| Customer Reviews (or write your own review) |
Life Force with Anni Mairs |
 Ditto on all the Five-Star Reviews! |
| I second all the previous positive reviews and won't repeat all the good things people have already said. I am a life-long fitness fanatic (running, weight lifting, mountain biking, swimming) and, at 47, currently consider myself an intermediate/advanced exerciser. I find myself reaching for this when I feel like an easier cardio workout AND when I feel like a challenging cardio workout; I guess I find myself reaching for this one a lot! It's so easy to modify to suit my energy level and needs. Yes, the moves are not complex, but I find I enjoy the "one-minute per move" format. As for the "dorky" guy (Eli, I think), I get a kick out of watching him make it fun--like when he kind of looks like he's doing the robot during one move. Hey, it's hard to be the one doing the beginner moves when the others have the advantage of impressing with high kicks and other advanced moves! LOVE this one! - posted by Deb on 7/7/2010 |
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 Basic and boring |
| I thought this video sucked. My daughter stomped after 15 seconds and said I don't like her! I never did get my heart rate up and that was with 3-lb weights! She doesn't really demonstrate what you are supposed to do before jumping in--the charleston, anyone? Then she just off-handedly mentions, oh, it's been 10 minutes--you can go to the cool-down if you want to. So then jumping into part 2, she went right into this move but they focused on the advanced, and the really dorky guy doing the basic move, so by the time they finally got to her, so you could see what she was doing, I gave up. Skip this one. - posted by Noi on 2/14/2010 |
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| A PERFECT Alternative for Current Trends |
| I'm intermediate/advanced cardio addict who often ends up with advanced step routines just to get My heart going. I'm very surprised at the intensity of Life Force, and would highly recommend this to anyone who wants a serious workout without serious time spent learning the Choreo.
Instead of the standard (Add-on/Build-onto routines), Life Force goes thru a series of 1 very simple minute motions, done at such a fast pace your HR won't drop at the 'toning' intervals. They're done at 3 levels - all of which (unlike other vids) are EASY to see/follow. So It's extraodinarily easy to adjust your workout for current mood and/or aches and pains... It's also a no brainer adjusting impact level, and in fact I'd consider this a Lower impact vid.
Anni's cueing is excellent yet she still finds time to focus your attention to proper form. I personally find this very refreshing compared to the current trend.
Too many of vids (even some of my favorites) require so much time to learn that I'm sick of them by the time I've REALLY got them down pat.
I really DO enjoy good choreography but I also like having some no nonsense vids that really get the job (tone body/burn calories) done in minimum of time and this is surely one of the best in this category. - posted by xandra on 1/15/2010 |
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| One of my new favorites! |
| This workout is awesome. She provides all kinds of variations and modifications. I like to change it up, sometimes using the step, sometimes not. I use weighted gloves and its much easier not to worry about holding the weights. Sometimes you can make the floor moves more intense than doing them on the step. I love the basic choreography, so you can really focus on increasing intensity and holding in your core and keeping good posture and good form. With more difficult choreography, it can be harder to follow along while remembering all of that. Anni is my one of my new favorite instructors! She's very motivational, caring, and likeable. I love Jump Force and Cardio Force, but this may be the best of the three - now I need to try Core Force! If you like basic choreography and intense cardio, this is one does the job. She also allows you to stop at different points and go to the cool down stretch if you want to - its a great format. - posted by Cheryl on 3/7/2009 |
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| Great Simple, Thorough Workout! |
| I consider myself an advanced exerciser, and I love this workout! It's so simple, so basic, yet it gives you such a thorough, great workout. You can make it a bit easier or a bit harder. Every minute you change what you are doing, and I find the time just flies by. Anni really mixes things up with cardio and toning segments. Sometimes alternating between the two, sometimes doing 2 or 3 of one type of work in a row and then switching. She keeps you guessing. I find it to be a nice interval workout. I did the more advanced cardio options to really get my heart rate up during those and then let my heart rate come back down a bit during the toning segments. It's never complicated, so you can really focus on your form and putting 100% effort into each move. Anyone could do this workout, from a beginner to advanced. Anni is a great instructor. Encouraging and motivating without being overly perky or fawning. She keeps up the dialogue, but isn't unnecessarily chatty. She gives plenty of form reminders and tips. It's nice to have her doing the intermediate versions with her two background excercises showing advanced and easier versions of the exercise. Minimal equipment required! I used 1# and 2# weights today (I think I will use 3#s for some of the toning exercises next time). Optional equipment is a step and a body bar (which is just used for balance so a wall or a chair would work just as well). The stretch at the end is thorough and just the right length - not overly long, but not real quick either. As has been mentioned, Anni tells you when each 10-minute section is up, so you can skip to the cool down if you want a shorter workout. Since the cardio and toning segments are so evenly mixed throughout the workout, you could easily do only 20-30 min. and still get a balanced workout! Hope to see more from Anni! - posted by ssgilby on 2/10/2009 |
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| Amazing Workout! Anni is my New Favortie Instructor! |
| This DVD is excellent! I have found my New Favorite DVD instructor! Anni provides the best of both worlds when it comes to Cardio: Basic Moves and High Intensity with Interval Training! It's "Cathe Friedrich meets Leslie Sansone"! I did this workout today for the 1st time and it really burned major calories! I did the Intermediate Level (also has Beginner and Advanced modifications) and burned over 500 calories in 60 minutes flat! Another great thing is that she breaks it up into 10 minute segments. After each 10 min Segment, she leaves you the option to fast forward to the cool-down or to continue on. It really makes time fly especially if you don't really want to workout that day. I'm 26 years old and I am someone that gets bored very easily when it comes to fitness DVDs, hense me having over 200 of them! I have been on a serious quest for 19 months now to lose weight, gain endurance, strength, and better my health. In that pursuit I have never found anything like The Force Series! I love Cathe and I love Leslie, but I can't do them for very long. Cathe hurts previous joint injuries after a while, where as Leslie doesn't give me the cardio workout that I want and know I need. That even included her high impact DVDs. Life Force is amazing! I now have a Series that I can do that will "Force" myself to put in a hardcore workout without the complicated choreography. This DVD and Series allows you to focus on pushing your body and heart rate without being slowed by tricky steps. I love Cathe, but there are times when you want a great workout like hers without having to think about what's coming next. If you are someone that does not enjoy basic choreography, then this DVD/Series is not for you. However if you are looking for a challenge or want something that will kick your butt without the mental fatigue, Anni is your gal! I don't know why this would make someone feel old, I felt energized and completely worked after this! It won't build strength (muscle growth), but it will build stamina and endurance! Her sets aern't anything special, but the workout is! I've found my new fitness guru and I can't believe I waited so long! Trust me the workouts are far better than the clips! Buy this one!!! Each of her DVDs has something slightly different to offer with the same great style! - posted by Julia on 2/5/2009 |
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| Simple,effective,FANTASTIC...... |
| and Anni Mairs is a very friendly,calm,no nonsense,nonsilly instructor.The one minute intervals make this workout doable and fun with LOTS of room for advancement. Variety galore,I can't imagine anyone being bored with this workout. Anni keeps the cardio choreography very simple and basic so you can focus entirely on intensity instead of learning a new,complicated step move or keeping up with the instructor. The cool down is through and fabulous. The only thing I didn't care for was the music used in the cool down,it was a bit spooky and depressing but easily overlooked because this is a truly fabulous workout by a very skilled instructor. GREAT JOB,Anni!! - posted by Judy on 2/1/2009 |
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| Great workout! |
| I loved this workout because it was both easy and tough. Easy enough that there is no dread factor and the choreography is easy, no stress over getting the moves! And tough because you get a great workout. She has modifiers for easier and tougher, and she also has an end time of 10 min, 20 min, 30 min, 40 min, or 50 min - so you can stop earlier if you need to, but I love doing the entire workout. The other reviewer said this workout made her feel old - I think its only because Anni Mairs needs an updated hair style! Her hair makes her look older. But the workout is fresh, fun, and invigorating. There is more cardio and the cardio gets a little more intense the longer you stick with it. When I was done, I felt like I really worked out! - posted by Cheryl on 1/25/2009 |
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| This didn't do it for me, I'm being star generous |
| I guess I like a little more "zing" in my workouts. Nicely done with three levels of intensity, although I thought the guy doing the lower intensity work looked a bit dorky. Take my opinion with the knowledge that I prefer fairly complex step and kickboxing for my cardio. I can see where this would be great for those who like basic choreography, because she moves from one thing to another after a minute to avoid complete boredom. I don't know.... I'm 50 and this made me feel old. I didn't like that! - posted by Diane LG on 1/7/2009 |
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| GREAT WORKOUT !!! |
| I just finished doing this workout. Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful.I have 2 left feet and the moves were so easy to follow. You are given three different options and they all work.This was not difficult to keep up with and believe me, the 1 lb weights were plenty. Sometimes you are told to go up to 3 lbs, but nothing more or higher. AND YOU DO get a workout with these weights. It is non stop, fun and now my favorite workout. - posted by Marsha on 12/29/2008 |