Here's a bit of background to set this review in context: I am a long-time strength exerciser who absolutely detests cardio. Having started with Firm videos over 10 years ago, I am also cursed with being somewhat of a video snob, but these days am trying to be a bit more open minded. If the workout is appealing enough I can easily discount lousy production values and a certain amount of "not-my-taste," or "cheese" factor. A persistent and very strong back injury has put me on the sidelines for a bit, so I cruised the local ilbrary looking for something easy that would at least get me to move and ease out the pain. There I found the first 2 volumes of Simmons "Sweatin' to the Oldies." Snob that I am I snuck them out of the library and made sure no one in my house found them. I then did them back to back, starting with Volume 2.

My responses to these are very strong in very opposite directions. After a decade of the Firm and Anna Benson's quite controlling influence and style, I felt like an anthropologist stepping into uncharted terrain while doing these tapes. The focal point, of course, is Richard Simmons. His main purpose is to get people, ALL of them, up and moving, which he does very successfully. In spite of the fact that the cuing ranges from non-existent to lousy, all of the people with him know what to do. AND they are all having fun. Yes, the workouts and production values are totally cheesy and the music is a live band doing covers of old songs, but the fact that you know all of the songs and can sing along with them add to a certain comfort level of familiarity and you can at least move, even if not you're not quite sure how. To me, that is the charm. Personally I can't see doing them again but I was thrilled to see so many different kinds of bodies just having fun in public.

He starts both tapes with a loosening up song, then a stretch song, then a bunch of other songs, then a cool down. Volume 2 has some light upper body and ab work. I was pleasantly surprised that the movements, all low-impact, were rather varied from song to song. However, the songs in Volume 2 go on much too long and the moves get a bit tedious. It does provide more time to learn them, since the gimmicky camera angles and his lack of "teaching" don't offer any help. I did keep wondering how he can get his feet to go always go in the opposite direction of his knees.

Anyway, while I am constantly intrigued by him, I will never want to watch too much of him, but his outcome is terrific. And, my back felt better.

Fran Goldsmith