First impression-AMAZING!!!!July 26, 2009 lovehitzalot(Minnesota) 20 out of 20 found this review helpful
I just received the So You Think You Can Dance Get Fit Cardio Funk and Tone & Groove dvds yesterday (I tried CF yesterday and T&G today), so my reviews will be based on my first impressions, and then I'll edit them again later regarding the long term results.
First thought-I LOVE these dvds! Because the routines were explained well and taught in a progression, I was able to pick up the choreography for each dance the first time through, though I felt all of the routines were definitely challenging and VERY effective as workouts! After just finishing the second dvd today; my muscles are sore, I'm sweating, and I feel fantastic (and like I worked really hard)! The dancers were all very energetic, encouraging, and none of them ever missed a beat/step on the routines. It was exciting to see all of these great personalities from the show (definitely 5 of my many favorites) choreographing, dancing, and having such a blast out there-and it's even more fun to dance along with them!
Getting down to business, the menu screen has a 'Play All' option which takes you through the warm-up, all 3 routines (with instructions), and the cool down. In the 'Workouts' section, you can choose between the 3 routines (with or without instructions) and the bonus workout that combines the three styles with some extra steps (also with our without instructions). The Warm-Up and Cool Down sections are taught by the whole group of dancers, switching off. They're the same combination of dance-infused stretches on both dvds and they've got a funky flavor going on the Warm-Up and more of a bluesy tone on the Cool Down. I found them to be fully effective in preparing me for the workouts and cooling me down afterward, as well as enjoyable ways to begin and end the session. For extra entertainment value, the dvd also includes interviews with the three dancers featured on the front cover, as well as with Nigel Lithgoe. The dancers' interviews include behind the scenes clips from their workout rehearsals, taping, and photo shoot, as well as them just goofing off with each other and having fun. I expect that all fans of the show would really enjoy these parts as much as I did. :) Anyway, I chose to 'Play All' and then perform the Bonus dance with instruction and my total workout time for each day was about 1 hour and 40 minutes! That will be reduced without the instructions, though I think it's always good to get the extra benefit of performing the moves slowly and isolating the muscles whenever there's time. Seriously, for only $11?-What a tremendous value for the money!
On this dvd:
-Twitch-Hip Hop: Oh yeah! This is an awesome little hip hop number! I thought he really did a good job of teaching basic popping for it as well! I found tremendous arm and leg benefit in this one. My thighs, in particular, were burning by the end of it.
-Katee-Jazz: This is a cute and sassy dance that includes arm and leg extensions, jumps, hip sways, and even her famous `awkward dance' with the elbows transformed into a standing, twisting, knee lifting, sit-up! This one is really good for your waist, abs, legs, hips, and backside and it's a ton of fun.
-Dmitry-ChaCha: Man, this one really worked me!! I thought Dmitry did a fabulous job of breaking down the movements and really demonstrating the correct technique in each of the steps. This one is really fast once the music starts, even at the slowest speed (especially those twists! Whoo!), and with no prior training in this area, I found it to be the most challenging (in a VERY good way, though)! Any fat left on my waistline and legs had better beware with this one!
The video clip at the top of the screen will give you a nice preview into how the steps are taught and the types of moves you'll be doing. I'm so excited to have added this fitness dvd into my collection and hope you'll enjoy it as much as I did! ***** Difficulty: Intermediate/Challenging (At least a little dance training recommended, if not required).
Fun workout while dancing!July 24, 2009 lunasera(CT, USA) 17 out of 17 found this review helpful
I also reviewed the other So you think you can dance get fit: Cardio Funk, and they are quite similar, so I'm posting the same review slightly modified for this version below. I will say that I liked Twitch's hip hop routine on this one a bit better then Lauren's on the other, and Dmitry's cha-cha felt the most like I was actually learning to move more like a dancer. If you were only going to get one I would say maybe get this one first, except I really like Travis's contemporary routine on Cardio Funk as well.
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Especially while the show is airing, who doesn't want to feel like they can be part of So you think you can dance! Totally fun to dance with a bunch of dancers from past seasons, and get a great workout at the same time.
Three different styles of dance routines (hip hop, jazz, and cha-cha), you can pick one or do all three, and there are separate chapters for the instructions to learn the routines that you can skip and go straight to the workouts after you get them down. Learning the steps is nice and slow, and easy to follow or repeat if you get lost. Then in the workouts they start with doing the routine counting, and get faster, add music, until it's more like a performance at the end - just music no counting at full speed. There is also a bonus dance workout that mixes the styles together. The dancers on the video are Travis, Katee, Dmitry, Twitch, Lauren, and Courtney.
My only slight complaint is the music is a bit generic, so you aren't going to feel like you are telling any kind of story in the routine like from the show, but after all it is an exercise dvd, so this isn't that big of a deal. It would be cool if they came out with a couple that were focused more on just dance so you feel more like a real routine though. But for now I'm pretty happy they did this at all, and the other one Cardio Funk is great as well!
You'll Work Hard, it's Fun, but not too Complex!August 17, 2009 Erin(France) 7 out of 7 found this review helpful
Tone and Groove is exactly like the first dvd of this set, "Cardio Funk". Both are actual DANCE dvds that give you a serious workout. Anyone watching might go:- "Ok, that doesn't look hard." No dance looks hard, but omg try and do it. The warm-up in itself is a great workout, just that.
This dvd is so fun. I love the jazz section, and the hip-hop is so laid-back and fun and calm, you feel great, Twitch is a wonderful instructor; the Latin section of this dvd is really sexy and sauve.
I'm not kidding, this dvd will get you into serious shape. It may look simple, but try and do it? You'll be sweating. It's so much more fun than a treadmill. This dvd has you jumping up, dancing around, bending, stretching, and laughing.
It's so underrated. You honestly will not be disapointed you got it. It's expertly done and so much fun.
It's a fun AND challenging dance workout!January 30, 2010 QuirkyYogini(Germany) 2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I'm not going to break this down for you since others have already done it, so I'll just say that I love this DVD. I own several other dance DVDs, but this one and Dance with Julianne: Cardio Ballroom are my favorites so far.
I do think the music choice could have been better, but it's not enough for me to detract a star. I'll also point out that during the quickest tempo during Dmitry's routine he didn't give any cues, which I REALLY could have used. That said, it was extremely fast and I imagine it would have been nearly impossible to speak coherently while dancing, but it would have been nice to have a voice over or something. Still, by the time you do the quickest speed, you should already know the routine, so I still won't detract a star. It just would have been nice to have for if/when you get off step. So with that said, I'd give it a 4.5, but rounded up to a 5.
Now for a little about me so you can put my review in perspective. I was never a dancer growing up, so aside from a few bellydancing classes at my university, I'm a complete dance novice. That said, I've been an athlete all of my life and am intermediate (maybe advanced) exerciser. I'm also a former yoga instructor, so I'm pretty flexible and used to putting my body in sometimes strange positions. I prefer kickboxing and HIIT type workouts when I'm not doing a dance DVD or yoga. I found the dances fun and challenging, but doable. You might have to rewind a few times (especially with Dmitry's routine) but if you do everything to the best of your ability, I think even a beginner could eventually do this DVD. I do recommend just watching the DVD, as with all dance DVDs, the first time through without participating if you are new to dancing.
Remember that it's a workout, but it's also supposed to be fun! If you can't pick up the steps right away, keep trying! I know a common complaint with dance DVDs is that it's hard to pick up the steps and you don't get a workout since you're so busy trying to figure out what to do. I've done this too, but if you keep trying, you will eventually get it, and then you'll really be able to get a great workout.
Great workout and a lot of fun!September 3, 2009 Anthony J. Godoy(Orange County, CA) 1 out of 1 found this review helpful
My wife loves the show, and she was very excited to receive this DVD as a birthday gift. Now she gets step by step instruction on all the different types of dance that you see the contestants perform during the competition. It's all about having fun and she has a blast laughing at herself as she dances around in front of the TV.
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