An hour-long weight training workout meant to break through fitness plateaus. Jari Love instructs.

High intermediate and advanced exercisers. Love's workouts are not for the faint of heart. You will need 2 to 3 pairs of dumbbells, a little lighter than you might normally use, since this is a high-rep workout. Say, maybe 3 to 10 pounds or so, although no one is going to bust you if you sneak 3 pounders in for some of the shoulder exercises. If you've got them, you can also use a Body Bar or a barbell for a lot of these exercises. You will also need a step bench for some exercises (unless you are so hardcore that you have a real weight bench at home), and an exercise mat.

To be really honest, I find Love's workouts a little on the monotonous side. Her exercises are very traditional and while she's friendly, she doesn't chat you up like some of the other instructors out there. Maybe I'm spoiled by Ellen Barrett's chipper persona and creative workouts, and Chris Freytag's unbridled enthusiasm, but when I work out with Jari, I feel like I'm in the gym with a personal trainer who has a lot of smarts but not a lot of imagination. In other words, I will be working hard, but I'm not all that excited about it. Plus, I always have issues with workouts that make me put the DVD on pause to move equipment around. One moment I needed the step bench, the next moment I had to move it out of the way, then I had to bring it back. It breaks up the momentum for me. But there is always a reason for the way Love lays out her routines. In this DVD, she is getting you past plateaus by supersetting muscle groups and bringing them to extreme fatigue. (There are no ab exercises here, but I can assure you that you are working them while you are doing these exercises. Mine burned a few times while I was working other muscle groups. Plus there's a 4-1/2 minute abs routine in the Bonus section of the DVD.) Supposedly these exercises, especially when you are pulsing the moves, burn 100% carbs, but I wouldn't know, not having the sophisticated equipment that tells you that sort of thing. Personally, I don't care about carbs burning, or fat, or anything else — what matters to me (and you too, probably) is what I see in the mirror. And these boring, traditional, done-'em-all-a-billion-times exercises do work extremely well. It's just that I know I won't be picking up this DVD with the same enthusiasm as I will when I pick up some of my other toning workouts. Just a matter of personal taste, really. By the way, there was a girl, Gaylene, who was demonstrating each of these exercises... well, I thought she was a girl, until I scrutinized her face and realized that she was probably close to 40. Then, at the end of the workout, Love revealed Gaylene's actual age: 57! Actually, that was enough to inspire me to pull out this DVD sooner than later. Like I said, it's all about what you see in the mirror.

 

 

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