Rating: Summary: A FUN WORKOUT! Review: This video is so much fun to do! This is a video I can do without taking any water breaks 'cause it's just so much fun to do! The dances are easy to pick up, plus they're good to learn to do at any parties. Kathy gives good instruction, so it's very easy to keep up. Although I mention the word "easy" a couple of times, this workout is still very challenging. It gets your heart rate up, and you'll definitely break a sweat. But you'll be having so much fun, you won't even notice!
Rating: Summary: So fun, it doesn't seem like a workout Review: I am in very good shape, having done aerobics regularly for over 20 years. This video is fun and you work up a sweat. I love it. I've done it 4 times, and I still don't have every single move down pat. I do it on my carpeted living room floor with aerobic shoes on and have never had a problem with falling or twisting my ankle. If you like salsa, or want to learn, this tape is perfect. It really does work up a sweat too.
Rating: Summary: Not That Great Review: To those who are wondering if you should buy this vid or not. I read all the people's reviews on this site, and overall I had a good impression, so I bought this vid. But..... You know, when you buy any exercise vides, you think "Right, I wanna get a bottom like hers, so I'll do the exercise she does and get a good body."or something like that. You wouldn't wanna get a video of someone who's very ordinary, cause that wouldn't motivate you at all. From that point of view, Kathy is good, but other dancers, I didn't think they were good enough. I don't mean just the appearance, but also the way they dance. I'm not saying they were bad or anything, but I didn't find it amazing at all. No offence to some of you who love this video, but this wasn't for me.
Rating: Summary: knee pain Review: Two things that I haven't seen mentioned here. Dancing requires a hard floor. It is hard to follow this tape with turns and pivots on carpet. Forget about sneakers. Smooth soles only. Second, the tape is definitely not low impact. One dance requires you to pretend that one leg is shorter. If you follow this tape a couple of times a week and experience knee pain it could inflame them. The other dance steps are equally hard on knees. I also found the retape portions distracting, where Kathy shows up mid sequence in different surroundings (blue floor) and then suddenly switches back to the big group in the dance studio. (wood floor). This could be part of the cueing problem that eveyone refers to. After a while it looks like they are doing the same step for every dance sort of a modified chacha. If you want to jump around to latin music, its a winner!
Rating: Summary: Real Latin Flavor Review: I usually can't motivate myself to work out a lot, but this video was a lot of fun! The latin music, played by a live band, is wonderful, and the moves are not too difficult. I am a competition latin dancer, so I was familiar with many of the steps, but I did this video with my non-dancer friends and they had no trouble picking up the moves. I like how it is divided into 2 sections, so if you are pressed for time you can do only one of the 20 minute sections. However, it is so much fun that you will want to go on to the second section as well. It is not a really intense workout, but you do sweat a little, especially if you add your own flavor to the moves.
Rating: Summary: Fun Workout & CHEAP Dance Lessons Review: I am amazed at how harsh some of the reviews have been on this video. Some say it's too easy. Granted, it is not as intense as some of Smith's other videos, but it will give the average exerciser a good, if not intense aerobic workout. As others have suggested, you can vary your intensity by adding or decreasing arm and hip movement, and also by bending the knees deeper during the dance moves. Some reviewers have criticized the instruction and cueing. I think this is one of those workouts that may take the average person a little practice before they can do it perfectly. I think Smith did a good job of teaching the steps; in fact there is an instructional segment for each of the three dances that are used at the very beginning of the tape. Yes, you are on your own after that, other than the verbal and visual cues, but if you pay attention, you can follow it easily enough, and with practice it will get much easier. I would like to point out that this is an aerobic video, not a total body workout. There is no specific body toning, ab work, etc, unless you count the very brief round of "squats" added at one point. Something that has barely been acknowledged so far is the incredible partner dancing bonus segment at the end. You might not appreciate something like that until you've gone to someplace like Arthur Murray and have had to pay $500 or more for enough lessons to learn what they teach you in the last few minutes of this tape. Dance studios make their money by charging outrageous hourly rates, and then dragging out the lessons so that you don't learn much in a single hour. With this bonus segment, you can watch and practice until you're doing it right, and you'll probably look as good on the dance floor as the majority of people who have paid big bucks to learn the same thing. I have PAID big bucks for lessons in the past, and it is my firm believe that the bonus segment alone is more than worth the cost of the tape. If you like Latin music and love to dance, you will love this workout. If you want killer intensity or don't like to dance, you probably won't.
Rating: Summary: This is a Blast Review: I'm a low advanced exerciser and wanted to add some fun to my workouts instead of pushing myself to near exhaustion every day. I bought this video at Target for $9.95 (sorry, Amazon; you need to work on your prices sometimes) a week ago and have been dancing up a storm since then. Although admittedly this is not a truly tough workout, you can increase the intensity substantially by increasing your range of motion and really putting your hips and arms into it. I wear a heart rate monitor when I work out and found that my heart rate when up from 60 - 65% of maximum doing the moves "normally" to 75% of maximum by putting some oomph into it. I found Kathy's cueing to be very good. I do have one criticism: Kathy should have used a microphone instead of having to yell some of the cues (some cueing is done via voice-over and some "live"). At times her voice can be quite strident -- I daresay a bit screechy. She and her background dancers seem to be having so much fun it's contagious. I like to use the video after another workout, just to add some more cardio and have some fun moving my body in ways I probably wouldn't ever move it in public.
Rating: Summary: Pleasant and entertaining Review: This is a decent workout tape. It's not a cardio blaster tape, but it does get your HR up to that 60 - 80% range - if you use your arms and actually DANCE. Good for a low to medium intensity day. The music is good and I much prefer it to the techno-pop-elevator-music in many other tapes. I agree with the other reviewers - the cuing is variable Watch the co-leader, Clara - this is where I learned the most. Note: doing this tape in workout shoes on carpet will play havoc with your ankles - especially the merengue. Wear a set of smooth soled shoes (i.e., flats) or work out on a smooth surface. As weird as it feels to exercise in my work shoes, I actually had better results and a better time. Several friends have borrowed this tape and loved it - and their kids loved it too, dancing along with Mom.
Rating: Summary: Not Kathy's best but fun Review: If you're looking for a fun workout, this will fill the bill. If you're looking for something to burn fat or get you into shape, choose another tape. I love the music of the tape and the other exercisers are terrific. Kathy looks a bit stiff and not quite with the music. It's fairly easy choreography - my 11 year old son does it with me without problem. If you want to move with some fun music, you'll like this tape. If you want to get sweaty and burn calories, you won't like this tape.
Rating: Summary: Not that great... Review: I was disappointed with the video. It was difficult to follow Kathy because she just didn't have that "Latin Rhythm" You get used to following the beat and suddenly she is slightly off beat and that throws you off. Her companions were easier to follow because they had more rhythm. I did eventually work up a slight sweat but it still left me wanting more!
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