Customer Reviews

Bellydance Fitness for Weight Loss featuring Rania: Too Hip [VHS]

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you're not familiar with the Bellydancer Rania and her "Bellydance Fitness for Weight Loss" series, she is an AFAA certified Fitness Instructor and award winning professional bellydancer. Her "Bellydance Fitness for Weight Loss" DVDs are fun, award winning workouts and a great way to interject life into a dull and stale workout routine.

There is absolutely no bellydance instruction on "Too Hip." This workout was designed for someone who already knows bellydance and wants to be lead through a great workout; it's difficulty would be considered at the Intermediate level. In the pre-workout warmup alone, Rania uses both horizontal and vertical figure 8s as well as camels. If you don't know how to do these then choose one of her other four "BFF&WL" workouts instead. If you know what these bellydance moves are and can perform them well, then this is the workout for you. There's lots and lots of hip work featured here and you'll feel the workout primarily in your hips, buns, and thighs. Your abs, waist, and calves will get auxiliary work as well. Because Rania doesn't take any time at all to explain the moves, not even at half time pace, this workout has a much higher intensity level than the other four. You may have no complaints that the entire workout from warmup to cool down is only 35 minutes in length because you hit the ground running . . . or hip dropping, so to speak.

Before beginning this workout it's important to keep in mind what it is -- a workout. Although you will practice bellydance, as all of the routines are nearly completely comprised of bellydance moves, don't expect to buy this DVD and have it be your one-stop shopping for instruction and workout. They haven't made anything like that yet. The pacing required for instruction is way too slow to get your heart rate up for a cardiovascular or fat burning workout. Rania does a very good job of creating routines with moves using similar muscle groups, this time using moves that require good hip work, and building a routine one fun section at a time. In this workout, all moves are done at full speed, no half time learning paces here, and constant repetition will give your muscles a good workout as you get plenty of great bellydance practice. I found each of the mini-sections to be quite fun as Rania exhibits some of her most enjoyable workout choreography to date.

Rania knows how to structure a good workout so just like in her others, "Too Hip" gives you a great warmup and stretch, followed by an intense workout, and finishing with a cool down and deeper stretch. Unlike her previous four "BFF&WL" videos, famous as much for their fun workouts as they were infamous for their terrible soundtrack, Rania got rid of the `Disney-esque" synthesized music in favor of the arabic techno song "Sitt Akull" from the album "Alwan Min Alsharq" by Studio Ayoub Music. The steady, techno beat helps you reach and keep a target heart rate suitable for burning calories and fat. She has four backup dancers, two of whom you'll recognize from her other videos, and they've definitely been practicing. Louchia -- the dancer with the never-ending smile from "Bellydance Divas" is on Rania's right and on her left is a new face named Samira -- Arabic for `doesn't smile much.' Almost all of them look like they're having a good time and are all fluid and graceful. Yeah, Rania is still a bit stiff and her look a bit vapid but we can all get over that because the workout is so amazing and so much fun.

Immediately following the workout cool down is a drum solo by Rania which is my least favorite performance of her I've seen to date -- forgivable because she made me so exhausted from a killer workout. There is also a second bonus performance by Rania in the Bonus section of the disc. Did I mention the workout was great? The sound was laid incorrectly here so you'll notice Rania emphasizing beats of the music that happened two beats ago. It's a shame. Just skip this one. The bonus workout is not one from the "Bellydance Quickies" DVD, hooray! It's entirely new but Rania's cueing voice over as well as the music don't always fit what she's doing so I recommend after watching it the first time, just trying the bonus workout with the volume off. Overall, this workout is so good and so much fun that even with these few problems I still highly recommend this disc to all intermediate level bellydancers who want a great workout.

If you're not familiar with the Bellydancer Rania and her "Bellydance Fitness for Weight Loss" series, she is an AFAA certified Fitness Instructor and award winning professional bellydancer. Her "Bellydance Fitness for Weight Loss" Videos are fun, and award winning, workouts and a great way to interject life into a dull and stale workout routine.

There is absolutely no bellydance instruction on "Too Hip." This workout was designed for someone who already knows bellydance and wants to be lead through a great workout; it's difficulty would be considered at the Intermediate level. In the pre-workout warmup alone, Rania uses both horizontal and vertical figure 8s as well as camels. If you don't know how to do these then choose one of her other four "BFF&WL" workouts instead. If you know what these bellydance moves are and can perform them well, then this is the workout for you. There's lots and lots of hip work featured here and you'll feel the workout primarily in your hips, buns, and thighs. Your abs, waist, and calves will get auxiliary work as well. Because Rania doesn't take any time at all to explain the moves, not even at half time pace, this workout has a much higher intensity level than the other four. You may have no complaints that the entire workout from warmup to cool down is only 35 minutes in length because you hit the ground running . . . or hip dropping, so to speak.

Before beginning this workout it's important to keep in mind what it is -- a workout. Although you will practice bellydance, as all of the routines are completely comprised of bellydance moves, don't expect to buy this Video and have it be your one-stop shopping for instruction and workout. They haven't made anything like that yet. The pacing required for instruction is way too slow to get your heart rate up for a cardiovascular or fat burning workout. Rania does a very good job of creating routines with moves using similar muscle groups, this time using moves that require good hip work, and building a routine one fun section at a time. In this workout, all moves are done at full speed, no half time learning paces here, and constant repetition will give your muscles a good workout as you get plenty of great bellydance practice. I found each of the mini-sections to be quite fun as Rania exhibits some of her most enjoyable workout choreography to date.

Rania knows how to structure a good workout so just like in her others, "Too Hip" gives you a great warmup and stretch, followed by an intense workout, and finishing with a cool down and deeper stretch. Unlike her previous four "BFF&WL" videos, famous as much for their fun workouts as they were infamous for their terrible soundtrack, Rania got rid of the `Disney-esque" synthesized music in favor of the arabic techno song "Sitt Akull" from the album "Alwan Min Alsharq" by Studio Ayoub Music. The steady, techno beat helps you reach and keep a target heart rate suitable for burning calories and fat. She has four backup dancers, two of whom you'll recognize from her other videos, and they've definitely been practicing. Louchia -- the dancer with the never-ending smile from "Bellydance Divas" is on Rania's right and on her left is a new face named Samira -- Arabic for `doesn't smile much.' Almost all of them look like they're having a good time and are all fluid and graceful. Yeah, Rania is still a bit stiff and her look a bit vapid but we can all get over that because the workout is so amazing and so much fun.

Immediately following the workout cool down is a drum solo by Rania which is my least favorite performance of her I've seen to date -- forgivable because she made me so exhausted from a killer workout. There is also a second bonus performance by Rania. Did I mention the workout was great? The sound was laid incorrectly here so you'll notice Rania emphasizing beats of the music that happened two beats ago. It's a shame. Just skip this one. The bonus workout is not one from the "Bellydance Quickies" Video, hooray! It's entirely new but Rania's cueing voice over as well as the music don't always fit what she's doing so I recommend after watching it the first time, just trying the bonus workout with the volume off. Overall, this workout is so good and so much fun that even with these few problems I still highly recommend this disc to all intermediate level bellydancers who want a great workout.

I just got this DVD yesterday and could not wait to try it. I enjoyed it so much. It is not for beginners it is an intermediate workout like it says on the cover. You will get a great workout by the time it is over you will be sweating bullets I guarantee that. I workout 6 days a week and this one really got me sweating. Today I feel kind of sore but the good way. Highly recommended.

I think I was smiling the entire time through this DVD--I had a GREAT workout and I had fun doing it! Granted, I have been a fan of Rania for awhile now. If you've never done bellydance before, this isn't the one to start with, as there is little in the way of instruction in this DVD. "My Personal Trainer" is a much better one to start with. This is geared toward the bellydancer with some experience under her belt who wants a great cardio workout. However, if you've had a bit of instruction before, you should be able to keep up, as she does lots of repetitions before moving on to the next combo. There are a total of 7 combos, which all get strung together into a 35-minute workout that keeps your heart rate up, targets major muscle groups (except maybe the arms), and is FUN!!!

I love this DVD. It made me sweat and gave me a great workout. I also had lots of fun. My only advice if you are a beginner I would get thur all of Rania's workout tapes first as this is very intermediate. If you are not familar with the moves from previous video''s then you would be lost. This is fast.

I'm hooked! I first heard of Rania through the flexibility training 'extra' on another DVD. Checked out a couple of her programs through Netflix and loved them. I have Hip-Hop Hip-Drop, Personal Trainer, and Too Hip. I alternate the cardios and add a 'focus' or two as time allows. Rania is personable, the music and extra dancers are great, and the work-outs are fantastic. After a few times, when I had a handle on the routines, I realized, yeah, okay, the cues might be off a bit, but I haven't come across an exercise video that didn't have goofs like that.
If you're not familiar with bellydance moves, I suggest Personal Trainer because of the 'video' library of the moves. Just going through each move in the library can give you a workout! Someone said Too Hip was more advanced and I agree with that. Get a couple of her other videos first.
I look forward to doing Rania's workouts so much that it's been over two months since I've done any other videos.

The blurb on the front of the DVD says "easy-to-follow." Only if you are an experienced. If you are familar with basic bellydance moves and/or Rania's previous workouts you will do fine. However, this DVD is not for those new to bellydancing. There is no breakdown of the moves and all the moves are very fast. I also found the choreography awkward at times. However, this is finally a workout by Rania that actually got my heart rate up. It's a vast improvement over her previous ones that were just too slow paced.

This is the best of the Rania workouts. The music was a great step up from the poorly polytonic music in the other series. I recently purchased the initial box set and found it was too slow for me. Because there is no instructional directions in this video for the movements, I suggest anyone who feels the movements are too hard, try checking out Rania's box series. Ever step that is performed in "Too Hip" is taught in the either Pure Sweat, Cardio Shimmy, Hip Hop Drop, or Bellydance Boogie at a slower in depth pace.

L. Hawkins "Laura Wilde" wrote a great review 1/2005.
I disliked Rania's previous 4 disk set because the music was faked & boring, she moved slow & stiffly, she would repeat the same move so many times, you'd only learn about 4-6 moves in 30 min & the background dancers looked bored. The good thing about it was she would teach you 1/2 several times & normal speed several times.
This is her best other then her "personal trainer" (since then it's ok if dance stiffly since it's like a gym workout) As L. Hawkins said, it's fast paced, you get your heart rate up, the dancers are more fluid, though occasionally I saw a bored expression towards the end & the moves stringed together felt pretty good. She gives good instructions, telling you the move, how to do it & dancer's 8 count to stay on beat.
She moves stiffly still, but it's so fast, you barely notice other then making sure you're keeping up.
The warm up even includes several types of figure 8s, the routine has hip drops & w/leg lift, hip drops 3x, hip bumps w/step back, hip twists & shimmies, a slow turn, hip back, vertical figure 8s & couple more moves.
The cool down is nice & slow with sitting fwd bend & more.
The bonus 9 min workout is more gym drill style which is more her style that will really tone you fast.

You can see a preview at youtube com or the whole workout in 3 parts on guba com

Great!!!!

You do have to know basics in belly dancing. I love this DVD, and have seen the results fast.

Depending, on my schedule I try to use it at least 4 times a week in combination with a sculpting DVD.