though. Kathy does supersets, and she works opposing muscle groups back to back (i.e., biceps then triceps). I do prefer the lower body workout. Beginning exercisers do not have to use weights, and more advanced exercisers can use hand weights and ankle weights. I used my barbell. You can leave the ankle weights on throughout the entire lower body workout, which I liked. Kathy is slightly more sedate during the lower body section. Again, some of the reps are done too quickly to use really heavy weights, and if I used weights that allowed me to keep pace with the video, I found that my muscles didn't fatigue effectively. I did like the change of pace of doing standing leg work with ankle weights (kind of reminded me of Firm 4). The abwork is standard--nothing special, but OK. I always like it when back work is included in videos. And you will have to stretch some on your own when you're finished, although Kathy does include some stretching after working each muscle group. I really can't say for sure whether I recommend this video or not. I'd say that the target group would be intermediates. There are not enough form pointers for beginners, and it's difficult to use heavy enough weight to challenge the advanced. I haven't decided whether to keep this one or not. If I have less than an hour to get in a total body workout, I'd rather do Firm 4 or Firm 6.

Instructor Comments:
Is this really Kathy Smith? Now, I don't mind some enthusiasm from a video instructor, but in this one Kathy seems like she has forgotten to take her lithium. Also, she gives very little pointers on form. I find this a bit disconcerting for a video that is supposed to be adaptable for beginners. Kathy runs around during some of the upper body work, and she continues to do the reps (with sloppy form, I might add). I really wish that Kathy had included a warm up. She does mention to be sure and warm up before doing the workout, but I'm sure that advice will often be ignored. It's a lot more likely that people will do an appropriate warm up and cool down if it's included in the video.

Kristin Aziz