Hip Hop Workout 2 (DVD)

Author's product rating:   

Did you enjoy it?	Loved it
Educational Value	Good
How good are the presenters?	Good
How good is the content?	Excellent
Value for Money	Good

Advantages:	Great fun and good new dance moves
Disadvantages:	Can become to repetitive when you have learnt all moves

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

This is a workout DVD, which is designed to make exercise fun! It uses hip-hop dancing as a means of burning calories, burning fat, keeping active and generally toning up! It is led by Tony Stone, a professional dancer and choreographer, who has worked with the likes of Justin Timberlake and Beyonce. He is joined by a team of around 8 other dancers (both male and female) to help teach you some great new moves, whether you are a great dancer, an ok dancer or a complete beginner. This is the second "Hip-Hop workout" DVD by Tony Stone (although I have only tried and tested this one).

*How does it work?*

The workout is split into eight chapters:

Introduction- This section introduces you to Tony Stone and how the workout works. He also throws in some detail of his experience, which makes you feel like you are in safe, knowledgable and capable hands.

Warm-Up- As always, a warm-up is included to ensure that you prepare your muscles for using and stretching them. Tony even makes this into fun by "spicing up" traditional stretches and also uses dance moves to get you ready. It lasts just under 10 minutes.

Workout 1
Workout 2
Workout 3
Workout 4

A typical workout session consists of two dance moves lasting 16 beats all together, which is then repated on the opposite side to give a total of 32 beats of fun and exciting hip-hop dancing. Tony and his crew teach this sequence by splitting it up into 4 sections of 8 beats. They teach the first section first and repeat it four times to give you a chance to get the hang of it. They then teach the second section and repeat it four times, followed by putting the 1st and 2nd sections together. This sequence is carried over into the learning of the third section (repeated four times) by then adding the second section with it (x4) and then starting again at the first section with the second and third sections. This is again used in the learnging the fourth section until you have sections 1, 2, 3 and 4 all togther. Each workout lasts around 10 minutes.

Performance- The idea of the performance is to fun right through all the workouts together non-stop. So we dance the four sections of workout 1 all together, then the four sections of workout 2 together, etc. until the end od of workout 4! This whole sequence of workouts 1, 2, 3 and 4 is danced a total of 3 times. This lasts around 5 minutes.

Cool Down- As per usual, a cool down is used to bring your muscles back to normal. It basically uses the same moves of the warm-up but a lot less energetic. This lasts around 8 minutes.

*Why did I buy it?*

I was looking for a different type of workout DVD, which doesn't just go through a series of exercises and leave you bored just the 3rd time you've done it! I noticed this in my local Sainsbury's at around £14 and was attracted by the bright and fun looking cover, which doesn't just scream out "exercise" but also shouts "come and have fun dancing"! I love to dance but cannot claim to be a brilliant dancer so I thought I would give it a try and maybe improve my dancing at the same time.

*What is my opinion of the workout itself?*

I really enjoyed this workout! It really did not feel like exercise until towards the end of the workout and I realised I was getting out of breath! The actual dance moves are really good! Some are quite complicated and seem very advanced when you first try them but after a few tries, you begin to pick it up. When you get the hang of them, they are great fun. However, after learning the dance moves thoroughly and repeating them constantly, they begin to feel a bit repetitive. I found myself getting bored at repeating the pattern so many times and just wanted to put it all together straight away, so in that way it began to feel quite slow. This is a disadvantage but I do not think that much credit can be taken from the content of the DVD as it is more likely to be a product of my lack of patience. The music soundtrack is really good! It keeps you going and works well with the dancing. Its regular pulse and upbeat rhythm inspires you to put more energy into the workout.

*What is my opinion of the long-term results?*

I did really enjoy the workout but as I said, it became quite repetitive so didn't keep it up as regularly as I had hoped. I generally felt a lot more active and healthier but I did not feel that it burned fat or toned muscles successfully (at least not what I could see anyway). It is definitely good for keeping active and feeling healthier but does not seem the best option if you want to lose weight or tone up. If I had used it over a lot longer period of time and regularly, then I think it would have lost weight and toned up more. However, I do feel I am a better hip-hop dancer.

*Buy this DVD if you...**want to learn or be inspired to make up new dance moves

• want to keep active
• want to improve your co-ordination or general dance standard
• want some fun cardiovascular exercise
• want to learn some moves from a top choreographer like Beyonce or Justin Timberlake
• want a workout, which works better over a longer period of time.

*Don't buy this DVD if you...*

• want to lose weight quickly
• want to tone-up quickly
• don't like to dance

*How long does it last and how can it be used?*I knwe that I would get bored of the dance moves quickly so i strategically built up the workout to keep more interest. I would always do the warm-up and cool-down but I would change the contents in between. I started by just doing workout 1, then added workout 2 a week later, then added workout 3 the week after that, etc. until I had reached the performance after all workouts. You could also choose which ones you want to do and how many you want to do randomly to try and keep the interest. Just remember to always do the warm-up and cool-down.

*Are there any special features?*

There is a behind the scenes video included, which is quite fun to see how it is all put together but not exactly a deciding reason to buy the DVD. There is also a "meet the crew" slide show, which introduces the crew in more detail.

*Would I recomend this to you?*

I would recommed this to anyone, who likes to dance or wants to get better at dancing, but not if you want a workout, which stands alone in successful fat and calorie burning and general toning. Overall- yes, I would as it is great fun!