Saundra

Pure & Simple Stretch is a 40-minute stretch workout lead by Karen Voight.  In this total body stretch workout, Karen takes you through a series of static stretches.  Karen eases you into each new position and she gives you time to work the stretch by holding each position for several beats. Karen uses a towel and a cushion as props and to help with certain stretches.   There are three other cast members and sometimes they show variations on the stretch that Karen is doing. The music is ho-hum. There is a narrator at the beginning of the floor segment but the rest of the workout, it is Karen cuing.  This workout was filmed in 1991, so the set is a bit dated but the stretch workout is very good. The DVD does give you the option of dividing the workout into two segments.  You can choose to do a standing 10 minute stretch or a floor-based 30 minute stretch. 3 & 3/4 stars

Sleek Essentials by Karen Voight focuses on the three essentials of fitness: cardio, strength, and flexibility to deliver a “fit, firm, and flexible” body.  Karen calls it her triple effect training system.  It is a 3 in 1 program. In this system you have three main workouts, Sweat Effect, Strength Effect, and Sleek Effect.  All workouts are around 22 minutes. Sweat Effect is the cardio workout. Karen uses a fitness roller to warm up the body. She then takes you through a series of athletic, kickboxing inspired moves. The majority of the cardio workout is low impact.  Karen does include some high impact modifications.  However you can always follow the modifier who keeps the moves low impact.  The workout contains minimum choreography and it is easy to follow. It is not drill base. Karen teaches the move on one side and then have you repeat on the other side.  This workout is about getting your heart rate up.  The music was very uninspiring...

Karen Voight's Sleek Essential consist of three 50 minute workouts.  In the set that I have, each 50 minute workout came on its own DVD. Sweat Effect is your cardio workout. The cardio is mostly kickboxing inspired and it takes up the first 35 minutes of the workout. The choreography in the kick box segment is easy to follow.  Karen teaches you the pattern on the right and then she repeats on the left. Following the kick box segment are a butt/thigh segment, abdominal segment and cool down stretch. When Karen went into the butt segment which is floor based, I wasn't expecting it because I knew there was another DVD focused on Strength and Toning. Plus I was enjoying the kickboxing and I would  have like to see the kick box portion extended. The different sections of the workout are: Warm up Twist & Punch Bob & Weave Lunge & Lift Jump & Kick Butt & Thighs Abs with foam roler Stretch Strength Effect is your sculpting workout.  I...

Stretch and Core Conditioning is a 48 minute workout. The DVD menu divides the workout into segments so if you are short on time or just want to concentrate on stretching out a particular part of the body you can do so. The segments are: Core Conditioning ~ 11:11 Lower Body Stretch ~11:10 Upper Body Stretch ~ 12:15 Hip And Buttocks Stretch ~ 14:28 You also have the option of selecting the full workout.  If you select the  Full Workout, the Core Conditioning segment is suppose to be used as your warm up.  I did my own warm up before moving into the full workout.  Core conditioning segment contains a bit of balance and strength work. The lower body stretch segment contain extensive hamstring stretching. The upper body stretch segment concentrated on the neck, upper back, chest and shoulder areas.  Most of the stretches are performed in the supine position and a few are performed in the prone or kneeling position. Hip and buttocks stretch segment fo...

Karen Voight;s Full Body Stretch clocks in at around 42 minutes if you do the full workout. The DVD does come with premixes or rather two parts. The parts are: Warm Up Stretch - about 16 minutes Slow Stretch - about 26 minutes Warm up stretch is design to get the body heated and bring circulation into the body. So you had more dynamic moves in this section. Slow Stretch is where you performed more static stretches and you hold the stretches for longer periods.  Now, I did the Full Body Stretch which started with Warm Up Stretch and then moved straight into the Slow Stretch segment and truthfully I did not feel that my body was completely warmed up for some of the stretches.  I think the next time I do this workout I am going to have to start with 5 minutes of jogging before I moved into the workout. Karen does use equipment. Of course there is a mat, but she also adds a yoga block and yoga strap, both of which are used in the Slow Stretch segment. The stret...

Last up with the Barre workouts is Karen Voight's Ballet Bodysculpt. I have been racking my brain to see if I previously did a Karen Voight workout and nothing comes to mind. So I think Ballet Bodysculpt is my first workout from her. As an instructor, I thought she was very good. Precise cuing, excellent form, comfortable demeanor are all characteristics I would use to describe her. Ballet Bodysculpt is a barre workout. It is 40 minutes in length and contains the following segments : Warm Up Chair (barre) Exercises Abdominals Matwork 1 Matwork 2 Cool Down Along with a chair, Karen uses a mat and an inflatable ball. The segments are short but tough. I thought each section moved right along making for an efficient workout. The set is an outdoor set. It is Karen's ranch in Montana. When I first saw a clip of this workout, I remember thinking "They could have cut the grass." Karen is actually working out on what looks like hardwood floor placed over the grass. The mus...