Old School Dance Party

This is a really fun dance aerobics tape. It feels totally like dancing and not like "aerobics" (which for me is a good thing because I hate cardio workouts). The exercisers work out in front of a live band (Sugarhill Gang) and they play all their hits ("Rappers' Delight", "White Lines" and that other hit I don't know the name of "Tonto, jump on it, jump on it, jump on it!" - you know the one) plus others. The exercises are mostly dance moves from the 70s and 80s with some standard cardio moves mixed in.

The intensity of this workout is moderate. If you are looking to break a big sweat and get an intense cardio workout, this is not the video for you. But if you are looking for a light cardio day that is a lot of fun, then this is a good choice. I think it's 45 minutes long. It is a VERY hyper video and Donna is shouting over the band the whole time which gets a little annoying, but that's my only criticism.

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I just finished the tape and have to shower up and leave in a little bit, but I had to tell you guys about this tape. So here I am in my sweaty workout clothes, banging out a quick review while BF whines, "Are you getting ready yet?" in the background.

The cardio section (i.e., not including warmup and cooldown) is about 30-35 minutes long and the choreography is pretty basic. Donna introduces some old school dance moves (remember the running man, the troop, the butterfly??? I could go on and on), strings 3 or 4 moves together and repeats them several times, then moves on to another "pattern." I think anyone could do these moves; even if you don't have a funky bone in your body, you could improvise. But it didn't get boring at all. These were dances I did back in junior high, so the nostalgia factor kicked in and it was nothing but a good time.

The workout was a lot more intense than I thought it would be (considering that Donnamite couldn't get me higher than 130). I wore my HR monitor and my average was at 70%. I haven't worked out in a full week due to a bum ankle, so I chose this tape thinking it would be lower intensity... what a surprise I got! (I did Step this Way last week... my AHR for Old School was 10 beats higher!) I did give it everything I had though... you get what you put into it, so I think my HR would've been a lot lower if I wasn't as into it.

The best part of the video was, of course, the music. The Sugarhill Gang performed all their old hits, including "Rapper's Delight" and "White Lines" live in the background. This is my favorite music out of all my videos (how many other (non-supermodel) videos have music by the original artists?). At the end of the video, the Gang got down from their little stage and danced freestyle with Donna and her girls. They even joined in on the cooldown (which wasn't much... just some sidesteps and two stretches for the upper back... but the rest of the video was such a blast I didn't mind).

I absolutely LOVED this video. I usually like more complex choreography, but this workout was so much fun I couldn't ask for anything more. I'm glad I learned Susan P's phrase "party in a box" earlier this week, because nothing describes Old School Dance Party more perfectly. If you love hip hop, if you love to get your groove on, if you're *thinking* about getting this video at all, stop thinking and go get it!