Kathy Smith: Ageless Staying Strong

I've been using Kathy Smith's workout videos since my 20s and I'm now 54. I've been noticing as I've aged I'm not as strong in my legs as I used to be, my balance isn't great, and my butt, which used to be amazing all my life, is starting to head south. I changed my workout routine to this video, and even though it's a little dated, boy, does it work. It's actually amazing. I can see a difference in the way my butt and legs look after just 2 weeks and I'm stronger, which is so important when you age. I do not feel self conscious about my sagging butt anymore. I feel more confident in my body now and look forward to these workouts. Kathy never disappoints. Her techniques and exercises are timeless.

I love that she doesn't spend a lot of time talking between exercises- she doesn't waste time and the work out hits every part of your body.

I had a Kathy Smith video way back in the early nineties and I used to do the stretching sequence every morning so I was inclined to get this DVD on the strength of that. Glad I did, I've got lots of other workout DVDs but this has become my favourite.I'm not sure why it's marketed as 'ageing' exercise because I think it would give a large proportion of young people a pretty strenuous workout, and certainly hasn't been softened down for it's market.I'm not sure what category it's in but it's not aerobics - there's 4x 15 minutes exercise sections for abs, legs, glutes and upper body, plus a good stretching section of 12 mins. You need a chair for all of them and weights for the exercise sections - how heavy is up to you. The exercises have some of the usual moves but quite a few variations as well to make it interesting.Kathy is personable, less 'fake' than some of the instructors on the other videos (although her face doesn't move quite as much as it did when she was younger!). The setup is in a large concrete floored room seemingly in a house, with large glass vases in the background - no apparent reason for this but it is a bit more arty than the usual pseudo gym rooms.I've been using this for a few months and haven't found it to be too repetitive. So far I'm still motivated to use it - I do it first thing in the morning most days, 2x 15 minutes workouts plus the stretching, and I've noticed some difference in my figure (if I cut back on the desserts I'd probably see even more).I'd recommend it.

What impressed me the most upon first viewing of this video was the seamless blend of a variety of exercise influences. I recognized exercises "stolen" from the Lotte Berk Method as well as traditional gym style weight training, plus active recovery exercises without weight that were reminiscent of Jane Fonda's earliest work or elements of Tracy Anderson, who was influenced by Jane F.The cueing is excellent, as would be expected from an old pro like Kathy, and she kept things moving. She gets a LOT done in only 15 minute so it's an efficient workout that moves briskly without feeling rushed. I loved the fact that she had such a variety of exercises to offer so it's highly unlikely a person would get bored with the offerings, and I loved that she did not kill you with an ultra-high repetition count the way some instructors do. I think a greater variety of exercises and fewer reps is healthier and leaves one less prone to injury.As for her personal demeanor, Kathy was encouraging without being fake, and I only heard 2 "whoops" out of her which is her most irritating mannerism, one that is generally used when she is showing off for visiting experts and class members. In this video, she is by herself in a living room setting and I liked her much better in the way that she came across.You can do anything for 15 minutes, this should fit anybody's schedule and limited energy. Give it a try!

There are many great exercises which I like and haven't seen in Ms. Smith's DVDs before. But the pacing from one exercise set to the next is off and she fails to instruct one as you begin a particular exercise that you'll be completing a 2nd set of the same exercise. She just jumps right in to that next set without any instructions and she's already started on that 2nd set. There is no real flow when this happens and one has to stop the DVD and back up to that 2nd starting point. Can get pretty frustrating. Not a fan of this DVD; since I have a heads up to the poor instructional qualities guess will keep only so I can rotate new exercises in my workout.

This is definitely a workout for the intermediate to advanced exerciser. I am pretty fit and work out 3 - 5 times a week 50 minutes at a time. I also have lower back issues, specifically L2-3 and L4 -5 disk problems which I have healed through chiropractic and exercise. I injured badly the last time 4 years ago and it was a long journey to get to the point where I can actually do the "real" stuff again. There are moves in this DVD that I do modify because of my injury, but overall I rate it high because it is challenging, thorough and safe. But this is not a beginner video at all. I can do this video because I did train as a fitness professional. Kathy does include modifications and they are good. I modified in other places specifically the hamstring exercises with the chair. It was a bit much for me, but I will probably work up to it. I have done this workout twice now (previewed before I attempted) and I can really recommend it. I am looking forward to doing it again next week!