Please note that I wrote this review about 5 years ago. I'm cutting and pasting the review as I originally wrote it (well, I did cut out one unnecessary comment on the instructor's appearance).
This was on Balanced Blend, one of the first fitness DVDs I ever purchased, and I used it regularly for that first year or two of at home exercising. I wrote this review after a period when I hadn't pulled it out as much.
Although I like Minna as an instructor and held onto this DVD because I had a strong attachment to it as one of my first fitness DVDs, I passed it on a few years ago, as I wasn't using it because I'm at a different level and in a different place in my fitness journey these days.
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General workout breakdown: 3 minute warm-up, about 25 minutes of aerobic / strength training without weights circuits, and 3 minute cool-down stretch followed by “bonus” 15 minutes strength training with weights for a total of about 45 minutes. The main program is a circuit training one, alternating 2 minutes of “toning” with 3 minutes of high impact cardio activities. The focus is lower body, with minimal upper body and abs, and uses your own body for resistance. You can really push yourself during the cardio portions and then recover during the toning. The aerobics moves are pretty basic (grapevines, jumping jacks, kicks, punches, etc.) and use the muscles just worked in the strength portion (e.g. plyometric alternating lunges after slow, controlled lunges). While this isn’t the most exciting program, it is effective, particularly for 30 minutes. The 15 minute bonus has approximately 5 minute of exercises for the buttocks, 5 minutes for the arms and shoulders, and 5 minutes of abs work (mostly crunches and variations on the crunch, with minimal lower abdominal and oblique work).

Level: I’d recommend this to the experienced beginner to mid-intermediate exerciser. This was one of the first exercise videos I ever purchased. I wasn’t new to exercise, but I was new to exercising at home and hadn’t worked out much in the past couple of years before that. The 30 minutes was tough, and I wished I had known more about modifications. I now consider myself a high intermediate exerciser, and when I pulled this out not too long ago, I was able to do Fat Eliminator and Strength & Grace back to back.

Class: 4 young women of fairly diverse backgrounds and body types. One occasionally grimaces through the smile; she and I are built very similarly, so it’s encouraging to see her keep up with Minna.

Music / Set / Other Production Notes: The instrumental synthesizer music is very beat-driven, although not exactly “the spicy Latin music” promised by the cover. The interior set is very bright, with hardwood floors and back wall lit with various bright hues (pink, blue, etc.) The picture and sound quality are very good; the production company is the same one that does the Quick Fix videos, and in fact you can tell it’s the same studio.

Equipment: sneakers; dumbbells (your choice of weight) and mat (optional) for the bonus segment only

Comments: This workout is designed by and for those with healthy joints. Pay attention to your technique, particularly with the squats, lunges, and plies. You may want to put a pillow or folded blanket under your knee for the kneeling portion of the bonus toning. If your knee still bothers you, these exercises can be done while standing or sitting, if you know how.
You do not need a lot of space for this workout. You should be able to kick in all directions without hitting anything; think taking a big step forward and back and two good sized steps to each side.
By the way, this is one of the few exercise videos my boyfriend has done, even with its pink background, all female cast, and somewhat frequent references to “burning calories.” He used it primarily as cardio, and found that with exaggerated movements he got very sweaty.

DVD Notes: The DVD, titled “Balanced Blend,” also contains Strength & Grace. You can select each circuit, so if a certain cardio segment bothers your knees, you can skip it.

Conclusion: I’m keeping this one, not just out of nostalgia, although that’s certainly a big factor. I credit Minna with helping me go from a beginner to an intermediate level of exercise. For a little while I alternated Fat Eliminator with Karen Voight’s Burn & Firm, which is a much more upper body-focused circuit training routine; I find the two complement each other well.

Instructor Comments:
Minna Lessig, a former Ms. Fitness, is a trainer and correspondent for fitness magazines and TV programs. Her cueing is good, and she explains the moves well, although sometimes I wish she’d give just one more pointer or point out the muscle worked every time. She’s professional, encouraging without being hyper or chatty, and she appears to know her stuff, both in terms of the routine and fitness in general. I personally like this “girl next door.” She works both sides evenly and expects you to mirror her moves.

KathAL79