Ever wonder what it’s like to exercise circa 1983?

Well, now you can know with Denise Austin: The Complete Workout, a 60-minute exercise video from the fitness queen herself. While this video will live up to its claims of delivering a “total body workout,” the catch is that you actually have to follow the tape. And even the most patient exerciser will likely find this video too dated and boring to use it regularly.

I bought this tape in 1997, shortly after I entered college. Too shy to brave the campus health club, I opted to work out in the privacy of my own dorm. But this tape only saw about five go-rounds before being relegated to the depths of my VHS library. Here’s why.

It’s dated. The particular tape that I possess is a re-release of Denise Austin’s original 1988 Complete Workout. And this is painfully obvious. Denise bounds onto the scene wearing a white belted (yes, belted) leotard, matching socks, stark white sneakers, and some tan legging/pantyhose things. The other male and female exercisers lined up behind her with big smiles are similarly dressed. This may not matter to some people, but to me I just felt odd exercising with such a dated-looking group of people. It doesn’t exactly give the impression that you’re using the latest and most effective fitness techniques. But this wasn’t the only problem I had with the Complete Workout.

The moves are dated as well – and boring. First, Denise leads us through a 30-minute low-impact aerobic routine, which pretty much consists of “grapevine” moves, various versions of jumping jacks, and waist twists – over and over and over. There are no fun combinations, just repeated sets of the same moves, then a move to the next set of repetitive motions. This bored me. I mean, how many jumping jacks can someone tolerate at one time? It didn’t help that the music sucked – kicky, nondescript instrumentals with synthesizers that you might hear in a grocery store.

The second half of the video, the strength-training part, is no better. More of the same – boring repetitive moves that have become less popular since the advent of Pilates, Tae-Bo and the like. Leg lifts, hydrant moves for the butt, crunches, arm flyes, blah blah blah. Denise “demonstrates” each strength move during the workout with one of the exercise people, giving a short spiel about proper form and how not to injure yourself. I guess that’s a good thing.

The final minutes of the workout are devoted to stretching and cooling down, which I will admit are not all that bad. Most of the major muscle groups get a good pulling, which can help prevent injury and relax you after a workout.

But does it work? Well, I really didn’t do the video often enough to actually see results. But in theory, the moves should do some good – the aerobic part gets your heart rate up to a decent level, and the strength moves would probably improve muscle tone. However, this is NOT a video for experienced exercisers. Those who have been working out for a while will find the moves simplistic and not challenging at all. I would recommend it to anyone who’s gym-shy and wants to learn some basic fitness moves. If I had to do this routine, I’d memorize the moves and do them on my own, to some good music.

I bought Denise Austin: The Complete Workout at a local music and video store, but that was years ago, so I’m not sure of its availability now. It can, however, be bought at Amazon for $14.99. But I'd spend my money on something a little more recent.


Recommended:
No

Viewing Format: VHS
Video Occasion: Good for a Rainy Day
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age