Stability Ball Workout (aka Strong Lean Fit)

This video doesn't seem to have been reviewed before, and I've done it twice now, so I thought I'd put up my thoughts. This is, I believe, Gin's third stability ball video (Xtreme Strength on the ball being the fourth). The box says it's from 2002. She did the Flexaball/Tone Trim Tighten workout in 1995 and another intro to stability ball workout that she sent out free to me with my purchase of this one.

This workout uses two balls, a stability ball and a medicine ball. Beginners with weak abs like me can pretty much do the whole workout without the medicine ball--there's only one move that requires a ball for the beginner exercises and any old ball around the house will do for that one.

I am an intermediate exerciser with pretty weak abs. I am interested in building stronger abs, and I think doing this video once a week in conjunction with other types of ab work would really help. The moves are effective and doable, and, as I noted in my instructor's comments, Gin has designed this workout so that the moves can be made progressively more challenging. However, it's a pretty long workout, with lots of time spent stopping, stretching, readjusting the ball, and explaining modifications. I think after having done it half a dozen times, I will just have memorized the moves and started doing them on my own. The video purchase will have been worth it, though, because of all the ball workouts I've tried (Absolutely Abs and Lizbeth Garcia's On the Ball Pilates workout) this has the most straightforward, effective moves. I guess I also trust Gin more because none of the moves she uses seem to endanger the back, unlike some workouts I've seen. I think it's in this workout where she mentions her husband is a chiropractor so I think that means she's extra sensitive to back issues.

Instructor Comments:
Gin gives excellent form pointers, and I really appreciate that she designed this workout to demonstrate moves for beginners, intermediates, and advanced exercisers so you can grow with it--provided, of course, that you want to make room in your life for a 40 minute video that pretty much only works the core.

Diana