I've owned this tape for a long time and it's never been in heavy rotation, although I found that I used it occasionally when I was 5-6 months into working out regularly. There are 2 parts to this video, an upper body segment which lasts about 20 minutes and an abdominal and lower back workout which is 15 minutes in length. I pulled it out the other day looking for something easy, an 'out' from a normal weight training day, and the idea of revisiting this was refreshing so I popped it in. (I do the ab section frequently, though. More on that later.)

Warm up is good, typical Karen. Set is her old 80's style set, as well as outfits. Music-the same jazzy music if you are familiar with Karen's other workouts. 2 men and 2 women background exercisers.

You do work every muscle group in this workout, but it only gives you one set of each exercise, and weights are light (Karen uses 5 lbs and holds both for concentration curls and lat rows). While I appreciate her unique style and approach of teaching, as far as the actual workout goes, I find this upper body section to be just too easy, for any type of day for me (except maybe as a warm-up to other upper-body work - which is what I ended up doing after this workout). The weights are light, which would be fine for an endurance day, and in particular I think some of her shoulder exercises are interesting, but there just aren't enough sets and reps for this to qualify as an endurance workout in any way. I do think it might be good for a beginner or high beginner/low intermediate who is getting to know weight training.

As for the ab section, it is fantastic. It's probably the ab section I have used the most frequently throughout every level of fitness and still continue to be challenged by it. I am now an advanced exerciser and it still is a good thorough workout for the abs. I love it!!!

To sum up: Consider this an ab workout, and it's four stars all the way. If you are deconditioned, give it a try, it might be perfect. If you are a newbie, try it but be aware that Karen's personality is not bubbly and coo-coo encouraging a la Denise Austin. She is a serious, no-nonsense type of instructor, but she does smile once in a while ;)!

Instructor Comments:
Karen has REALLY grown on me. She can come off as stiff (especially in her earlier workouts such as this one) but she is so meticulous with her instruction and form, and her exercises - especially abdominal and other pilates-type exercises, are so innovative and fun to do, I now consider myself a fan. I also think that eventually, the what comes off at first as stiffness in her personality wears off, and you realize it's just the way she is.

Kathy Weller