30 Minutes to Fitness Body Shop

This DVD has two 30-minute full body strength workouts. The moves are generally traditional exercises with some twists to help achieve certain goals with the moves. Upper body muscle groups are superset with lower body exercises and then followed up with a compound move to further challenge the muscles being worked. In each of the two workouts she approaches the major muscle groups in different ways and you can do them individuall or use the premix that combines them into one workout to hit everything.

For these workouts Kelly tells you to have a set of heavy and a set of light dumbbells. You may want a wider variety than just two sets of dumbbells. You may have a conflict with some of the compound exercises because you can go much heavier on one of the exercises than the other.

The premixes let you customize this workout. Don't like compound moves? Do that premix? Think 30 minutes isn't long enough? Do a longer premix. I would classify the two workouts as intermediate to high intermediate/low advanced which you can make more difficult by increasing the weight of your dumbbells or doing a more intense premix.

BODY SHOP is one of the latest offerings in instructor Kelly Coffey-Meyer's 30 Minutes to Fitness DVD series. Like all of the DVDs in this series, BODY SHOP offers two main workouts (each about 30 minutes in length) plus a variety of premix workout options, making it a great value. These routines focus on strength training using dumbbells (Kelly recommends use of "light" and "heavy"), but Kelly also adds in a few unweighted intervals to keep the heart rate up. A mat is also used for the floorwork.

Kelly instructs live in a somewhat bland, industrial-looking studio (I prefer the windowed spaces of her prior videos). She works out with four background exercisers, one of whom shows some modifications. The options on the Main Menu are as follows: Introduction--Body Shop Workout #1--Body Shop Workout #2--Premixes--Credits--Music On/Off. I have described the two main workouts below.

BODY SHOP WORKOUT #1 (33 minutes)

Short warm-up (<2 minutes):

*side taps, a shoulder stretch, squats, and arm circles

One heavy dumbbell:

*1-arm row, alternating between overhand and underhand grip; 2 sets each side

*reverse lunge with rear leg lift

*combine reverse lunge with 1-arm row; 1 set

Two heavy dumbbells:

*1-arm bicep curl (two pulses, one full curl); 2 sets each side

*"suitcase" (1-leg) deadlift; 2 sets each leg

*half-deadlift with bicep curl

No weights:

*squats right-left, reach overhead

One light dumbbell:

*overhead press with side leg lift; 3 sets each side

*1-arm triceps kickback; 3 sets each side plus one "running" set

No weights:

*"hurdle" steps (large hydrant lunge)

Floorwork (at 24.5 minutes):

*pullovers/flies; 3 sets of each, with knee-ins in-between

*1-leg hip lifts; 3 sets plus 1 set pulsing

Stretch (2 minutes):

*seated stretches for side, neck, and arms; finish standing

BODY SHOP WORKOUT #2 (31 minutes)

Kelly starts here by introducing her crew: Michele (shows modifications), Marcus, Lori, and Samantha

Warm-up (about 1.5 minutes):

*arm circles, slow squats, side stretch, rear lunge, side squats

Two heavy dumbbells:

*overhead lat pull down/wide-legged plie; 2 sets each

*combine for alternating pull-down/plie; 1 set

*1-arm diagonal hammer curl; 2 sets each side

*curtsy lunge; 2 sets each side

*curtsy lunge with 2-arm hammer curl; 1 set

No weights:

*reverse lunge with reach overhead

One light dumbbell:

*1-arm side lateral raise with arm to knee; 3 sets

*1-arm triceps overhead press with forward lunge to opposite knee twist; 3 sets

*1-arm triceps overhead press; 1 set plus 1 set pulsing

No weights:

*large knee steps from side-to-side

Floorwork:

*alternate hand push-ups; 3 sets plus 1 set hover push-ups

*on all 4s with weights behind knees, bent leg raises; 3 sets plus 1 set pulsing

*abs: alternating knee-ins (3 sets), bicycles, uppers/lowers (3 sets)

Stretch (3 minutes):

*Figure 4 stretch on floor, seated hamstring and side stretch, cobra and pigeon, finish standing for upper body and neck stretches

As noted, this DVD also offers many premix options, nine total. Here is how they appear on the Premix menu:

Combined Body Shop Workouts 1 & 2 61:30

Chest, Glutes & Abs 18:11

Lower Body Shop 18:17

Split Body Shop (Back, Biceps & Legs) 23:31

Split Body Shop (Shoulders & Triceps) 16:21

Upper Body Shop 32:26

Fast Track (Compound Moves Only) 17:35

Workout 1 (Less Compound Moves) 30:40

Workout 2 (Less Compound Moves) 28:58

Kelly's premixes vastly increase the usability of her DVDs. For example, although I didn't like the second workout as much as the first here (I thought that the floorwork dragged on too long), I know that I will still use this DVD often, as I have plenty of alternative workout options in the premixes. I used 10-lb. dumbbells as my "heavy" weights in these workouts, and I found that these were definitely heavy enough, especially for the multiple sets. (I consider myself to be an intermediate exerciser.) For the "light" weights, I used 5-lb. in the first workout and thought I could go a bit heavier, so I tried 8-lb. in the second workout; some people might want three sets of weights to find what's exactly right for them.

Overall, I enjoyed these workouts and am glad to have this DVD. There are a few things I found a bit odd. For example, it seems like Workout #2 may have been intended as the first workout, as that's when Kelly introduces her background exercises. I also thought that Kelly was a bit remiss with the warm-ups: although I don't mind short warm-ups, I think that some brief cardio to truly warm the body would have been more appropriate than the more stretching-type moves which Kelly includes. Despite these minor issues, I would recommend this DVD, particularly for intermediate exercisers and beyond.