Alive

This is one of the three discs from Misty's Body Groove series (Alive, Strong, Calm). They are all DVD-R.

The disc is very well chaptered. You can listen to a little intro by Misty, or go right to the workout, which has nine sections. The entire workout from beginning to end is 62 minutes and 26 seconds long (not including the intro). I don't see a way to program it to play the chapters in an order of your own choosing, but you can skip around. As each chapter starts, the title flashes on the screen (the titles relate to the music and dances in each section). I really enjoy the music, which was developed by Misty's friend Benjamin Black specifically for this project. There are a lot of different styles represented and the sound seems to work well with the moves.

There is no choreographed routine to learn. Misty shows a move and you do it and put your own spin on it. That move then morphs into another move and so on; eventually you repeat some of the moves, but there is no TIFTing. Some chapters are fast, some are slow, some are a combination. It is kind of like intervals; some parts get my heart rate up and others will allow it to come back down (I am probably at a low intermediate exercise level). There are a couple of sections that include a move she calls "drop and pop" which is kind of a bouncy squat thrust. There are also some jumping moves, although everyone is working barefoot.

There are several women grooving with Misty (more than 5, less than 10) and they are all shapes and sizes, some are buff and some are not, some are very limber, some less so, and they are each bringing their own unique flavor to the moves. The background exercisers are not lined up and do not stay in one place, everyone moves all around the room as they cha-cha, swing, twist and groove through the moves Misty calls out. Sometimes Misty stops dancing for a second or two to talk or offer encouragement, but the women all keep moving.

Misty has a lot of energy, likes to express herself and is very spontaneous and unscripted. She tells you to shake your boo- tay, strut your stuff, pump your chest and be proud of your curves. I enjoy her workouts.

Chapters:

Exotic Road 8:10 minutes

Latina 7:11 minutes

Love Set Me Free 6:23 minutes

Tailswitcher 7:01 minutes

Swing Boogie 7:25 minutes

Take A Ride 6:56 minutes

Happy House 7:39 minutes

Super Funk 6:04 minutes

Blues Piano 6:57 minutes

The class consists of many women all shapes and sizes. They all move around in their own unique way. There is no structured area to stand and there is no mirror cuing. If you have a lot of room to work out in that's great you can move around even more. If you don't have a lot of space then modify all the walking and turning around moves. Misty will show the dances and then allows you to do it your way. There is no right or wrong way. It is all up to you as to how far and deep you go into a specific move. It is also up to you as to how much energy you will put into each dance. This has been said about other workouts also, it is all up to you how hard you want to work out on any given day.

Misty adds many moves. From cha, chas, twists, hamstring curls, walking in all directions, shaking every part of you that can, knees up, rock steps and turns. There are some dance segments that are more intense than others. Which after doing the "drop and pop" which is killer you will want a break. The "Tailswitcher" segment is an intense segment because it introduces the "drop and pop" move. This "drop and pop" move is like a burpee and Misty does these repeatedly. She starts out slowly so you get all the moves involved and then she has you do it to tempo many, many times. I personally hate and avoid burpees like the plague but for some reason these didn't bother or annoy me as much. Maybe I'm just delirious from all the dancing.

The "Swing Boogie" segment was fun and involved a lot of twisting and shaking moves. Misty was having so much fun she wanted everyone to "have a party in your own pants". Really all the exercisers seemed to be into every crazy move Misty threw at them.

In "Happy House" Misty surprises us by bringing back the "drop and pop". It was done very briefly so even being tired it was OK.

I couldn't believe that Misty in the "Super Funk" segment had us do the "drop and pop". This segment is the cool down. Even though this segment is the cool down Misty introduces a new move. The "funky chicken" and has everyone express themselves fully doing this move. (Warning clothes your blinds). However in this segment Misty does bring almost all the moves "that she can remember" back. So there really is no "TIFTING" until this segment when she just calls out all the moves and you do them.

Finally the "Blues Piano" segment is the stretch. You might want a mat for the floor stretching. Misty style stretch which means your own unique stretching style. She does instruct some, and then you add in your own way of stretching that area. It starts out standing and then moves onto the floor. By this time you should be extremely limber from all the dancing. Misty does move you around from head to toe throughout the whole workout. Then after you have sufficiently stretched out side to side on the floor she has you sit up and you end in seated prayer pose. Misty adds some positive words to end your workout.

The set:

The set is the same as "Calm". Dark wood floors almost black wood. Lighter wood on half of the walls with the upper half in brick. There are windows in the room with real outdoor views "city like" (by this I mean you could see another building).

The Music:

The music is by Benjamin Black.com. He also does vocals on one of the songs in this workout. The music is very nice and appropriate for each segment. Lots of musical variety in this workout.

Comments:

I love "Soul Sweat". "Alive" is not like "Soul Sweat". "Alive" is not choreographed dancing like "Soul Sweat". "Soul Sweat" included very brief free form sections at the end of each dance. "Alive" allows for more creativity on your part. Also for those who are inhibited and feel funny expressing themselves in creative free form dance this workout is not for you. Everyone doing this workout might not want to be watched expecially while doing the "funky chicken" in the "Super Funk" segment. I for one don't want to be seen doing this. As far as the music I loved the music in "Soul Sweat" better. But I like that kind of stuff sometimes. The music in "Alive" is good and interesting and fits each segment well. It will also appeal to those who like a lot of variety in their workouts. Each segment is different so there will be no boredom from a repeated soundtrack.