Customer Reviews

Karen Voight: Great Weighted Workout

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This dvd is awesome. I have been exercising on and off for a while. I bought this video so that I can focus more on building lean muscles. The workouts are great. After doing only a portion (30 min. of leg work)of the video, my muscles were tired and not only that. Those muscles were sore for 2 days after. So as you can tell the workouts are very effective even though the weights you are using may range from 1 to 5 pounds(for women).

Girls if you want to get in shape, this would be a great buy.

The entire dvd is approx. 1 hr and 25 min.

Sections:

Warmup - 6 min.

Standing leg work - 6 min.

Upper Body - 25 min.

Lower Body - 30 min.

Abs - 15 min.

I just got this video last week and tried it on Saturday. All in all it's not a bad video. The only thing that I did not like about it was this one part where it seemed as though she was going rather fast. I especially liked the leg segment, and I am sure that once I get the ankle weights I will feel it even more the next day, and my butt and legs hurt pretty good without the weights!! The ab segment was great also. I do my abs every day and I had to stop a couple of times during that segment.

While I've heard some complaints about the length of the video, I did not find it to be too long.

If you are looking for a good weights-only video I think this is the one for you.

I do this workout when I want to be sore for a day or two. I'm a Karen Voight convert now (sorry Kathy Smith). The first time I did it with 3lb weights and that was a mistake; be sure to start out easy in the beginning. The floor exercises at the end are excellent....especially the abdominal segment. A great production, definitely a favorite go-to.

Let me clear this up....if you are a true exercise fanatic, this dvd is for you. I've done every dvd exercise program including Taebo and this ranks in my top 2. Taebo is awesome for the cardio but when it comes down to muscle tone, this dvd is tops. The background music and background exercise people are the least of my worries, you have to concentrate on the exercises she does to TONE YOUR BODY!!! These exercises are an all over workout. My favorite part is the 20 minute arm workout, my arms never looked so good!! She works the hell out of you and it took me a few times to get through it but if you want to tone up and get in shape, just put in this DVD and be prepared to SWEAT!!!!

This DVD was my first introduction to Karen Voight. I could tell she is a great instructor but this workout was not for me. As soon as I popped it in and attempted to watch the routine before trying it, my first reaction was that I would have had a hard time keeping up when I was 23, much less at 43. Coming from a routine that includes Pilates, walking, and non-aerobic sculpting with weights, this was like culture shock to say the least.

My biggest problems were the very fast pace and the leg movements accompanying upper body workout. When I am working out the upper body I like to concentrate on perfecting the movements without worrying about the lower body and dislike dancing around, simultaneously doing cardio, and trying to keep my legs moving in a pattern at the same time. By the time I caught on to one movement, she switched. Very frustrating. It brought back bad memories of Jane Fonda to me. After a typical 15 hour day, I look to exercise to help me relax and unwind. The aerobic pace and the awful disco-y music had the opposite effect on me.

Worse, Karen's movements were somewhat obscured because the four exercisers behind her were all standing too close to her, which lent a confusing effect of many arms and legs swishing around. I finally found the answer to this visual confusion was to concentrate on one of the men to her left, since he had no one directly in back of him and his movements were much easier to follow. The two women in the back row were little more than clutter - you couldn't see their moves at all and they added to the overall cramped feel of an otherwise expansive studio setting.

If, like me, you don't care to contend with fast pacing, grating music that drones out the instructor's voice, and choreography when you're trying to concentrate on correct form, you will want to pass this up. But if you're a high energy, aerobics type who likes to follow hyperactive dance-y routines, you might like this one.

On a final note, even though I gave up on the upper body, I briefly checked out the lower body floor work and that seemed to be more along the lines of what I was looking for. Good sculpting but no option to turn the music off.

Once again, thinking that I was in great shape, I added yet another workout to my library to "mix things up." Part of my workout routine includes alternating upper and lower body workouts within my usual routines, and since I have discovered "Karen Voight," I thought I would try her "Great Weighted Workout." The DVD allows one to "mix and match" routines, which work out to be approximately 35-40 minutes per upper or lower body, or do the entire workout, which is about 80 minutes. I had only been doing the "mix and match," which are pretty challenging in themselves, but finally decided to do the entire routine. WHEW! Because of the intensity of doing the "upper" and "lower" workouts, I knew the workout would be tough, and it is. I would not recommend this workout for beginners because of the intensity and fast pace, but if one is a beginner, one may want to "mix and match" and either begin with very light weights (dumbbells, ankle weights and a small body ball are used), or no weights at all until one is comfortable moving up a notch.

I use reasonably heavy weights (dumbbells and ankle) for my workouts, but because Karen's pace is very fast, I found myself not being able to keep up with the exercises using the heavy weights and stuck with 5 pound dumbbells for the upper body--I used my heavier weights and ankle weights for the lower body and abdomen sections, but during the standing lower body routine, Karen does combine both leg and arm movements with the dumbbells, so for the squats I could use the heavy weights--when she would work the arms (bicep and other moves) and legs together, it was difficult to keep the pace using heavier weights. I would definitely suggest that one keep several sets of weights (3-5-8+) in case one cannot keep up with the fast paced moves, or if the weights become too heavy one can lower the weight. Additionally, the DVD recommends "light dumbbells, ankle weights, a body ball and a mat..."

Although the release date is 1991, the routine is not dated. It is well structured with a good warm-up, standing lower body workout (squats and squats with arm movements using weights and quite a bit of "swinging" of the weights, which is why I would not recommend too heavy weights), a really fast-paced, thorough upper body weight workout (I was huffing and puffing by then!), and a lower body floor routine using ankle weights, a weighted body ball (I have never used these, but they look like a good alternative to using a weight on one's leg for extra resistance), and/or a weight for added resistance. Again, the routine is fast-paced and she really works the muscles--outer/inner thighs, quads, hamstrings, buttocks...Believe me, I felt it all! She then moves to the abdomen using the ankle weights, body ball or dumbbell option, and finally finishes the routine with a good stretch. Believe me, one will be saying "THANK YOU!" when that stretch comes, but one will and should feel completely "worked out!"

During the routine, especially the standing lower and upper body, I could really feel my heartrate climb, so again, be prepared to feel some aerobic benefits with this weighted workout. When I first did the routine alternating upper and lower, I was really sore the next day, but it was a "good workout" sore. Doing the entire routine is something I will incorporate probably once-a-week in order to perform a totally tough, invigorating, top-of-the-line workout. One certainly gets one's money's worth, so to speak, but more important, one will receive an excellent workout--whether "mixing and matching" routines, or doing the entire workout.

Although I truly recommend this workout for those who want to improve their fitness through a good weight routine, I must stress again that if one is beginning, go easy or one may end up with injuries--so work into it. If one's a regular exerciser who wants to add a bit of toughness to one's routine, this DVD really works. Be prepared though...Once again I thought I was in great shape and STILL found myself very sore the next day!

Check out Karen's body during the workout--she has great muscles and muscle tone, which is a great incentive! Good job Karen!

This is a wonderful weight training DVD.

- There is a 6.5 minute warm up

- 6.5 minutes lower body workout (standing up) with dumbbells

- 20 minutes upper body workout with dumbbells

- 30 minutes lower body on the floor with ankle weights

- 15 minutes of abs (great section)

- 6 minutes of stretching

I like this DVD because:

- It's also aerobic. Except for the lower body on the floor routine and the abs routine, she has you moving around while you're lifting weights. Upper body and lower body moves are often combined.

- You get a rather long workout if you choose. Personally I can't do the whole thing in one sitting. It's really intense.

- It really challenges your muscles and gets them to that place where you don't think you can do another rep, but you do. So the muscle has that good fatigue afterwards.

What I don't like about it:

- They are little goofy. They hoot and she teases them about more reps. It's a little co-ed movie-ish.

- She doesn't really tell you what the count is and then she'll change it on you. I'm not sure; but maybe she does this so you don't allow yourself to relax at the end of a set because you know it's about to end. Maybe she wants to keep you on your toes?? Not sure.

My criticisms are there are form corrections missing in some exercises and there is really no proper breathing instruction. Their outfits are dated (which is amusing) but the exercises are very challenging and some of the moves were awkward for me and could be really dangerous to a "nubie". I didn't really groove on the warm-up portion at all - it was okay. However, I thought the upper body work-out was effective and I thought her cool downs and stretching portions were great. Again, not for the uninitiated - should you buy this DVD I would recommend doing a run through with no weights (or if you must use 1-3 lb wrist weights) so you can concentrate on getting the moves/form correct. There are no fancy foot moves which I like. I've done many home video workouts and this one was really long and super tough. I'm really traditional so I will stick to my Tammy & Minna videos. Note: the DVD is set up so you can break the workout into segments.

This dvd is an absolute must, a classic and totally necessary for anyone serious about keeoing fit.One can do it in parts or all together, which is quite a challenge.Karen is thorough and knows exactly what shes talking about.

Karen Voight did it again! I can't help but wonder if she is part bionic woman! This workout is very intense and effective, but also very fun and exciting! Gets your blood pumping and your muscles burning. It's a great overall work-out- you won't be disappointed, and you won't get bored!

The main menu allows you to pick and choose different routines (i.e. abs, buns, upper body, etc.), so I typically do a bit after a good walk/run on the treadmill as part of my regime.