Total Body Basics

For $4.99, this tape is the bargain of the year! It's an hour-long workout, complete with abwork and a decent-length cooldown and stretch. Gay is really the focus of the class; she gives a nod to LaToya here and there but LaToya -- unlike Cher -- by and large keeps her mouth shut. When she does say something, she's trying to be helpful, not funny so it's okay. Another review mentions her giggling which I would have never noticed if not for that review; the music in this video is upbeat and loud enough to enhance the workout and it serves to drown out the giggling. As for the workout, it's typical Gay style -- basic moves put together in interesting ways, without a ton of repetition before taking the routine from the top. There are three segments -- which probably total close to 45 minutes -- one with the step turned toward the TV. If you like variation, but shy away from tricky moves, then this is perfect. I'd grade it an intermediate tape; I had to add my own power to get a good sweat going, but it was easy to do if you'r familiar with power moves used in basics, v-steps, knee-ups, straddles etc. Also, there are power moves demonstrated by two class members (who BTW are the same ones in Gay's Next Step videos) but Gay doesn't really focus on them so you have to kind of check them out on your own. All in all, if you can find this tape for $4.99, it can't be beat. It's a great, safe, quality tape and LaToya -- who I'm sure was considered to be the selling point -- doesn't appear to be much more than an afterthought for Gay Gaspar, who does an excellent job here. As an intermediate tape, A+

At the time of this review, this dvd is being offered by www.fitour.com for free ($7 shipping charge).

This is a total body strength routine which lasts for about 40-45 minutes. Gay uses a stability ball, mat, step, set of dumbbells and a resistance band. The warmup consisted of pretty basic foot patterns while moving the stabilty ball. This was very effective in warming up the upper and lower body and fun. You move on to alternating upper and lower body exercises with a few compound moves. She alternates the equipment during this part of the workout so there is a nice variety. There is one blooper where she does one legged squats on one side but not the other. The exercises are challenging but not killer. She follows that section with about 10 minutes of core work. For some reason, I like her core work a lot. There's a very short stretch at the end. The dvd is shot outside on a deck and the production quality is very good. Gay is by herself. I've heard the music on other videos, but it's not bad.

I feel like this was $7 very well spent. Strength training is not my favorite, but I really enjoyed this routine. There's a nice variety of exercises and it feels like a true total body workout. It's also time efficient. I will definitely use the core section on its own as an add on. This is very similar to the Sara City Workout called Strength Factor Express.