Customer Reviews

No Guts and Proud of It [VHS]

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

 

 

After seeing a couple of rave reviews on this video from some other dancers, I bought it. It is pretty good, but not exactly what I expected. The aerobic routine is pretty standard, except the three dancers are using Arabic music rather than disco beat. Each of the dancers does a variation - low impact, a little more bounce, and then a high impact version of the same move, so you can pick how much jumping around you want to do.

The weight section is good to learn a few different exercises to help with troublesome arm sag, and simply strengthen for better veil work, and there is an abs section with some pretty standard crunch-style exercises. On any given exercise there are only 8 repetitions, however, so if you want to do more than one set (which I think you would have to do to get the results these women have achieved - they're in great shape) you need to stop the tape. Also, for some reason, they pause in between the exercises to show a similar exercise you could do at the gym. This, to me, wasn't necessary, since if you go to a gym you need someone (a trainer) to help you with the exercise the first couple of times to make sure you're doing it correctly. Instead of stopping, I wish they had used this time to do another set of the exercises on the tape or alternate with a variation.

The Yoga section is pretty good, the positions demonstrated are not impossible for beginners, so this is a good introduction to a few stretches and relaxation techniques as well as some good breathing exercises to calm the spirit. The last part of the tape showcases the three dancers as they perform. Although I loved all their costumes, the last dancer is by far the best dancer of the three, IMO. Rooshana is simply marvelous! She does a great sword routine where she demonstrates her spectacular abdominal control. Best of all, she really listened to her music and it was fun to see her interact with the audience.

Overall, not a bad tape, but it could have been better. The first reviewer was right, though - the skits are funny. Just don't expect a heavy workout with this one.

If you're looking for a fun belly dance workout, this isn't it. The cover picture is very misleading. I thought it would be more like the Neena/Veena workouts, with middle eastern music, belly dance inspired moves and workout attire. Well, they kept the music, but both the workout and clothing are very basic '80s stuff (suspender leotards!) and very "same old same old". If I want a good mainstream workout, I'll stick to masters like Kari Anderson. If I want a belly dance workout, I'm going back to Neena and Veena, Fat Chance Bellydance, Shamira, Dolphina and the like. BUT... However useless this tape is for me as a workout, I gave it 3 stars because of the 3 women's performances and costumes shown afterward, which I did enjoy and made me feel much better about buying the tape. The gals are very talented (love the sword dance!), seem like a lot of fun and have great personalities...just wished they'd included those moves in the workout!

NO GUTS & Proud Of It is a great video to exercise to and just watch. The funny skits alone are worth the purchase and at the end are full routines of each dancer featured doing their exercise routines which includes aerobics, weights and yoga. Anyone can follow these routines and have fun with them, too! The music is Mideastern and has great beats!

This is a circuit workout routine with an Arabic flavor. You begin with 20 minutes of aerobics, move on to 20 minutes of weight lifting, then finish with 15 minutes of yoga/stretch. Afterward, the ladies show you a few moves of their own, including how to relax before a performance. These ladies prove you don't have to have a "gut" to be a bellydancer!

Fun and different way for dancers to cross train.