Step Party with Functional Training

There are 2 workouts on this dvd, a beginner and advanced. This is a review of the advanced. I have not watched the beginner so I'm not sure what the difference is other than it is shorter.

Advanced workout (57:00 total):

Warmup (about 6:00)

Step 1 (about 12:00)

Functional training 1 (about 6:00)

Step 2 (about 12:00)

Functional training 2 (about 6:00)

Step 3 (about 10:00)

Cooldown and stretch

The set looks like an aerobiocs studio, very bright and cheerful. The walls are yellow, the floor is light wood and there are a couple of huge potted plants in the bacground. There are 4 women backgrounders who are obviously well rehearsed. The music is instrumental and will be familiar to anyone who has done older CIA workouts (late 90s). I guess it would be retro Dynamix at this point. This is my favorite Dynamix era so I was fairly happy with the music. The music and Katina's voice were clear and loud enough.

Katina starts off with an energetic warmup of grapevines, step taps and repeater knees on the floor. I was starting to think it was a little hohum and then she took it to the step, which gave it a fun twist. There is a short stretch at the end of the warmup. The step combos are a nice blend of athletic and dancey. Step Combo 3 does not introduce any new choreograhy; she puts 1 and 2 together and runs through them a few times. Her choreography is most similar to Cathe's, but to me there was a higher fun factor. Most of it is low impact. I am at an intermediate level of fitness and this was a fairly intense workout for me. Overall, Katina does a good job of cuing. A couple of times she introduced a new move without any warning and without really telling you how to do it (e.g a reverse pony over the step and another move she called party). I was able to pick these moves up fairly easily by watching her feet but I have done a lot of complex step videos. This is more intermediate to advanced choreography without a lot of breakdown.

The functional fitness segments consisted of variations of lunges and squats while working the upper body with a medicine ball. My heart rate stayed up pretty high during these segments, so I'm going to count the whole workout as cardio. I don't think either of these segments are long enough or challenging enough to qualify as your strength workout for the day.

Overall: This workout flew by and I really had a lot of fun. Katina seemed very relaxed in front of the camera considering this is her first video. The cuing isn't perfect, but she has the kind of enthusiasm that Christi and Franny have that makes you smile while you are sweating up a storm. Grade: A-