Basic Ab Workout for Dummies

This DVD would be excellent for beginners and those like me who may not be beginners but hate working their abs with a passion.

The workout includes a short warmup, ten ab moves, a stretch and then a bonus workout. Each move is clearly explained and demonstrated, then you do two sets of ten.

What I like about this workout:

I happen to like Gay Gasper a lot. I also like the simple, clear way of teaching in the Dummies series. I have her Fat-Burning Workout for Dummies, also, and I like the fact that in both cases it's just Gay with no background excercisers in a plain studio with wooden floors wearing black workout gear. Very classic--it won't get dated quickly.

While the workout is long (about half an hour) for twenty reps of 10 moves, the upside is that I wasn't crying in pain by working my weak abdominals too fast and too hard. I don't dread doing this DVD as I do most other ab workouts. That's why it would be good for beginners. Advanced exercisers who aren't afraid of the ab burn would not enjoy this video.

Oh, and I like the range of moves: the standard crunch, reverse, oblique crunch, plus bicycle, plus planks for stabilization. I like the toe dip, which I hadn't seen before. There's a lot of work for the lower abs, which I think is important, yet many ab workouts concentrate almost exclusively on upper abs.

What I don't like:

I figured the bonus workout at the end would include all the moves minus the instruction, but she leaves some of them out. Why? If they aren't that effective, why teach them in the first place?

If you've ever done a "Dummies" video, you know they have some annoying sound effects. It's nice that they show harder and easier modifications in split-screen format, but they show them halfway through the set, so you wouldn't even know about the modification until you were doing the original version.

Probably my biggest problem is the stupid script and the fake way Gasper delivers it. At the beginning of each move, she gives a one-liner to introduce what's coming up and inject some pep (I guess that's the effect they were going for). So after a set ends, she gives a big smile and says something like, "Everyone wants a thinner waist. This next move will really whittle your midsection!" It's just such a clunky transition.

Overall, this DVD is a favorite and I plan to keep it and use it often. It's not fancy but it gets the job done.

A great introduction to a number of classical abdominal exercises, with tons of form pointers and advice on how to modify the move. This video covers the basic crunch, reverse curl, double crunch, oblique twist, crunch with leg extension, bicycle, toe dipping, abdominal circles, bent knee plank, and plank with leg lift. Two sets of ten are performed for each exercise. It includes a nice warm up for the whole body with emphasis on the abs and a nice stretch. Only brief pauses are taken between sets. This could prove challenging for real beginners! Highly recommended.