The Works - Cardio

Sharon Mann
Year Released: 2002

Categories: Floor Aerobics/Hi-Lo/Dance


This DVD consists of segments from In shape w/ Sharon Mann TV series.
The disc is organized by section, warm up, section 1, section 2, and cool down, in which you choose one of each section per workout. Others have broken it down more thoroughly, so please refer to those reviews for more information on that.

As for the workouts, there is a significant variety of cardio options on this DVD. You get hi/lo, circuit training, boot camp-style, cardio kickboxing. there is even a bit of pilates and yoga thrown into the warm up and cool down options. If you are at all familiar with sharon's show, you'll notice that there is a lot of genre-jumping around in this disc. One of the themes of her program is that
she crams a couple types of exercise (or more) into each show. This is a 'different strokes for different folks' type of thing- it'll either grow on you, or it's not your cup of tea. I am a person that needs a lot of variety, so once I wrapped my head around all the different sections on the DVD, as well as sharon's style, I became happy as a clam with the format as well as with Sharon's style. The workouts also cater to those (also like me) who workout in a limited space. The exercisers all workout on platforms of a limited size, so there is no room to overstep the bounds. Great for me. The choreography is not difficult to learn, basic stuff here, but can get very intense. I would liken her hi/lo style to Cathe's, but at a lesser BPM, and with more low impact moves thrown in. It's not all-non-stop as Cathe's is, but it is GREAT for a moderate day when you still want some plyos, but not 1,000 of them.

There are two other DVD's in this set: Body Sculpting and Yoga/Pilates. As I am sure others have stated, each disc has pretty much a little of everything else on it too (on the yoga disc, for instance, you're sure to find a bit of cardio and a bit of strength work). Again, once you wrap your head around the contents of the segments as well as the concept of the DVDs, you can really get a lot of use from these, if all the 'important' stuff is there (you like the instructor, etc.) I for one have found a treasure in these workouts, and I find myself using Cardio very often these days.

Instructor Comments:
Sharon is very motivating to me. She is perky, but I don't find her perkiness off-putting at all. She is genuine, and i really enjoy working out with her and the crew.

Kathy Weller

02/04/2004