Dancing with the Stars: Cardio Dance

This workout is led by 3 of the professional dancers from "Dancing with the Stars", Ashly, Max, and Kym. The workout takes place on the Dancing with the Stars set. There are several background dancers in all the segments except the challenge.

They all three lead the warm-up, then Max has a 10 minute segment with the Paso doble, Ashly has a 10 minute segment with the Cha cha and Kym does a 10 minute segment with the salsa. The next 10 minute segment is the Jive/Lindy which is taught by all three. There is a 10 minute "challenge" with all three where one instructor starts something and the others try to follow.

The cool-down is also taught by all three dancers.

These instructors are professional dancers not workout leaders and they go right into most moves without breaking them down, so it might be a little hard to follow at first, unless you have dance training (which I do not, lol) It is fun and enjoyable, however, and I have picked up more and more of the moves each time I have done the workout. It gets your heart rate up, and I can really feel it in my legs & butt when I am through. And it's nice not having to slow down and do the beginner moves when you learn it.

Max's segment is low-impact, and for me the easiest of the segments. He is very serious as an instructor, and easy to follow. These moves are done fairly slow, so it is fairly easy to pick up.

Ashly's segment is next. This section is more mixed impact and you really get a good leg and butt workout. She was the hardest for me to follow, but after doing it a few times it was no problem.

Kym's segment, the Salsa is my favorite. Kym seems to be the best instructor of the group. I picked up this segment faster than the other two.

The jive/lindy section is very high impact, but a lot of fun. I like the part Kym teaches the best.

The challenge section is fun, and don't feel bad if you don't keep up with the instructor, because even the other two dancers flubbed a move here and there.

I would recommend getting this video if you are a fan of the show or have some dance background. If you don't have any dance background I would still recommend getting it, but be prepared to do it a few times before you get the moves down. If you are someone who gets irritated with imperfect cueing, then I wouldn't recommend it.

The dvd is chaptered, and you can do the whole workout, which is 60 minutes long, or mix and match to your choosing. When I am short on time, I set the dvd for the warm-up, Salsa segment, challenge, and cool-down for a nice 30 minute workout. There is also a music only option.

I wasn't sure I liked this dvd the first time I did it, but I liked it more and more each time I did it and it is now one of my favorites.