Bellydance Fitness for Beginners: Basic Moves

This is the first bellydance video I have ever tried, and I enjoyed it. At the start of the workout, the twins jump right into upper body and neck stretches--these days, it's considered a no-no to stretch cold muscles without warming up first, but this DID feel good in my shoulders and neck. They then move on to introducing simple moves such as shoulder and hip "punches," starting the moves slowly and then gradually increasing the pace. In this manner, you learn to go from isolated movements to "shimmies" in your shoulders and hips. I thought some of the hip movements were particularly fun, although it took me a few tries to catch on at times. At the end of the workout, there are a few brief moves on the floor to work your inner thighs and provide a stretch, and then it's back to standing for a final stretch, bringing the workout in at a total of about 28 minutes. Although I found this video to be fun, I felt that it provided only a very light workout, mostly through the toning work in the upper body and perhaps a bit of cardio work during the faster movements towards the end. Therefore, the video would probably be best suited to beginning exercisers who need a gentle, low-impact workout or more experienced exercisers who enjoy doing a lighter workout now and then.