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SHAPE IT UP
from keilan00
I just received my Slim Series dvds today and I'm quite pleased with my purchase. I placed and order on 3/17 and have them in my hands 11 days later (impressive since there was a backorder situation). I was lucky enough to order this set at the introductory rate of $39.99. The price has now increased by $20. Nevertheless, I believe these videos are worth it. You get 6 separate dvds in their own cases and a booklet which suggests several rotations to reach you desired goal. Each video is around an hour in length and filled with nonstop exercises.
So far I've only viewed Shape It Up which clocks in at 78 minutes. This video uses opposing muscles groups and contains many compound movements. You definitely get your bang for your buck with this video. I don't know exactly how to describe it. It's pretty much a circuit style endurance tape with a bit off everything thrown in. For this workout, you don't need much equipment, just a pair of dumbbells. You also don't need much workout space. If you've been to lifting 10-15lb dumbbells with Cathe, be prepared to lower your weights. I mainly used 5lbs and am seriously thinking about purchasing 3lbers. Reps are performed rather quickly but still in a somewhat controlled fashion. The whole entire body is worked with this video: arms, shoulders, abs, legs, hips, and behind. For comparisons sake, I would say this video has the nonstop qualities of Cathe's Power Hour, quick reps like Joyce Vedral, four limbed movements like the Firm, elements of Taebo, and some Tamilee ab movements. I was sweating like crazy after 20 minutes. I kept thinking to myself, there is no way the background exercises, nor I, had 60 more minutes left in them. If you do these workouts for 6 weeks, it would be impossible not to transform your body.
The production quality of these tapes are pretty good. There is a countdown timer on the lower righthand side of the screen and a tab which shows how far you are into the workout. The set design is pleasant to the eye. Natural colors are used; lots of tan, orange and golden tones. There are large windows to the left of the set which shows a beautiful view of blue sky and green vegetation. The music is generic but you have the option to turn it off.
There are a several things that might throw a couple people off. Breathing can be heard throughout the entire tape. I'm not sure if this was intentional or not. It may be beneficial due to the fact that many people forget to breathe when doing strength moves. I, myself, found it a somewhat distracting. Also, the background exercisers are off count from time to time. Their form can sometimes make you cringe but the instructor stops often and checks on form. Debbie Sieber gives helpful form pointers throughout the entire workout and her form is excellent. Just keep your eyes on her and you'll be fine.
I was disappointed over the hardly any modifications were shown. You were reminded to do what feels comfortable but I would have liked to have seen more modifications and demonstrations. Some exercises seemed downright dangerous (ie. front kick and straight down to a backward leg lunge). Since the movements were so quick, I can totally picture someone losing their balance or pulling a quadricep.
Overall, I liked these videos even though it borders on overtraining. I don't think I'll outgrow since you can increase your weights to make the workouts more intense. I'm glad I decided to buy these rather than the new firm kit. There are 6 dvds and I plan on doing one each day with one day off. I will also throw in the Lotte Berk bonus workouts as much as possible.
FIRM IT UP
from keilan00
Yesterday I did Firm It Up which is 58 minutes and works your lower body. No weights are needed but if you want to up the intensity, put on 2lb ankle weights. I have adjustable ankle weights that increase by 1 pound increments and go from 1-10 lbs. I didn't use them yesterday since it was my first time doing the video but I will be using them next time. This is a medium paced video which allows you to concentrate on strength and stability.
There's a different set of background exercisers in this video and everyone looks great. This time around, Debbie doesn't need to check on form as often and has the time to get down to business. This video is filled with squats and side kicks. If you don't like to do these, this video is not for you. At first the movements seem so easy but you do soooooo many reps. By the end, you definitely feel the burn.
I hate forward and backward lunges with a passion and this video doesn't have any. Yay! Glutes are thoroughly worked out with floor exercises. Actually, the second half of the tape flies by because you're mainly on the floor. The workout concludes with solid ab work and a cool down. There is a scissors move that is reminiscent to pilates and it kicks ass. It is one of the last ab exercises. Since you've already fatigued the abs, you really feel the burn. You lie on your back and scissor your legs up and down while scissoring you arms as well. I haven't previewed the other dvds but I have a feeling ab work is on all the workouts.
I thought this workout was nice as well. Right now, I rank it a little easier that Shape It Up since it's shorter in length. Next week, I may change my mind when I strap on ankle weights.
Also, these workouts are only as tough as the amount of work you put into them. Focus on form and put as much strength as possible into each movement.
MIX IT UP
from keilan00
I did Mix It Up last night and it's 57 minutes in length. Once you've done a 78 minute workout, 57 minutes seems easy. This video uses the same cast as Firm It Up. All video formats are basically the same: warm up, standing exercises, standing ab work, floor exercises, floor ab work, and cool down. This video mainly comprised of weights, bursts of cardio, kickboxing, glute and ab work. For this video, dumbells and resistance tubing are used. Instead of tubing, I used dumbells the entire time and they worked fine.
Remember when I said I hated lunges? Well, those words come back to haunt me. This video contains forward, reverse, and cross body lunges. There are tons of traditional and plie squats as well. Oftentimes, these squats are either paired with sidekicks in a one-two movement or combined with upper body weight work. Debbie usually completes segments with "lowends" which are quick, small pulses to further fatigue muscles.
Very short bursts of cardio is blended through out the workout and include running in place, half jacks, and kicks.
Shoulders and back are thoroughly worked out in Mix It Up. There were lots of lat raises, shoulder presses, Arnold presses, bent lat raises, and rows. Triceps were worked with kickbacks and overhead extensions. Chest exercises include pushups, chest presses, semi-circle flies (new type of exercise for me), and pullovers.
Glutes are mainly done on all fours with endless legs kickbacks. The video ends with traditional ab work.
Overall: I really like Debbie's style, relaxed and fun at the same time. Her form is perfect and always gives great pointers. All the videos have a similar feel to them yet different exercises are used to work the same muscle groups. Some people have mentioned that these videos have a FIRMish feel to them. I don't exactly agree with that. These videos incorporate a bit of everything. At one point during Mix It Up, you are in the chair/child poise! Even though FIRMS are great workouts, they give me a superficial feeling. Slim Series, on the other hand, seems very real. This is the feeling I get from these videos: "It's time to get down to business. Let's get through this together!" Most moves are pretty athletic. Even guys would enjoy doing these.
COOL IT OFF
also from keilan00
I did Cool It Off last night and it's 57 minutes. This is a comprehensive total body stretch video. Deep traditional stretches are combined with several yoga moves and back strengthening exercises. All stretches are held for a very long time. Every single muscle is fully stretched. Like the other videos, this one starts with the same 5 minute warmup to increase blood flow. This review will be shorter than my others; I'll only discuss a few highlights (and lowlights).
This video didn't speak to me as much as the other videos. There's a new set of background exercisers who seem devoid of personality. In the other videos, Debbie jokes a bit with her cast. In this video, she doesn't do that. I'm thinking she didn't have much to work with.
Honestly, I'm glad I did this video though. It pin pointed areas that I needed to work on. After doing the other workouts, my hamstrings and upper back had become very tight. I would have largely ignored this if it weren't for this video. The deep stretches were well needed. Also, I absolutely LOVED the neck stretches. Debbie's sister, who is seen in Shape It Up, is a physical therapist. I'm pretty sure Debbie received plenty of free consulation on which stretches are the best and tips on proper execution. The neck stretches are different from what I've ever seen and I plan on doing them everyday. There's also a wonderful new stretch for the inner thighs in the latter portion of the workout which I'll be doing more often.
Stretching is absolutely necessary but I'm not sure if I'll be doing Cool It Off that much. I'll probably replace it with another yoga/stretch tape.
After doing Cool It Off, I previewed the first half of Tear It Up. Oh my God. This video completely justifies the purchase of the Slim Series! I don't think I can do a breakdown this time around because there's so much darn stuff. Whooooooaaaaa!
from Kathryn
I finally got my Slim Series DVDs (which were NOT in any way sent via priority mailing, in spite of the bogus, non-official "priority handling" sticker on the box---though I guess it DOES say priority HANDLING and not priority shipping).
I did "Shape it up," one of the longer workouts. I must say, I'm not as impressed as I thought I would be. For one thing, the music is mediocre (though you can turn it off, which is what I did, so I could use my own music. It's probably not the same beat, but since the instructor goes off beat part of the time anyway, it didn't really matter).
I also cringe at the awful (as in dangerous) form on some exercises, like the upright rows done with hands together and elbow up WAY high, and the superspeed deadlifts--a very effective exercise when done correctly, and one of my favorites, but quite risky if done as shown.
And that frame on the right and bottom of the screen is quite annoying. I don't need to be reminded that this is a "beachbody.com" workout, nor how much time is left (especially with such a long one!).
I'm reserving my final judgment on these until I go though the whole series at least once. I have 30 days--is that from receipt or shipping?-- to return them if I don't like them, but I want to get some use out of the $14+ non-refundable shipping (they always get you somehow! I wonder how much of some companies' profits are derived from non-refundable exhorbitant shipping charges?)
The instructor is very pleasant, upbeat, motivating, but her form is sometimes a bit off (she says one thing, like "keep your heels up" and does another). Also, several times during the workout, she goes around to the other two exercisers to check on their form and sometimes loses count (I HATE that), and doesn't really correct their form for safety. She still lets one of them get by doing a very dangerous fast-paced deadlift with horrible form, though at the pace they do it, it would be hard to have good form! The woman just drops to the floor and kind of bounces at the bottom before coming up. It's almost like she's trying to touch her toes, and darn everything else, like safety.
My legs feel pleasantly taut today, so I'm not giving up on this series yet. Heck, I modify Cathe sometimes (like when she does Arnold Presses or tells us to "keep [our] pinkies toward the television" when doing rear shoulder raises.
There are further reviews from Kathryn in the checkin (I'll have to go back there and check)
from horsemom2
Tear It Up may truly tear up joints & backs
I jumped right into Tear It Up and saw some things that made me worry for folks who may follow these workouts blindly.
For myself, I look before I leap and modify as needed.
Here are are just a few possibly dangerous movements:
Upright Rows with the elbows up way too high
Side kicks that could compromise the lower back
(I substituted TaeBo sidekicks and roundhouses)
deadlifts going way too low and way too fast
from Leela
Slim Series: Mix it Up
Debbie Siebers
This video was just under an hour. Not sure the exact time.
It started with a 5 minute long warm-up - pretty much the same warm-up in all the other videos.
There were two sections of standing weight work, each followed by a short burst of cardio (jogging, jacks). I think the reps were a bit slower in many of these exercises, and she did a lot of compound movements.
Lots of squats and lunges, adding in kicks.
There was standing ab work, and then there was a bit of lying weight work.
She uses dumbbells and tubing, but I stuck with dumbbells.
There was some floor leg work too, which I hate - but I hate them because I find them exhausting.
My heart was in the high end of my zone the entire workout, and I feel that every muscle in my body got a nice toasting over. I used 3s and 5s mostly, only using 8s for the first set of chest presses.
The ab work was pretty traditional. I actually prefer just doing my Joyce ab work at a different time (before my daughter wakes up)
I give this an A.
Instructor comments: Debbie is a wonderful instructor. She's warm, engaging, and in great shape. She is very motivating. She is not overly perky and doesn't whoop.
Debbie also struggled with the similar weight issues that I find myself plagued with, so I find it very motivating to see her with her perfect looking body. I actually believe that with smart eating choices and doing the slim series, I could lose the 10-15 pounds, and even see my abs.
from Leela
Slim Series: Tone it Up
Debbie Siebers
This is a weighted workout. It uses a lot of compound moves (upper/lower body simultaneously).
My inner thighs and triceps felt the fire in this workout.
There is also some floor work: pelvic lifts, inner thigh work, adductor work, and weighted ab work.
This is my least favorite in the series so far, but I still think it's an excellent workout.
A-
Instructor comments: See my other Slim Series reviews.
from Lissa
Well, I did "Shape It Up" last night and "Firm It Up" this morning. I definitely felt "Firm It Up" was tougher. Both were pretty tough. I can see these producing some nice results. I thought those deadlifts went too low. I didn't go as low. I didn't raise my elbows that high either on the upright rows. How far are you supposed to lift them? I just raise the weight up to my chest and my elbows go to about shoulder level. Is that correct?
I really liked Debbie. I thought she had a great personality.
I also like the countdown feature. I really like knowing how much time I've spent and how much I have to go. I didn't pay attention to it the whole time. Both workouts went by pretty quickly.
I didn't mind the breathing. It reminded me to breathe and kind of paced my breathing.
The little "notes" at the bottom were good and sometimes funny. It was a nice touch.
from aileenmichelle
Thanks for the welcome ya'll! I did Mix it Up yesterday--no time to preview, just popped that puppy in and went to town. Thanks to all that posted reviews/breakdowns for giving me a heads up! I was still sore from doing CAWT and Standing Legs this weekend, so I chose to use mostly 3's and be cautious throughout. I was blown away by how fast this workout moves; some of those reps are just crazy fast!!! I sweating like mad through the first half, but felt the intensity wane after that. Think I'll go with 5's next time to keep it going. Could also have something to do with my mom calling in the middle and talking my ear off for about 5 minutes before I convinced her to let me get back to my workout! All in all, I really enjoyed the workout, it was a nice mix of stuff as they said and was anything but boring. The music is very BLAH, but that's made up for by the pleasant set and Debbie's "hey be my workout buddy and let's work hard together but don't take it TOO seriously" vibe. I really like her personality. Convivial, that's the word I was looking for...she's very convivial. And I for one, love the little countdown timer for each set---it keeps me moving hard because I know that there's an end in sight!!! The beeping I could do without.
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