Customer Reviews

Kathy Smith: Build Muscle Shrink Fat

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is not a new workout. This is a re-release of Kathy Smith's Matrix Method Ultimate Sculpt. That workout has plenty of reviews here on Amazon. In my opinion it's an ok workout, nothing special. The main thing I just wanted to tell others is that this is not a new workout. If you own her Matrix Method Ultimate Sculpt workout you already own this workout. It's just a new title given for an old workout - just a shiney new package is all.

I am very disappointed that amazon does not have this product listed as a re-release. I am a huge kathy smith fan and have many of her dvd's. I was so excited to see the 3 new dvd's listed for release on dec 18th and ordered 2 of them. In getting the package at home and going to do the workout today I realized that it was a re-release of ultimate sculpt. I went directly to the kathy smith website to email her contact people and see that her website has clearly stated that this is a re-release. I blame amazon for not advertising this correctly. The original dvd is great, I love it, so for those of you who don't have it yet, this will be a great workout. It is very complete and makes you feel like you have covered working out all body part as well as cardio. Shame on Amazon though!!!!!

I purchased this workout a couple days ago and just did this workout this morning. I was very impressed overall!

I'm a certified personal trainer who is also an avid collector of fitness dvds (a couple hundred at least). As a trainer I think it's important to stay fresh and continue to see what others are doing and dvds are one of many excellent ways to get exposure to a wide variety of approaches and concepts.

One thing I really respect about Kathy Smith is that she not only puts out consistently strong products, but she isn't afraid to get input from others (such as Angela Freeman in this dvd, Rod Stryker in her Yoga Series, Keith Cook for Kickboxing etc.). Not only that, but she often has those same folks in her actual projects and gives credit where credit is due! (this is not as common as one might think).

This program is definitely for an intermediate and beyond exerciser. This is because there are complex movements involved that require a lot of neuromuscular coordination and if someone isn't already experienced with training they definitely might be risking injury.

It's very important to have an awareness of what is safe for your specific body. There are some movements that might be contraindicated for you and you will need to know how to modify. Even though I'm a fitness professional and very fit, I was in a car wreck many years ago that led me to have cervical spine surgery. As a result of both the injury and surgery, there are certain types of overhead movements that are unsafe for me to perform. I'm fortunate in that I have the knowledge to know how to modify or completely substitute movements. Someone without that experience might get themselves into trouble. While this should apply to any workout program, this particular program would certainly bear that out. This isn't a criticism of the dvd, which I think is great, but it's still an important consideration.

For example, this program contains multi-directional lunges (which are also combined with upper body movements). Front lunges in particular put a novice exerciser at the risk for placing too much shear force against their knees. With my own clients I always start with more stationary types of lunges (in fact I start with Yoga poses such as the various Warrior poses) and then move into reverse lunges in order to learn proper alignment and get a better inner feeling of the movements (kinesthetic awareness) before moving into forward lunge type movements.

For those who have done programs like P90X this program would be in the same general category as something like Core Synergistics. The exercises are different but the concept is very similar which is: multiplaner, multijoint, combination movements. What this means is that you might combine a rotating lunge with a row or press, so you are moving in a variety of directions with various combinations of lower and upper body movements at the same time.

This program definitely includes a lot of lower body work overall, squats and plies are present in addition to the lunges already mentioned.

There are also periods of "speed" work where you build into quick shuffle movements which are great for getting your heart rate up and also for working the muscles in a side to side pattern (in what is technically called the `Frontal Plane').

This dvd is broken up into sections and has the main workout, a core section and a flexibility section as well.

I particularly like the fact that the core section doesn't contain crunches. This falls in line with the cutting edge type of research done by people like Stuart McGill (a low back expert) who believe that repeated spinal flexion causes too much trauma to the intervertebral discs. Several exercises shown on this dvd are planks, side planks and bird-dog exercises which are considered by most knowledgeable trainers to be safe core exercises which not only do not aggravate the spine but in fact strengthens the core stabilizers and therefore gives stability to the spine.

The flexibility section is very well done and does a great job at targeting the muscles that were worked in the other sections of the dvd, they aren't just random stretches thrown in for the sake of it.

So for a person who has already achieved a solid level of fitness and is looking for a different, more functional type of workout to do at home, I'd highly recommend this program. But this is definitely NOT for beginners nor those with knee issues.

If you are a stone beginner, especially if you have been sedentary and/or carrying some extra weight, I'd recommend getting some basic instruction with a certified fitness professional to learn basic exercise technique and what is safe for your specific body (and how to make modifications). I'm not just making this suggeston because I'm a personal trainer, but I have known about too many people that try to do training with a program like this and get injured because they try to follow verbatim what the person on the video is doing even though it may be completely inappropriate for their current fitness level or health status. What you might save by preventing a possible injury (not to mention medical expenses) is well worth the price of sessions from a really sound trainer.

Like the other reviewers said, this is a re-release. I like this workout because its less than an hour and still feels like a GREAT workout. There is a workout, core and stretch section, so you can mix and match if you are short on time. The workout combines cardio and strength training, so its efficent and effective. There are options for beginners and if I need to make it more difficult, I just add more weights. The core section is pretty good as well, and there are lots of options, so you can work your abs at your level. I sweat a lot and often times I am sore the next day. The first time I did this DVD my legs hurt for a couple days, and I have pretty strong legs from years of dance.

Concerns: If you have bad knees, this may be a little bit hard on them, but I manage to get through it every time. This DVD is not made for a true beginner unless you like having something to work towards. I need to feel pushed to enjoy a DVD for longer than a week.

First, I'll note that, although I own several of Kathy Smith's dvds I am not biased towards her...I've given one or two of them just one star before when the cueing is bad.

That said, this one is a real winner!

How I measure caloric burn:
First, let me add that I wear a bodybugg to monitor my daily caloric expenditure. I say this only so you'll know what I note is based upon scientific measurement, rather than simply perceived exertion. It can also monitor calories burned per minute and just during a workout so I have great measurement in how a fitness dvd does, regardless of whether I feel I'm burning a lot or not. And I've amassed a large fitness dvd library over the years because I workout to them 6 days a week so I have a few to compare it to...

Caloric burn:
okay, so that said, I've learned that most dvds will fall into cardio dvds which tend to burn more calories as you do them and strength dvds which burn less during the workout but helps to continue burning more throughout the rest of the day and develps muscle which also raises metabolism. I have a much harder time finding a dvd that does both. One of the Crunch dvds does this and the Biggest Loser dvds are all pretty good at it as well. This one is one of those rare exercise dvds that builds and tones but scorches the calories and keeps your heart rate up the entire time.

Cueing:
Excellent. In some dvds Kathy can trip me up BADLY but this one is excellent and very easy to follow along to in spite of it being fast paced and full of energy.

Toning:
Full body workout, even standing ab work. Head to toe.

Cardio:
Keeps your heart rate in the target fat burning zone AND builds muscle

Equipment: You'll need hand weights. She suggests light and heavy to medium but I used 6-7 lb the whole time in each hand. My preferred weights.

Instruction: Good instruction and advice on workout out safely and for the best effect.

Energy: good but not with some of the "wooop! "yeahs!" that Kathy has in some dvds that get a tad overdone and irritating at times...this one is upbeat but no silly screaming out by the backout team.

Conclusion: I can't really find anything I'd change about this one. I mean sometimes Kathy isnt super high energy as though she's really loving what she's doing but that's not a huge thing, just if I had to pick sometjhing in comparison to some other instructors...but the main thing is this one will do what it says...tone you and trim the fat and you'll be able to easily follow along.

I just bought the DVD. I have never done any of Kathy's other videos. I had a baby 15 months ago and have 30lbs to loose. I started working out a few months ago and stopped, so I didn't think I would be able to do the first 30 minute portion, but I finsihed it without stopping. I did not use any weights, because it was my first time. I was able to add the 10 minute cool down, which was really helpful. I think it's a pretty easy workout for beginners because she stops enough for you to catch your breath and doesn't do that many repetitions of each move.

I found this dvd to be pretty intense especially on your knees. It is a great workout for those who are young and have no joint issues. I have Kathy Smith's Project You (first dvd) and love it!

Well Kathy does it again. She always manages to make interesting workouts. The first 30 minutes are with hand-held weights and many variations on sqats and lunges with interesting upper-body moves. It is a great workout. The Core Conditioning is "Crunch-free"....which pleases me. Nice stretching,,,,good to see that she has not ignored this important aspect of a workout. Good Bonus Challenge workout of 12 minutes too. Even after all these years and so many workouts under her belt, she still has to work on her "natural rhythm" to moving to the music. She just does not hear the downbeat. She has been lucky enough to surround herself with good choreographers and participants that she can occasionally glance at to get back on the beat. Her energy and enthusiasm
are contagious and the choreography is always good, no matter what DVD she produces. I have many and love them all. You will never go wrong with one of her productions. Always good,effectful workouts and great choreography.

This workout makes my knees hurt every time I do it. I was dissapointed in the overall variety. Lots of bouncing and lunges.

This one in my opinion is a good workout, I have been working out
for awhile and this one kicked my butt at first. Kathy hits all
the areas so when you are done you feel like you got a good all
over body workout. I would recommend this DVD for someone that has
been working out for awhile. I also like Jackie Warner and Kelly
Coffey Meyer workouts theya are challenging.