Buy Upper Body Workout

Review by Sheri in Reho:

This is one of a series of DVDs which offer five 10-minute workouts which can be done individually, done as a 50-minute workout in sequence or mixed and matched to your preference. As usual, each 10-minute workout has a short warmup and cooldown that is tailored to the body part you’ll be working out in that segment. This DVD, Target Tone for Beginners, offers these workouts:

Thighs: Squats, lunges and various isolation moves are used to work those quadriceps. Be sure to pay attention when she tells you where your weight should be…if your weight isn’t in the right place, you won’t work the correct muscles.

Arms: You will first use a set of hand weights (instructor uses a 5-pound set as do I) to work your shoulder and arm muscles. Then, unlike many upper body workouts, you’ll do a series of exercises from the floor–pushups, planks, etc.

Buns: The strategy here is very similar to the thighs segment, but with different exercises that focus on the glutes. You will also take to the floor in this segment for rear leg lifts from a rather indelicate (but effective!) position.

Abs: This segment starts out standing, unlike the usual abs workout that is all about crunches. Once down on the floor, you will do planks as well as standard crunches.

PowerStretch: This segment is a series of stretches, both standing and on the floor, which work primarily the legs, but a little of everything else.

On the whole, I liked the DVD. I liked that she takes at least a slightly different approach on almost everything than some other workouts I’ve done so it doesn’t feel quite so repetitive as some do. As an instructor, I find her just a bit more annoying than the other 10-Minute Solution instructors; not hugely so, but a little too much perky cheerleading (I couldn’t count how many times I heard “Can ya do another 8? I know you can!”).

If you have done the Tamilee Webb “I Want That Body!” workout that includes arms, abs and buns, this is very similar except that it is doable on the first try, whereas I didn’t find Tami’s abs and buns segments were doable on the first try. Depends on how much of a challenge you want. If you’re just starting out, I’d recommend this. If you want a more challenging workout, I’d recommend Tamilee over this.

P.S. As a warning to those over 40 or 50, or anyone with knee problems…as is the case with any workout featuring a lot of squats and lunges, this workout is punishing on the knees. I wouldn’t suggest doing it 3 times a week or anything, but once a week should be doable.

Review by J. Carroll:

I am an on-again, off-again beginner trying to lose 40 pounds and not excerising as much as I should be. I wanted to tone my muscles while losing weight, so I tried this DVD and I couldn’t be happier. Cindy Whitmarsh is very pleasant and keeps you going without being abrasive. The exercises are all doable (I even have a bad back) and I feel great when I’m done. The 10 minute increments are perfect for squeezing in some toning during a busy day. Kudos to Ms. Whitmarsh!

Review by Brenda Metz:

I bought the ‘Firm Arms and Abs’ workout when it first came out in the early 90’s. I just recently reordered it and ‘Pure and Simple Stretch’ on DVD. Karen Voight really does know her stuff. The workouts are very effective and because Voight is so good at what she does the exercises are not dated. The “arm and ab” program seems easy yet produces astonishing results. If you do the suggested 3 workouts a week you will start seeing a change at the end of two weeks.

Review by continuous learner:

I love this program. The exercises are very safe and Karen Voight does an excellent job of describing safety and good form while doing the exercises. I had the VHS of this and just “upgraded” the the DVD. I have done this program on and off for years.

I really appreciate the other reviews people have written for exercise programs. Keep up the good work.

Review by Joseph Wuebben:

Hello readers and fellow lifters,

As the author of this book (co-author, actually, along with Jim Stoppani, PhD, one of the foremost authorities in the field of exercise science), I thought I’d share with potential readers why we wrote Stronger Arms & Upper Body the way we did…

Our goal for this book was to present both basic and cutting edge training advice in the most efficient, reader-friendly format possible. We didn’t want to beat around the bush with unnecessary information that won’t really help you in the gym. From Chapter 1, we dove right into the information you can use in the gym today.

In the first part of the book, we explain how to design your own training program, but in Chapters 11 and 12 we went ahead designed full training programs, and even individual workouts, for those who would rather not design their own programs. That makes this book good for anyone – beginning lifters to advanced gym rats – looking to build muscle, lose bodyfat and improve overall health.

The reason for having a chapter devoted solely to individual workouts (Chapter 12) was to cater to those who don’t want to do an entirely new program – these individuals (who often tend to be advanced lifters) are happy with their existing programs, but still like to try a new workout every now and then to keep things fresh.

Chapter 10 is truly for the advanced lifter, as it’s all about high-intensity, cutting edge techniques you can employ to take your workouts (and your physique) to the next level. Hardcore gym rats will love the novel techniques included in this section.

I hope everyone who reads this book will at least find a few useful tips and techniques to add to their workouts for better results in upper body training, whether the goal is to add muscular size, strength, definition or all of the above.

Thank you for considering our book.

Joe Wuebben

Senior Features Editor

Muscle & Fitness magazine

Review by Edward L. Himmelberger:

Great book to further your upper body muscle development. Clear and concise instructions as well as good pictures to point you in the right direction.

Review by Benjamin Bretz:

I was a little leery of making this purchase. Normally, products that seem too simple for too reasonable of a price just never end up satisfying in the way you hope (e.g. The Dodge Neon, anything on Jack in the Box’s value menu, my two years at DeVry). But this? Oh. Oh, my faith has been restored in cheap American products.

Because, you see, kids. This is a WELL ENGINEERED cheap American product. Yes, a rarity. I was worried that it would be difficult to assemble. I was worried that it wouldn’t really hang from my door frame. I was worried that it would break under my underwhelming 155lbs. I was worried the Utah Jazz wouldn’t be able to gear up and start winning road games as the playoffs grew nigh.

I mostly worried for naught.

I assembled the Iron Gym Extreme in about 15 minutes. Probably could have done so a lot more quickly, but I was distracted by Boston Legal on DVD, and by gunning my power ratchet wrench at my cat to stop her from playing in the packing materials.

(Note: You do NOT need your own tools to assemble this product. It comes with a little tool. But you can speed up the process with your own tools. You should have your own tools anyway, you know? Be a man.)

Once you assemble the Iron Gym Extreme, you’ll need to pick a doorway. It seemed to fit all my doorways perfectly, but I have heard word of older houses having issues. You will need to insert a small metal wedge into the top of your doorjamb. This helps to secure the device and make sure it doesn’t fall on anyone’s head. It’s not as scary as it sounds, you just kinda shove the thing behind the wood. Then you kinda wiggle it and say “Will that hold it?” Then a few minutes later you say “Gol-darn, it WILL hold it. Ain’t that somethin’.” Should any friends be standing nearby, this would be an excellent time to exchange high-fives.

I then chin-upped. Well, I tried. God as my witness I had no idea I was such a puss. I had like no upper-body strength. I’m pretty sure I heard my cat laughing at me somewhere down the hall behind me, but the blood was thumping in my ears so I can’t be sure. But the bar sure worked!

I didn’t give up and kept at the bar. Now, no, several weeks later I’m nowhere close to entering any Ultimate Fighting Competitions or anything, but I can do buttloads of reps now, and my cat has stopped mocking me.

This product has been excellent. Buy with confidence.

The Utah Jazz, however, appear to be headed towards a first-round sweep at the hands of the L.A. Lakers.

Crap.

Review by I. Eisenhood:

Depending on the size of your door frame the rating can be anywhere from 1-5 stars. The assembly is pretty straight forward (the instructions weren’t very good, but you really just need to look at the picture and put the pieces in the correct place). It’s a solid piece of equipment and the quality seems good. Here’s the problem: it says that this will fit any door frame from 24″ to 32″. What I discovered is that the ends of the ‘U’ shaped pieces stick out past the bar that is supposed to rest against the molding. This makes the rubber protective sleeves useless since they are not touching the molding. If your door frame is less than 31″ then you will want to find another product. If your frame is 31″ to 33″ then this would be great. My door frame is 28.5″ and I’m having to place towels between the molding and the metal ends so I don’t gouge the wood. If I could make another purchase I would buy one with a simpler grip system that actually made use of the foam/rubber padding. Also, you don’t need to mount this piece to your wall. It works just fine without the wall mount.

Review by Little Miss Cutey:

This is another fantastic workout from 10 Minute Solution. There’s no excuse for not doing some form of workout when there are these kinds of workouts on the market. This particular dvd is really good and will definately help to get rid of your trouble zones.

Each of the segments uses a resistance band to help you sculpt various areas of your body – you get a 6 foot band with the dvd. When you change your hold on the band, you get different intensity with every move you do. You can make up your own routine by mixing up the order in which you play this. There is the usual upper body, lower body, abs, arms and shoulders and a complete body segment. Amy is a brilliant instructor who is enthusiastic and encouraging, but not annoying. She cues really well and that just makes this whole workout that much better.

If you are short on time, then this is for you. You can do either 10 minutes alone or join a couple of segments together to get a longer workout. You will have to combine this with some cardio, but I can’t recommend this highly enough because of the fun factor and the fact you can fit this in on any day. I love it.

Review by Susan C. Ramsey:

This is my first experience with an exercise DVD and I love working with the resistance band while doing exercises. The explanations are cleaar and easy to follow and even though I am 70 years old, I am committed to getting into shape. The exercises are fun and even though I cannot do the floor exercises, I do what I can and feel good about it!

Review by Beth Cholette:

Shape Your Body was Cindy Crawford’s first workout video, which she created in collaboration with personal trainer Radu. Shortly after its release, it was criticized for containing dangerous moves, largely because Cindy sometimes shows poor form and often moves much too quickly through the exercises; however, experienced exercisers who know how to modify should not have any problems. The video contains 3 strength-based workouts: a 45-minute workout focused on stretching and toning your legs plus working your buttocks, chest, back, and abs; a 40-minute workout aimed at building power and strength in your legs plus working your shoulders, arms, and abs; and a quick, 10-minute full body training routine using no equipment. Because the first two workouts target different muscle groups, they are designed to be performed on consecutive days, while the third workout is meant as a short bonus for days that you don’t have time do more than that. The style of these workouts is high repetition, low weight training; you definitely don’t have time to switch to heavier weights between the various exercises. Radu provides voiceover instruction for the first two workouts and occasionally appears on screen to adjust Cindy’s form; Cindy herself also makes frequent comments throughout the workouts, which are filmed in a variety of indoor and outdoor settings to a pop soundtrack.

The first workout begins with a 6-minute warm-up containing fast-moving stretches. The next 12 minutes focus on standing leg work: you’ll do a series of “leg swings” while holding on to a chair for balance and moving to the front, side, and back (these are sort of modified ballet-type movements). You then perform a lunge combined with a front kick. The leg swings and lunges are repeated for a total of three sets of each. Next, you’ll move to the floor for 4 minutes of buttocks work, again doing a tri-set: pelvic lifts lying on your back with your heels on the chair, leg lifts lying on your side, and leg lifts back from an all-fours position. Moving on to the upper body, you do 3 sets of 10 push-ups. Next comes a lying tri-set of flies, chest presses, and lat pullovers, again repeating for 3 total sets. Continuing with back work in a standing position, you do a 1-armed row, a standing double row, and a seated row tri-set; total time for the upper body portion is 10 minutes. Last comes 7 minutes of abs work, and in this segment, Cindy moves particularly fast. She performs crunches, a full sit-up, reverse curls, and a side jackknife for 3 sets of each. The workout ends with 5 minutes of lying and seated stretches for a total of just under 43 minutes.

The second workout begins with a 5 ½ minute warm-up that is virtually the same as in Workout 1. Again starting with the legs, you’ll perform an interesting side lunge series in which you lunge, lift, and turn, raising your back leg. This is combined with a plie squat, front lunge, and regular squat, with the entire series being repeated for 3 sets. To finish of the legs, you do just 1 set of leg swings from each of the 4 positions, bringing the legs segment in at a total of 9 ½ minutes. Next comes the 9-minute arms segment. Here, you’ll do 8 different exercises (bicep curls, barbell press, flies, triceps kickbacks, reverse curls, shoulder press, front raise, French press), repeating the entire series 3 times total. Finally, there is a 9-minute abs section in which Cindy performs a variety of crunches at a lightning-fast speed; in fact, the moves are better thought of as pulse rather than crunches, as there is little time for a full crunch. The workout ends with a 4.5 minute cool-down stretch and comes in at just under 39 minutes.

For the last workout, Cindy is instructing alone without Radu. She does not use any equipment and is not even wearing shoes for this segment, but she addresses virtually the entire body in this short 10-minute workout. After a few quick warm-up stretches, Cindy begins with the legs, alternating squats and lunges for a total of 3 sets of each. Moving to the floor, she performs 3 sets of 10 push-ups using different hand positions. Next comes the abs work, and Cindy uses 4 different crunches to target the upper abs, obliques, lower abs, and entire midsection. Finally, she does some pelvic tilts to work the buttocks, and the workout ends with a brief stretch. I would rate these workouts as at an intermediate level and above; they would not be a appropriate for beginners who would be unfamiliar with how to modify the moves for safety. The exercises included are varied and interesting and I felt thoroughly worked out after each session. Despite these positives, this is not a video that I am interested in doing on a regular basis, mainly because the extremely fast pace made the workout feel more like a chore to me; I prefer Cindy’s A New Dimension, which moves at a slightly more reasonable pace. However, if you are an intermediate-to-advanced exerciser who likes performing high repetition strength training workouts at a quick pace, you may enjoy these workouts. Overall, I rate the video as 3 ½ stars.

Review by Rizzo:

Apart from Cindy Crawford’s “New Dimension”, this one is a vigorous workout! Included with two separate 45-minute sessions is a 10 minute session for those days when you are in a hurry. RADU the fitness trainer is considered New York’s toughest trainer. He has worked with models, actors and executives. Shots include the beautiful beach, rooftop, workout roomMUSICAL CHOICE is not the usual instrumental used in most videos; her choice is similar to her other video. Credits of musical selections are listed at the end, most songs performed by Primal Scream, Seal contributes “Crazy”, “Ice” by Daniel Lanois, “State of Shock” Revenge and “Dis Moi Dis Moi” by Mitsou. It’s unique and refreshing. ALTERNATE DAYS – The video is incorporated to do on alternate days. The nearly 100 minute tape is structured in two separate workouts. Workout I- 45 minutes is focused on leg work, use a chair, swing the legs this way, that way, back, front, etc. This “legwork” isn’t usually done in most other workout experts, but it is very effective. She then continues a vigorous workout with buns, abs, chest (with small weights). Workout II is similar with concentration to the arms and shoulders, and more abdominal work. MINI WORKOUT – 10 minutes. This is done to get a real quick workout when time is essential. This is a challenging workout! I recommend it to anyone. It isn’t difficult, it is just about getting to do it to make it easier! …….MzRizz.