Fighting Workout Boredom

 By Sophia

Here's why I love having a library of DVDs, and why I love 10-minute formats.

My workout this week is a little cha-cha warm-up with Dance off the Inches: Dance It off Ballroom. Then I get some upper body with a chapter from 10 Minute Solution: Knockout Body. Then 10 minutes of lower body with 10 Minute Solution: Fat Blasting Dance Mix. That's 30 varied and somewhat vigorous minutes.

It's a beautiful day so I look forward to walking the dog later. (He insists.) That will add another 30 minutes to an hour, depending on my mood and schedule. And if I need to get the kinks out later, I'll try to squeeze in a few yoga poses.

Variety works for me.

For my full reviews of the DVDs:

Dance it Off Ballroom
Knockout Body
Fat Burning Dance Mix

Don't forget, you can help support this site if you buy your DVDs by clicking through the link above.

Dance Off the Inches: Dance it off Ballroom

THE WORKOUT: Dance Off the Inches: Dance it off Ballroom

REVIEW BY: Sophia

WHO CAN DO THIS: This low-impact cardio workout is suitable for beginners who enjoy mastering footwork.
THE BREAKDOWN: Ballroom dancer Kristina Milova starts the workout with a fairly slow cha-cha, moves into a moderately paced salsa and culminates with a brisk jive segment, each about ten minutes long. She builds each routine slowly and if you have experience with dance aerobics you’ll probably be able to master the steps fairly easily. A step guide can help with any steps that give you trouble—which for me was the entire salsa segment. The cooldown ends with a flourish: the ballroom dancer bow. I plan to master that for use in a variety of situations.
My only quibble is with the cueing—it’s always a beat too late and sometimes unclear. Which beginning are we taking it from--the beginning of the entire routine or of the segment she’s teaching? And if we’re going back to the very beginning, a little reminder of where we start would help. I suppose if you do this DVD regularly you’d learn and this would no longer matter.
THE SWEAT FACTOR: If you’re not a rank beginner you’ll want to give it your all and do all three segments to work up a sweat.

BUT IS IT FUN? It is.
WHEN IT'S OVER: You’ll have a glow.
GEAR AND APPAREL: You need enough uncarpeted floor to go about four steps forward and side to side. But you can fudge it in a smaller space.
FINAL WORD: A pleasant little workout for anyone who doesn’t really like working out.

Remember, you can help support this site if you buy DVDs by clicking through the link above.