Customer Reviews

Trudie Styler's Cardio Dance Flow

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

 

 

NOTE: I received a free copy of this DVD to review for the web site Metapsychology Online Reviews; you can read a more detailed version of my review on that site.

This DVD is one of three new releases from Gaiam which feature Trudie Styler, wife of the musician Sting, in a workout led by James D'Silva (sometimes known as a "fitness trainer to the stars" due to his previous work with Madonna, Gwyneth Paltrow, and others). The Main Menu of the DVD offers the following options: Warm-Up - Cardio Dance Workout - Express Workout - Stretch Workout - Bonus Materials. The Bonus Materials section includes interviews with Styler, Sting, and D'Silva (each about 6 minutes long), a Footwork Tutorial segment, and finally, the Making of Sting's Album, If On a Winter's Night....

The Warm-Up, Cardio Dance Workout, and Express Workout are all taught by D'Silva via voiceover as well; each of these segments is chaptered separately. The Warm-Up is just under 7 minutes long and shows D'Silva alone in an indoor setting. He performs a gentle series of standing-in-place moves such as prancing, relevés, side stretches, forward bends, arm circles, static side lunges, warrior 2, reverse warrior, and arabesque. For the 22.5-minute Cardio Dance Workout, D'Silva and Styler are exercising together on a patio outdoors. As with the warm-up, D'Silva starts off rather gently here, stepping side-to-side and cuing either foot-to-ankle or foot-to-knee; he combines this with side and forward bends, providing what feels like an extended warm-up. Eventually (about 6 minutes into the routine), D'Silva begins to up the cardio challenge a bit, adding in moves that raise the heart rate. However, he also slows things down with yoga and ballet moves. Despite its shorter length (11 minutes), the Express Workout, which contains the same footage, is actually more intense, as there is less repetition. The Stretch Workout, which is just under 26 minutes, utilizes a foam roller to provide myofascial release, or deep tissue massage. (Note: the roller is a must-have piece of equipment for this segment; any substitutions are not likely to be the appropriate size or density to provide the desired massage effect.) D'Silva is featured alone for this segment, and he uses the roller in various positions, including under the neck, lengthwise, under the hips, and under the shoulders.

I feel very conflicted about this DVD. Portions of the cardio dance were definitely enjoyable, and my heart rate did go up at times. Overall, however, I did not find it to be a sufficient aerobic workout. Also, I don't think voiceover works very well for cardio, and I didn't like having the warm-up chaptered separately. The foam roller stretch segment is much more successful, as D'Silva does a very nice job of hitting all of the major muscle groups and includes some particularly nice moves for the often-tight areas of the neck, shoulders, and upper back. However, some consumers may be disappointed to find that the need for a foam roller is not mentioned anywhere on the DVD case. In conclusion, this DVD might appeal to someone who simply wants a fun, fusion-type workout, but I would be more hesitant to recommend it to someone hoping for more of an aerobic benefit (as I did).

The video is great for warm ups and a mild aerobic workout, which is actually only about a 20 minute segment. Very repetitive motions throughout, but a lot of arm work will definitely loosen your shoulders. I'd never use it for a serious cardio work out, but I can do the arm work on my exercise bike and it should make a difference. Ms. Styler is very controversial; I wasn't aware of that until I got the yoga dvd, which is unique and good/hard - no beginners adjustments on it. The interviews seem to be the same on both dvds. Very pretty surroundings, very buff trainer, good music. If you like to stretch or are already thin and just want to feel "woken up," it'd be great for you!

This DVD is not intended as high-intensity cardio exercise, but as a workout that incorporates aspects of ballet, yoga and contemporary dance. If you enjoy Ballecure, for example, you are likely to enjoy this. I love both Ballecore and the NYC Ballet workout so this is just my style.

The video is beautifully choreographed and expertly cued by James D'Silva, with a British voice sure to charm those of us who came of age in the years of Bond and the Beatles. There's a stretch segment (which requires a high-density foam roller) as well as interviews with Styler & Sting, but I'm in it for the dance. What I like is the music (by Sting), the footwork (taught in a tutorial that serves as a short morning workout of own) and the two dance segments. Maybe I'll get to the rest when I stop tapping my feet.

Everything about the title is misleading. I purchased it because I like the music of Sting. It has only annoying Zither music. There is no instruction whatsoever, and to make it worse, the camera focus stays on their faces so you can not figure it out. I tried it 3 times and felt more frustrated each time. I like exercise dvds and thought this would be like Ellen Barrett.oh well, maybe someone at goodwill will enjoy it.

I have most of this series with James and Trudie, and this one is my least favorite. The routine is boring, not nearly as creative as I expected with James involved. It just doesn't flow very well (the transitions are awkward) and isn't particularly fun - I think it would be really hard on one's knees if you had knee issues.
But there are a fascia roller stretch and a guided meditation as additional features that are good. In my opinion, these are worth the price of the DVD.

I love this video. It is one in a series four DVDs by Trudie Styler, but James D'Silva is really the star and leads the routines. Trudie is beautiful and complements James in these routines, although some are simply James and do not include Trudie.

I love the 3 dance routines: there is a very short warm up routine; the main routine is 25 minutes and the other is shorter, but with similar moves. I am not a dancer myself, and I tend to trip over my feet and have difficulty with rhythm, but I could totally follow this sequence and have fun doing it too! I use this exercise video on days when I want a fun, fairly easy workout. The setting is beautiful and lively, upbeat music takes me out of a funk if I've had a bad day. It's my fun "bounce around in my yoga room" workout!

The 3rd routine is an absolutely wonderful stretching, but you must have a foam roller to follow this segment. You can either use a soft or hard roll. You will work your whole body with this very deep tissue self massage routine especially if you use a hard roll.

See many of my other review on Amazon, includes the others in this series.

PROS:
*Indian Cardio Funk music is fun and gets you into the groove.
*I worked up a sweat, always a plus.
*The flow from one movement to another is very nice and approachable. An added plus if you are not trained in ballet.
*The Sting music is nice background music, but it plays only while in Menu mode, not during the workout itself. He has a lovely acoustic version of "Message in The Bottle".
*In the bonus section, Trudie talks about and shows footage of how they are partners with UNICEF in helping to bring water to villages in Ecuador affected by oil dumping. She mentions a portion of the proceeds for the DVD goes towards this.

CONS
*The cardio workout is only 25 minutes. I guess I expected it to be longer. There is a second stretch section which is 25 minutes as well, but you need a foam roller for that.
*The standard Gaiam commercials at the beginning which you have to fast forward through to get to the main menu.
*I expected the tutorial to teach you footwork. It seemed like it was a mini workout in itself with no step by step instruction. As a Yoga Instructor, I think this is important to mention things like, when you lunge do not have your knee go over your ankle, etc.
*Movements can get a little repetitive. I found myself towards the end wanting some new moves.

--------
All in all, if I only had 25 minutes to spare to work up a sweat, I might reach for this one for a change of pace. I might have liked it even better if it were 55 or even 45 minutes in length.

This is a fun cardio dance section that warms up the body & has some good moves. One of the moves I modified because it was confusing to me. I really enjoyed it better the second time I did it. The roller stretch section really loosened up tight tense muscles. Trudie & James did an extraordinary job on all of these new dvds. Sting's music is a big added bonus.