Fitball II

The tape has been broken down by another reviewer.

I'm not sure I like this tape. I can't see doing it very often. It IS different from any other cardio tape I have, I just didn't seem to enjoy the workout. I hink it was a bit fast for me. I wasn't able to be as careful about proper form on the ball going so fast.

The instructor's cueing left a lot to be desired. And during the bouncing the ball section I couldn't even hear her because the ball was too loud! There is a lot of fast bouncing on the ball and I found it hard to keep up as the ball kind of had a mind of it's own. I did like some of the moves: jumping jacks and ponies on the ball. (My quads were on fire!) It is very low impact. And she did some good toning work at the end.

Collage advertizes this video as definitely different from Fitball I, and it is. It is divided into 7 sections: 1) warm-up/stretch (active stretchs done while seated on the ball, followed by static stretches); 2) "pre-cardio" (a fun standing routine, done while bouncing the ball, with moves ranging from side-to-side steps, grape vines, and box steps--turning in a circle or "box"while bouncing the ball. The moves are introduced individually, then linked together; 3) "risers" (low bounces off the ball combined with various arm and leg movements. I found these risers to be especially challenging--they really worked my glutes and quands, especially lower quads. I had to go back down to the seated bounces a couple of times, and the first time I did the video, I felt my glute muscle, and it was tighter than I've ever known it to be before! This may also be because I'm using a regular size ball-the 55 cm. that is usually recommended for my height--rather than the slightly taller ball--65 cm--that is recommended, so I bounce down lower. The instructor says to bounce off the ball with the glutes, rather than using the legs, but I haven't quite figured out how to do that yet!) 4) high bounces (as the term suggests, these are bounces on the ball going from a seated to a standing position, and they will really get your heartrate up there--I was surprised that a ball workout could do that! Various arm and leg movements--mostly "half-jacks" with one leg going out at a time--to keep the bounces from getting boring, and some advances moves---which I'm not at all ready to do yet!--such as a side leg lift, are also shown; 5)on-ball toning (abs exercises, including some full-range-of motion oblique lifts; glute lifts while lying with abs on the ball; spinal erector lifts; 6) floor toning using the ball (hamstring and glute lifts with heels on the ball, an inner thigh exercise where you put your feet in the air, toss the ball up and catch it between your feet, then drop it back down; 7) stretching using the ball to increase range of motion(a weird visual moment is when the transition from section 6 to section 7 is made: the exercisers end section 6 with a child's pose stretch--seated on heels, with arms outstretched and hands on the ball--to the side, when section 7 starts, they are behind the ball instead of to the side of it, and you can see them, then all of a sudden, they rise up from behind!) I like this video more than I thought I might! Two concerns I had before doing it were: 1) how does that ball stay under them when they bounce off of it (I do the routine on my 8 x 10 area rug rather than on my bare wood floor, and haven't had too many problems) and 2) do I really need to buy another ball in order to use the 65cm one they recommend (as I've indicated, the shorter ball may cause me to use my legs more, but it is doable). I'd recommend this for anyone who enjoys ball workouts, or anyone (intermediate or advanced) looking for a new challenge.