Ab Circuits reviews, anyone?

Aquajock

Cathlete
In an unusual blast of cheapitude last winter (I think it was after DH and I coughed up over $17K for home updating) I decided it would be a GREAT idea to go with ground shipping for my STS order. (*not*)

Now I'm in absolute anguish and torment b/c I won't get my set until Monday.

Could everyone who has done Ab Circuit routine/s fill me in? It's one of the discs I'm most looking forward to getting and doing. I'm dying here, people. Have pity on me. And it IS about me.

A-Jock
 
Hi, A-Jock. I did the Pilates-based abs this morning and although I am not a Pilates girl, I liked this workout. You move slower (which, I understand, is a Pilates thing) throughout the movements....nice and controlled and you really turn on the core. Cathe did, maybe 8 or 9 different exercises and finished off with Mermaids (although she 'allowed' the boys to continue with the previous move "the Saw" or some name like that). And then a nice stretch.

Sorry, but that's the only one I've done so far.

Gayle
 
I'm just previewing the yoga based segment.....and you don't want to know.:p LOL! It looks like a lot of pain to me. Remember those good ole' levitation holds???? They're baaaaaack.:confused: Only this time she straightenes her legs while in levitation hold.:eek: Maybe when I get arms like Cathe, I'll be able to do that....but not now. The rest of it certainly looks challenging but fun! I will definitely be trying one of them tomorrow.....just don't know which one:D I'm loving the all the choices this series offers!!

BTW.....here's a quick run down of the DVD

#1 Yoga inspired abs - 15 min
#2 Pilates inspired abs - 19 min
#3 Weights and plates abs - 19 min
#4 Stability ball abs - 20 min
#5 No equipment abs - 17.5 min
#6 Medicine ball abs - 10 min
#7 Medicine ball abs with partner - 9min

HTH


Angie
 
I tried out the No Equipment ab workout last night. I give it two thumbs up. Cathe has a number of moves that she hasn't used in previous workouts. It was tough and I loved every minute of it. The music and clarity in these DVDs are absolutely amazing.
 
I did the med ball routine that has additional partner exercises with my daughter last night and guess what....It was awesome! My daughter doesn't really like exercising with me, but I begged her 'cause I needed a partner. It was fun and we were giggling throughout the whole thing. It included standing back to back and handing the ball to each other, throwing the ball as the partner was leaning back into a sit up, and then the partner throws the ball back on the way back up. Great fun!
 
I did the med ball routine that has additional partner exercises with my daughter last night and guess what....It was awesome! My daughter doesn't really like exercising with me, but I begged her 'cause I needed a partner. It was fun and we were giggling throughout the whole thing. It included standing back to back and handing the ball to each other, throwing the ball as the partner was leaning back into a sit up, and then the partner throws the ball back on the way back up. Great fun!

Thanks for your review and input. I will do it with my daughter. It should be fun for both of us.
 
OH! I like the review on the partner abs. I told my DS (who's 11) that HE is my lucky partner for that one! LOL Kid just about ran out of the room! Can't wait!

Gayle
 
How do you all intend to use the Ab workouts? Will you be doing them on "off/cardio" days or tagging them on to the end of your STS workout?
 
I did the no equipment one today and agree with the person that posted above. It was a good 15 minute ab workout. There weren't any basic crunches (I don't think). It was a lot of controlled movements with legs in the air, reverse crunches, side leg lifts for obliques. There were a few new moves and variations on old moves. It was a good variety and a good solid workout. Not impossible, but challenging.
 
Liann-I usually add my abs/core work on after a cardio session, so on the non-STS days (aka cardio days), I'll tack on Ab Circuits.

Gayle
 
Thanks Gayle! ;) I'm trying to plug in all my extra workouts into my Calendar and was just trying to figure out how best to incorporate it. I need some serious help with my Abs!!! I was sitting in the dentist chair yesterday PRAYING she wouldn't ask me when I was due. Yeah, it's that bad. :eek:
 
I did the No equipment one too. I really liked this one. I saw a couple of moves from other workouts (one from 4DS as I remember). A-Jock, as I remember, you are a fan of planks? There are planks in this and one plank move I had not seen..:)...I also enjoyed the supermans at the end...
 
Loved the Pilates segment!

I did the Pilates-inspired segment this morning and loved it, and I previewed the yoga and no-equipment segments and they look great too! It's going to be fun to add these onto our STS weeks. And wow, those "mermaids" were deceptively hard work -- and much harder on one side than the other. I never knew I was THAT unbalanced! :p
 
Beware what you ask for for you will surely get it . . .

NOW my dilemma is which one to do first: The Yoga-inspired one, the Pilates-inspired one, or the "regular" one.

Decisions, decisions . . .

And yes, McMain, I'm a card-carrying Plankaholic! Bring 'em on!!!

A-Jock
 
I really want to try the med ball with a partner routine. I showed it to my DH in hopes he could be my partner. He shot that down right away when he pointed out our size difference (he's 6'8" and I'm only 5'5") It looks like it'll only work with partners who are close in size.
 
I did the med ball abs this morning. I picked that because it was the shortest. I just did disc 1 of STS. I am ususally tortured by Cathe's ab routines, but this one was (i hate to say it ) kinda easy. It was alot of oblique work, twisting, wood chops. Although I admit I only had a 4 lb ball, i believe Cathe's was 8 lbs. I ended up adding on the partner abs on because DS was watching me. He is only 10 but we are close in height (already!!) He liked doing it although the tosses were kinda scary (he didn't have much control when he was throwing the ball) This could have also made it a little easier for me since his timing was off.

I didn't view any of the other ones yet.

chrissy
 
I just did the Yoga based ab workout. There is a lot of plank work in this workout - and the levitation hold with the legs straight out ahead of you? Holy cow. Cathe is amazing! I made the mistake of doing this workout right after doing the Meso 1 Disc 1 workout where we did a gazillion pushups. By the third round of planks, I was totally done. Tough stuff, as Cathe would say.
 
I've done both the no equipment and the med ball workouts. I really like both. I used an 8lb ball and I felt I had a good workout. The no equipment workout is about 17 minutes and I think the med ball was 11 or 12. I think this is a great DVD - there are options-a-plenty! :)

Jo :)
 

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