Reebok Rhythmic Power

I liked Petra's Reebok step tape, so I was looking forward to this one. Although others have described this as a beginner/intermediate level tape, I wouldn't rate it above "beginner." I consider myself an out-of-shape beginner right now and found it surprisingly and disappointingly unchallenging.

That's not to say it isn't fun! It's a mostly dancey workout with easy choreography and -- unusual for floor aerobics tapes -- it doesn't require a lot of space.

The "fun factor" that gets you going certainly means it's better than nothing, but for Reebok and Petra, I expected more. I don't know if I'll keep it yet but, if I do, I'd save it for those "any movement is better than none" days.

This video is not very difficult. Fairly basic steps and turns with a bit of extra "rhythm" thrown in. I have done it about 9 times and promised myself I would not review it till I'd learned the routine.It's an all floor mostly low impact routine.

There isn't anyone showing any modifications, and in fact the only modification ideas you get are from her when she suggests not moving on with a section and staying with the easier steps.

She builds the routines a section at a time, then adds them all together. In the end, you do all the three sections at one time. The only time I get my heart rate up is when she does the sections all at one time. I would rate this video as beginner/interm. instead of intermediate. The choreography can be tricky, but the intensity is not high at all. I've tried to put every effort into it that I can and I barely break a sweat. What I really disliked about the video was 1) the music was very dull. A never ending repetitious drum beat.
2) The cast looks like they are going to fall over with boredom. The two women occasionally crack smiles. But, one man looks like his grin has been painted on (in other words it looks very faked) and the other man looks like he really dislikes Petra. In fact, at one point he misses a step and you can catch him obviously scowling at her.

The dull music and even more dull cast and low intensity of the tape are enough to make it a tape going to the exchange.

Petra's friendly and encouraging personality were not nearly enough to make this tape a winner. I would consider this a "dancy" video.

This is a good "dance based workout", as Petra calls it. I enjoy this video, but I wish it was higher in intensity. I consider myself intermediate level. The Collage catalog rates this as moderate choreography and intermediate level. I agree with the choreography, but find it to be beginner to low-intermediate cardio-wise.

The set is nice -- a light, airy studio with flowing sheets of fabric. The music is O.K. Collage describes it as a "driving percussive soundtrack". I agree. I didn't find it too dull, but there are some areas that are better than others. It's nothing to write home about.

The routine is one long dance routine, but it's taught in segments. The warmup is nice (11 min) and introduces the first dance segment. The 34 minutes of cardio is broken up into 3 sections. The first section (12 min) is the least intense. There is alot of teaching in this section and it takes up alot of space forward and back. This is more like an extended warm-up. The second section (10 min) gets my heart rate up better because it has a little higher impact moves. The third section (12 min) is a little slow at first (lots of marches in place), but speeds up. This section ends with about 4 minutes of going over the entire routine. The 6 minute cooldown is good, and continues being slightly dancy.

A comment about the cast. I don't think they look bored (as others have said). Dancy videos seem to have less cheery people on them because it seems like they are concentrating more on the routine. No whooping or hollering here. The only annoyance is the man with the baseball cap. He doesn't seem to know the routine very well, and messed up quite a bit. He doesn't smile much because I think he is trying to act cool (like he knows what he's doing). The men also look a little frumpy in their warm-up pants.

I've done this video on days that I need a break (like when I have a cold). It's a good video if you are an intermediate exerciser that wants to work in the 55-70% heart rate zone.