Search - Crunch - Fat Burning Dance Party on DVD

Bernadette M. from MONROE, NY
Reviewed on 9/1/2012...

This is a fun exercise routine for people who like to dance for exercise. It starts off with a short warmup Latin style dance, Hip Hop dance, disco dance and a short cool down. It is medium impact with some steps that may be hard on arthritic knees. You need to do the routine a few times to really get the steps down, but they are not overly complex. You can raise your heart rate and work up a good sweat with this routine.

Way too dancey, and too many lags.

Julie Fugett | Lawrence, Kansas United States | 12/17/2004

(3 out of 5 stars)

"If you like to dance and your main goal is to get your butt off the couch, this workout is for you. If you're looking for a good solid cardio workout with easy to learn but intense choreography that will get your heart pumping, go somewhere else. All this workout requires is the ability to pick up semi-complicated choreography quickly and the inner strength not to yell at the video lead to SHUT UP already.

Pros: This is a lower intensity cardio workout. For a beginner exerciser who enjoys dancing, I think it would be a great way to get into exercising to videos at home. The DVD is chaptered, so if you only want to do one or two segments, that's pretty easy to accomplish. If it were 1997, you could whip these dance moves out at the club and people might think you were cool. I could really feel that I'd worked my abs after this video, but I don't do a 45 minute cardio workout with the expectation of only feeling it in my abs afterwards.

Cons: Oh, the instructor. Oh, her "attitude." The cheesy dance moves, the "LOOKIT MEEEEEE" backup exercisers. This workout is cheesy as all get out, and it takes a lot of cheese for me to be distracted enough to not want to do a DVD again. For the intermediate to low-advanced exerciser, this video is not a challenging cardio workout, and the lulls in between segments are long enough that your heart rate drops out of your training zone. As with most workout videos, the stretching segment is too short.

I would have given this workout two stars if it weren't for the fact that I'm aware much of my problem with this video is personal preference and NOT that it's a horrible workout. I think it's a great beginner cardio workout for people who'd rather dance than "exercise." I think it's a lousy cardio workout for anyone who has been exercising in a serious way (4+ times per week) for more than six months."

Another reviewer who had trouble following this DVD...

SharkLady | Fremont, CA USA | 03/22/2005

(2 out of 5 stars)

"I read a lot of reviews stating that people had trouble following the moves, but it seems overall most people had fun trying. Well, I did not. I've had some dance experience so I'm not a total newbie. However, the instructor takes very little time to show each move. I understand this is necessary in order for it to be a cardiovascular workout, but I think it could have been done in a better way. Perhaps less moves per "routine" or less complicated moves overall.

I can't say I was impressed, I was more frustrated then anything because they went to fast for it to be possible to catch on. I more or less just kept walking in place with a few hops, etc. and looked like a fool.

I'll give the DVD a few more chances (and update my review as necessary) to see if it gets easier with more practice of her moves, but I'm not very motivated to do so as they looked a bit cheesy to begin with."

Absolutely great for beginners+

DianeV | Long Beach, CA | 05/20/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I just bought this dvd and have done it 3 times, sweated up a storm, and had a lot of fun. The instructor is totally adorable to watch, has a great body, looks great doing everything, and does not insult me with irritating motivational hollering. She just gives some counts and acts enthusiastic. That's what I want in a video exercise instructor.

I don't get all the moves perfectly. If it were so easy I could do it all the first time, I'd be bored with it too soon. I don't care what I look like in the privacy of my own home, so if some of the moves are goofy, who cares? That means, yes, there are some goofy parts.

My experience with exercise dvds in the past has been that they all have pretty cheesy music and this one is no exception.

Finally, I will say that a lot of these moves are standard aerobic class kind of moves - vstep and grapevine (well, that's a dance move, too) - so for some people I can see where they may not feel like it's all dancing. In other words, do not feel that you can hit a salsa club after doing this dvd because you will not be learning hot new moves that you can take out.

From the reviews, I would say this dvd is great for beginners or people who haven't done a lot of cardio in a while. If you can't keep up with the arms and knee lifting and kick stepping, just improvise till you get it. Advanced cardio junkies probably will not find this challenging enough. For me, it's a great choice and I'm so glad I bought it."