Awesome Intervals

This workout is structured as follows:

- 9 min warm up on step: fussy combinations which are hard to pick up

- 44 min of intervals using step: 8 sets, some of which incorporate a medicine ball (I used a dumbbell) for "strength training" (but I thought it was more like cardio intensified by an added weight element)

- 7 min of athletic drill intervals on the floor (you have to put away your step before this)

- 4 min dynamic cool down

Impact: Mostly high. The step combos are both high and low impact, but the intervals are all high impact. The floor work is predominantly high impact.

Level: High intermediate to low advanced, although an advanced exerciser will get a good workout if they know all the combos and can go "all out."

Overall impression: Aside from the awkward, overly intricate warm up, I liked the workout -- it was simple enough to catch on the first time through, but not so simple that it was boring. I broke a sweat, but I think that's more from the length of the workout (just over an hour) than the moves themselves, since the non-interval combos aren't very strenuous.

Well once the warm up was over I really enjoyed this workout and would encourage anyone who gets stuck on the warm up to just do your own thing - the interval section isn't half so complicated and is a great workout. I did find my heart rate dropping a little much during the breaks especially those with more complicated choreography - don't worry - nothing so complex as the warm up! but as Mindy explains that's the idea of interval training - work at your max and recover!

The step section includes some vertical step which I liked - I think Christi Taylor is the only instructor that routinely includes vertical step work - and the hi-lo section at the end is fun!

All in all a great little workout - unfortunately I think the tricky and not so well cued warm up may put people off and they won't give it a fair chance.

For reference, I am an advanced exerciser who likes complex choreo, and little breakdown. There have been many comments that this workout is not Mindy's usual intense fare; I disagree. I wore my HRM and found it to be almost the same as her others; however, some of the recovery work is less intense, and I think that's because she's trying to introduce some more varied choreography to make the workout more interesting. Though my overall HR was lower, I kind of like the change. Mindy is very capable of fun choreo; she just can't cue it that well (which is very evident in the warm-up, which looks like it will be a lot of fun once I get it).
With one exception, these are also not fast-feet intervals, and I like that better as well. Once you get to know what's coming, you can give it everything. Mindy's interval workouts will never be Cathe level and never have been; in fact, her interval workouts aren't even really interval workouts for me, just tough cardio. Those who think it's easier may also be coming off a week or more of the Intensities and are experiencing improved cardio capacity, which also might have something to do with it. But Mindy intervals generally get my HR in the 150s, and this workout was no exception (with great variations, though; her interval intensity is never very even). Finally, the cardio is a full hour, so I was good and sweaty by the end of this and certainly felt like I got a good workout. That extra 10-15 minutes of cardio really kicks the workout up a notch and puts it in a different category.