Karen Voight: Sleek Physique (2003)
Review by Dindrane
Film:
DVD:

Starring Karen Voight

Features:

• Links to website
  
• Description of tools
  

Released by: Entertaining Fitness, Inc.
Rating: NR
Region: 1
Anamorphic: N/A; appears in its original 1.33:1 format

My Advice: Buy it.

Karen Voight’s Sleek Physique disc is based upon a wonderful premise: a different workout for every day of the week, so you never get bored and your workout regime is balanced between cardio, strength training, and yoga. Luckily, in the hands of a pro like Voight, this isn’t just a good idea—it’s a good disc.

Basically, depending upon what day of the week it is, you will get a different workout, made up of several different segments on the disc. For example, on Monday, you get a cardio/lower body workout. Throughout the week, you will get cardio exercise, both upper and lower body workouts, an ab focus, overall strength training, and yoga for strength or relaxation. Each segment, including warm-up, is about 35-40 minutes long, so it’s easy to schedule something every day. Watch the very good “Karen Explains the Disc” feature to learn about what she has in mind for you each day and how to manipulate your options to answer your needs.

While Voight is clearly a professional who knows what is and isn’t safe for her viewers to do, the real reason she makes a good exercise instructor is her manner. She isn’t a falsely chipper Barbie doll you want to smack instead of follow. Voight seems sharp and is paying real attention to what she’s doing and puts together routines that aren’t so repetitive, not to mention painful or even impossible for overweight people. Instead, Voight’s disc shows alternate moves, provides real encouragement, not just sunshiny praise, and a real reason to get doing this disc day after day.

The music is basically New Age/Native American inspired for the more relaxed segments, and the cardio and active segments have a cool mixture of lively Spanish instrumentals and some kind of techno segments. It’s never so loud that you can’t hear the cues, but it’s a definitely mood-enhancer.

To get the most out of this disc, you will need to have a set of yoga blocks, a set of hand weights of a weight you can use well (such as 3-5 lbs. each), and a yoga mat. If you don’t already have these items or can’t find them in your area, there is a link on the DVD-ROM to go to Voight’s website and buy a nice set.

The disc is accompanied in the case by a foldout catalog of sorts for Voight’s other discs and the exercise equipment for sale on her website. If you aren’t sure what an “exercise ball” is, for example, then you’ll find an answer here.

In short, if this is the only disc in your collection, you still might get a little bored after a few months of doing these repeated segments. However, Voight has several other discs that would be lovely mixed in here and there, and if you only need or want one exercise disc in your DVD collection, then this one is a solid bet.