Benchworks

On cardio work, I am an intermediate exerciser who is playing with advanced choreography. I tend to start a complex workout at the end of my regular workout and keep adding more to it until I have the steps down. In other words, complex choreography does NOT come naturally to me.

On this workout, I did the whole thing the first time through, so I don't consider it the complexity of the choreography to be high at all - probably high beginner or low intermediate. The intensity, however, was higher as my heart rate was at the high end of the zone throughout the workout.

The workout broke down as follows for me:

Warm up - 8 minutes

Step Segment - 21 minutes. I thought it was pretty fun and it was intense for me. It was pretty simple though and I wished it was longer.

Dynaband Strength Segment - 8 minutes. You do step patterns on the bench while using the Dynabands for upper body strength moves. It is the same _general_ idea as Step & Tone by Gilad. Again, I wish it was longer. I generally don't do strength work tacked onto the end of cardio routines, because they are never long enough and many aren't hard enough. However, this one continues the cardio, so I might do it as a way to extend the cardio section while getting a little strength benefit.

Cooldown

General comments: The workout is set in a bright studio with background exercisers. The women's outfits have some pretty wild prints on them. The music is pretty standard instrumental stuff, but does help drive the pace of the workout. Kari gives form pointers throughout the workout as well as options in choreography and intensity.

Will this workout have a long-term future in my collection? I'm not sure. The reason I would keep it is for an "add on" to other cardio workouts to make my cardio session longer. I guess I'll keep it and see if I actually use it. I got this workout in a trade adn I was glad to see it. I had wondered about it.

Although this video is a good workout, it's not Kari's best. Not too much of what I like about her personality comes through in this tape--she just seems more serious. The tape is dated 1991, when there still weren't too many advanced tapes out there and when some of her power moves and turns around and over the step were pretty unusual, and I think she spends a little too much time teaching them for my taste.

The end of the aerobics segment uses the Dynaband to combine some toning with simple choreography while keeping the heart rate up. It's interesting, but those who are used to lifting heavy weights won't get much benefit from it. Kari also uses the Dynaband for resistance during parts of the short ab section. The cool down is funky, relaxing and fun.

This workout is about half step and half Dynaband toning. The step choreography is mostly at an intermediate level, but there are some advanced moves thrown in, too. The intensity is also mostly intermediate.

The toning is "okay" if you like Dynabands. I'm not a real fan of them. For some of the exercises, it would be easy enough to substitute hand weights, but others might be more difficult to modify. Overall, I have a good opinion of the tape, but I'd rather have more step and less toning with the Dynabands. I give it a B.

I don't love this video, although it's certainly not the worst I've ever done either. It starts out with a short and uninspired warm-up, then continues on to some low impact stepping that only keeps the intensity up by moving quickly - no power at all. Kari then moves into some more powerful movements that, despite some power turns, are still pretty simple. I find that the ten minutes or so of pure power moves is enough to get my heart rate up, but leaves me wanting more (so much for the "advanced" claim on the cover). One thing that really annoys me about Kari Anderson is that she never seems to even out both legs. I could be wrong about this, but it doesn't seem like you do the same number of repetitions on each side. Thus, when I finish one move and expect to repeat it on the other side, a la Cathe Friedrich, she often moves right on into the next move. Strictly speaking, I think that each side of muscles actually are being worked the same amount; it just doesn't feel like it, and therefore I always feel unfinished at the end of her workouts! Anyway, you finish the step section, then move to upper body work using dynabands, and some abs. Neither of these sections are really enough to feel adequately fatigued by the end, particularly the ab section. I realize I'm being too negative about this video - if you need a workout that hits most muscle groups in an hour, this is a good one to reach for.