MerrithewPower and Stamina: Medicine Ball Interval Training

First off, yes there's some time between when you hit play and when the exercises start. Luckily for us, we have these things called remote controls to fast forward. Once you get to the workout, it's great! I was so happy to find a video that was straight forward and didn't make anything too complicated. I like how the exercises are broken down. You do a brief warmup and then do two sets of three different exercises, the first set is a little slower and the second is pretty quick. You do 3 series of differnet exercises two sets each. This can be for beginners, or slightly more advanced but with a heavier ball. Total run time from the first exercise to the end of the cool down is 28 minutes. I like to turn off the TV volume and crank up my own music, the exercises go in order so there's no way to get off track. I'll for sure be buying the other DVDs of this set!

excellent

What a fantastic workout with a wonderful trainer!!!! I have to tell you, I workout a lot. I run, jog, do the elliptical, lift heavy weights, do chin-ups, push-ups, I go nuts and THIS workout, it really made me have MORE definition in my arms and, well, whole body. Awesome. Now, I lift heavy, yet an 8 pound medicine ball was challenging, since I never use them. Holding it so still, over your head, in certain positions....amazing. I would recommend to anyone looking for something different, something extra, to super tone your body!

5 stars plus for the instructor in the video John Garey. I have several DVDs from the Merrithew collection and he is by far the best at giving simple, easy to follow instruction with good workouts. In this video he incorporates the medicine ball with a series of squats, lunges, planks, roll-up type sit-ups, side-ab twists on the floor and a single arm lifts with the medicine ball in hand.I think the key to getting a good workout is using the correct weight medicine ball. The instructor suggests starting with a 4 or 6 pound ball and working up from there (Vol. 1 DVD). The woman featured in the video used a 4 pound ball, the men used 6 pounds. I'm about 200 pounds and do crossfit and was able to use the 6 pound ball just fine but felt I could go heavier. My girlfriend is almost 120 pounds and a volleyball player. She did the workout with the 4 pound ball but didn't get much out of it. When she switched to the 6 she said it was great.I'm going to purchase a heavier medicine ball and to test how heavy a ball I need I held a weight in one hand and put that arm out straight to my side. I then lifted the weight over my head and back down again 6 times without loosing form, this is the weight ball I'm going with and this exercise mimics one in the program that I think would be most challenging in terms of weight since it uses just one arm. Just remember, it has to be the type of medicine ball that bounces like the one pictured on the cover. Everyone is at their own fitness level so this may help you figure out what weight ball to get but I would recommend going lighter if in doubt since form is more important than weight.The video is 32 minutes in length. The reason I'm giving this workout only 4 stars is that you have to sit through about 2 minutes of advertising/promotions for other Merrithew products before getting to the actual workout (you can't fast forward through all of it). I think this is pretty inconsiderate to the consumer who buys a DVD to use multiple times. It's fine to include promotional material but it should be at the end of the workout, not the beginning.

Finally. Quick results. Like a jumpstart for my body.I see and feel my core. Like a big old girdle on the Inside Sweat drenching. Effective.