Customer Reviews

The Method - Afro-Brazilian Cardio [VHS]

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I was excited to get this tape, looking forward to a fun and unique workout. Unfortunately, I found the video to be a disappointment, for the following reasons:
1. The moves are high-impact, but that's not how the video is marketed. Maybe if I was at a perfect weight and had younger knees, this wouldn't be an issue. But right now? Ouch.
2. The instructor often asks you to do the move demonstrated by the dancers behind her, while she demonstrates a new and different move. I thought my head was going to pop while I tried to learn a step completely different from what my feet were doing. 3. The cueing is *terrible*. The instructor even confuses the rest of the dancers on occasion. She uses different names (at times) for the same step. If you've done the video a number of times, it probably doesn't matter, but this made it that much harder to learn.
The good points of the video are:
1. Great drumming music.
2. Fun to watch.
3. Nice, colorful set.
For me, the cons outweighted the pros. Your mileage may vary.

This DVD does not pretend to try to make you an expert at Afro-Brazilian dance, and that's a good thing, because it won't. But it is definitely inspired by that dance style, and takes moves directly from Afro-Brazilian dance and weaves them into a dance that you can do with a smile on your face.

Each of the three segments on this workout are short, which is good if you don't have a lot of time, and can be strung together, which is good if you do have a lot of time. I'm a fan of short, sweet workouts, and this has three good ones. Even in 15 minutes, it gets your heart going, but is gentle enough for a beginner.

The thing I love the most about this DVD is how it encourages you to use your whole body, to loosen up and feel the rhythm. There are moments, however, where a complicated move is not demonstrated very well (such as "The Watussi"), and so you might get a little frustrated until you've practiced it a bit. There are also places that have some jumping, which is a little high-impact for those of us with knee problems (or who live on the second floor of apartment complexes with hardwood floors), and there's no modification given for these. I get around this by doing my own modifications to the moves, and have just as much fun.

If you don't mind not being "perfect" at the moves and want to have a lot of fun with a good, generally easy (but still invigorating) aerobic workout, this is the DVD for you.

First, I must say that this workout is a lot of fun to do especially when you do it with friends who usually run for their workout and are not used to following an instructor. That said, this tape does not really feel like a workout, but by the end you are sweating quite a bit. You also don't need to have any background in dance to do this tape. You have the chance to learn all these cool Afro-Brazilian dance moves that come together to form a great aerobic workout. The tape is divided into three sections that get progressively harder, and it is fun to watch the back up dancers when they get a little too into the dance move. All in all, a great workout and a nice change of pace with the rest of all the other workout videos that are out there. My only complaint is that they don't have it on DVD yet. And remember, you're really cooking now!!!

This is such a great addition to my Method collection. Beth Lane is wonderful to watch and makes you feel confident as you do the moves. Lane makes the routine and moves easy by encouraging you to watch her as she does the moves. The first time I put this baby in I was sweatting and I felt a little silly doing the moves, but as I went through the routine and watched everyone on the stage I got more confident and just went for it. The background people are a nice addition and the drums bring this workout together to make this my favorite Method dance tape. NOTE: There is allot of jumping and head movements in this workout, if you have neck and back problems you will have to try to tone down the dance movements.

This video I would say is fair. It has its good points, but at the same time, it really has its bad points. What I really liked about it was that it is vert engaging. It has always been hard for me to find a workout video that will motivate me and entertain me. I get bored and fed up with the people of excercise videos easily. However, this is one that keeps you focussed and motivated, and the genuine charm of the afro-brazilian style of dance is enchantingly motivating too. It hooks you in right from the start with the first workout. However, the first workout is the only decent workout of the three. I was left excited to see the 2nd and 3rd workouts take off and get harder, but they didn't get harder at all; they got annoyingly easier. To add to the confusion, Beth Lane gave two differnt dance moves the same name in differnt workouts. That's quite confusing and annoying. In addition, there is a specific scene where Beth totally messes up, and they keep it in. She's doing the move wrong, and you can see the background dancers confused, messing up, and trying to match her. She messes instructions up later in the video too, and confuses the dancers again. This video isn't even live! All in all, I'd say that it's a poorly put together production. It's confusing, and it isn't challenging. However, it's still reasonably fun to do, and you're more likely to stick with becuase of the charm of afro-brazillian dance. So I would reccomend this if it's more important that you move for a long period of time instead of getting a good workout. Otherwise, this would not be a great choice.

This tape teaches a mild version of Afro-Brazilian dance. The instructor is fit, attractive, and good at giving cues to each step. However, she experiences a few missed steps of her own. I recommend this tape for someone who has beginner to intermediate experience with this type of dance and exercise. The steps are fun and entertaining, but not always simple to learn. You'll definitely work up a sweat just trying to get it right, and if you can master all the steps you'll be ready for carnival time in Brazil. If you want a more serious treatment of African inspired dancing, then check out the "African Healing Dance" tape. It's great, but more "intense" and just as much fun.

I know there are flaws in this video, but to me, they are minor. I really liked this video! Yes, it is a bit challanging, and yes, there is a bit of confusion, but after you watch it a time or two you can get the hang of it! I didn't have the same problem that one viewer did when the instructor demonstrated a new move while her dancers did another. You just keep following the background dancers while she is demonstrating the new move and then she incorporates it into the next set. This was so fun to me that I was willing to look over the fact that it could have been more polished. The drums are great, and if you can't do some of the exercises you can improvise until you are ready to do them - I have! It's just nice to take a break from some of your run of the mill exercise tapes and have a little fun with dance! I have knee difficulties and found that this did not bother me. The heel chugs(sp?) might be a challange, but I just don't do as pronounced a move.

I found this tape to be so-so. After doing it for a dozen times or so, the instructor has become annoying ("you're really cooking now!") and I now have my parts that I fast forward (since it is broken up into 3 workouts, each one has a warm-up part which is unnessecary if doing all three as one workout - once I get my heart-rate up, I like it to stay that way!).
That said, it's otherwise a fun workout for rainy days. I found a few of the moves pretty difficult (the cow chugs (sp?) and the box step mostly) but I just modified them to my own capabilities. With the moves I've learned, I've been able to put them to my own music and just DANCE! (which I find more appealing than the video - ha!)

This is definitely the tape to own. It says it is low impact, but it is not at all! I was sweating like crazy and all my muscle groups were working. It was so muh fun too! I was smiling alot! The tape has great african inspired movements that can be done without taking up a lot of room. I did the tape in my bedroom and there was enough space. It is broken up into three sections. One workout alone will give you a great workout! I would like more of a cooldown at the end though, but besides that I say buy it!!

I bought this tape because it looked really fun and something I would stick to for more than a day. And when I finally received it in the mail, I put it on because I just wanted to see what it was like, but I ended up following along in my work clothes because it IS really fun! The instructor is easy going and funny which is very important because the last excercise video I had, the male instructor looked like a pervert and talked like one too. The moves are not so difficult and the time just passes so quickly. But the best part of the video was the real drummers providing just a beat to excercise to. The first segment is actually the most trying and gets me sweating the most. The second I feel is a little shorter. And the third segment just feels like you're at a dance party. And the great thing about it is, I haven't given up on it. After 6 months of owning the video I still do it only 3 times a week (I'm not an excercise freak).