A 34-minute workout that combines cardio and toning.

Advanced beginning to intermediate exercisers. At least one set of hand weights is required, preferably two pairs of different weights (somewhere between 3 and 10 pounds, depending on what you can handle).

Most Crunch videos run about half an hour, so when they try to focus on more than one aspect of fitness, they risk being a bit skimpy. In spite of its brief length, Cardio Sculpt does offer some good toning exercises. It's not really a cardio workout — the cardio offered just keeps your heart rate up enough so that you really aren't resting between the resistance exercises. That's a good thing, and instructor Violet Zaki does her best to offer quality in both the cardio and toning sections. Most of the weight exercises are compound moves — necessary when time is of the essence — and Zaki also focuses on balance, a necessary component of resistance training that is often overlooked (want to stay mobile into old age? Practice balance for a lifetime). She also ditches the weights and has you do triceps dips and push-ups, standard and still very effective exercises. The ab section is very short, but it does make the muscles burn. One tip: you'll get the best workout if you use heavier weights — unless you're a real beginner, 3-pound dumbbells will leave you feeling vaguely dissatisfied. This workout is best if combined with a half hour of more intense cardio (maybe another Crunch tape?), or with additional, targeted strength training (more ab work, or some more upper or lower body exercises). It's also a good tape for a light workout day when you're short on time. Zaki apparently teaches this same class for an hour at one of the Crunch studios in New York — if they had let her do her full routine, this video would have been even better!

 

 

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