CIA 3001: Step and Hi/Lo

This is the best video I've gotten in a long time. It features 4 instructors doing 3 separate half-hour workouts. The set is the same one used for Candice Copeland's "Step Ahead", and some of the songs (funky/club type) are also the same.

Greg Twombly kicks off with an intense warmup that even includes some pushups. Baillie Rechin, who leads the next hi/lo section, is a real gem - an excellent dancer and the best cuer on this tape. She begins with very funky, dancy moves, carefully breaking them down so you learn them. Just as I started thinking, "Eh, this isn't that tough", Baillie suddenly cranked up the tempo and launched into even dancier hi-impact sprints and leaps that had me gasping for air. Someone give this gal her own series!!

The next segment, a step/dumbbell interval workout with Suzanne Olson, I didn't like as much as the rest of the video, but that's mainly because I'm not an interval fan. The step moves are pretty basic and non-dancy. Suzanne is a competent if not real exciting instructor (granted, Ballie's a hard act to follow). The excitement returns with the last segment, Donna Richardson's ultra-funky step routine that's somewhat less intense than the rest of the tape. Donna's cueing isn't as polished as it is now, but she more than makes up in enthusiasm and attitude. Greg Twombly then returns for a cooldown.

I REALLY like this tape! Doing just one segment, plus warm-up and cooldown, would make a fine workout for challenge-seeking intermediates; doing the whole thing should satisfy many advanced persons. 3 workouts for the price of 1 ($20) make this an excellent value, and if you can't stand one instructor, maybe one of the others will appeal to you. This is still available from Collage although no longer listed in their catalog. Grade: A+

Back when this was put out, I'm sure it would have been very good. But in 1998, it's kinda like "been there, done that."

Greg Twombly starts the workout with a fun warmup and stretch, and then Baile Renchin teaches the first segment, which is high/low. This could be a very decent workout, but she takes *forever* to teach combos, and it gets monotonous. Even a pivot step is broken down and repeated over and over. Once the routine is put together, it's very high-energy and high-impact, which I like. But it just takes too long to get there.

Next Suzanne Olson teaches a circuit workout using the step and dumbbells. I do like this, but not enough to keep the tape. The step segments are fairly long, and then you stop and do some brief toning segments. I think this would be likeable for an intermediate exerciser.

Finally, there is Donna Richardson with a funky step workout. I wish I could do funk, but I can't, so there's no hope for me with this. But it looks fun. It's also more of an intermediate level intensity-wise.

My final grade for this tape is a B-.