A fast-paced intermed-adv abs workout with NO CRUNCHES. The workout is tough on the obliques but overall the tape is light on the instruction and form pointers and could have used better music.

Tamilee Webb leads the workout in a gym studio set that looks a bit like the set in the "I Want Those" series, but the lighting is less flattering. The music is a single tune for the entire 10min workout, a fast-paced synthesized pop tune, a bit repetitive and not quite as good as the music in the "I Want Those" series.

There is no warm-up, Tamilee begins quickly with side bends on your knees on the mat and continues non-stop for exactly 10min. She concludes with a very very short (1/2 min) stretch (stretching side-to-side while kneeling).

Funny, I noticed the exercise mat she’s working out on is *pink*. Very pink. Light Barbie pink. Don’t know why this stood out in my mind but it does!

Tamilee demonstrates the exercises with very few form pointers and minimal instruction. She does:
(1) Kneeling side bends alternating arms overhead
(2) Lying side hip lifts R side
(3) Lying side crossover crunches R side
(4) Repeat 1-3 on the L side
(5) Kneeling torso twists with crunch
(6) Lying hip lift, then with knee in to chest R side
(7) Lying side crossover crunches then both leg lifts on the R side
(8) Repeat 5-7 on the L side
(9) Kneeling side bends with upright row arm, alternating sides
TOTAL workout: 9.5min
(10) Kneeling side stretch, both sides (1/2 min)

All in all, I felt that the workout was good (my obliques are VERY sore today!) but I missed the helpful instruction & form pointers Tamilee puts into her other videos, it would be helpful to preventing back injuries when doing some of the faster moves. At one point her side-to-side bends switching arms overhead is so fast it feels like you’re using momentum to change direction – as close as you can get to a ballistic move in an abs video.

It’s especially hard not to compare this workout to "I Want Those Abs" a tape that is a better value (two 15min ab workouts for about $10, the same price I paid for this video), has better lighting and music, better instruction, and a better warm-up & cool-down. Tamilee obviously designed this workout to be tacked onto other workouts, which I can appreciate. But I was a little caught unprepared when the tape opens up with her on the mat and she launched immediately into side bends.

Is the workout harder than "I Want Those Abs"? No, I would say the oblique work is very thorough – I’m sore in the obliques the day after and a little sore in the lower abs, don’t feel much in the upper abs today though. I would say that the 10 Minute Abs is similar in intensity to the 1st level workout in "I Want Those Abs" and the advanced workout in "I Want Those Abs" is tougher and overall more balanced.

If you are looking for a great tough Abs workout, you should spend your money on "I Want Those Abs" (which is also on the "I Want That Body" DVD, a great bargain if you can find it for less than $15).

If you want more oblique work and you never want to see a crunch again, you may want to add the Tighter Assets 10 Minute Abs tape to your collection. I hope that Natural Journeys decides to put this tape on DVD, someday I hope to have all my exercise videos on DVD.

Instructor Comments:
Tamilee is pleasant, serious and straight-forward in this tape, not as friendly as she is in her "I Want Those" workout series.

She sports a jeweled belly-button ring which I found a bit distracting. She definitely is tough though and knows her stuff!

Dawn P