This workout uses the body bar for every exercise-- even push-ups! Although the cover says this workout is for all fitness levels, it really calls for experienced strength trainers. The format includes many supersets, an advanced technique. The unusual body bar variations of standard strength exercises call for good balance and a strong, stable torso. Lower and upper body exercises alternate throughout the workout, letting you work a muscle group very hard and then rest it while you work another.

After an invigorating warm-up, the standing workout starts with squats, 3 sets for shoulders and upper back, and dead lifts for the lower back. Then it's lunges, step-ups and two types of rows for the back and biceps curls. The floor workout starts with a unique push-up variation followed by a superset of 4 triceps exercises that guarantees they'll feel the burn. You'll rest the bar on your foot for the lying inner and outer thigh lifts and across your hips for the pelvic bridgework. The abs get only one set (with the bar), followed by the thorough final stretch. Each exercise (with a few exceptions) gets one set of 20 reps that are done at four different tempos.

Keli Roberts cues this unusual tempo variation very well and also allows plenty of set-up time for the more unusual starting positions. A woman in back shows intermediate (not beginner!) versions of the exercises. Two weights of body bars work best, so that you can lighten up for the more difficult exercises. Of course you can also use dumbbells.

On Body Bar Strength & Conditioning DVD along with Challenge and Body Bar Basics workouts.

Using 9-pound body bar for every exercise, Sherry methodically challenges your muscular endurance for half an hour by working one body part at a time in long sets. Although it's described as a total body workout, the real focus is the upper body, especially the upper back, with a token 5 minutes spent on lower body and merely two and a half minutes on the abs. Despite it's brevity and the use of a light bar, this is a workout for experienced exercisers who know strength training basics and are looking for a different approach. In an effort to make this workout different -- as if using a body bar for every exercise (except push-ups) isn't already a novelty - -the lifting pace of the reps is constantly changing.

While the line-up of exercises is pretty basic, the constantly changing lifting tempo is what makes this workout unique and frustrating -- it's hard to get a rhythm going. Sets usually start with slow-motion 4-up, 4-down counts for a few reps, speed up to 2-2 counts, then up-to-tempo (1-1), and often include fast pulses. Some pulsing reps are at the top of the lift, some at the bottom, and occasionally they're in the middle. Getting the rhythm of these pulses can be difficult as the three women on screen often aren't pulsing in sync with each other or with the beat of the music which at times is barely audible. While pulsing does increase the immediate "burn" in the muscles, it's unclear as to whether the pulsing makes the exercises more effective for building strength.

After a very short warm-up, the first 10.5 minutes of the workout focus on shoulders and legs. Upright rows, front raises, and an upright row/overhead press combo (clean and press) are followed by a long series of squats--regular and plie. Then it's back to the shoulders for a long set of overhead presses followed by the second and final lower body exercise, deadlifts.

The upper back is the focus for the next 8 minutes with many variations of rows. Sets of narrow and wide grip lat rows are followed by a combination of a one-arm row, triceps kickback and rear shoulder fly. It takes good coordination and strength to control the 4-foot body bar during this one-arm combo (a dumbbell or shorter body bar works better here). The last two exercises start with the bar behind your back, resting on your glutes. For one exercise you bend your elbows as you squeeze your shoulder blades together, for the other you keep your arms straight as you lift the bar away from your body.

Next you do a long set of biceps curls, first holding the bar with one hand at a time and finishing with both on the bar. Push-ups are followed by lying triceps overhead presses and triceps dips on the floor with the bar resting across your hips. You work the abs last, still using the bar. First you do a set of upper crunches with the bar held at arms length from your chest. Then you tuck the bar under your knees for upper/lower combo crunches, oblique crunches and a side-to-side spinal twist. The skimpy final stretch targets the legs. Although a few stretches are done during the workout, be sure to thoroughly stretch your upper body again.

There's no rest between exercises, so changing bars or grabbing a dumbbell means you have to stop the tape, or miss a few reps. The woman on screen left shows the easier modifications for some exercises. Sherry only points this out once. Most of the time you're on your own to notice that an easier option is being offered. All the Body Bar videos I've seen have the same set and the instructors always wear basic black. The music is barely audible and Sherry is very low-keyed and rarely smiles, so the workout feels very serious.

Video covers...don't ya just love 'em? They rarely tell the whole story...you're lucky if they get even part of the story right. The cover describes this half-hour workout as "a revolutionary combination of step aerobics and resistance training." In the workout the step is used for two short strength sets: static lunges with the front foot on the step, and alternating lunges onto the step. The closest thing to step aerobics is a one-minute segment that alternates one basic step up with two squats on the floor. Perhaps it's "revolutionary" in the sense that there's very little of it.

This strength training workout is taught by Kendall Hogan, an instructor on the BodyShaping TV show. 14 upper body (6 for shoulders, 3 each for biceps and triceps, 1 each for back and chest) and 8 lower body exercises (squats, lunges and calf lifts) use a barbell and the special Grip System weight plates (instead of dumbbells). The sets are short -- usually about 8 to 10 reps. Abs and final stretch are done on the floor.

The video provides an adequate intermediate workout, but has some technical difficulties. Kendall shares lots of form pointers, but you can barely hear them. He speaks fast, and his soft voice is overwhelmed by the music track. His side-kick from the TV show, Mary Jean, demonstrates poor form on squats and other exercises. Kendall and the other camera-conscious cast members do a much better job of showing correct form.

No toning or sculpting here. This is a concentrated, intense strength training workout. Do it with the heavy weights demonstrated in the tape and you will challenge your muscles to the maximum--just as Cathe promises in the introduction. For over an hour you perform supersets for every muscle group with a classic strength building format. Cathe starts with the largest muscle group, the legs and glutes, progresses to the upper body and finishes with the abs. No fancy choreography or upper/lower body combinations, just basic gym-style exercises. Cathe does a great job of instructing, cuing, motivating and stretching between sets.

The warm-up on the step gets you thoroughly ready for 19 minutes of lower body work: lunges, squats and dips off the step using a barbell and dumbbells. For 35 minutes, each upper body muscle group is worked in supersets of at least 6 sets, using dumbbells, a barbell or body weight. Chest first, then back, shoulder, biceps and triceps. Lying down for the abs sounds like a welcome break. But not for long. Doing eight minutes of crunches without ever relaxing your shoulders to the floor is tough. You can easily break this into two or three shorter workouts for alternate days. Tough as this workout is, it's a good addition to any exercise video library because it can help you break through a training plateau. Few tapes use this slow pace of lifting which allows very heavy weights to be used, and few do such long supersets with a strength training format. This workout is a preview of Cathe's Pure Strength Series.

On Cathe's Power Hour + DVD along with Power Hour and Body Max

Watch a video preview at Cathe's site!

Every instructor seems to have gotten on the Body Pump bandwagon and Cathe is no exception. Concentrating on each muscle group for about 5 minutes at a time, Cathe uses a variety of lifting tempos during each long superset. At the end of each segment you'll put your weights down to stretch while Cathe previews the next set of exercises and offers form pointers for them. Advance notice of the upcoming exercises allows you to change plates on your barbell or choose different dumbbells without pausing the video. Setting the weights down to stretch between segments not only helps to head off next-day muscle soreness, it also gives your wrists and forearms a welcome break.

Cathe uses a 20-pound barbell for the 5-minute warm-up which includes dead rows, squats, lunges and biceps curls. She then challenges one muscle group at a time in this order: lower body, chest, back, lower body, shoulders, biceps, triceps, abs. The tempos of the reps vary randomly within each superset. Sometimes you lift and lower evenly with a 2-up, 2-down or 4-up, 4-down count. At other times you'll change the tempo to 1-up, 3-down or 3-up, 1-down. When the reps speed up-to-tempo (1-up, 1-down count), you're usually lifting through a shortened range of motion--doing a high-end or low-end rep.

Classic strength exercises are used in each superset, with a few unusual ones thrown in. The first lower body segment is standard squats and plies, using every possible tempo change. Next, the chest gets push-ups, flies and presses. One surprise here is a jump-in, jump-out push-up. The back segment has two exercises, standard deadlifts for the hamstrings and dead-rows -- a deadlift/lat row combo. Cathe goes back to the lower body next with stationary lunges, first using the barbell, then the dumbbells. The low-end lunge reps set up quite a burn in the quads.

Cathe starts the shoulder segment with straight-arm lifts to isolate the front delt, then the medial, and finally the rear delt. A long set of overhead presses finishes off the shoulders. Biceps curls also get different tempos and many high-end and low-end reps. Triceps are next with lying extensions and kickbacks. Abs are last with the usual upper, lower and oblique crunches, followed by bicycles and planks. Even though you've stretched throughout the workout, the final three minute stretch hits only a few muscle groups -- you'll probably want to add more stretches here.

On Cathe's Power Hour + DVD along with Maximum Intensity Strength and Body Max

Watch a video preview at Cathe's site!

From the barbell warm-up to the barbell abs this Body Pump style workout will challenge advanced exercisers with 75 minutes of muscle endurance weight training. Two sisters, Alison and Shannon, take turns teaching the long supersets of this muscle endurance workout. By focusing on one body part at a time they keep the intensity high. By changing the lifting tempo within the sets and varying the exercises for each muscle group they keep your interest and attention.

The 13 minute warm-up offers a preview of the main workout. It can also stand alone as a workout in itself, as it uses the barbell to hit each muscle group with one long set of varying tempo lifts. You do squats with leg lifts, dead rows, overhead presses, biceps curls, more squats, push-ups, triceps dips and a total body stretch. Stop here and you've had a thorough total body workout (with the exception of abs). The main workout is easy to break into sections too, so if you're short on time or can't handle this much intensity in one session you can spread it over two days. Lower body is worked first, then back, chest, and lower body again--this takes 30 minutes. Next comes shoulders, biceps, triceps, abs and the final stretch--another 30 minutes. The lifting tempo varies throughout each superset, often starting very slow with an 8-up, 8-down (8-8) count then progressing to 4-4; 2-2 and finally up-to-tempo lifts of 1-1.

The main workout begins with 150 squats! You'll start with standard squats, add outer thigh lifts, and then add glute lifts. Next it's plie squats with heel lifts added. Then it's on to dead lifts for the hamstrings and dead rows for the lats (a dead lift/lat row combo move). Chest is worked while lying on an inclined step. First chest presses are done with various width grips, followed by chest flies using the barbell plates (dumbbells work fine here too). You do your first stretch here--a quick one for the chest--then it's on to lunges.

First you do three sets of lunges onto the step, alternating legs each rep and changing tempos for each set. Then you leave one foot on the step for stationary lunges. After a short break you repeat the entire series with a few less reps. After a quick hamstring stretch you move on to shoulders. First the barbell is used for overhead presses, then you pick up the plates again for lateral and front raises. Next, it's back to the barbell for biceps. First Alison introduces an unusual 8-4-2-1 lift/lower count (you have to see it--too hard to explain), then she adds intensity with sets of partial curls--high-end and low-end. Triceps are worked with extensions while lying on top of the step and with triceps dips off the edge of the step--resting the barbell on your lap is optional.

The 12-minute ab segment includes many unusual exercises. First you use your barbell like an ab roller--kneeling, with your hands on the bar in front of you, you roll the bar away and pull it back in. Next you lie on your back to do standard crunches (upper, oblique and lower) while holding a barbell plate on your chest or lower abs. Then you pick up the barbell again. You place one end between your feet, hold the other end an arms length away from your chest, and push it towards the ceiling as you crunch--again with tempo changes during the reps. You put all weights away for the final series of upper/lower crunches and oblique twists. After all this work you get only a three minute stretch!

Alison and Shannon are obviously comfortable working together and they do a good job of instructing and cueing. However, you're holding onto the barbell for long stretches without a break -- there's barely time to change plates if you need to. It would have helped to include a few more chances to put down your barbell and do some stretches during the workout. Also, they don't always demonstrate the best form for some exercises. The best aspect of the original Body Pump workout is the music. Unfortunately, in this video the sound track can hardly be heard. It's loudest during the final stretch, when it drowns out Shannon's instructions!

What a fun, energetic workout! The half-hour flies by as you learn new variations and unique combinations of standard strength training exercises. Sue Hitzman is an enthusiastic teacher who cues and instructs well, keeps track of the reps, and encourages you to push hard and have fun! This dynamic, well-choreographed workout is divided into three circuits. Each segment includes lower body toning which is alternated or combined with upper body dumbbell work, and ends with progressively harder push-up and ab crunch variations. Have a few sets of dumbbells and your floor mat handy, because this workout moves along quickly.

The first circuit works the legs with squats, and the shoulders, back and biceps with combo exercises, followed by standard push-ups and upper ab crunches. (Caution: skip the last intensifier of the military press/squat combo -- potentially risky for the lower back.) The second circuit has higher impact moves for the legs: jumping jacks, jumping squats and scissors jumps. Biceps are worked with three curl variations -- the last one adds a plie squat. A four-part push-up is followed by a standing ab routine of kickboxing-style knee-lifts. The final circuit starts with a reverse lunge and triceps kickback combo that also includes calf work and balance moves. Next comes two aerobic sprints that feature "tap & touch," "skate-slide," and running in place. Each sprint is followed by dumbbell exercises to work the shoulders from all angles. The workout ends on the floor with triceps push-ups, lower ab crunches and a short but thorough "active-isolated" stretch. All exercises are shown with lower-intensity options, but this is not a workout for beginners. Before you try these combo exercises you should be very familiar with basic strength training moves. If you are, you're ready for this well-designed fast-moving boot camp!

Donna is at her instructional best in this toning workout. With her usual exuberance, she exchanges quips with her energetic trainees as they do four separate workouts. Donna's cuing is right-on, her instruction meticulous and her energy motivating. Her training tempo is terrific -- no speed work here, just slow, deliberate toning reps...from the upper body routine to the intense abs. Each "day" has it's own warm-up and final stretch so it's easy to do just one workout when you can find the time. The actual toning time in each routine is about 10 minutes. If you're doing the four segments together, you can skip a few of the warm-ups and stretches.

The 15-minute Upper Body Day is the only one that uses weights. You could go heavier than the recommended three to eight pounds on some exercises, because the lifting tempo is so slow and controlled. Both the Hips and Thighs and the Buttocks Days include standing and floor toning. The Ab day is very tough. Emphasizing very slow two- or three-count reps most of the time, the abs are exhausted with upper and oblique crunches and reverse curls. Any of these "days" can add a challenging toning segment to an aerobics workout. Donna is a savvy instructor. She has fun with this workout and wants you to enjoy it too. She's flamboyant and vocal...you'll either love her style and give her some "attitude" back...or find her high-energy unnerving.

Joyce's pyramid-style workout uses giant sets to target back, chest and abs (in that order) in Cycle 1 and hips-butt, shoulders and calves in Cycle 2. Each giant set rotates through three exercises for three different muscle groups three times for a total of nine sets. The weights change for each set: as the reps go down, the weights go up. You use your lightest weight for 12 reps, a heavier weight for 10 reps and your heaviest weight for 8 reps. If no weights are used then each set is 15 reps. Each Cycle includes six giant sets, so you do 18 sets for each muscle group (54 total sets for each cycle). If you follow the workout as shown this is definitely an advanced muscle endurance workout, despite the light weights. Joyce does explain how beginners should ease into this workout routine, but since form pointers are scarce this workout works best for experienced weight trainers who already know correct form.

In Cycle 1 you work your back while standing with four versions of lat rows and sit on the bench for the fifth. You lie on the bench for flat, incline and decline versions of chest presses and chest flies. You lie on the floor for 6 ab exercises and stand for the "vacuum." (Joyce sneaks in a seventh ab exercise and does only 5 back exercises -- maybe she ran out of row variations.) Because these exercises are sequenced back, chest, abs, you're changing your position from standing to bench to floor 18 times in this Cycle! And between every set Joyce reminds you to "Keep moving -- no resting!" This workout isn't called "Fast Forward" for nothing! If you get anxious when rushed or don't like to use your pause button, this is not the workout for you.

In Cycle 2 you target the hips and glutes with five floor exercises (lying on your side, on your back and kneeling for various lifts and presses) and a seated scissors exercise. Your shoulders are worked while standing with three straight arm raises and three overhead press variations. You do three sets of calf raises seated on the bench and three more standing, varying your toe positions each time: pointing forward, out and in. Again these exercises are sequenced hips-butt, shoulders, calves, so that you'll get up and down from the floor 18 times during this cycle.

Neither cycle begins with a warm-up or ends with a stretch and Joyce never mentions the need for either. Cycle 1 begins with a short stretch as a warm-up and then Joyce speedily launches into the giant sets. Her daughter Marthe counts the reps aloud so that Joyce can offer motivation and pointers like "Keep breathing" and "Feel the flex on the up and the stretch on the down." However, many times both of them are using poor form for the exercises. Also, a few of the exercises (if done as shown) don't target the muscles they're supposed to.

In an attempt to make this an aerobic workout, Joyce not only encourages you to hurry between sets, she performs the reps very fast. Think about this: you're performing 54 sets in 30 minutes for Cycle 1 and in 25 minutes for Cycle 2. This time includes getting down to and off of the floor or the bench, getting set with your weights in a new position and a few times doing each side separately. Perhaps you can use good lifting form with 1, 2, and 3 pound weights but in order to maintain this good form as you increase the weights to the 8, 10, 12 pounds that she suggests for advanced it seems like you'd have to slow down. Joyce is 5 feet tall and these reps are probably an OK speed for her short arms, but if you've got longer arms the lifting pace will be too fast. If you want to try Joyce's style of giant set weight work, you'd be better off getting one of her books and doing a workout at your own pace. While her books do include form pointers that she doesn't offer on the videos, she doesn't always show the best exercise form in the books either.

This workout was filmed on CIA's 2000 set, so the production quality is fine, but the music is barely audible, which doesn't really matter, because Joyce doesn't coordinate the reps to the music anyway. She makes a few mistakes and forgets what she's doing a few times, but Marthe sets her straight. Joyce has a wacky sense of humor and a strong New York accent which won't appeal to everyone, but for a 58 year old she's in great shape -- motivation for many.

Joyce's fast-paced giant sets continue in this second video of the Fast Forward set. After using the same introduction and opening stretch as the first tape, Joyce jumps right into Cycle 3, working legs, triceps and biceps in that order for 7 giant sets. This time you do 21 sets for each muscle group, a total of 63 sets in 30 minutes! Actually it's more like 66, because three exercises are done one side at a time -- where's my slow-motion button? Again, this workout with its huge number of sets and lack of form pointers is best for advanced exercisers who are familiar with strength training techniques. However, the speed of the reps means you need to stay very low with the weights in order to maintain proper form and control of the reps.

Legs get two floor exercises, an inner thigh frog lift and a double-leg hamstring curl. The five standing leg exercises include straddle squats, front squats, lunges, a bent-knee dead lift and a chair-position firmer (wall sit). During this cycle you only need to lie down and get back up 15 times, although you do need to move over to empty wall space 3 times.

Triceps are worked with two sets each of kickbacks and overhead triceps extensions and three lying exercises: a cross-chest extension, a narrow chest press and a standard triceps extension. Two exercises are done with both arms at once, three are done one arm at a time, and two use both hands on one weight. Biceps get five sets standing: palms up curls, hammer curls, rotation curls, concentration curls and palms-down forearm curls. Two more sets of biceps curls are done lying on the bench with your arms hanging down. Four of these are done with alternating arms, two are done with both arms at once, and of course the concentration curl is done one one arm at a time.

The Extra Abs segment is three giant sets of 5 ab exercises for a total of 225 reps in 5 minutes. A lower ab crunch is followed by 4 upper crunches with different leg positions with a 15 second rest between each round. Your abs will be feeling the burn by the end.

Which workout is tougher...the original Tough Tape with Tracie Long...or this workout that's been compiled from the Total Body Series and the Crosstrainers (Strength and Cardio)? Tough to say! With this Tough Tape you work your upper body a bit more (19 sets) and your lower body a bit less (13 sets) than with the original, but you still get one challenging total body workout. Seven of the FIRM's master instructors share the lead. For those familiar with the FIRM, Heidi teaches a third of the strength training, Pam and Tracie split the other third, and Taber, Jennifer C. and Lisa teach one routine apiece (Jennifer P. does the warm-up). As with all FIRM workouts the video editing is excellent and the form pointers are minimal -- so you'd better have experience with strength training. And have your remote and equipment (or props in FIRM lingo) at the ready... this advanced workout packs a variety of exercise into a short amount of time.

With the exception of a squat/overhead press combo, every exercise concentrates on one muscle group at a time, and often one side at a time. Upper and lower body exercises are paired and alternated, or done back-to-back in short blocks. The legs and glutes are thoroughly worked with a dozen sets (of varying lengths) of squats, dips, lunges and step-ups. A couple of sets of plyo jumps and a tall box climb are the token cardio routines in this workout. For the upper body, the shoulders get the most work with seven sets, while the back gets two, biceps four, chest and triceps three each. No ab crunches! Instead core conditioning with a few planks and lower back extensions.

On DVD with The FIRM's 5-Day Abs.

Advanced FIRM Believers will enjoy the challenge of this "super" strength training workout. With 33 sets for upper body and 23 for lower body, there's no danger of being under-worked. With four different instructors and a change of lifting tempo in every set there's no chance to be bored. After a brief warm-up and stretch, the upper and lower body are worked separately and alternately in four tightly choreographed 10-minute segments, followed by three minutes of abs and a very speedy final stretch. The lower body segments seem harder than the upper, perhaps because the upper body exercises rotate through five muscle groups, giving some muscles a rest while others work. In the lower body segments the same leg muscles work set after set. As with all the FIRM advanced workouts, you need weight training experience, because explanations, form pointers and modifications are rare. In fact, there are a number of times when alternatives should be offered for exercises that are difficult to perform safely without more instruction than you get in the workout.

Between the two upper body segments, you do 11 sets for shoulders, 9 for upper back, 5 for biceps, 3 for chest, 3 sets for triceps and 2 for lower back. Most of these sets are short -- averaging about 10 reps. Every set has a change of tempo within it. Reps are done up to tempo (1 up-1 down), half time (2 up-2 down), elevator (1 up-3 down or 3 up-1 down), pulsing (1 up-3 pulses) or holding (1 up- hold 3). Sounds confusing, but it's very easy to follow (or better yet modify to normal tempo reps). The first leg segment is very tough, with nonstop sets of squats, plies, glute lifts, crossover lunges, curtsy dips and pulsing step-ups jam-packed into 10 minutes. The second lower body routine seems easy in comparison, even though it has a long sequence of dips, squats and lunges, followed by standing inner and outer thigh lifts and a final set of squats. These leg toning sets are done with many changes of tempo too. In the three minutes of abs your feet are propped on a chair or step for the usual upper and lower crunches followed by innovative "swiveling" for the obliques (watch your lower back).

You'll train one-on-one with Tracie Long, one of the FIRM's best instructors, in this time-efficient total body workout. She keeps you moving quickly and working hard in this advanced strength training workout by alternating upper and lower body exercises and sometimes combining them. Whether you're squatting, dipping, lunging or stepping onto the tall box, you hold dumbbells (either on your shoulders or by your side) or use them simultaneously for upper body toning. The upper body gets at least three sets for each muscle group, and the shoulders get six. The workout ends on the floor with upper body, hamstring, and ab work. This is one FIRM video that doesn't include aerobics although it has one short routine of marches, jumps and kicks and a couple of "tall box climbs" without weights. The variety of exercises and frequent changes of gear keeps the workout entertaining and challenging. You'll work out in all sorts of positions: kneeling, seated, standing and lying down. The slow pace of lifting reps allows you to increase weight comfortably to make real strength gains. Tracie is a straightforward, sincere instructor who clearly and concisely demonstrates both correct form and common body positioning errors. However, this is not a beginner's workout. Try FIRM Basics for that.

This video was originally released in 1998 as part of the Tri-Trainers series with a white cover and titled All Weights. Next the title was changed to Maximum Body Sculpting which is still used on the FIRM's website(www.firmdirect.com) as of 2/19/01. At retail stores you'll see it called Maximum Body Shaping.

If you enjoy exercising on the beach and want an intense upper body workout that will also tone your legs with no lying floor work, join Gilad in Hawaii for this advanced muscle endurance workout. After a seven-minute warm-up, this workout is divided into three standing routines and one short ab routine. Two upper-body and two lower-body supersets are alternated within each routine. Gilad previews upcoming exercises and gives instructional pointers before each routine begins. Routine one is the shortest--only 11 minutes of lunges and squats with biceps and triceps dumbbell work. The leg work intensifies in the next 19-minute routine, which also focuses on the upper back and chest. The third routine (15 minutes) has 11 shoulder exercises sandwiched between two leg supersets and ends with a slow motion "running arms" routine. The five-minute ab routine may sound short, but the slow-motion reps are intense.

This long workout could be divided into two or three workouts. Because upper and lower body exercises are alternated throughout, you can start and stop anywhere and tailor it to your needs. The class has a good time as Gilad, in his easy-going style, keeps them (and you) working hard. While Gilad gives tips on the exercises, the class often counts the reps aloud--very motivating when you're sure the set will never end. Easier modifications of many exercises are shown. Gilad is the best male instructor I've seen--he's energetic, motivating, and sincere. If you tend to do slow and heavy strength building workouts most of the time, try this muscle endurance workout for a change of pace.