Customer Reviews

Crunch - Cardio Dance Blast

5 star:		(54)
4 star:		(33)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

This is a fun, motivating workout. It's not overly challenging, but it will get your heart rate up and you'll even sweat a little. Sure, I've done harder workouts than this, but this is at least fun. The instructor is motivating without being too fake or cheesy. She's cool and instructs well. She breaks down the moves slowly and then soon you go up to tempo. I thought it was really unique to see the other dancers all in street clothes. One is in jeans (something you just couldn't do because of lack of movement in them), but other than this, it's a funky great routine that you can do many many times without getting sick of it. You can even learn some moves that could be done in a club.

I agree with all the other reviewers who said it was fun & the instructor was motivating & not annoying.
The whole thing is set on a stage with 7 backup girls in various shapes, etc. The only menu options is to play or chapter selections & it is in 2 speaker stereo. It's 38 min long with a min or two warm up & cool down consisting of mostly all dance moves w.
The moves were all easy, but not boring, all from the "island jam" style or "latin" like salsa & cha-chas & "diva" which is more club style.
They almost never stop moving between learning & doing dances except for a split second while you march to ask you if you're ready for more.
All moves are broken down to the simplist analogy such as small squats, then adding the legs, then the arms to it's final look.
This is low-impact, beginner workout in my opinion, fun, might work up a sweat, but you don't need a lot of room or expect any jumps & should not be exausting.
In the past, I didn't like some of Crunches's DVDs because they seemed hurried or stiff, but this one was more relaxed/fun, which I am happy to say.

Thre's a trailer at collagevideo com

I've been looking for a good workout video for awhile. My problem, I get bored. I've tried yoga and pilates and just couldn't stick with it. I've tried other dance type videos and just could not stand the instructor. This is a good video since it doesn't try to give you too much choreography so that you can put a little of yourself into the dance and have some fun. The instructor is not annoying and doesn't talk too much. Overall, a good video for people who needed to be entertained even when they are working out.

This 37-minute workout is so much fun. It has a warm-up, then two "Island Jam" dance segments, featuring Caribbean-inspired moves; this is followed by two "Fast and Funky" sections with hip-hop type dance moves. Next, there are two "Diva Dance" segments, that are Latin-flavored, then a cool-down.

The music is great, and the dancers are high-energy, which I find inspiring. Many of the moves are done at half-speed first, and then brought up to tempo, making them easier to learn. The instructor is perky without being annoying, and some of her funny remarks actually made me laugh out loud!

I really enjoy this workout, and recommend it most highly.

This tape is definitely a lot of fun, and the instructor is not overly bouncy and cheerful which I love. The moves are definitely funky and club-worthy.

It is a little tough to follow the first time around. I watched it first, practiced the moves and then did the workout and still couldn't fully keep up. So, it will take some time before you can really follow it. You might consider rewinding the half time break down instruction a couple times before going full tempo. They switch around from a full body view to just the arms during the instruction, so sometimes if you haven't quite gotten the footwork down, you don't get much of a second chance, and then you have to catch on to the arms as well! It will take practice practice practice!

The best part is that there is girls of various sizes in the video. It helps keep you from feeling too depressed when looking at the super skinny instructor! And you know if the big, medium and small size girls can all do this workout, you can too!

If you are really not coordinated yet with workout videos, I do HIGHLY recommend Fat Burning For Dummies. Really easy to follow and the instructor continuosly give you left and right cues. She's a little overly perky, but it's a great introduction to workouts and it is very dance-like in nature. Having done this one helped me with some of the moves in the Cardio Dance Blast. I was familar already with the grapevine, toe taps, march ups etc already from the dummies tape.

This video is broken down as follows: Warm up, Island Groove 1 & 2, Fast & Funky 1 & 2, Diva Dance 1 & 2, and Cool down.

This is a great dance workout. I do it at 5:00AM, and I don't ever dread getting up because it's fun! To really get my heart rate up, I use ankle weights throughout. That makes this workout more fun and challenging.

Island Groove and Fast & Funky are the best. Island Groove really gets your upper body moving. Right away, you are engaging your entire body. Diva Dance is not very challenging and just not as fun-- especially part 2. I usually skip it and do the other sections over.

The instructor is really good. She breaks down the steps before she makes you do them. The only thing I've noticed is that sometimes the camera is panning or is on close-up so you can't see the footwork. After a few times through though, you'll be dancing along in no time. People who are unaccustomed to taking dance classes at a gym might need a little more time to get used to it.

Warning: do not do these dance moves at a club. :)

I bought this DVD about a month ago and have been using it 3-5 times a week since. After 2 children and years of not working out or eating right, I was finally ready to get back into the swing of things. But, being 50 lbs overweight, I needed something that would be challenging, but not send me looking for an oxygen mask either. This DVD definitely fits the bill.
The instructor does a great job of breaking down each move so that you can get the hang of it. For some of the more challenging moves, they bring it down to "half time" so it's easier to pick up, before bringing it back up to tempo. Still, it took me at least 3-4 times of working out to this video before I felt like I had a good handle on things.
This video is so much fun that I actually look forward to waking up 45 minutes earlier every morning to do it. Anyone who knows me will tell you that I am NOT a morning person, so that should tell you a lot. I would probably be embarrassed if anyone ever watched me doing it, but on my own, I can let loose and have fun with the moves.
I'm currently trying to find another Crunch cardio workout similar to this to mix things up a bit, and wish they would come out with a "sequel" to this one!!

Dance Blast is fun and easy to follow. I like the way she combines the different styles of dance, and also breaks everything down. Definitely a workout that I would do once a day.

The paper I read (Argus Leader) ran an article where they had fitness experts review DVDs in various categories and whether they were "Worth The Workout". This DVD was highly rated across all categories .

-Works the Legs & Butt
- it was not boring
-a beginner could do it but experts would not get bored
-that the instructor would get you motivated (albeit in a cheesy way)
- the expert would use the DVD again, (with a caveat about people with knee issues may have problems with the side to side movements..)

Anyway I picked up all four DVDs (there were recommendations in the general category of Cardio, Toning, Pilates and Yoga) and so far am extremely happy with all of the titles they recommended. (In fact I have some of the titles that they stated were very poor titles, and they were right there also.)

So if you are looking for an excellent Cardio DVD, look no further, the experts were right on the money in their review.

Marie Forleo makes it fun and easy to workout. The great thing is it doesn't feel like a workout while I'm doing the dvd. But after doing her workout I feel great and know I've had a great cardio workout and maybe even become a better dancer. I really recommend this one. It's the kind of dvd workout that I feel like doing over and over - and each time it feels new and enlivening. I can't say enough about this one! It's great!