Crunch: Fat Blaster Plus

Well, I didn't like this video the first time I did it, but it's kinda grown on me. It is pretty short, about 35 minutes, and I could do without the little inspirational blurbs they put on the screen. Tracy York messes up a couple times, forgets some steps or rather just skips them altogether, which is annoying. The girl with the long hair down her back is SO annoying,but more annoying is the African American guy in the back--he's SOOOO annoying. Blech, all his little facial gestures really bother me. The music is sad--it's not inspirational really. But the moves Tracy does are pretty good, overall. The cooldown is good, that's for sure. It's an intermediate tape, and great for those days when you don't have time for a full workout. for some reason, the more i do it, the more i like it.

I had bought the Billy Blanks Crunch video and did not like it, so when I saw this Master Blaster video, I decided to give the Crunch series another try. I soon discovered I strongly disliked this video. The camera changes right in the middle of doing a particular step and once I got lost, the entire set of steps became more difficult. Many of the camera shots are from the waist up, or as she is explaining a move, the camera is showing another person in the background, and not even their feet for that matter! The girl with the long hair down to her butt was disgusting to watch. I liked Tracy's high energy, but I found her difficult to follow. Maybe in time once I learn the moves better the video will seem fine, but I initially shut this video off about 18 minutes into the workout because I spent more time tripping over my own feet than anything. And I do have dance background and I work out to videos EVERY DAY. Furthermore, all the grapevines require much floor space. I move my bed every day to work out and have quite an ample amount of room to work out, but even this required more than I had. I'll continue to work on it, but I would not waste the money.

This tape is annoying. It is obviously geared to the MTV generation. The production looks like something recorded in a basement on cheap equipment.

Tracy York is an instructor I usually like well enough, but she wins the Denise Austin Lifetime Achievment Award for most annoying video instructor with this little confection.

The exercisers are nauseating to behold. Especially the one with the long hair hanging throughout the workout.

Since I have dance training, I did not find the tape hard to do, but for someone without dance training or uncoordinated, this tape would be impossible.

There is too much concentration on quick camera movements and not enough focus on footwork. I wish I hadn't wasted my money on this loser.

Grade: C-

Tracy York is very energetic and a pretty decent instructor. I just don't care much for the Crunch format with all the whooping and other sound effects that obviously aren't coming from the class.

This is a short (24 minutes) floor aerobics video with a 5-minute warmup and a 4-minute cooldown. Supposedly the interval style format helps burn fat faster. I didn't detect that this was an interval tape until I re-read the cover. I kept wondering what the 'power bursts' were that Tracy kept referring to, since I didn't really notice any big changes in intensity throughout the video.

Don't be misled by Collage's rating of this video as "intermediate" with "moderate" choreography. I think it's more for beginners -- I haven't done floor aerobics in years and this was pretty easy for me to follow without getting my heartrate anywhere near my maximum training zone.

This could be a fun workout for beginner to intermediate exercisers, although I'm not sure how much fat you can burn in 24 minutes at the intensity of this video. Maybe I'm just used to killer hour-long step videos. Don't hesitate to buy it if you can get in on sale and aren't looking for a super intense workout.

I like this little gem. I bought this after doing the Crunch workout on a day off and decided to try a video. One complaint is the production quality... Crunch is a nationally known gym with top instructors and a daily show on ESPN 2. Tracking needs major adjusting. If not Firm quality at least call Step In Motion or Greg Twombley, (who has filmed quite a few Crunch instructors.)

Alright about the video. The choreography is simple and fun and I like the music because it reminds me of mid-80s Prince and his Minneapolis sound. It's about 24 minutes of beginner to intermediate cardio which makes it a good prelude to heavy weight work . It doesn't take itself seriously and Tracy cues beautifully. She doesn't miss a beat. I did this video after recovering from jet lag and needed to feel my body move again. The set is Crunch standard, colorful and bright. The exercisers aren't color co-ordinated so it looks like a regular aerobics class. It's not a Desert Island video but for a day when you need a light workout and need to get the kinks outs.

This high/low workout is sort of like intervals. You do regular aerobics for a couple of minutes, and then you do high-intensity for a minute or so. You can definitely tell the difference in intensity, but I'm not sure that you get up to maximum or over during the intervals. Nevertheless, it's a great workout, and fun too.

Choreography and intensity (during the "regular" phases) are both intermediate. Tracy doesn't waste time explaining the moves, so the first time you might have a little trouble following her. But none of the moves are very complicated, so you won't be lost for long.

The workout flies by. The aerobics section is 20 minutes, but it seems even faster because you're switching back-and-forth with the intervals so often. I don't think this is quite as good as the NAC Interval tape, but it definitely has its merits. And at under $10, who can resist? (I was lucky, though, I got mine through the exchange!)

I give this workout an A-. If it were just a little bit longer, it would get an A.

This video consists of four aerobic segments which take a total of thirty minutes to complete. The workout is challenging mainly because Tracy's cueing is so poor. It is nearly impossible to follow because she changes moves so quickly. She seems to care more about keeping the heart rate up then keeping the form in good shape. She has you doing bouncing squats. Now is it just me, or did I hear like a thousand times before never to bounce when stretching?! I've never done the first fat blaster video, but this one only has two "whoops" in it. The background is studio like and the extras in the video seem way to happy to be exercising. If you like doing tons of grape-vines, this is the video for you. Other than that, I just feel that this video does not give a good workout at all. Good luck to all of you who attempt it!

The video is fast paced, they get right to it instead of introducing you to everyone. Tracy gives you enough time to learn each step to the routine, but doesn't waste time going over and over it. The moves are easy and the power bursts in each of the 4 sections are great calorie burners.

I must admit that I disliked this tape the first time I did it--the camera cuts away from the footwork at the wrong moments to focus on one of the perky, whooping exercisers, which made it difficult to follow at times. And the so-called power bursts weren't all that challenging. After a few more tries, the tape doesn't seem so bad, but it doesn't seem long enough (23-24 minutes of aerobics) for me. And the choreography isn't "dancy" or challenging enough to maintain interest. Beginners or low intermediates looking for a short tape and who like the Crunch format(short series of choreographed moves punctuated by "encouraging" messages) might want to give this a look, if it's on sale.