Customer Reviews

Crunch Fat Burning Ab Attack

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Instructor Catherine Chiarelli takes you through a warm-up, a standing cardio workout and a mat ab workout that felt to me, in places, like Tae-bo Lite. Not that it was like Tae-bo in that it features kickboxing, but in the moves she uses to work the abs from a standing position, several of which Tae-bo fans will recognize. Following is a glimpse of each segment:

Warm-Up: A standard, relatively easy-to-follow cardio warm-up featuring marching in place, step-touch to the side, kickback, V-step, mambo and stretches. The only thing I found awkward was the mambo step. I've done a mambo step in several other workouts and always found it one of my favorites...until now.

Standing Ab Work: Cat focuses on abs at a moderate cardio pace with squats, oblique twists, plies, boxer twists, side lunges, standing side crunches, and upper body twists. If you've done Tae-bo, you will recognize several of these moves. Like Tae-bo, you need excellent balance for this. The intensity was enough to get my breathing elevated and I did sweat some, but not as much as I usually would during a cardio workout. I really didn't feel my abs being worked as much as I would expect in an ab-focused workout. I've only done this workout twice so far, but I am not sold on the benefits of this segment.

Mat Ab Work: Down on the floor, you'll do several variations of crunches, side planks, oblique work, Superman variations, and stretches. It's a silly thing, I suppose, but I really didn't like doing mat work after I'm sweaty from doing a cardio workout (even though I wasn't AS sweaty from this as I would be from, say, Tae-bo). The repetitions here are higher than other ab workouts I've done and, as a result, I found this section tough. I could do the various crunches for 8 or 10 reps but she does 15 reps and I couldn't "hang in there" for the last several reps of each crunch. This was especially true because she does a LOT of crunches with the legs in the air, one right after the other, so you're not getting any opportunity to rest.

All in all, certainly not a BAD workout, but not real high on my list of recommends either. It felt inconsistent because the standing section was easier than expected and the mat section was harder than expected...so it's hard to know who to recommend this workout to. The people who could handle the tough mat section would find the standing section too easy and the people who would find the standing section just right would find the mat section too hard.

This is quite a great dvd and it's intense. There are exercises done standing and on the floor and they all work your abs in every which way. Some of the standing workout also involves squating so therefore it's working your legs too. The floorwork is regular stuff like crunches and side planks, so you aren't bored with all this variety. I love doing this and it should probably be done about 4-5 times a week. The instructor makes this fun to do.

When it comes to my abs, I'm used to doing exercises related to dance and pilates. Crunch Ab Attack takes a more aerobic approach, but as I absolutely love Crunch Fitness I gave it a try. This DVD is comprised of both standing and mat work toning, and also touts the benefits of a light cardio workout--so you're burning calories while you tone, all in about a half hour. The instructor's cuing and motivational attitude make the workout fun and over before you know it. I felt it was easy to keep good form during the exercises, and never felt my neck was strained. I actually felt the workout was a little on the easy side (but I'm an avid exerciser, so it will be different depending what level you're at). Whoow! I was sore for two days after the workout, however, and was very surprised to feel the effects across my ENTIRE abs. What really impressed me was how the exercises even got at my lower abs in a way I could feel. (This is one of the hardest areas for women to tone.) This workout really does hit your abs from all angles! Overall, an awesome mix of gentle cardio and a fresh, effective approach to strengthening your core!

...unfortunately it didn't do anything for me and I am one who could use ab work. Catherine Chiarelli leads this 30 minute routine and is joined by several other ladies and one man. You start with a simple warmup consisting of marches, step touches, hamstring curls, v-steps and mambos, then you stretch briefly.

You start with standing work and I agree with the reviewer who called some of these moves "Tae Bo Lite". The moves seen here include torso twists, boxer twists, standing oblique crunches, and clock twists. The boxer and clock twists are done while in a plie squat position, after a while I could feel my legs working pretty hard, but this section didn't do much for my abs, though I liked the moves in general. Lots of squats and side lunges are inserted in between some of the ab work so it breaks it up a little bit.

The floor work I felt more than the standing, but it was still pretty easy. Here you will see traditional crunches, one set of them with legs in the air at a 90 degree angle, oblique twists, double crunches, leg sweeps, side planks with knees bent, lying side oblique crunches and Supermans.

Catherine does an okay job leading the workout, she does offer some pointers and tips throughout, as well as reminding you to breathe. She is in fantastic shape herself, though I don't know if she got those abs doing this workout. The routine itself was unique and interesting, especially the standing work but it wasn't working for me. Anyone whose abs are in decent condition will not be challenged by this workout. Overall I will give it 3 stars for effort.

Like any Ab workout with a significant amount of standing work, your focus and form are the key to getting an effective ab workout with this DVD.

I love this workout. The content is great, and the fact that it is short makes it easy to piggy back with another workout. It's really fun to add onto a day of strength training!

I found this workout enjoyable. There is a variety of different ab routines. From standing to lying on the floor. It's really easy to follow and for a person getting back into the routine of working out again I definitey feel the burn in my abs. Two things to complain about is the length and the instructor cues. It's only 30 mins. I believe to get a better workout it should have been stretched to at least 45 mins. The instructor is good at times on her cues but then starts to slack off and assumes everyone knows how to do the Mambo for se. Although after doing it several times one woudn't have to worry about the cues.

There's not much to say in this review but to BUY THIS DVD! It's amazing! The workout is fun and challenging! The warm-up was about six minutes long and also involved stretching which is great for my muscles. I wasn't sweating as much as I thought until about ten minutes into the video. I really liked the mat exercises too. This is definitely a great addition to my collection of fitness videos :) The only drawback was the man in the video looked retarted, seriously...

While the standing section at the beginning is very nice, the floor section is ridiculously short. So short that I thought there was something wrong with my dvd. I find this strange, as so much time and effort was put into the standing section. I was just getting warmed up when the whole program is over, with only a few floor exercises with very reps. It's as if Karen had to run put money in her parking meter so decided to just end the program. Even beginners will quickly surpass the limits of this program.

I've tried a lot of these home workout DVDs. This one is by far the best. Although it's only 30 minutes, you get a good dose of cardio and strengthening (with both abs and squats), so the workout is actually meaningful. I love it because as a mom of small children, I use this DVD on the days I can't get to the gym and I feel like I get a great workout! SHAPE magazine recommended it as well. It's a must-have for busy people that need to squeeze in an effective workout when time is tight.

I was using this for only one week (doing it everyday) and my stomache is getting so much flatter and tighter. If you are not used to excercising it will be a real tough workout but you will get used to it if you keep with it, and it's fun once you get the hang of it.