Customer Reviews

Kathy Smith: Great Buns and Thighs Step Workout

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Kathy Smith's Great Buns and Thighs will make you sore the next day and will tone your legs. However, if you are looking for cardio, this is not it. There are 3 segments to "step" to:
Segment 1: 16 minutes long with lots of squats and leg lifts while stepping.
Segment 2: 10 minutes long with squats, squats, squats and some minor stepping.
Segment 3: 10 minutes long with all floor work to tone the legs. You work 1 side then the other then both sides while on your back.

My problem with this video is that it is not a STEP workout really. It just pretends to be one. Overall you get MAYBE 20 minutes of cardio out of it. Your heart rate will not really increase during this video. If you are looking for that, Kathy's other step tapes (see my other reviews) are good for cardio.

I love Kathy Smith's workouts and this is one of her best. It is a re-release in DVD form of one of her VHS released in the 1990's. The DVD breaks down like this:

- A 9 minute warmup
- Segment 1: 16 minutes of step aerobics
- Segment 2: 10 minutes of step aerobics focusing on the butt and thighs mixed with a standing-routine strength moves
- Segment 3: 10 minutes on the floor of strengthening your butt, inner and outer thighs and leg muscles.
- A 5 minute cool-down.

This is my second favourite stepping DVD (just behind the Kathy Smith step workout that I also reviewed). This one is slightly easier than her other step DVD but a fantastic workout for the lower body. You warmup and spend 16 minutes stepping and then another 10 minutes with a raised heart-rate doing more stepping / strength moves before you continue to floor exercises.

The one really nice aspect about this DVD is that it is not hard to follow. She leads you through the moves without it being to difficult or clumsy to follow. When I do this DVD, I follow it up with her DVD "Lift Weights to Lose Weight Volume 2" and do the 20 minute lower body workout on that to really work my butt / thighs / legs.

Overall, a fantastic workout!

This is an enjoyable, well-executed intermediate-level workout. I agree with a previous reviewer who indicated that this is not a pure cardio workout (but I'm okay with that). It has quite a bit of lower-body toning, which I consider a bonus because my heart rate is in the zone for most of the 50 minutes. By elevating my step to 8-10 inches and sometimes using the power options (I think she calls them "propulsion"), I get a very good cardio workout. While I rate this as an intermediate workout, Kathy offers easy ways to take it up or down a notch. It's not quite as intense as Karen Voight's Step Curcuit but it's more fun and works the body in different ways (for this routine, the step is positioned vertically rather than the traditional horizontal style).

I was apprehensive about buying this DVD because I feared that Kathy would annoy me. I was wrong - she manages to be entertaining while giving excellent instruction. I find her to be zaney but not over the top. She'll yell out a twangy "uh huh" like she's at a hoedown, making me laugh and enjoy myself. Her cueing is quite good yet personable - she makes a wrong call in the cool down but quickly recovers with humor.

The set and outfits are dated but the soundtrack is better than my other non-dance workouts. The beats are energetic and infused with voice (unfortunately, a rarity in exercise DVDs). Kathy leads a large group but I don't find them distracting. If anything, they motivate me to improve - some work at a more advanced level than Kathy (and me), using higher steps and stronger movements. I think this is a good workout to grow into whether you're a beginner or intermediate. Beginners, can opt for the low step, modified movements, and shorter routine.

The full routine is about 50 minutes long but goes by quickly. The warm-up is very good because it is long but gets my heart rate up. I really like some of the floor exercises. This is a good workout for the price - I tend to buy through amazon or deepdiscountdvd but often view the dvds at collagevideo.

This workout is excellent for intermediate exercisers. It consists of 3 segments: cardio, standing leg/bun work, and floor leg/bun work. Kathy has a great personality, and shows modifications for all fitness levels. A classic.

I've had the VHS version of this video for about 4 years (and now am going to purchase the DVD). When I do this workout every week, my lower body looks more toned, and I feel stronger when I walk anywhere. Other reviewers point out that it's not much of a step workout, but my heart rate really stays up there during the entire routine because of the concentrated lower body exercise. I think Kathy has a good mix of stepping and lower body work. The step is a great tool for lower body work anyway. Even though it's categorized as a more intermediate level, I find that each time I do the entire workout, it really kicks my butt. Overall, for lower body toning and cardiovascular, it's great and I would recommend it. I also thought that Kathy would be obnoxious, but she's very pleasant to work out to, and much more tolerable than people who appear on other workout videos I have.

I had this workout when it was only in VCR, and I wanted it again now... it is a good workout, really easy to follow, and it really works you out. You can do beginner and skip the hard segment and still sweat, and then when you are ready, you can start doing all segments and let me tell you, my buns and thighs really did get nice and firm the last time I did this regularly... so that is why I got it again... I got soft and now I need to firm it back up. Kathy is very good.

This workout really works. It is easy to follow and learn the steps, and by the end of the routine you can feel it.

I agree with what some others have said about this not truly being a step workout. I still really like it though. There is a 9 minute warm-up (even though on the back of the DVD, it says 6 minutes) in addition to the 3 main segments (Segment 1 is 16 mins, Segment 2 and 3 are 10 mins each) and a 5 minute cool down. So it is a nice long workout. The first segment is the one that is a true step workout. The second is mostly squats. The third is on the floor. So what I often do to make it a full step workout is to do the warm-up, do the first segment twice, then do the second segment, and either stop there or go on to segment 3.

The music is pretty yucky in spots; but you can get used to it and not really notice how icky it is. And if your opinion of Kathy Smith is similar to mine then you will find her a little annoying in this DVD like in others. But she's less goofy-cheerleader in this DVD than in some others. So she's a bit more tolerable. (I realize I'm hard on her. I prefer Karen Voight's demeanor to Kathy Smith's. Voight is more down-to-business.)

Overall, I think it is a great lower body workout; and if you repeat the first segment, you can make it very cardio-intensive. I've definitely noticed my legs getting stronger as a result.

This video has been a staple of my home exercise library for years and it's the one I keep going back to. I used to do it with wrist and ankle weights, and jumping (Kathy calls it "propulsion") at every opportunity - let me tell you, that was an intense cardio workout! It kept me in great shape and I loved the results.

Now that I am 17 weeks pregnant with my first baby, this is still my favorite fitness video, except I do the low-impact beginner variations of every routine. Hands down, it beats every other pregnancy fitness video I've tried. (Note: I do not do the floor exercises on this DVD now that I am pregnant.)

I recommend for anyone of any fitness level in order to feel great and get results. Exercise sessions are broken out well so you can cut out a segment if you don't have time. Kathy has great cueing and it's easy to follow: not as choreography-intensive as some other step videos. Enjoy!

This DVD works for me. I use it as a substitute when I can't make it to the gym. I've not done step aerobics in a long time and I really worked up a sweat. It's probably not a DVD for people who are intermediate or advance steppers they will probably find it boring.