Karen Voight: Slim Physique

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Five half-hour exercises sessions from renowned fitness expert Karen Voight.

Healthy beginning to intermediate exercisers. You will need 5 to 8 pound weights, a pair of Yoga blocks and a Yoga mat.

Remember those articles in fashion magazines that present 5 pieces of clothing and show you how to mix and match them so that you get a month’s worth of outfits? Karen Voight’s Slim Physique is the exercise version of that — she mixes and matches a series of weight training, cardio and yoga segments for a week’s worth of working out. Each of the seven sessions lasts for 30 minutes and focuses on something different — lower body one day, abs another, upper body yet another day. Three days add a cardio routine to the mix. Instead of the cardio, two of the days add a Yoga session instead. Sunday, the resting day, is Yoga for stretching and relaxation. Voight’s DVD gets an A+ for its cross-training capabilities — you work a different body part every day. But after a while the segments get a little repetitive — as in the magazine article, where eventually you’re groaning, "That little red jacket again?" you may find yourself saying, "Oh, the same cardio steps, ho-hum." Voight’s warmth and excellent cuing helps make up for a lot of the DVD’s repetitive feel, but sooner or later you’ll either move onto other workouts, or alternate her workouts with other exercise videos or DVDs. Still this weeklong program is great for beginners — it’s motivating and very easy to follow.