Film & TV

DVD Review: Kym Marsh: Power Sculpt

Coronation Street star Kym Marsh delivers a home workout using circuit training to deliver what it promises in an effective, simple way for all fitness levels.

There are a lot of fitness videos flooding the market but this one from Coronation Street actress Kym Marsh promises a lot and seems to deliver on most of it.

There’s the usual marketing hype and mumbo jumbo that you can dismiss as the introduction talks about “intelligent fitness’ and an exercise program “developed through science” but when you begin the guts of this home fitness program, their promise of an after-burn lasting up to 36 hours is plausible, as it would be for any intense fitness routine.

PowersculptDVDDivided into Phase 1 for beginners and Phase 2 for those more advanced, Kym Marsh: Power Sculpt uses circuit training to save time and keep the metabolism running high. Circuit training involves two or more exercises done back to back and repeated several times with a short rest in between, as opposed to most exercise videos which move you through just one exercise at a time.

The workouts are timed, encouraging you to do as many repetitions as you can in the given time instead of trying to keep up with the professionals on screen, and each Phase includes a warm up and cool down. You will need light dumbbells and an exercise mat for some of the exercises on this video although alternative weights are suggested – such as using water bottles if you don’t have dumbbells.

Regardless of which Phase you choose, easy options are always demonstrated by one of the two fitness instructors that accompany Marsh on screen. Matt Baker and Sam Witter are both good trainers. They’ve got the personality and style to motivate and explain the exercises, while imparting other snippets of fitness knowledge along the way. They stand either side of Marsh, who herself, is also good at offering motivation and encouragement.

The DVD menus separate each of the 1-hour Phase routines and, within each Phase, you can choose to focus on either upper body or lower body circuit routines for a more targeted workout, or a or full body circuit if you prefer.

Bonus features have the trainers discussing nutrition and lifestyle. The former includes thoughts on carbohydrates, proteins, fats, and snacking, with Baker proclaiming the healthiest diet is to “eat like a vegan with meat on top”. The feature on lifestyle looks at alcohol, reducing stress, motivation, goal setting and planning for your day ahead. Both features are brief but wise.

The high production qualities of this video, along with the three effective personalities on screen make Kym Marsh: Power Sculpt one of the better home exercise releases of recent times and suitable for both males and females.

Reviewed by Rod Lewis
Twitter: @StrtegicRetweet

Rating out of 10:  8

Kym Marsh: Power Sculpt is out now on DVD.

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