Customer Reviews

Island Girl Dance Fitness Workout for Beginners: Hula Abs & Buns

5 star:		(38)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This also comes in great 5.1 surround sound.

I loved her since her first DVDs "Hula Workout" though those used cutsy 60s music & added 60s american dance moves but still have a lot of authetic hula dancing.

These "Island Girl" hula workouts are more authentic. Just like her other ones, you get a great workout, your abs burn, your hips, legs get a nice workout. It's all authentic dance moves with some added quick squats, etc. added in so you barely notice it for adding toning. The authentic drum Hawaiian music is beautiful & does keep you stimulted too keep going just like a dance/rock beat would.

I had no trouble following & learning the steps, there are plenty of dance DVDs that I have had trouble with, but she breaks everything down well & shows it slowly several times before speeding it up. She even cues YOUR left & right, not hers.

There's a trailer for her "Hula Workout" DVDs & another authentic Hula workout like this called "Island Girl: Hula Abs & Buns" at collagevideo.com

I cannot say enough great things about the Island Girl DVDs. I have all but one--and I love each one. After only 7 workouts over 2 weeks, my husband noticed my butt looked smaller!! I also keep up with him on our walks now (not only is he more in shape than me, but he is 6" taller). After only the first 2 workouts, I noticed my legs felt stronger as I carried laundry up and down the stairs.

I had gotten so bored with my treadmill, other exercise videos, and exercise ball (not to mention weights) that I was not even exercising at all anymore. But I look forward to doing the hula as often as I can. I love the way I am more flexible, and s-m-a-l-l-e-r. Isn't that what we all want?

I have found out, though, that I am not a natural dancer. Putting arm movements to leg movements makes me feel like quite the fool, but the more I practice, the easier it gets, and I am DETERMINED to master each move. If you are bored with exercising or don't like it, you MUST get some Island Girl DVDs!!

I now own four of Kili's Island Girl DVDs and love them. She gives you a very thorough workout, and the better you get, the more of a workout you're getting. This one really makes me sweat, and seems to be more of a cardio than the Tahitian Cardio, although that routine is excellent too.

If you've never done hula or Tahitian dance before, this video is hard on your thighs, but is very enjoyable. After doing this, I definitely feel it in my buns, more so than my abs, but I always feel like I got a well-balanced workout.

Doing these Island Girl routines will help you lose weight and get in shape, just stick with it. I've been doing them for a couple of months now and can see and feel the difference. I've slimmed down and lost about 12 pounds. I feel much stronger and healthier, and even sexier - my hips are moving in ways I didn't think possible :)

I highly recommend this workout

This is great! I just followed the DVD and feel very happy and energized. The workout is good but not overly strenuous, the instructor explains the moves and guides through very gently, and overall, it is a very happy, positive experience. It has a good feeling to it.

Hula is a sacred art that has many meanings, so one could say we are a little misusing it just for a workout, however, this DVD is not about really dancing hula. It just teaches a few hula steps with some workout moves.

As a practicing healing / massage and bodywork practitioner, I suggest hula, belly dance, tai chi, qi gong, yoga and swimming to all my clients, because they relax yet strengthen the muscles and thus exercise the body in a balanced and FUN way. It is very important to have a flexible pelvis, that helps the spine and good posture. And, it is very important to have a FUN workout, in order to do it regularly....

This is a decent workout DVD; you definitely work up a good sweat in a short time. I highly recommend watching it all the way through at least once before you attempt it though. The cuing is okay, but it's a little irritating that the camera tends to focus on the performers upper body during transitions, so the first few times you might struggle to keep up with the leg work. That is one reason I'm only giving it 3 stars. The other is that it's very tough on your knees. I have scarred tissue around both of my knees, but I assumed that because I've been doing Element: Ballet Conditioning for a while without issues that I wouldn't have a problem with this. Wrong. Even though this is about 30 minutes from start to finish I think the fact that you spend it all with slightly bent knees makes it really rough on those joints. Though I didn't have any pain during the exercise, about an hour later I had to ice both of my knees, and they're still really bothering me 12+ hours later. If you don't have knee problems this is a great DVD, but if you do, definitely treat it with caution.

This DVD was my first experience with the Island Girl Dance Fitness series, taught by instructor Kili Kilihune. Kili teaches the workout barefoot with two background exercisers against a gorgeous Hawaiian backdrop. The music is mostly a strong drum beat throughout the approximately 32-minute workout. The DVD is chaptered, breaking up the workout itself into the warm-up, dance instruction, dance, and cool-down.

Prior to the start of the workout, Kili and friends begin with a very brief dance demonstration. The 4-minute warm-up begins slowly with hip swings, but Kili quickly brings these up to tempo. Additional moves include side-to-side steps and standing obliques; the warm-up concludes with a standing glute stretch.

During the main portion of the workout, Kili introduces various hula steps, starting slow, then bringing them up to tempo. The DVD case states that the workout "combines traditional hula with modern fitness moves," and Kili does a nice job at making this combination appear seamless. For example, one of the first steps she teaches is kaholo, what she says is the most important basic step in hula--sort of a hip sway while stepping from side-to-side. To this move, she ups the intensity by adding level changes and knee lifts. Similarly, after you learn another hula step, ka'o, which involves alternately lifting the heels, Kili adds a basic squat. Some of the steps, such as hela (a sort of lunge) focus more on the glutes, where as others, such as 'ami (waist rotation) target the abs.

Once Kili has taught you seven basic hula steps, she leads you through the simple dance that she and the other two women demonstrated at the start of the workout. The first time, Kili cues the various steps, but then the dance is repeated two more times without the cueing--I found this a bit tricky and would have preferred if she had cued throughout. The workout concludes with an approximately 6-minute cool-down. Here Kili again slows down the moves, performing gentle side stretches, hip rolls, side steps, and the same glute stretch that she did in the warm-up.

Overall, this is a nice little light cardio/light toning workout. I was impressed that Kili provided very good, mirrored cueing and that workout did move quick enough to get my heart rate up a little at times. If you are looking for intense cardio or sculpting, this DVD probably isn't for you, but if you want a lighter, easy-to-follow dance workout, this might fit the bill.

I recently bought a bunch of cheap workout DVDS from amazon in hoping to lose some of my baby weight.
This was one of them. I'm totally out of shape so I definitely broke a sweat. This is a great and fun (if you like to shake your hips) workout for beginners.
I recommend it if you are looking for something simple.

i am actually online to buy this dvd because i have not returned my neice's! i love it. it does not get boring and the instructor is energetic, pleasant and fit with a capital F! i have yet to get bored with this workout and exercise routines get stale quickly for me! i love it!

I ordered this dvd for two reasons...one I need to lose some weight and have fond memories of my trips to Hawaii two because I thought it would be fun to do with my 7 yr daughter who loves the hula dance scene from Lilo and Stitch, loves to dance and we could do it together. We love the dance and the music in it and I'm very happy I ordered and wish I would have thought of it sooner.

I think this is a great workout video for anyone seeking a low impact routine. If you are interested in something fast and bouncy this is probably not the video for you. It has an even pace and when you just watch it you may not think it is very strenuous but, you would be wrong!! My daughters and I were all sweating (a lot) when we got done. At first we even took a break in the middle! You can really feel it in your thighs and abs. After I do this dvd I even feel thinner because my stomach feels tighter. I highly recommend it.