Get Ready, Step, Go
Reviews from VideoFitness
Once I got past the frustration of having to learn the moves purely by repetition, not because of good cuing, I really liked this workout. It's tough, with lots of creative combinations and plyo moves. It's the typical CIA-like setting of glossy suburban living room and instrumental music.
The longer first half of the workout is done on a vertical step. You will need a lot of room in front of your step to do an L-step move. She TIFTT throughout, which is good because you will need the reps to learn some of the moves--I consider myself a seasoned stepper, but Kelly seems to have her own vocabulary of stepping and is not what I would call an expert cuer.
Sample combo: two turn-steps, two kicks on the step, knee up/tap other side of step, walk to the other side, repeat. There are lots of straddle-jumps (though she doesn't call it that) and series of fast-feet shuffles on the step.
The second shorter but intense half is horizontal stepping, with tap changes between leads. Pendulum swings, jacks, plyo jumps onto the step, V-steps and plyo jacks on the step, high kicks and L-steps combined with badly cued but intense floor moves.
For me, Kelly is like Mindy--very, very likable and overall I will keep buying her workouts, but I really dislike her cuing. I love the step combinations--they are refreshing and different, and this is an advanced intensity workout. But the step moves seem much harder to learn then they had to be.
I really like Kelly's demeanor, look and smile, but I really hate her cuing (or lack thereof). She was fine in her strength workout, but her teaching of this fast-moving step workout had me screaming in frustration more than once. She will tell you we're going into a "pump-lunge" as if you're supposed to automatically know what that is. NO explanation of it being a lunge to the other side, a two-count back onto the step, whatever.
Another example: She cues you to go from an L-step into a back lunge off the vertical step, but no--you're lunging off the SIDE of the step, not the back of it. Or she keeps saying, "Leg up" when it's a series of side kicks. It's small but crucial things like these that for me really make the difference between successful and inept cuing. Sure, there are some moves where you simply have to watch the instructor a few times, but having the instructor give you some explanation or at least counting to let you know how many reps of something there are--that makes it far more enjoyable for me. Too many times I was stuck staring at the screen as the crew launched into a new move with absolutely no explanation. That said, I cannot emphasize enough that I really like Kelly's voice, demeanor and overall personality.
I like advanced, high impact cardio without dancy intricate choreography, and this workout definitely fits the bill! There are several (5 maybe?) shorter combos with a few intensity blasts in between. No TIFTT, just straight forward athletic style combos. Don't get me wrong...it isn't easy. There are some fast feet moves, a few pivot-y moves that I modified, plyo jacks...lots of variation to keep it interesting but I was able to get most of the choreography the first time through. The first few combos are done with a verticle step, then the step is turned to the regular horizontal position for the rest of the workout. If you have bad knees ore dislike high impact, stay far away from this one! I usually do step on 8 inches, but I had to take it down to 6 due to the impact. At the end, there is some standing ab work, mostly side reaches, bow & arrows, and some fast punches. I wish it were longer & more varied, but still a nice change from traditional abs or pilates moves. There are definitely kickboxing influences in this workout, which was very appealing to me. Through most of the workout the cueing was quite good, though there was one point when she was calling a side kick a "knee up" and I kept getting confused! No biggy though. The music was typical instrumental techno-y aerobics music...not particularly good or bad. It is filmed in a typical CIA set, and there are several (maybe 5?) background participants along with Kelly. It is a very fast paced routine, though I can't determine the BPM. It would normally be a good speed for me, but was a little difficult since I was not familiar with the routine & some of the terminology used in cueing. I would definitely rate this as advanced, mainly for the high impact, but there are also a few tricky foot patterns.
I really like her...she's very encouraging and motivating without a single "woop"! She seemed a little more reserved at the beginning of the workout but further on she seemed much more relaxed & upbeat. I like her style of teaching a lot & I hope she continues to make more workouts
I just tried this for the second time this morning. The DVD is broken into warm-up, step on vertical step, and step on horizontal step. I can't remember the total length.
I really, really love this DVD. The music is not remarkable, which is usually something that bothers me, but I just loved the workout so much that it didn't matter.
I find her style a lot of fun. She is a little more athletic, while still having fun choreography, so I find she kept my heartrate up in a good place. And she inserts intensity blasts along the way to keep it challenging.
It was the perfect blend between fun choreography and intensity (which is sometimes missing on the dancier workouts).
I can't wait to do it again. I hope she will make more stuff in the future!
Nice style - friendly but not overly chatty.
I enjoyed the step routine, but not as much as the Tracey Staehle step workout, or Cathe's step routines.
The music is really what dulls down the workout for me. It's really boring at times. Other times it's good.
I'll do it a few times over to decide whether it's a keeper. I have higher hopes for her next series which I hav preordered, and 'the shape of things to come'
Kelley is very nice and I like her demeanor.
Her cuing could be better.