This is a workout that leaves me feeling energized. It's not the best production, by far. And I'm sure it's lacking in chest work. But it just plain makes me feel good.

Philip starts the warm up with a series of step-touches and hamstring curls. It's repetitive as anything, but you can still be half asleep and get your heart pumping. Then he moves on to some quick hip flexor and hamstring stretches. Before you know it, your picking up your weights - keep them light, because you're moving your arms almost constantly.

The workout is toning, but since there is no "slack time" it has something of a cardio effect. It's about 50 minutes long and I would definitely consider it low weight/high rep. He usually combines two or three exercises together and repeats them until fatigue sets in. Then he moves on to another set of exercises, usually alternating the focus from upper body to lower. The music is the same throughout - some sort of techno tune, I think. But it's not annoying. Sometimes he uses bicep curls or pulsing squats as fillers between sets. He uses the step in only one exercise - lunging backwards off of it. But you could easily do it without the step and just do dips instead. There is no supine chest work, although he does some standing chest presses. Other than that, I feel like muscle is worked pretty thoroughly.

Following the standing work, he has you move to a seated position and pick up heavier weights for more bicep work. I can only reason that he, being a guy, thinks that biceps need extra attention. After that, it's onto the floor for a short, but affective ab section.

I don't care for some of the awkward foot positions in the stretch, so I just do my own.

The workout is filmed in a gym. It's filmed in one shot, flaws and all. Sometimes you see the sound equipment, sometimes you see people gawking in the mirror behind them. It doesn't bother me, just makes it more real. Philip is accompanied by four background exercisers. One girl does modifications for beginners. Then there's Giselle - I think she's there to show modifications to make it harder. Or maybe she had a double espresso before the workout. She makes me smile.

My only critism is that I think the camera person wanted to add variety to the shoot. Sometimes there are shots of Philip and the crew filmed in the mirrored wall that's positioned to their side. All of a sudden the moves are reversed and it can be distracting. I've done the video enough times that I'm used to it now.

Yes, this workout has it's flaws. But I like it nonetheless. I don't think anything is unsafe, my muscles are worked, and I break a sweat and have a good time when doing it.

This workout has been out for a couple of years now (maybe released in 2001, but I'm just guessing), and I was surprised there weren't any reviews of it. It's less than $10 on Philip's site. With the popularity of low weight/high rep workouts, I think this deserves some attention.

Instructor Comments:
I think Philip is adorable. He cues well and keeps you motivated.

Diane aka mtnmom