Pump It Up (DVD)

...the Ministry Of Sound advertised Pump It Up on TV before Christmas I got quite excited (a bit sad, but I love dancing!) and ordered it immediately.


PUMP IT UP

Anyone with a TV will remember the raunchy video for Eric Prydz's Call On Me dance tune, which featured lots of attractive women (and one man) doing a sexually charged aerobic workout. If you liked that, you'll love this, because the DVD was inspired by ...
...section features the title track Pump It Up with some fun energetic bouncing/skipping type moves.
WILL IT KILL ME? - It gets easier the more times you do it but the first few minutes are very hard work on your thighs (especially after the warm up).
MY OPINION - I really like the variation in this section because although the beginning is hard going the whole section gives you a good workout if you persevere with it, with the slower ... more

A couple of years ago I really enjoyed podium and stage dancing at my favourite 'hard dance' clubs. Having giving that up I realised a few months ago just how unfit I was and bought The Hotpants Workout DVD. While that is great and I still do it from time to time I know all the routines now so when the Ministry Of Sound advertised Pump It Up on TV before Christmas I got quite excited (a bit sad, but I love dancing!) and ordered it immediately.

PUMP IT UP

Anyone with a TV will remember the raunchy video for Eric Prydz's Call On Me dance tune, which featured lots of attractive women (and one man) doing a sexually charged aerobic workout. If you liked that, you'll love this, because the DVD was inspired by that video and features most of the dancers who appeared in it (including Juan the man, for the ladies). With this in mind I think this workout would appeal more to a youth audience, with a preference for commercial dance music.

Australian dancer Deanne Berry plays the role of instructor with six dancers behind her, following the routine. I just love the outfits the girls are wearing as they're all different and interesting to look at!

The workout comprises 5 main sections:

1) WARM UP SECTION

DURATION - 12 minutes
ROUTINE - Basic stretches, grapevines accompanied by arm movements, punches, hip gyrating and forward lunges.
WILL IT KILL ME? - Most of it is fine but the last few minutes are a real killer on the thighs!
MY OPINION - As a warm up it is actually quite strenuous near the end so sometimes I skip the end bit to save myself for other sections.

2) DANCE IT OUT - Dance Section 1

DURATION - 20 minutes
ROUTINE - Lots of side and forward lunges, a sexy box step, lots more hip gyrating and rib isolations (moving the top of your body keeping the bottom still). Then it moves into basic Salsa steps which are easy and fun. The end of the dance section features the title track Pump It Up with some fun energetic bouncing/skipping type moves.
WILL IT KILL ME? - It gets easier the more times you do it but the first few minutes are very hard work on your thighs (especially after the warm up).
MY OPINION - I really like the variation in this section because although the beginning is hard going the whole section gives you a good workout if you persevere with it, with the slower Salsa section and then the energetic Pump It Up finale to raise your heart beat again (especially good if you're going on to the Hi Energy).

3) PUMP IT UP - Hi Energy Dance Section 2

DURATION - 21 minutes
ROUTINE - Fast paced dancing but the moves are easy. Lots of jogging with different arm exercises. Variations on punching. I find the pendulum swing quite funny to do. The tune is then slowed right down and you enter Dance Section 2, repeating some of the moves from Dance Section 1 and then learning more Salsa steps. The pace picks up again as Call On Me, the inspiration for the DVD, comes on. Although the moves are very sexually charged they do actually give you a good workout and are quite tiring!
WILL IT KILL ME? - Most likely, yes. I have not completed this in its entirety yet!
MY OPINION - This section is great. Although it's really hard work at first it does give you a sense of satisfaction when you've been doing the DVD for a few weeks and realise that you can complete two whole tunes. Then again, it does also make me wonder how I got so unfit when I used to dance energetically to a whole hour of music which was a lot faster than this! As with Dance Section 1 I like the variation in pace because it'd be too hard going for most people without the Salsa to break it up.

4) BUMS & TUMS - Toning Section

DURATION - 8 minutes
ROUTINE - 32 'three quarter/lady' press ups and 64 stomach crunches (varying from normal to side crunch). The next exercise looks easy to watch but it's quite a strain on your whole body - balancing on your front, keeping your body straight, with only your forearms and toes supporting you (twice for a count of 8). Then you lie on your back and do lots of hip thrusts/bum crunches.
WILL IT KILL ME? - The press ups and crunches are really hard on the arms and stomach if you're not used to them, as I wasn't. This whole section gets easier the more times you do it.
MY OPINION - I think this is quite well structured for a toning section because it take you from your front to your back and then front and back again - which is good because it gives certain parts of your body a rest while you do the others. All of the exercises are very taxing to me (ie. I normally miss a few of each thing) apart from the bum toning which I thought was a bit too easy as I never particularly find my muscles aching when it's finished.

5) CHILL - Cool Down Section

DURATION - 13 minutes
ROUTINE - Lots of easy and relaxing yoga style stretches. This allows you to slow your heart rate and focus on your breathing.
WILL IT KILL ME? - Only if you overdo stretches that you can't manage!
MY OPINION - I think this is a really good section to complete at any time - regardless of whether you've completed the workout. I'm also a fan of yoga but I sometimes forget to do it so this has reminded me how useful it is for relaxing and improving your flexibility. If you find that you like this section then maybe invest in a yoga DVD/book for those days you just don't fancy jumping around like a loon!

CONTENTS OF THE DVD

As is standard with all exercise videos there are warnings at the beginning which you can't skip through. Read them thoroughly once and then after that just put the DVD on while you go and change into your outfit and get a drink.

Once it's loaded up there are several options:

- Play workout - This features a short intro with Deanne Berry explaining what the workout will be like. It automatically leads on to play the whole workout in order.

- Skip to routine - This goes to a sub menu where you can choose which of the five sections you'd like to complete. At the end of each section it automatically leads onto the next unless you choose to go back to the menu.

- Extra stuff - This has a Behind The Scenes Featurette which is a 'making of' type clip with no speaking set to the Call On Me music. Better than nothing but not really worth watching more than once. Also in this section is a advert for the Ministry Of Sound Annual 2005 and instructions on how to get dance ringtones.

- Videos - Features five full length dance videos. Apparently there is supposed to be Eric Prydz 'Call On Me', Danzel 'Pump It Up', Angel City 'Do You Know (I Go Crazy), Intenso Project f/Lisa Scott Lee 'Get It On' and Benni Benassi pres. The Biz 'Satisfaction' but Do You Know is not on there and it's replaced by Boogie Pimps 'Somebody To Love' for some reason!

- Options - This gives you the choice of listening to the whole soundtrack without the workout playing (just has a Pump It Up logo and picture on the screen) or playing the workout without Deanne Berry instructions with the 'commentary off' option (probably designed for those pervy old men who've bought it to leer at?!)

WHAT I DO

You'll need a small amount of floor space (about 2 metres square minimum ideally) I find that this is a lot better if you wire your DVD up to your hi-fi so you can get the proper sound through the speakers because it's a lot easier to complete if you're actually enjoying the music as well. While it's not my absolute favourite music I think I am resigned to the fact that it's the closest a workout DVD will ever get - and at least it's the type of dancing I love!

This DVD probably requires more dancing skill/co-ordination than most others but that's why I love it so much - and I've used it practically every day for almost two months now without getting bored (and I bore easily…) I like to set a timer on my mobile phone for 20 minutes and then just choose random sections of the DVD to complete. Like for example you could use the Salsa in either dance section as a warm up and then go to the Hi Energy for a bit then do Bums & Tums. I know you're supposed to ALWAYS do the warm up and chill when you work out but the truth is, I hardly ever do and I've not come to any harm yet.

If you have a yoga mat or some non slip mat it's a good idea to use this in the Bums and Tums section because otherwise it's harder to balance your body steadily and also can hurt your knees on the press ups.

I like to complete this in the morning about an hour after breakfast because if you do it too soon you'll feel really ill. Suggested clothing would be what I wear: hotpants and vest with sweatband to keep your hair out your eyes! Definitely don't wear anything restrictive because you need to be able to move easily. Once finished, you'll definitely want a cool shower…

OVERALL VERDICT

Using this now for two months almost every day for a maximum of 20 minutes I have found that my body looks more toned again. I was actually quite surprised because so far I have not been dreading it too much each day, so it doesn't seem like too much hard work. As the weeks have gone on I have found that I can get nearer the 20 minute mark without dying. With time I expect I'll be able to go over it.

Overall I think the instruction from Deanne Berry is good. Of course she and all the other dancers mess up from time to time but it's good because you see they're not doing the routine perfectly either - and it's funny when you can see that they know they've messed up a move because they just laugh it off.

I think this DVD would be great for anyone like me who is not overweight but would just like to improve their general fitness with a good cardiovascular workout whilst at the same time toning their body without building unattractive muscles. It's probably quite important that you don't strongly dislike the music though because that'd make it hard to motivate yourself to put the DVD on. If you're unfit like me you'll find it hard going at first but satisfying when you complete more and more each day.

I thought this DVD could have been just another Ministry Of Sound marketing cash-in and was all ready to flog it on eBay after watching it once; but it turns out it's actually a really great workout. Some people might think it's not a lot like 'normal' dancing, but it is a lot like club style dancing which I'm used to. The routine is fantastically choreographed to accompany the soundtrack, and anyone who likes commercial dance music and/or dancing should definitely give it a try.

Pump It Up retails at £19.99. I bought mine for £12.99 but you should find it even cheaper at some websites now.

Entire tracklisting:
1. Jakatta - American Dream
2. Linus Loves - Stand Back
3. Boogie Pimps - Somebody to Love
4. Tomcraft - Loneliness
5. Benny Benassi - Satisfaction
6. Milk & Sugar - Let the Sunshine
7. Danzel - Pump It Up
8. Angel City - Do You know
9. Onyx - Every Little Time
10. Bel-Air feat Lisa - Sunshine After The Rain
11. Afro Medusa - Pasilda
12. Eric Prydz - Call On Me
13. Stellar Project - Get Up Stand Up
14. Intenso Project feat. Lisa Scott-Lee - Get It On
15. Ilo - Rapture (Soulside Mix)
16. Deepest Blue - Deepest Blue (Jon Hopkins Mix)
17. DJ Sammy feat. Yanou & Do - Heaven (Candlelight Mix)

(oh and the title of this review relates to a move that Deanne shouts out at regular intervals in the DVD which I find amusing).

UPDATE: There is now a follow-up workout called Pump It Up Beach Body 'The Ultimate Summer Workout' which is also great, so read my review if you're interested!

carly_pussycat - Ciao UK ©
 

...less