NYC Body Sculpting Workout

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A 53-minute, fast-paced, full body, circuit style toning workout. Kelly Coffey-Meyer instructs.

Intermediate to advanced exercisers. Because the exercises are done fairly quickly, and the transitions are even faster, you need to have a good level of fitness. You will need two pairs of dumbbells, one lighter and one heavier (but both lighter than what you normally use), a step platform and a mat.

Call me dense, but for the past week I’ve been wondering what was so “NYC” about this workout. I was expecting some sort of Manhattan high-style hipness, or maybe a tough, take-no-prisoners attitude from the instructor. Finally I took a good look at the DVD and realized that NYC was an acronym for “New You Coming.” Duh. And that’s a pretty accurate assessment for anyone who chooses to do this workout on a regular basis. It’s a circuit workout, which means you are doing sculpting exercises at an aerobic pace. That way you tone and burn calories at the same time. It’s a great approach for us females, who prefer not to bulk up while building muscle mass. After a quick warm-up, Coffey-Meyer starts you off with standing exercises for your upper body, alternated with lower body moves that use the step. Then she moves you onto the step to work your chest and abs. Finishing up is some more ab work and a quick stretch (which isn’t enough — you would do well to add a few extra minutes of stretching once you’re done with the workout). There’s a lot of variety to this exercise; you’re doing something different every couple of minutes. You have to be quick to keep up, too — chances are you’ll miss a cue or two the first couple of times you do this. Since it’s faster than a traditional, static exercise routine, you’ll want to use slightly lighter weights than normal, but don’t worry about that — you will still feel these moves! If you haven’t got a full hour to work out, the workout is divided into shorter, pre-programmed options that have cute, coffee (or Coffey) inspired names: “Latte,” “Cappuchino” and the like. This is a nice DVD to have if you have a short attention span and want a high-energy workout that sculpts as much as it makes you sweat.