I just received my Slim Series dvds today and I'm quite pleased with my purchase. I placed and order on 3/17 and have them in my hands 11 days later (impressive since there was a backorder situation). I was lucky enough to order this set at the introductory rate of $39.99. The price has now increased by $20. Nevertheless, I believe these videos are worth it. You get 6 separate dvds in their own cases and a booklet which suggests several rotations to reach you desired goal. Each video is around an hour in length and filled with nonstop exercises.

So far I've only viewed Shape It Up which clocks in at 78 minutes. This video uses opposing muscles groups and contains many compound movements. You definitely get your bang for your buck with this video. I don't know exactly how to describe it. It's pretty much a circuit style endurance tape with a bit off everything thrown in. For this workout, you don't need much equipment, just a pair of dumbbells. You also don't need much workout space. If you've been to lifting 10-15lb dumbbells with Cathe, be prepared to lower your weights. I mainly used 5lbs and am seriously thinking about purchasing 3lbers. Reps are performed rather quickly but still in a somewhat controlled fashion. The whole entire body is worked with this video: arms, shoulders, abs, legs, hips, and behind. For comparisons sake, I would say this video has the nonstop qualities of Cathe's Power Hour, quick reps like Joyce Vedral, four limbed movements like the Firm, elements of Taebo, and some Tamilee ab movements. I was sweating like crazy after 20 minutes. I kept thinking to myself, there is no way the background exercises, nor I, had 60 more minutes left in them. If you do these workouts for 6 weeks, it would be impossible not to transform your body.

The production quality of these tapes are pretty good. There is a countdown timer on the lower righthand side of the screen and a tab which shows how far you are into the workout. The set design is pleasant to the eye. Natural colors are used; lots of tan, orange and golden tones. There are large windows to the left of the set which shows a beautiful view of blue sky and green vegetation. The music is generic but you have the option to turn it off.

There are a several things that might throw a couple people off. Breathing can be heard throughout the entire tape. I'm not sure if this was intentional or not. It may be beneficial due to the fact that many people forget to breathe when doing strength moves. I, myself, found it a somewhat distracting. Also, the background exercisers are off count from time to time. Their form can sometimes make you cringe but the instructor stops often and checks on form. Debbie Sieber gives helpful form pointers throughout the entire workout and her form is excellent. Just keep your eyes on her and you'll be fine.

I was disappointed over the hardly any modifications were shown. You were reminded to do what feels comfortable but I would have liked to have seen more modifications and demonstrations. Some exercises seemed downright dangerous (ie. front kick and straight down to a backward leg lunge). Since the movements were so quick, I can totally picture someone losing their balance or pulling a quadricep.

Overall, I liked these videos even though it borders on overtraining. I don't think I'll outgrow since you can increase your weights to make the workouts more intense. I'm glad I decided to buy these rather than the new firm kit. There are 6 dvds and I plan on doing one each day with one day off.

keilan00