Customer Reviews

Trainer's Edge - Killer Abs and Back with Michael Olajide

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Killer Abs and Back is a program which focuses on strengthening the core area of the body, namely your abdominals and back. Instructor Michael Olajide begins with a few minutes of some simple stretches (these days, it is usually considered a no-no to stretch the muscles without first warming them up). The cardio warm-up comes next, which consists of several minutes of high-impact moves wuch as jogs, knee-ups, and jumping jacks; I found myself modifying with marches here. Michael then moves into the core cardio work, which was thankfully low-impact. The moves are deceptively easy-looking: there are a lot of kickboxing-type moves such as twists, knee lifts, and punches, but they are performed at such a fast past as to make them quite challenging. Furthermore, Michael adds light dumbbells to some of the twists, which further increases the difficulty level; I found myself doing some of the moves at a slower pace rather than trying to keep up with Michael's double and triple time. At one point, a body bar is used for balance, but you could easily go without. This section of the standing work was about 18 minutes long, and the time went by very quickly. To finish off the cardio, there is a short (4 minutes) but intense jumprope segment. I did this section without the rope, but I still really felt it, especially because you're again doing high-impact moves. Before moving to the floor, I liked that Michael took just a few minutes to allow the heart rate to slowly lower back to normal.

In the 13-minute floor segment, Michael continues to combine traditional exercises with more unique moves. He begins with some basic crunches but does several variations with a high number of repetitions (usually 32, but he sometimes cheats and adds extra!). Michael adds ankle weights for just a single exercise (which I found to be a bit cumbersome): it's sort of like a Pilates teaser move in which you raise and lower one leg and then come up into a v-sit position; he then does a full v-sit move similar to a full Pilates teaser. The floor work finishes with a particularly difficult move in which you lie flat (supporting yourself with your hands under your buttocks), raise your head and shoulders, lower your legs to close to the floor, and then move your legs up and down in small range of motion. This was VERY challenging, especially since Michael performs MANY repetitions; I had to take breaks and substitute Pilates toe taps instead. Michael ends the program with a few minutes of seated stretches, bringing the entire workout in at about 40 minutes.

Overall, I really enjoyed this workout: I thought it was a nice blend of cardio and toning work, and at just 40 minutes, I know I'll be able to fit it in often. Although there didn't seem to be much work specific to the back, I felt it in my lats the next day as well as deep in my abdominal area. One thing I did not like is the way that Michael kept taking breaks from doing the exercises himself in order to instruct his two female background exercisers; he makes jokes about doing this, but I would have preferred to be able to watch him working the entire time. However, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this video to anyone looking for some unique core work.

I won't deny, this is a great workout, great abs sections and aerobics/jumping sections.
What I like about this workout is that it mixes tae bo type moves (such as twists and knee lifts) with some pilates moves, which makes the abs sections even tougher! and it is what I usually do: tae bo and pilates!
Overall a great workout for the abs!!
I would also encourage people to check out the Tae Bo "ultimate abs" video and the mtv pilates dvd. Both amazing abs workouts!!

He is the REAL DEAL...and yes you feel it....incorporate this into your other cardio and strength workout you will feel the difference in your abs and back in no time....

This is a nice ab workout. The workout is about 40 minutes. It is nicely chaptered. The workout contains both standing and floor ab routines. The standing work consists mainly of trunk rotations, knee lifts, & boxing manuevers (punching down, punching straight, hooks, upper cuts, wide punches, punching combos, etc.). A short (5 1/2 minutes) jump rope segment follows the standing ab section. After the jump rope segment, you do floor ab work (approx. 13 minutes). A short stretch follows. A bonus glute routine is also included on the DVD.This was a nice change of pace. I found the standing ab work very effective. Michael also adds a new twist to floor work. It's a great buy!

I disagree with reviewers who claim that the back is not exercised in this video. I am in very good shape, but my lower back muscles were soar from all of the twists. This is great, because these are precisely the muscles I need to strengthen to prevent lower back injuries.

This was well-cued. I wore a heart rate monitor and my numbers were consistently between 120 and 150 during the first part, which is a kind of cardio-circuit training.

There's no need to purchase equipment, but having at least a three pound weight is useful for the side twists.

Fun workout. I also enjoyed Michael on Kathy's Aerobox workout, which is only available on VHS. I'm glad to see this new workout on DVD.

My only complaint (a compliment in disguise) is that the standing boxing session is not long enough. But I guarantee you, your whole body will feel the workout afterward. I tell you, there is no drug like adrenaline -- and this video will deliver the perfect dosage to get the day started or to help shrug off the unwanted stress in life at night time. Thank you Michael -- I look forward to a more challenging sequel to your series.

I bought this DVD thinking this was finally the workout I needed to get rid of my potbelly. I have tried ALL THE AB workout DVD's. Although I thought it was somewhat effective, it is not the best. Swiss Ball ABs is a much better DVD with very difficult exercises... that will give you killer abs. I don't believe I could get killer abs doing this DVD. The cardio part of this video will raise your heart rate, and I thought it was actually better than the floor work routine. You need a body bar and such for this part (but you can definitely just do without it--it's just for stability). ALso, I didn't have a jump rope but you only use it for like a minute or so. Ankle weights are optional on one of the ab exercises. Overall, not a bad purchase.

Michael is a total sweetheart (and gorgeous, which never hurts!), very motivating and as a previous reviewer pointed out, not at all irritating; it is a great pity, therefore, that the sound quality used on his voice occasionally muffled his instructions. The music gets you pumped, though, including the amusing line, "I can't make the eight count" - and we all know how THAT feels! This tough programme is NOT for beginners; apart from anything else, you absolutely need to know something of form (and preferably of Pilates) to do this safely, as very little is explained, especially in the standing sections. But I'm not a beginner, and I loved it, especially the fact that it contained some really different moves, which - as a daily home exerciser - I need to keep me interested. The box tells you that you will need very light handweights (2-3 pounds), a body bar, a jump rope; it sneakily doesn't tell you that you will need ankle weights, although you will. In my opinion, you could easily do this without a body bar; I have one and used it, but it was really just for balance and you could use a chair. It's the skipping rope I have a problem with: unless you are lucky enough to have a basement or garage to work out in, or you live in a house with enormously high ceilings and no carpet or furniture, I can't see how you could use one indoors. What I did was to do the exercises miming the rope, aerobic style; probably some of the benefit is lost doing that, but not I think a significant amount. A similar modification ought to have been shown. Overall, I liked this product a lot, and believe it will be a useful addition to my training programme, but I would say approach with some care.

When I bought this, I wanted something specifically designed to stregthen my abs (as a wannabe dancer, this is the most important muscle group to keep strong) and I wanted slightly different moves that the traditional cruches you see in so many DVDs.

The DVDs greatest strength is in the first half, when powerful, quick moves tone my "core" in a way that traditional crunches can't. While crunches and isometric exercises will definitely get me strong, adding quick, powerful boxing-based moves add necessary variety to my workout. The combination of cardio and strenth based manuevers are fun and can be very intense!

The second half is somewhat more traditional, yet I learned some new moves I had never seen before.

Another strenght is the length of the DVD. 40 minutes is enough time to achieve a burn, but not so much time that I need to carve out an incredible chunk of time to do it. The DVD has achieved longevity in my collection; after a couple of years I still like to do it once a week or so along with my other workouts.

Simply put, this workout is practical. It may not be as innovative as other creative workouts, but it achieves what it sets out to do with a bit of creativity. The cueing may be off in some parts due to the fact that the audio is added to the DVD in post-production (come on! you should know that!) which isn't the instructor's fault. It's really easy to make up for on your own if you can count to 8 with relative ease.

I definitely reccomend this video if you need a solid, challenging workout for your abs that is different from just doing a set of crunches and works out your abs in a variety of ways.

I just want to say that I know I am in shape but the next day, my abs were sore. The twisting really works