Waltz to Fitness

Waltz to Fitness is a refreshing alternative for anyone who enjoys walking videos ala Leslie Sansone. The workout is approximately thirty minutes long, featuring three sections with fairly simple choreography. Unfortunately, the DVD-R is not chaptered, so it is difficult to move between these chapters easily.

The movements are all based on a waltz count of 1-2-3. You will walk to this beat, emphasizing the first and third beat. Gin also includes mambos to the front, side, and back, along with some crosswalks and lunges. Some of the most fun moves are taken from sports, including ice skating (skaters) and a fencing move where you lunge forward while brandishing an imaginary sword. The choreography is fairly basic and may get too repetitive for those who enjoy complex moves or combinations. Although the entire workout is low impact, it would be easy to incorporate some power moves and make this video more challenging.

The workout's production values are good. Gin and her modifier Danelle work out in front of various pieces of equipment, perhaps meant to evoke Gin's previous videos: a step, weights, and an exercise ball. The music is excellent throughout, ranging from classical piano to a more Mediterranean feel with accordion flourishes.

As I did this workout, I kept thinking, "This is what I'd hoped Kathy Smith's Matrix walk would be like!" Gin spices up the typical walking workout by having you move in every direction, much like Kathy's Matrix walk. However, Waltz is not nearly as cheesy or tacky as Kathy's Matrix walk, and the moves are more fun. If you enjoy Gin's Salsa Walk, you'll probably like Waltz to Fitness too. I just wish that Gin would re-release this one on DVD!

I believe that Gin Miller made this video as she was beginning to develop the ramp. It was released in 2003, and as the name implies, it is in 3/4 time rather than 4/4 time, which makes for a little bit different rhythm than your typical workout. The music is pleasant and new-agey.

Gin is exercising in what looks like a gym (wood floor, plain walls) with some exercise equipment scattered at the sides (a step, some stability balls). She has one background exerciser with her, who looks like your average person from off the street, not a fitness professional (but she does the workout as if she has actually done it before).

The workout is definitely geared towards beginners, and is fairly easy. How easy? Well, if you can do Leslie Sansone, you can do this. In fact, I have to really put my all into big movements and big arms to get my heart rate up, even more so than with Leslie. However, I enjoy Gin more (this is Gin on a subdued day, not in one of her more wacky moods), and I find the choreography a pleasant change of pace. It's kind of hard to describe the steps, except to say that like a waltz, they are in a 1-2-3 tempo (forward-left-right, forward-right-left, side-left-right, etc). Take my word for it, they're a lot easier to do than to describe. It's all very low impact. The whole tape (and I don't believe this comes as a DVD) is about 35 minutes long. It's a little hard to tell when the warmup ends and the workout begins, as the whole thing is so mellow, and the music stays the same pace. Starting around minute 10, there are some forward lunges that do help to get the heart-rate up; I do reverse lunges to make my tricky knee happy. I find that I use quite a bit of space forward and back in order to help maintain my target heart rate. Gin is, as usual, very meticulous about cuing.

I would say this is a great workout for you if you are a beginner, enjoy an occasional light day, or are doing aerobic base building. As far as I know, this is only available through Gin's website.