The Lotte Berk Method is a form of exercise developed by Russian dancer Lotte Berk and brought to America by Lydia Bach. Drawing from dance and other similar disciplines, many of the exercises require the use of a ballet barre, and the focus is on making small, precise movements to facilitate the development of long, lean muscles. Unlike the other videos in this series, however, the movements in Hip Hugger Abs, which work the abdominal area, are performed entirely on the floor without the use of a barre.

Like all of the Lotte Berk videos, this workout begins with high knee lifts to warm up. Instructor Suzanne Cook leads two other Lotte Berk instructors, one of whom shows modifications. Also included in the warm up are push-ups: 2 sets of 10 on your knees, and then 2 sets of 10 "reverse" push-ups, performed with your hands behind you and your chest up to switch the work to the triceps. After the warm up, the workout moves to the floor. Starting in a seated position with your knees bent, you lean back, tilting your pelvis, pulling in your abdominals, and holding a sort of isometric contraction. You perform several repetitions and also several variations, such as holding one leg in the air. By the end of this segment, I could definitely feel my abs working!

Next comes a series of Pilates inspired movements. Beginning on your back, you lift your bent legs in the air and dip your toes to the ground; you then perform the same movement with straight legs. Moving on to your side, you do a single set of side leg lifts, and to finish, it's on to your stomach for a few brief holds of elbow plank. Although all of the above are effective movements, I don't think that enough time was devoted to the individual exercises, and I didn't feel very worked out after this segment. The workout ends as all the LBM videos do with a "Shape by Stretch" section in which you perform several different stretches to finish at a total of 26 1/2 minutes. While there are certainly some merits to this video, better abs and Pilates workouts are available.

Instructor Comments:
I found Suzanne to be more tolerable than some of the other LB instructors, although she still says some things that make her sound like she is working from the same script. She does offer good form pointers and cues the movements well.

Beth C (aka toaster)