I am 42, prefer advanced strength workouts, and I must put my weights away after working out, so I also prefer high rep lighter weights. I have a barbell but I never get it out, I just make do with 25 lb. dumbbells, they are easier to put in a closet.

All my strength tapes were from Cathe, but earlier in the month I asked for advice on trying a few new instructors, and ended up buying Jari Love, Tracy Effinger, and Ilaria. I previewed the Ilaria Bodystrikes Vol. 2, and decided that the fast pace and high reps combined with directional changes in the hips were going to do me more harm than good – my hip flexors tighten up if I overwork them, usually one side tighter than the other, and it takes a long while to recover and get my muscles back in balance, usually missing about 3-4 weeks of working out. So, that workout scared me and I decided to try Jari first.

I’m glad I did, I liked Jari as an instructor and her workout was very do-able – tough little segments, but the segments were so short that I always felt I could finish the set with great form and a really good pump in the working (burning) muscles.

I bought a “get ripped” tape instead of a “get extremely ripped” tape because a couple reviewers said that she changed her teaching to a more enthusiastic style in the extremelys, and I thought I would prefer someone more grounded. She was great, very calm demeanour, very trustworthy, focused on your workout, not hers.

The filming of her workout was also excellent, it was easy to follow Jari, and just as easy to follow her two background exercisers, they all had beautiful form and muscles that you could see working. Actually there were 3 background exercisers, the third one being a man, but I rarely look at the men’s form in a video, their range of motion is different, they are less flexible, and I don’t feel especially motivated watching them.

Now for my impressions of the workout. I got a good burn and pump in my upper body muscles, not so much for the lower body. Remember, my other tapes are all Cathe workouts. Cathe has me gasping and sweating doing her leg work, and Cathe has leg work sparsed throughout to keep your heart rate elevated, giving you a circuit workout effect. In contrast, Jari’s tape had 15 segments, and only the first 4 segments had leg work.

So, I did Jari’s workout, using heavier or the same weights for most exercises, until I got to shoulders. I toughed out the shoulder press with 12 lb dumbbells and then found out she was going straight on into side lateral raise with the same weight! So I took a time out to get my preschooler some raisins. Thankfully, only some bicep work remained after that.

I really liked Jari’s rep counts and pulses, and her rep speed was perfect for me. It was tough on the working muscles, but not too tough. It didn’t raise my heart rate and I didn’t bother to take a shower afterwards, but I was really feeling it in my arms for a while after finishing. I did the bonus situps afterwards, and they were not challenging. There were not enough reps to really fatigue the muscles, and too many rest breaks. The cool down was the most mellow cool down I have ever seen on tape. She was very relaxed, not really teaching any more, just talking to her crew and going through a few stretches.

I have to say it was a great workout, felt very effective and yet I’m not suffering from exhaustion afterwards. The only thing is, because the moves were so basic (vertical up-down lifting), I think my workout schedule has to be rounded out with other tapes that challenge your body laterally or in an arcing motion, to hit the different muscles. I give ‘get ripped and chiseled’ an ‘A’ and because it feels so effective but is not intimidating, I think I will choose this workout regularly.

Desie