Dance Off the Inches: Cardio Hip Hop

I'm reviewing this workout after doing it twice.

General workout breakdown: LindseyLu has already given a good overview of this workout, so I'll just provide a few more details.

The warm-up (5.5 min.) covers some basic moves like a walk up & back, step touch, and grapevine with some hip flavor mainly through the arms (break out your best snake move!) and bobbing the body up and down to the beat; you'll also do some isolation moves for the ribcage and hips. The three combos are Hit "Em Hard (almost 11 min.), Work It Out (just over 11 min.), and Smooth It Out (just over 11 min.), which as Lindsey mentioned slows the beat down to more of an R&B vibe and focuses on engaging the abs more. The cool-down (4 min.) has some simple moves to release the shoulders, hips, and low back plus some inhales & exhales; you'll also do some static stretches for the hamstrings, inner thighs, hip flexors, chest, side of the torso (obliques, etc.), and quadriceps.

Just to give you a sense of moves included in the video, the Step Guide covers the scuff, quick cross, chest pop, stomp and throw, punch and pull, dirt off the shoulder (which includes a hitch kick move), knee knock, heel combo, slide catch, and groove. Note that the Step Guide is nearly 19 min. long! I'll just say that when the step guide is almost half as long as the workout itself that probably tells you what you need to know about the difficulty level of learning these moves…

There are some hops and some quick little pivot and similar moves, including some where your shoe could catch on your flooring if you're working out on carpet. I'd recommend those who want to avoid all impact and who have very cranky joints to approach this with some caution.

Level: I'd recommend this to exercisers at the beginner / intermediate level who are comfortable with moderately complex dance choreography. Beginners and restarters with a dance background may also be able to do this; if you can't do the full workout at once, you can always do a combo at a time until you work up to the full thing. More intermediate exercisers will have to get into the moves a lot to make this feel like a workout for the body, but unless you're a major choreo hound your brain will get a real workout no matter your level!

Normally I consider myself an intermediate/advanced exerciser, but for various reasons I've been at the lower end of intermediate for a while. I picked up several DOTI videos last summer to use in my then exercise space, which did not have air conditioning, while I was at an intermediate level, and I've revisited this lately as I worked back up to a low intermediate level (in my new workout space, a cool basement). At both times this was appropriate, leaving me feeling like I got a decent cardio workout in that didn't wipe me out physically, although it did wear me out mentally. I like choreography, and normally I picked up choreography pretty easily provided it's taught decently and makes some sense. I definitely needed the step guide and a full run-through before I started to begin to feel comfortable with this choreography, but then hip hop is a dance style that has traditionally caused me difficulty.

Class: 2 women join Jennifer, who instructs live as she does the full routine. No one shows modifications, unless you count the advanced version of one move that one exerciser briefly demonstrates.

Music: hip hop-sounding instrumental music, but nothing recognizable (at least, not to someone who doesn't normally listen to hip hop, but I suspect even a hip hop expert wouldn't hear much that sounded familiar).

Production: clear picture and sound, with Jennifer's voice significantly louder than the music. The camera angles were overall helpful.

Equipment: shoes that won't catch on your flooring (this would be a good time to break out your dance sneakers, if you have them).

Space Requirements: At 5'8" I was able to fit this workout within an area about 5"wide by 6"deep. This definitely needs more front to back space than side to side space, but it's not a huge space hog, and you can shorten up the movements if you don't have much room as I do (or as long legs).

DVD Notes: This time around the intro plays before the main menu pops up, which means you jump right into the workout (well, after the quick intro of the background exercisers). Your main menu options are Cardio Hip Hop - Play, Chapters (Warm Up, Hit "Em Hard, Work It Out, Smooth It Out, Cool Down), and Step Guide - Play.

Comments: DOTI Hip Hop Party vs. Cardio Hip Hop - Here's my compare and contrast of Jennifer's earlier two DOTI hip hop workouts (she now has a third out, Hip Hop Body Blast, which I haven't tried):

- Both are about the same length.

- Party is more of a hip hop dance mix or hip hop-inspired, with some Latin, Bollywood, and other dance styles mixed in; Cardio is all about hip hop.

- Party has 4 background exercisers; Cardio has 2. Neither has a modifier. (This appears to be something Jennifer corrects in her newest DOTI, Body Blast.) Party's crew mugs for the camera a bit more and follows Jennifer's invitation to whoop and say, "Oh yeah" and "Uh huh."

- Party leans more towards the usual workout wardrobe while Cardio leans a little more towards a "street clothes" look (continuing the Cardio is more "authentic" hip hop vibe).

- As someone without much hip in my hop, I found Party easier to pick up and execute. Not that I found it easy, just that I found Cardio even harder and trickier. I don't think this is just me, however, as I've peeked at reviews at other sites and looked through some other threads, and I'm not alone. I also see that the "No complicated steps" logo present on most of the DOTI DVDs, including the Party one, is conspicuously absent from Cardio.

I have to be honest: I feel like I've given both of these a fair shot, and I'm just not feeling them. This is actually one of a very few videos I've actually popped out of my player after the warm-up (almost a Joni O) because often when I reach for a lighter day cardio workout I need something that's not too taxing both physically and mentally. If I wanted that much complex choreo, I'd reach for a Christi Taylor or an Evolution instructor's DVD instead. I do have some dance background from my childhood, but it was in ballet, tap, and jazz, and I'm comfortable with aerobics and kickboxing, but I'm having a hard time adapting to hip hop. My preordered Amy Bento's Hip Hop Walk recently arrived, and honestly that's more my speed when it comes to hip hop: a workout that's not really a dance routine but still has some hip hop flavor. I have a lot of respect for the genre of hip hop; it's an incredibly diverse style that requires a great amount of skill, as I'm finding out. But I think I'll pass this onto someone else who has more skillz than I.

This is a 44 min hip hop dance workout led by Jen with 2 background exercisers. The body of the w/o is 33 minutes long and the rest is w/u & c/d. You wont need any equipment and there is no modifications. The w/o is broken up into three dance segments that you can "play all" or there is a chapter menu. The dvd also includes a nice "learn the moves" tutorial that was very helpful. The set is really nice- light grays & pinks, kind of a "living room" type set. The music is fine, nothing noticable. The outfits are kind of hip hop inspired.

The routines are built up add-on style. You learn one move, practice it. Learn the next move, practice it add it on to the 1st and so on. The first two segments are all cardio dance and the third segment adds in some standing core work to the dancing and is a bit slower moving.

I thought Jens cueing was really good but me being the NON dancer (and trying to adapt it to the rebounder) had a hard time following along. Had I done it on the floor, I could have followed along much better but I dont think I would have burned very many calories. This is the perfect w/o for those that like to dance and are good at choreo (though I really dont think this choreo was that tricky-def not boring, but not too difficult IMO). I would rate this intermediate/ higher intermediate in terms of choreography and high beginner in terms of cardio difficulty.