Abs, Abs, Abs

This video includes a pep talk, an approximately 5 mintue warm-up and stretch segment, and three very different, ten minute ab workouts, two on the floor, one on a step. Each exercise in each workout is divided into beginner, intermediate and advanced segements; Tamilee and her two hardbody guy pals, Rick and Pepper, do the advanced workout, but there are modifications and suggestions for less advanced exercisers.

While I have given away my other Tamilee Buns/Abs/whatever-of-steel tapes, this one has stayed in my regular rotation. I find the first two workouts in particular to be very thorough and challanging. Most of the work is done at a slow pace, so you really feel it. Workout #2 ("Super Abs") has some of the best work for the external obliques I've seen, better even than Karen Voight. The step workout does some serious reverse crunch work on an inclined step, which I find I feel perhaps too much in my lower back on some days, so I usually stick with the first two workouts.

I usually do one of the routines on this tape after a lower body emphasizing tape when I want to get in some extra ab work. I do my own stretching while the first tape rewinds, then pop in Tamilee & crunch away. A very solid "A", particularly for the first two routines.

Lesley B

11/30/-0001

Three 10-minute ab workouts for beginners to advanced. However, I don’t think advanced exercisers would really be challenged by it (I’d say I’m at intermediate level, and I usually continue on with this tape’s advanced sections, yet the abs section of KV’s Your Personal Best can still give me a good burn). Tamilee tells the beginners/intermediates when to stop, and there is also a time bar at the bottom of the screen, but it doesn’t really serve much purpose – I just watch the two male background exercisers if I feel the need to stop! The tape starts with a short motivational speech, followed by a warm up/stretch. The first workout is the one I do least often, because it contains lots of reverse curls, which tend to bother my lower back if done often. I enjoy the exercises in the second workout most, and it feels like the most thorough of the three. There is some very good oblique and upper ab work. I’ve been using the tape fairly regularly for about a year, and the second workout still leaves me feeling slightly sore the next day. The third workout is done using a step bench, but can also be done on the floor (that’s how I do it, as I don’t have a full-size step bench). This workout ends with a longer stretch than the other two (they finish with a couple of brief stretches). I prefer to stretch a little longer, though, as I think it's still a bit on the short side. What I really appreciate about this tape is the slower pace with which almost all of the exercises are performed. This makes me concentrate on form and prevents me from letting momentum take over. Although I wouldn’t class this as a revolutionary abs tape, it’s a good no-nonsense tape for beginners/intermediates to have for variety, as it’s not just up-and-down crunches and side crunches. The 10-minute format makes it ideal for adding on to the end of another workout.

Instructor Comments:
Tamilee is friendly and encouraging, telling you to keep going even though it might be getting hard. She cues well, and tells you which muscles should be feeling the work.

Glynis van Uden

04/22/2000