A programmable exercise DVD with 50 minutes' worth of sculpting. Your instructors are the training team from the TV show The Biggest Loser: Bob Harper, Jillian Michaels and Kim Lyons. Participating are contestants from the third and fourth seasons of the show.

Advanced beginning exercisers — the routines are a little too fast paced if you're not yet used to working out with weights. You'll need one to two pairs of 3 to 10 lb. dumbbells, depending on your level of strength (start off light if you're new and work your way up from there).

You may recall my review of The Biggest Loser: Cardio Max from a couple of months ago — I hated it. Even so, I was willing to give Power Sculpt a chance. I like weight workouts and figured the instructors couldn't possibly be as unpleasant as they were for the cardio DVD. Well, I was right — this DVD was far less annoying, and I got a decent workout, although I had to do the advanced, 50-minute version to get it. The routines are programmable — there are a 5-minute warm-up and cool down, and in between you can choose a "beginners" 20-minute sculpting routine from Michaels, a 10-minute, more advanced sculpting segment (Lyons' routine), and another 10-minute sculpting segment (Harper's, which is more of a cardio/sculpting combo) — pick one, two or all three. Or you can use the "6-week program," which sets it up for you in two-week, progressive increments. I'm still not a fan of Michaels and probably never will be — she is a good instructor but I dislike bullies, and she picks on the exercisers. Lyons' routine is probably the toughest — you vary the speed and rhythm of the exercises to keep your muscles guessing. Harper blends his sculpting with a sweat-inducing cardio angle, and those with weaker abs than mine will definitely find his plank segment challenging (and if you keep it up, you won't have weak abs anymore!). Real beginners to weight training would be better off with a DVD that goes more slowly and concentrates more on proper form. When you're holding dumbbells and doing lunges and squats (and you'll be doing all that with this DVD), you need to be sure of what you're doing to avoid injury. If you already have that down, then you might want to add this series of fast-paced routines to your exercise DVD roster.

 

 

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