I rented the Abs and Legs videos. Each time I
rent, I watch the tape through once, then I do it later.
About the videos... The setting is gorgeous: Prague
rooftops, some place in the Caribbean. I like that sort
of thing. It's very MTV. I have several problems with the
two videos I did. The audio is annoying because sometimes
you have three things going at once: the music, the
counting, and the explanations of proper form. The BIG
problem I had may actually be a plus for some. Kathy
Kaehler has Claudia do the same thing over and over and
over. The high reps were physically OK with me on the ab
exercises because my stomach is in better shape than my
legs, but there is very little variety, and it gets
BORING. For example, after doing 16 leg lifts with your
foot flexed, you'll do 16 pulses of the same leg lift,
then you'll do 16 leg lifts with your leg flexed, then 16
alternating flexed foot and pointed foot. There's a fine
line between going for the burn and utter boredom, and KK
crosse it. I also had a terrible leg cramp in the middle
and had to stop the tape, which has never happened to me
before. In the ab tape, the same sort of things happen.
At one point, KK's voice says, in it's sexy way,
"You just did 180 crunches." So in general, I
don't recommend these tapes. I think someone sais
"more could be done in less time," and I agree.
If you want the scenery, get that Karen Voigt tape with
Elle McPherson in Hawaii. It's much, much better. I think
these "Perfectly Fit" tapes are better for guys
with crushes on Claudia!
Instructor comments:
Claudia Schiffer is obviously a "puppet
instructor". She doesn't do any of the talking, but
she does the moves pretty well. I've read on this site
that she didn't work out before doing these videos, but
she obviously made a real commitment to the project.
She's nice scenery, but not especially motivating.
Kathy Kaehler is the real designer of the exercises.
She's sort of off in the background, floating past every
now and again, talking about form. She has this very sexy
voice that almost puts me to sleep. When she's counting
"1, 2, 3...", it's very hypnotic, but not at
all motivating.
Abby N
A decent ab workout lasting 19 minutes with Kathy Kaehler giving instruction to Claudia Schiffer. It works every part of the abs with lots of repetition and continuous counting by Kathy. If you can get past the monotony of the counting and keep going when you see the seconds on the screen, it is pretty good. There is a power segment at the end that just keeps going with three sets of different moves. I felt I got a good ab workout with this tape, and if you like basic moves, it's an excellent workout.
MaryAnn Parker
11/16/97