Product Details

• Format: Color, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Starz / Anchor Bay
• VHS Release Date: November 3, 1998
• Run Time: 35 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6304235895
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #350,761 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

This 35-minute workout is ideal for coordinated exercisers in their teens and 20s who love to master MTV-style choreography. Crunch: Cardio Groove teaches an intricate assortment of hip-hop funk moves in a dance-class style. "Remember, always keep the bounce!" says the jaunty instructor, in bare midriff and baggy pants. She and her noisy pack of vivacious exercisers demonstrate each pattern at half-speed several times first, then bring it up to tempo. The camera has an annoying habit of cutting off the feet when we need to see them, so you'll need to pause the video occasionally the first few times to figure out the moves. Once you get the choreography, this video is great fun, especially for youthful and well-coordinated dancers. Everyone is having a terrific time, and the energy is infectious. By the end, you've learned a complex pattern of hip choreography, burned calories, and done your exercise besides. --Joan Price

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great for Teens, December 15, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Crunch - Cardio Groove [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This video contains music and dance moves that the kids today like. I really have a difficult time getting my couch potato up and moving. When I first purchased this video my daughter didn't want anything to do with it, but I slipped it into the VCR anyway. Just one look was all it took and she jumped up dancing. She welcomed the challenge to master the moves, and now she is begging for more.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hip hop dance class from 1996, July 9, 2007

By 

Touch Remedy "TouchRemedy" (Nassau, NY) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Crunch - Cardio Groove [VHS] (VHS Tape)

The reviewers who said this was fun & that Malin Zaki was friendly, lively, relaxed, enthusiasm was infectious wasn't kidding. This workout was a lot of fun because of her great personality & you can see the other 8? women were all having fun dancing as well. For once, all the women behind her could dance, including her little sister. They all had great style, enthusiasm & body awareness. They were all different shapes & races but all about 19-30.
It's set in the Crunch gym with big metal objects trying to look "urban". The camera work is a bit bad, I've seen worse, but it does cut off the feet way too much. It's the only downside to the video, but Malin, the dancers, the moves & the great teaching make up for it.
She shows you the move first in tempo, then just shows you the legs in 1/2 time 2x, then the arms 2x slow, then together 2x slow then at tempo 3x. If the arms or legs are very easy, she only shows it 1x slow.
The moves are complex, there's even one from Janet Jackson's If video. But in showing half time with cues it was easy to pick up. She has great cuing time & explains the moves well. I didn't get it right the first time of course, but I know I will almost have it down by the 3x & then polish it up.
Since it's done slowly, you won't get your heart rate up unless you keep "the bounce" or after several viewings, you can do it full tempo as she teaches. I've done that on other dance workout videos.
It felt like working out with your girlfriends.
The video may be old, but the moves are still cool & still used in dance videos.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Horrible, horrible camera work, January 25, 2004

By 

Abulia (Pittsburgh) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Crunch - Cardio Groove [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I would have enjoyed this video if it weren't for the fact that the camera man /editing team sucked horribly. The camera only did a minimum of long shots (which are absolutely necessary in an exercise video) and insisted upon switching angles ever 3 seconds. There were an abnormal number of close-ups that blocked off any view of the feet and so, as a new viewer, I became lost very, very quickly as to what steps I was supposed to do. So quit it with the torso shots and show me the foot movements, already!

The moves in the video are very, very complex. If you're a dancer or if you have a really good memory for dance moves, I'm sure it'll be no problem. For people like me, however, who have a hard time learning complex steps, the exercises were very difficult to learn, even with rewinding.

The lead dancer (is there a better term than that?) was a good leader and I liked how she explained the steps as she went along and prompted the viewer with her good humor to do their best, but the terrible camera work combined with very hard steps made this a video that I rarely ever use.

I recommend this only for people who had no problem learning complex steps. For the rest of us poor schmos, however, I suggest trying the Cardio Salsa video instead, which is much less complex and has far fewer close-ups.