5 Step Fat Attack With Claire Richards From Steps (DVD)

...lose weight, with Claire losing 5 stone and 5 dress sizes with this regime! But is it any good?

The DVD is split into five sections, as stated by the name. When you first switch on the DVD, the usual information comes up about how you should consult your doctor if pregnant etc, then you get the main screen. This is split into four sections; Play All, Sections, Workout Selector, Extras. Play All does the obvious. Sections allows you ...
...and Workout Selector enabled you to manoeuvre the routine into an order you'd prefer. I will take you through Extras later on.

Before you start the DVD is is a good idea to have a glass of water beside you. I managed to do this in the tiny space that I call my bedroom, however I'd say a larger area is preferred if you have the room. If not, any space where you can move will do!

The first section of the DVD is the 'Engage ... more

I've always been self-conscious of my size, and when I decided it was time to seriously shift some weight, I thought there was nothing better to do than buy some fitness DVDs. There were a few I had my eye on, but when I noticed that there was quite a few of them coming out on Boxing Day, I thought it would be a nice idea to purchase a few of them. One of these DVDs was the '5 Step Fat Attack', with Claire Richards (Steps).

Claire was once in the pop group Steps along with four other members, which lasted for four years with many successful hits. As expected with a pop group, Claire had to dance! Thus a fitness DVD with a dancer would usually be quite good! After Steps split, Claire put on a bit of weight, and finally realised that something had to be done. So she teamed up with some guy (who's name I cannot locate anywhere, internet nor DVD) and three 'army men'! This DVD is aimed to help you lose weight, with Claire losing 5 stone and 5 dress sizes with this regime! But is it any good?

The DVD is split into five sections, as stated by the name. When you first switch on the DVD, the usual information comes up about how you should consult your doctor if pregnant etc, then you get the main screen. This is split into four sections; Play All, Sections, Workout Selector, Extras. Play All does the obvious. Sections allows you to start with the section of the DVD you wish, and Workout Selector enabled you to manoeuvre the routine into an order you'd prefer. I will take you through Extras later on.

Before you start the DVD is is a good idea to have a glass of water beside you. I managed to do this in the tiny space that I call my bedroom, however I'd say a larger area is preferred if you have the room. If not, any space where you can move will do!

The first section of the DVD is the 'Engage your body warm-up'. It is important that you always do the warm-up as this is your body preparing for the intense exercise it will soon face. Often warm-ups do not really challenge you too much, but by the end of this one, I was ready for a rest! This section lasts for about ten minutes, the usual time for the opener. Everybody is fully clothed at this point (!) and definitely seem motivated. There are a lot of steps at the point, and it gets quite fast towards the end of the section, when we are jumping about and marching, lunging and pulsing too! And when your dog decides to go under your leg during a lunge, it's not exactly making life easier!

After this section, you move straight onto the 'Fat Assault Aerobics'. The section following the warm-up usually is quite intense and fast-paced, and this 15 minute section was no different! The army men have now taken of their t-shirts and have green vest t-shirts on. I'm thankful none of them were overly attractive otherwise I may have been sidetracked from my routine! We are made to do routines to several songs, with various star-jumps and 'sumos' (when you jump forward into a squat). There is one section when you need to move your legs from side to side whilst pushing out with your arms, but also turning round and round as you do so. You need quite a bit of room for this so I found it a little difficult to manage. However, as long as I was moving, I was burning calories! By the end of this section, I was ready to retire...

Nonetheless, I continued onto section three, 'Combat Manoeuvres', which lasted just short of twenty minutes. That's quite a long time for one part, so I was lucky that the phone rang and I had no choice but to pause! The army men have removed even more clothing, and were now down to little tight white under-vests (and trousers!). How far would they go, I wondered? Focusing on the routine, I didn't actually enjoy this part as much as I had hoped! I usually like combat, but this one wasn't too much of a thrill. There's quite a lot of repetition with the punches and kicks, which can get a little boring, forcing you to lose interest in what you are doing. Though I will admit it does keep the heart racing and get you moving!

After an intense training, it was finally time to begin cooling down with 'Target and Tone'. Starting straight on the floor here, there's quite a lot of push ups. I cannot do these very well, so I always do them from my knees. Even then my arms are strained! I guess I just have very little upper body strength (though hopefully this DVD would sort that out!). There are also 'planks' here which I always find enjoyable. They are when you balance on your toes and your lower arms. The strain on the abs is incredible, you can definitely feel them tightening! This ten minute section certainly gave my muscles a tone!

The fifth and final section, 'At Ease Cool Down' was expected to be quite light and easy for the last ten minutes. It was quite like yoga, which was slow moving but still working away at the muscles, helping you lose weight and tone up. I enjoyed this the best in all honesty, as I do quite enjoy yoga, and the slow pace was a real treat after the hard work out! My only moan is that, during one of the stretches, when my foot was stretched out, I knocked my inner foot off the wardrobe door and hit a muscle. It hurt. A lot!

After the routine I had a look at the extras, which included a Behind The Scenes section, and an Interview with Claire. The Behind the Scenes footage was interesting to watch, as it was four minutes from when Claire was first learning the dance in a professional studio right up to recording the DVD. As for the Interview with Claire, it wasn't too interesting. It was simply Claire telling us about her diets failing and her weight gain etc. Nothing too enthralling!

The soundtrack played a big part in the motivation of the workout. All fourteen tracks came from Steps, or Claire, says the back of the DVD box! There were some really great songs to move to, such as Better the Devil You Know and Stomp. However, some of my favourites, such as 5678 and Tragedy, were apparently to be played , but I didn't hear it. Whether I was concentrating on the routine or not (!) I don't know, but this was quite a disappointment!

One thing I did find quite annoying about this DVD was that, after each routine, it leapt straight into the next, no pause or description or anything. Yes, you can pause the DVD, but I really don't like doing this. And Claire didn't speak once throughout it either, as opposed to, say the Debra Stephenson DVD I have, who natters throughout about rice pudding and tree-hugging! It's quite a slow hour too, unlike others I have, which seem to fly by! And the fitness instructor (who's name I will find out, somehow!) Just seemed to do my head in! Also, the army men never did get past their under vests!

I paid £14 for this from my local Tesco, which for a fitness DVD is quite cheap. However, I feel in just a month or so it may be priced a little less. It's not one I have heard anybody rave about, and I don't think I shall be raving myself either! However, if you are looking for an intense workout where you don't mind sweating as never before, then this is certainly the one to shift those lbs for you! Not one I will do regularly, but will have a go at now and then!

© Amy 2008 

...less