Vertical Fat Zapper

This workout is available on dvd along with two other short routines that were originally available on Joyce's website as downloads. The production values are as such a circumstance would suggest: a little sub-optimal. Joyce's face is a little fuzzy on-screen, but the workout itself plays fine.

This is not a split routine like Joyce's other tapes, but rather it covers the total body. The workout has a simple structure: 3 exercises per body part for ten reps each. Once through is ten minutes, but the dvd menu lets you select to do it two or three times through as well. If you choose this option, a screen will pop up in between rounds to remind you to up your weights.

Most of the exercises were pretty standard ones, but there are a few odd moves(most of which occured in the chest and shoulders section). One could substitute, but the workout moves fairly briskly so you'll have to be quick and you might want to preview things first so you'll know where you want to modify and what you plan to do.

In spite of the fact that you are repeating the same footage three times for a full workout, I found the boredom factor on this routine quite low. You only do ten reps of everything, so it moves pretty quickly. I felt, after three rounds, that I had gotten a decent workout in the time given. It worked out to be a good little modified pyramid and I got 90 reps per body part(3 rounds of 10 reps for 3 exercises per body part).

I am not sure I would ever use this as just a ten-minute workout unless I was coming back from injury or illness or something like that, but it if one did want to use it that way, it would be fairly comprehensive for a ten-minute routine. I might have preferred workouts that were all upper or all lower body for add-on potential though. I can't see something total body being that great as an add-on. I probably will use this in the full version every time.

Bottom line? Some weird exercises. But if you liek to have something to follow along with and you are okay with modifying, you could make this workout into anything you want. It's sort of like a streamlined total body mini version of her Non Stop workouts, in that it uses the giant set approach.

As far as half hour total body routines, I have seen better. But I have seen worse too. I think I will get use out of this one, in spite of my few and minor quibbles.

As a final note, I ordered this dvd from new Idea Fitness as I had some trouble with Joyce's customer service in the past. I found New Idea a pleasure to deal with and would definately order from them again.

Joanna