This exercise DVD has 5 ten-minute workouts to work on your core.  It is led by Fred DeVito and Elisabeth Halfpapp, who offer

·         Upper Body Sculpt

·         Thigh Sculpt

·         Gluteus Sculpt

·         Abdominal Sculpt

·         Stretch Sculpt

Directed by James Wvinner, it is professionally done, with cameras moving while shooting Fred and Elisabeth, and showing them from a variety of angles, and fading in when switching in from one camera to another.  It is shot in a wood-floored room decorated with some furniture, drapes and exotic decorative pieces in the background. There’s repetitive electronic music in the background, and the voice over is very clear.  Fred and Elisabeth give clear instructions and repeat them throughout the exercises.  They require using hand weights and a chair or something else to lean on.  Often one of the two will do a more advanced version of an exercise, while the other does a moderate version.  Each set of exercises is finished with some stretching. 

The exercises are deceptively difficult — they seem easy at first, but after 15 seconds of repetition, they quickly become harder.  The first time I went through them, my leg muscles were very sore the next day, but they recovered soon.  The abdominal sculpting exercise was particular difficult to copy  — doubtless it would help to be as strong in the core as Fred and Elisabeth, but my point is that for those who are not very fit, it may be take some time before you even approximate to what they demonstrate. Nevertheless, overall this is a nicely made fitness DVD. 

© 2009 Christian Perring         

Christian Perring, Associate Professor of Philosophy, Dowling College, New York.

Keywords: exercise