Customer Reviews

Exhale: Core Fusion - Pure Abs & Arms

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

CF Pure Abs & Arms comes with a resistance band, which is used a good bit throughout DVD. Fred & Elisabeth talk you through each segment. I enjoy this because it helps keep proper form & breath with the movements. I did my best to breakdown the ab segments, however, I may have missed a couple resets...you will know what I'm talking about if you are familiar with CF. During the abs they mention thoracic breathing, keeping the abdominal wall still - this adds a whole other level to abdominal work. The arm segments are fairly challenging - the arm exercises flow into the next, building the much loved muscle burn feeling! At the beginning of each segment, the usual warm up is done, lifting right arm/left leg.....

Core Fusion Pure abs & arms is seperated into five segments that are 10 minutes each.
The segments:
Upper Body Weights - Fred
Upper Body - Elisabeth
Abdominals - Fred
Abdominal Curl with Leg Variations - Fred
Upper Body, Back & Hip Stretches - Elisabeth

1. Upper Body Weights - You'll need weights & resistance band
Start with weights above head and pull down towards hips,
Hold weights shoulder high,extend arms out bring arms down to outer thighs - working deltoids
Alternating arm raises working Anterior Deltoid
Row weights up to chin, lift up & press overhead
Elbows shoulder high extend arms out to the side & curl working biceps
Bring arms front alternating arms hammer curl
Take weights up, bend elbows back for tricep extensions
Release one weight, hinge forward holding one weight behind back & lift hold
Stretching muscles used with band

2. Upper Body - Resistance band
Place band under feet, bend knees & roll shoulders
Hammer curls - alternating arms, then both arms
Turn palms toward thighs for deltoid row - alternating arms, then both arms
Fold forward at hips - arms extended lift up squeezing shoulder blades - rhomboids
Tricep Series - arms back & lift up, squeeze arms in pulse, bend & stretch arms - OUCH!
Step back, put band under front leg & bend leg slightly. Hold arms out palms down and pulse up. Next, twist to right, hands together in middle, twist to left - working from the hips. Switch legs and repeat.

3. Abdominals - resistance band & mat
C-curve holding resistance band. Keep shoulder blades off mat, let arms go - hold out. Reset.
Pump arms down similar to pilates 100
Twist working obliques - Hold position, small crunches, small curls, hold - reset & lift both arms & hold up if you can =)
Band around feet parallel hip width apart, round down one vertabrae at a time - release all the way back. Slowly roll up. Second set, stop where curl, then release down. Last two reps, stop at waist position. Lift legs up in V, pull hands together and small curls.
On stomach, counter pose to C-curve - hands down at sides, lift breast bone, arms & legs. Elbows up to ears, thumbs up lift chest & thighs. Lastly, bow stretch

4. Abdominal Curl with Leg Variations - Resistance band & yoga block/rolled up towel
With band around ball of left foot, extend left leg up(or bend)& right leg out. C-curve -Hold position (hands around leg) Slowly pull resistance band out to the side & reset. Pull band out again then do small curls. Hands higher and wider - hold position. Repeat on right.
Yoga block or towel - in between inner thighs, stabalize position of c curve - legs extended. Challenge by lifting arms up. Small curls. Hands behind shoulder blades - if you can =)
Get back in position with legs up - twist to left side, hold position. Hands up if possible, reset. Back in position & do small curls. Reset, back into position & raise arms. Repeat on right side.
Towel between ankles then get back into position. Jack knife - arms lifting while legs going down & back up. Reset, then place hands behind shoulder blades.

The Upper Body, Back & Hip Stretches are exactly that =)There are some excellent hip stretches in this segment. I love any sort of stretching at the end of working out. This segment is much appreciated =)


I like this DVD, however, the arm segments weren't as intense as I was hoping for. There were a couple of times I wish my band was the same length as Fred & Elisabeth's. The band that came with the DVD seemed too short for me during a couple of the exercises. Overall I recommend this DVD for those really into callanetics. Beginner & Intermediate exercisers would benefit from this as well. Advanced exercisers may be a little disappointed, as there are more challenging arm/ab workouts available.

*******After a nice amazon customer asked a question about the bonus section (which I didn't even realize was there...oops) My attitude has changed. There is some nice back work included, which I desparately need. The bonus consists of:

1. Prone Strengthener & Stretch -really nice back work
2. from Exhale Pilates Plus (10min)- flat back/round back core
3. from Shiva: Creative Core Abs (8 min)- spontaneous core

I really like this DVD. I won't go over the details of each workout since Nancy has done such a great job with that, but here are my thoughts on the DVD.

Upper Body Weights:
I really enjoyed this segment. If you have the Body Sculpt DVD and use the upper body weight segment from it, this would be a good option to add some variety. I love the 10 minute sessions as I tend to neglect my upper body in my workouts, but it is easy to squeeze this in. If you are looking to make it more difficult, simply add more weight. Easier? Simply use lighter weights. You can also do the second segment. I will also add - I'm in physical therapy currently for my knee so avoid doing standing weights. I was able to complete the majority of the workout while sitting on the edge of a chair.
UPDATE: Since there have been some comments about the upper body segments being too easy, I thought it would be helpful to include the amount of weight I am using. I had been lax on my upper body workouts lately so I did this the first two times with 3 lb weights, but now am using 5 lb weights. In the past when I did upper body weights all the time (but not using their DVD), I usually used 10 or 11 lb weights. So, if 5 lbs becomes easy, I will increase the weight to 7 or 8 lbs, etc. The exercises in this routine are traditional exercises just nicely combined into a 10 minute segment.

Upper Body with Resistance Band:
This is the only segment I have not tried as I was afraid it might bother my knee.

Abdominals with Resistance Band:
Abdominal Curl with Leg Variations:
I really enjoyed these and did both of them together. Although there is a simiilarity between their ab routines, I think these are different enough to make this DVD worth purchasing even if you have the other ones. I really like the Core Fusion ab routines, and since I also have Pilates Plus and Body Sculpt I like that this will give me additional variety. I try to use one of their ab routines three times a week. I think if you do the same routine all the time, your body gets used to it. This shakes things up just enough.
UPDATE: The last time I did these two, I did them together again, but I dropped the resistance band for the leg variations segment. It worked just fine without it.

Upper Body, Back & Hip Stretches:
Wow - I really liked this stretch routine as I do all of their stretch routines. I also have hip dysplasia and as a result it can be painful at times. I really try to work on flexibility for my lower back and hips, and their routines are perfect. I've used this routine a couple times when my hip was a little sore and it felt much better after.

BONUS segments:
- flat back/rounded back from the Pilates Plus DVD
- 8 minute routine from Shiva Rea's Creative Core DVD (I had fun doing this one after the first Core Fusion ab routine.)
- NEW 5 minute back routine. This works on both stretches and strength. It is short, but effective. I also give this routine a top rating.

If you have Pilates Plus and Body Sculpt and enjoy those, I think this would a good addition and provide some additional variety. If you are new to Core Fusion, the ab routines are quite different than traditional ones with lots of crunch reps. Core Fusion has very long holds, but is very effective.

Just received this in the mail the other day, I am very happy with my purchase. I have done several other exercise tapes, and none of them get watched more than 2-3 times...I certainly see myself continuing on with the Core Fusion tapes! I love that it comes with an exercise band, you wouldn't be able to do the exercises with out one. You will need weights as well.
These exercises are great for people who don't have a lot of time to dedicate to exercise and I can already see a difference in my waist and thighs from the previous DVDs I have done after just 8 days! I love fast results!
Highly Recommend!

Overall, I like this DVD. I add the arm segment from Body Sculpt after the two arm segments and my arms are like jelly afterward. However, if I don't add that segment, it is an average arm workout. I was hoping this dvd would make my arms feel like my butt and thighs do after Body Sculpt or Thighs and Glutes, but it falls slightly short. The other Core Fusion workouts are awesome. This one is good. It goes along the same principal as the other DVD's which I like. Controlled movements, breathing and stretching. Non-irritating instructors. I recommend it as an add in to other workouts :)

There are five 10 minute sections. You can do them separately or play all together for one 50 minute workout. Every section works the abs in some way. As you go through the sections there is less and less upper body and more and more abs and lower body. The final 2 sections are intense abdominal and lower body work. I felt the burn during and the next day after for the abs, and I saw the most results in my abs. I'm an intermediate exerciser, but didn't have much of a six pack until now. I give credit to this DVD for helping that happen. I'm not totally cut yet, but I can definitely see a difference. I can't tell if the DVD has significantly helped my arms more than the other DVDs I do for arms, so the jury is still out on that. However, I felt the burn when doing the arm moves so I'm assuming they helped.

The only reason I'm not giving this 5 stars is because just like all the core exhale fusion videos, I have to keep track of the count. Normally, I would never play a DVD again, if I have to do that beasue I want to focus on using my muscles. However, the core fusion results are so effective, the DVD is worth doing to me. If you don't want to keep track (ususally they do about 20 reps of each exercise), I would suggest switching which side you do first every time you do the DVD. There is not much warm up or cool down per section like some longer exercise videos, but I find the way they progress through the moves in each 10 minute section to make up for that.

I have had a lot of trouble finding good pilates type DVDs. I like Ana Caban pilates DVDs but I find that there isn't a lot of arm workout type stuff on it, mostly just core. I came across this DVD when I searched "arm pilates". I really like it. There are 5 10 minute workouts. Each workout focuses mostly on one area (ex: the first 10 minutes is basically all arms). I watched the DVD before doing the actual workout and it seemed pretty easy. Woah! It was intense. I wouldn't say it is hard, but if you are able to complete the workout you can really feel the burn! I have done this workout 3 times and I already feel a change in my arms. It is much more enjoyable than doing those exercise machines at the gym. To do the workout you need 2 small weights (I am using two pound weights right now and they are killer!) and an exercise band, that comes with the DVD!! In only 10 minutes I toned my arms better than I could in an hour at the gym!!

As far as the ab workouts those are really good too. They are the same as most of the pilates workouts I do.

One thing I don't like, the guy. He's a little annoying, but if you can get past that this is an excellent DVD!

As a certified personal trainer and fitness instructor for over 12 years, these workouts are amazing! No matter how experienced or strong you think you are, these workouts will challenge you. If you have Direct TV, several of these workouts are available on Fit TV channel 261 also.

I wish it had more fast pace moves; however, quality not quantity it's what it counts. This DVD is good for those days that you don't have that much energy,
or just a quick tune up.(for me, I used for Saturdays, after having a week of intense work out....to relax a little with the benefit of working my muscles
at the same time) I gave this product 4 stars because those guys have a boring voice, overall, the work out is great.

This DVD comes with a light resistance band. I have every single Core Fusion DVD, and I love them all, although they are each a little different. Body Sculpt and Long and Lean are both full body workouts, the latter a little more challenging than the former. Both Arms and Abs and Thighs and Glutes are self-explanatory. Pilates Plus focuses on abs/core work. And the yoga Energy Flow and the Bootcamp DVDs are cardio workouts, the latter more challenging than the former, although both are quite rigorous and will make you sweat buckets. I have taken both Pilates Mat and Pilates Fusion classes for a few years, and these DVDs are a wonderful complement when I am not in class, and in my opinion, are sometimes even more challenging than what I get in my exercise classes. I have tried a number of different exercise DVDs over the years, and these are the only ones I have ever stuck with. They are very enjoyable, challenging (but not so challenging that you give up), invigorating, interesting (they do not get boring because there is so much variety built in), and I have noticed some subtle differences in my body from my work with both the DVDs and my classes. To really burn fat, though, you have to alter your diet. These DVDs will help with sculpting muscle (like a ballet dancer's body), but not so much with fat loss (at least I have always found that my weight loss occurs with diet and not with exercise, but that's just me.) In short, money well spent, and I highly recommend the series.

If you're wondering if this would be a good workout video for men to use, the answer is "Yes".

My husband had been wanting a weight bench and set to get more muscle tone. He's tall and lean but not very muscular, and the age of "50 years old" is coming up in a few years and he knows it's important to keep his muscles working as he gets older. For over a year now, he had been doing bicep curls and a couple other moves with a pair of my 8 lb weights (often putting both 8 lb weights in one hand -he has big hands- to increase the weight), as well as the "plank" for his abs, but he wanted something more challenging. I had the Core Fusion: Body Sculpt and loved it, so I got the Abs & Arms one for him and pestered him about trying it for a few months. He had back surgery almost 15 years ago, and recently there's been a time or two where his back had seized up on him while doing push-ups, leaving him in pain for a couple days. I thought the Core Fusion: Abs & Arms would be good for him for this reason.

When I finally got him to use this video, he did the warm up, then into the Upper Body workout with the pair of 8 lb weights. It didn't take long for him to admit the workout was kicking his butt, and he asked me where the 5 lb weights were. Few minutes later, he asked me where the 3 lb weights were! He had to do part of the workout without any weights at all. Since then, he's been very happy with the workouts, he tells me every morning that muscles were sore that he didn't even know he had.

I'm pleased, as this means I don't have to have a weight set and bench in one of our spare bedrooms. Plus, if I reach over and grab his arm, it's feeling more solid, the muscles are getting toned. If he wanted to have big bulky weightlifter muscles, no, these workouts wouldn't do that for him - well, I guess it *could* if he had challenging enough weights, but my husband is looking to have lean muscles.

I love all the Core Fusion workouts. They always work my muscles, and more often than not they kick my butt. It's those slow, controlled movements that really put my muscles to the test. The Abs & Arms DVD was a great purchase.