Unlike the masses here, I didn't buy this program because of the Infomercial. Indeed, I never SAW one of the Informercials until after I'd been working here and Dolores mailed me one. Though I actually remember seeing Dolores' photo in the LA Times many years ago when Michael's salon was advertising, it was watching Michael working with people on "Extreme Makeover" and showing them how to exercise that made me sit up and take notice.
Not that I'm an exercise expert, but I took dance lessons for a number of years-- and for me it was more about the dance exercises than it was about dancing. The importance of proper positioning, slow sustained movement and holding in place for a count or two before releasing are all very important concepts in exercise, and reading through Michael's exercises I was very much impressed with the collection.
Did I have success with them? Absolutely. But, I'll tell you that positioning is crucial-- both that of the bands and your own posture. Before beginning (and even when I'd been doing the exercises for months) I was still keeping the book at arm's distance, checking the position of my bands, was my head up when it was supposed to be up, were my shoulders down if they were supposed to be down, was I gripping the bands in the proper manner-- any and all of these factors used improperly, may result in you not working the proper muscles. Exercises should ideally be worked slowly and steadily, concentrating on the muscles you're trying to work, holding the final position a second before releasing.
One of the best exercises I have ever done for my abs is abdominal breathing-- but it's hard to get the feel for it-- and if you're not doing it correctly, you won't feel a thing. To help me get the feeling the first time, I actually had to lie on my back, place my hands lightly on my stomach and concentrate hard on clenching the abdominal muscles. I'm not sure why, but having my hands there seemed to focus my efforts-- and though it took a number of tries till I finally started getting the sensation, once I did I was able to broaden the scope so that I could clench in both upper and lower abdominals, and I really felt it. I love that exercise because I can do it anywhere, anytime. My major problem is that I FORGET to do it when I know it's really good.
Go slowly and be patient with yourself. These sorts of exercises may not show instant results, but they do work!