Customer Reviews

Shaping Up With Weights for Dummies

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This video has a useful life of about two - four weeks. It sounds bad, but it really isn't. If you have no clue how to go about weight training, or if you just want to make sure your form is correct, this is perfect.

Tracey York leads a warm up, then lists the 12 exercises that she will cover. There are tips, warnings, and modifications shown through the video. The video ends with crunches.

Once you have perfected your form, you will be able to do the routine without the video.

If you have experience and are sure of your form or have worked with a personal trainer this video is not for you. You will cry with boredom.

Since you will probably not watch it often (once you master the workout), I think getting it on sale or used is best.

I am a middle-aged woman (smile) who has decided that adding some weight-training to her exercise program would be a good idea. I purchased this and have followed the routine three times. I'm already beginning to see results. This is a good program for a beginner. Good direction, sound, pacing. I really like this.

Especially excellent for those who are new to lifting weights. The instructor is encouraging and clear with directions. This features a warm-up section, and the instructor incorporates stretches inbetween and after sets of exercises. A great way to ease weight training into one's exercise program.

This video was good for teaching basic moves, although it goes so painfully slowly I found myself fast-forwarding through chunks of her babble after watching it the first time. Don't spend a lot of money on this, you won't watch it for very long, and you'll give it away to a friend after it has collected dust on the shelf for a while.

Great for learning basic weights that can be done easily in your living room. The instructor really explains how to do each exercise safely and most effectively, with modifications. The only complaint I have is that once you're familiar with it, you have to fastforward through the lengthy explanations. Maybe there needs to be a follow-up that's faster paced for more experienced users!

I've been using this for a coupleof weeks and think I am getting some type of benefit from this program. My only complaint is that I would have preferred to have the introductions to the exercises entered as seperate cahpters so they are easier to skip once the viewer understands those parts.

This was an excellent exercise disc. It was so much easier to exercise along with someone ( Tracy York) as the time flies by. Anyone can do these steps and it is a very thorough workout with exercises for every part of the body ( if you chose). 35 minutes is all I do. You can go further and there are tips to make it harder or easier to do them. I recommend it highly.

I agree with Ali in this is a good basic instruction dvd but I don't use it anymore either. You want to spend your time wisely working out and this just wastes valuable time. If you are a beginner and need to know how to do a weight lifting exercise correctly this is useful but after you get the basics down you will not use this dvd anymore.

Based on the "Dummies" series of books, "Shaping Up with Weights for Dummies" consists of twelve exercises with twelve repetitions that are each done twice. The video consists of an introduction and a warm up and the following exercises: squats; lunges; plie squats; one arm row; triceps one arm overhead extension; overhead press; biceps curl; shoulder raises; bent over fly; pushups; crunches; and oblique crunches. Some of the exercises require light weights - three to five pounds for women; eight to fifteen pounds for men; a chair; a mat or towel; and supportive athletic shoes.

"Shaping Up with Weights for Dummies" is ideal for those just beginning to exercise using weights. Tracy York is the instructor and she does a thorough job of explaining each and every move, showing practice moves before getting into the repetitions and also taking time to make sure your body is positioned correctly before doing each exercise. This is all done very slowly and you will not work up a sweat during the exercises. York also shows you variations in technique or tells you to add weights for more intensity, unfortunately, these suggestions come halfway through the exercise basically rendering the advice useless. The exercises first focus on the lower body, then the upper body, and finally the abs, so it is a thorough if somewhat unchallenging workout. Like in the Dummies books, there are icons that further explain what you are doing - the following icons pop up on the screen every so often: tip; jargon alert; beware; and myth busters. I thought these icons would be distracting but surprisingly they are not. Finally, while there is a warm-up segment on the DVD, there is no cool down, instead York has you stretch between the first set and second set of exercises.

"Shaping Up with Weights for Dummies" is excellent for people just starting an exercise routine but not challenging for someone who has been exercising for awhile.

I actually look forward to doing this every other day - I do wish the very end of the workout would have a workout encompassing all the moves we learned. I do highly recommend this for beginners!! I am going to order other "Dummies" workout DVD's!
Michele