Customer Reviews

Men's Health: The Belly Off! Workout - The Strength Training Routine

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

 

 

I really like this DVD. It's not too fast paced or exhausting, yet if you're doing it right, you will be out of breath getting a good workout. I just did it yesterday and I'm definitely feeling it in my chest, shoulders, back and abs.

The DVD consists of a warmup followed by a cardio segment, then 2 supersets, which are 2-3 combination strength exercises which you repeat 3 times. This is followed by a "strength circuit," which is a quicker series of moves, and of course there's a cooldown and stretch. At the end, there's a separate abs section.

I think it's pretty good as a well-rounded strength training DVD. It hits all the major muscle groups - chest and triceps (with lots of pushups), shoulders (shoulder press), back (bentover row), core, biceps (curls), quads (lots of squats), and hamstrings (deadlifts). They're all combination exercises, which I are supposed to be better than simple isolation exercises.

The look/feel of the DVD is also really nice. The presenter is this guy who reminds me of a really positive football coach, and there's a chick there for some reason who demonstrates lower-intensity versions of the moves. The music is a nice upbeat pop rock mix which gives it a good feel.

Only negative I can come up with is that the guy really doesn't tell you how much weight to use, but I guess it's pretty self-explanatory (as much as you can handle and still do the routine).

Overall, definitely part of my strength training rotation. It's a bit tough to find strength DVDs that are tailored to men, but this one fits the bill just right.

I would consider myself at an intermediate level of fitness. Great format and production quality. I have steadily increased the amount of weights I use and get a great workout every time. This has turned out to be one of my favorite weight workouts. Really like this instructor --- am hoping men's health will produce more of these workouts with him.

This is an intense workout that is good for building a lean muscular body with a flat stomach and gaining strength. However, if you are after building muscle mass to get big, then this DVD is not for you. But if you want a lean, ripped body, it will help you achieve your goals if you follow it through.

Simply one of the best workout DVDs I've seen. At an intermediate level it enables me to get my heart rate up with a good sweat while working all the major areas.

A special note for those with back problems. I have two herniated disks so I have to be extra cautious as to what I attempt. I started off slow and cautious and have inserted the "Cobra" yoga posture at the end of each set. For me this modification has worked out very well. I have been able to move from 5 to 10 to 15 lb with no problems and will be moving to 20 lb on each dumbbell next week.

I started in March and it is now October of the same year so I think this 8 month span of interest shows that this DVD is still enjoyable to follow and doesn't drive a person batty.

Nice quick workout, good instructions and good form, with emphasis on safe performance of exercises. Exercises are standard and straightforward, with some nice small variations, for example in push-ups go halfway down and hold, then go all the way down and hold and then go up.

The only reason that I did not give it 5 stars is that I would have liked to receive a spreadsheet to keep a log of my workouts & the DVD does not coincide with the book. Otherwise, the web support of the program is pretty good. They appear to make the efforts to improve the website ($ subscription). This is a good book that gives you a diet to work with and a workout program that you can do in your garage with a good set of dumbbells.