Exercise TV: Ultimate Body, Total Body Toning

This dvd has two 20 minute workouts, two 10 minute workouts, and five 1-2 minute workouts. It is mostly toning but Marco's segment includes some cardio. The instructors work out alone in a nice open bright white set with the Exercise TV logo in the background. There is a small countdown timer in the upper corner of the screen. For this workout you will only need dumbbells. They only use one set but I use multiple so I can most effectively work each muscle.

The first workout is a 20 min upper body workout led by Cindy. Its all dumbbell strength work. She hits every upper body muscle and the abs. The first part is all done standing and then she goes to the floor for some planks, pushups, and tricep dips. Its a fun and effective 20 min upper body and core workout. I will definately be doing this segment often. Cindy is a great instructor, good cueing, and very encouraging.

The 2nd workout is a 20 min total body + cardio workout (not upper body cardio like the cover says). Marco is a good lead, good form pointers and motivating. He does some explosive moves and a lot of the lower body work gets your heartrate up so I was sweating in this one! There is some impact in this but I really enjoyed his combos and unique moves. There are standing lunges and jump squats w/ a dumbell, and an explosive pushup move to name a few.

Stephanie Vitorino leads a 10 minute unweighted lower body workout. You could easily add dumbbells to this workout but I actually didnt. My lower body was still a bit sore from the other day and I used heavy dumbbells in Marcos segment so for me, going deep into the moves (side & front lunges, squats, toe tap variations) was enough for me. After the standing segment she does some floor work including some bridges. I like Stephanie and am so glad she started leading workouts! She has been a background exerciser in a lot of workouts and now she shines as a lead.

I didnt do the 10 minute ab section with Meredith this AM. I have done it before and its boring and grueling IMO. She does a coundown with sit ups-7, then 6, then 5, etc. Its just too much for me. She seems like a great lead but I am not into doing situps and crunches for 10 minutes. Ouch.

I would rate this workout a higher intermediate. They get straight to business in each segment and there is very little (if any) wasted time. I am loving the Ultimate Body Series dvds from Exercise TV. They are great to use as add-ons or do the entire dvd for a 60 minute workout.