Deborah Damast is a dance instructor (I looked up her site, she is faculty member at NYU & has a MFA in dance education) leads this 21 min. workout that consists of bodyweight exercises for cardio & stretching. It's mostly voice-over or Deborah cueing what will happen next or discussing a short animal fact. She is not performing any of the exercises, and only in the cool-down is she on set w/ the kids (checking on form). This video is created to get kids moving & w/ fun in mind w/ the visuals of animals (names & graphics displayed on screen, monkey character "Munki") & different scenes (animal habitats) & the focus on animal-like movements, not structured drills or form perfection.
I think that the warm-up was the only part that need improvement, as Deborah does not give much instruction for some of the body position (ex. did not say: seated on heels, on all fours or face down) or the kids were not all performing a similar-looking exercise. And the rep numbers were low (only two), which does not seem like enough for kids to work with (seems rushed to me, but I appreciate that she is trying to go through the entire alphabet, and not a have long warm-up).
It's geared towards children ages 2-7 years-old, but I don't think that most 6+ would find it very interesting/engaging (basic exercises, maybe too simple for them). I have two children (age 5) w/ autism, and they really enjoy it because of the animals (they like visuals, movements & facts). One of the twins is not very coordinated, the other is very athletic/coordinated, and they both have fun w/ it (both can perform the exercises that they like). This is the first exercise video that they have liked & used consistently (ask for it, several times a day), Elmo/Sesame St. fitness video did not interest them. I was not really expecting them to like this video as much as they do. As they do like to copy some of the exercises in the fitness videos that I use, but not for 10-20 min (this video holds their attention).
Set: alternates between white walls & floor w/ colored dots on ground & floor, and the scenes for animal habitats (forest, polar region, grassland).
Cast: children (boys & girls, variety of ages), the kids demo all of the exercises and it's nice to see all of their individual styles.
Intro by Deborah (30 sec.): recommends to have space to move about freely & discusses the movement patterns in the workout
Warm-up (2.5 min.) 2 reps for each letter/animal, pace moves quickly
Animal ABCs (floor exercises, body makes animal-like movements)
Alligator: arms clap in front of body
Bear stretch body arms up from seated position (on heels), then reverse.
Cat: arch back on all fours
Dog: panting mouth w/ doggy paddle arms
Elephant: arms form trunk for movement
Fish: seated on heels w/ bent arms to side, hands pulse/open to sides
Gorilla: pound chest w/ hands
Horse: kicks up from all fours
Iguana: stretch upper body w/ bent arms (cobra pose), lying face down
Jaguar: alternating stretching arms forward & legs back, on all fours (bird dog)
Kangaroo: jumps
Lion: lie on ground like a sleeping lion
Mouse: pretend to eat cheese (hands to mouth)
Newt: on all fours, alternate heads turns side-to-side
Ostrich: from all fours, place head on ground w/ bent arms
Penguin: rock body side to side, w/ arms to side
Quail: kneel (one foot & other knee on floor) w/ both arms extended in back of body
Rabbit: jumps from ground
Snake: lying face down, "slither" move body on floor
Turtle: on all fours, tuck head into body w/ bent elbows
Unicorn: on all fours, alternate one arm "horn" to the front
Vultures: seated on heels, flap arms "wings"
Whale: lying facedown, alternate arm extension (whale spout)
X-ray fish: seated on heels w/ bent arms to side, hands pulse/open to sides
Yaks: mountain climbers
Zebra: on all fours, pretend to drink water.
Workout (17 min.)
Train: kids form line to travel around room.
Seal: wave arms, diving motion w/ arms
Lion: stretch, run & jump/pounce on all fours & "pounce" jump forward
Penguin: rock body side to side w/ arms at side, forward, backwards, in a circle, dive on floor onto belly
Monkey: swing arms back & forth in standing position, "slide" (galloping around room), rolling on floor
Kangaroo: jump in zag zag, backwards, side to side, hopping on one foot, in a circle, turning, boxing (punches)
Zebra: galloping around room, in a circle, curvy pathway, drink water (), rolling on ground
Eagles: walk w/ "soaring" arms, run, run & leap w/ arms to side
Mix of arm & leg movements for two animals
Kanga-eagle: jump like kangaroo w/ eagle arms
Penga-lion: arms rock side-to-side w/ lion pounce
Snake-bra: gallop w/ legs w/ "slither "arms make snake motion
Seal-aroo: jump w/ flapping arms
Search for Munki by focusing on different animals (animal movements)
Seal: flap arms, diving arms, waving, mimic balance ball on nose
Lion: stretch & pounce on all fours (alternating arms)
Penguins: rocking side to side
Kangaroo
Eagles: eagle arms w/ body in circle> standing mountain climbers
Freeze Dance: freestyle dancing alternated w/ freezing body in place.
Cool-down (1.5 min.)
Alternate X shape w/ body, lying face up on floor & fetal position, both sides> stretch upper body up w/ bent arms, lying face down.
Instructor Review
Deborah has a pleasant personality, and provides encouraging comments & a good flow for a fun workout. I think she could have gave more form pointers, brief ones (sit on heels or lie face up or down), to make the movements easier to pick up or understand.
Reviews from VideoFitness
Deborah Damast is a dance instructor (I looked up her site, she is faculty member at NYU & has a MFA in dance education) leads this 21 min. workout that consists of bodyweight exercises for cardio & stretching. It's mostly voice-over or Deborah cueing what will happen next or discussing a short animal fact. She is not performing any of the exercises, and only in the cool-down is she on set w/ the kids (checking on form). This video is created to get kids moving & w/ fun in mind w/ the visuals of animals (names & graphics displayed on screen, monkey character "Munki") & different scenes (animal habitats) & the focus on animal-like movements, not structured drills or form perfection.
I think that the warm-up was the only part that need improvement, as Deborah does not give much instruction for some of the body position (ex. did not say: seated on heels, on all fours or face down) or the kids were not all performing a similar-looking exercise. And the rep numbers were low (only two), which does not seem like enough for kids to work with (seems rushed to me, but I appreciate that she is trying to go through the entire alphabet, and not a have long warm-up).
It's geared towards children ages 2-7 years-old, but I don't think that most 6+ would find it very interesting/engaging (basic exercises, maybe too simple for them). I have two children (age 5) w/ autism, and they really enjoy it because of the animals (they like visuals, movements & facts). One of the twins is not very coordinated, the other is very athletic/coordinated, and they both have fun w/ it (both can perform the exercises that they like). This is the first exercise video that they have liked & used consistently (ask for it, several times a day), Elmo/Sesame St. fitness video did not interest them. I was not really expecting them to like this video as much as they do. As they do like to copy some of the exercises in the fitness videos that I use, but not for 10-20 min (this video holds their attention).
Set: alternates between white walls & floor w/ colored dots on ground & floor, and the scenes for animal habitats (forest, polar region, grassland).
Cast: children (boys & girls, variety of ages), the kids demo all of the exercises and it's nice to see all of their individual styles.
Intro by Deborah (30 sec.): recommends to have space to move about freely & discusses the movement patterns in the workout
Warm-up (2.5 min.) 2 reps for each letter/animal, pace moves quickly
Animal ABCs (floor exercises, body makes animal-like movements)
Alligator: arms clap in front of body
Bear stretch body arms up from seated position (on heels), then reverse.
Cat: arch back on all fours
Dog: panting mouth w/ doggy paddle arms
Elephant: arms form trunk for movement
Fish: seated on heels w/ bent arms to side, hands pulse/open to sides
Gorilla: pound chest w/ hands
Horse: kicks up from all fours
Iguana: stretch upper body w/ bent arms (cobra pose), lying face down
Jaguar: alternating stretching arms forward & legs back, on all fours (bird dog)
Kangaroo: jumps
Lion: lie on ground like a sleeping lion
Mouse: pretend to eat cheese (hands to mouth)
Newt: on all fours, alternate heads turns side-to-side
Ostrich: from all fours, place head on ground w/ bent arms
Penguin: rock body side to side, w/ arms to side
Quail: kneel (one foot & other knee on floor) w/ both arms extended in back of body
Rabbit: jumps from ground
Snake: lying face down, "slither" move body on floor
Turtle: on all fours, tuck head into body w/ bent elbows
Unicorn: on all fours, alternate one arm "horn" to the front
Vultures: seated on heels, flap arms "wings"
Whale: lying facedown, alternate arm extension (whale spout)
X-ray fish: seated on heels w/ bent arms to side, hands pulse/open to sides
Yaks: mountain climbers
Zebra: on all fours, pretend to drink water.
Workout (17 min.)
Train: kids form line to travel around room.
Seal: wave arms, diving motion w/ arms
Lion: stretch, run & jump/pounce on all fours & "pounce" jump forward
Penguin: rock body side to side w/ arms at side, forward, backwards, in a circle, dive on floor onto belly
Monkey: swing arms back & forth in standing position, "slide" (galloping around room), rolling on floor
Kangaroo: jump in zag zag, backwards, side to side, hopping on one foot, in a circle, turning, boxing (punches)
Zebra: galloping around room, in a circle, curvy pathway, drink water (), rolling on ground
Eagles: walk w/ "soaring" arms, run, run & leap w/ arms to side
Mix of arm & leg movements for two animals
Kanga-eagle: jump like kangaroo w/ eagle arms
Penga-lion: arms rock side-to-side w/ lion pounce
Snake-bra: gallop w/ legs w/ "slither "arms make snake motion
Seal-aroo: jump w/ flapping arms
Search for Munki by focusing on different animals (animal movements)
Seal: flap arms, diving arms, waving, mimic balance ball on nose
Lion: stretch & pounce on all fours (alternating arms)
Penguins: rocking side to side
Kangaroo
Eagles: eagle arms w/ body in circle> standing mountain climbers
Freeze Dance: freestyle dancing alternated w/ freezing body in place.
Cool-down (1.5 min.)
Alternate X shape w/ body, lying face up on floor & fetal position, both sides> stretch upper body up w/ bent arms, lying face down.
Deborah has a pleasant personality, and provides encouraging comments & a good flow for a fun workout. I think she could have gave more form pointers, brief ones (sit on heels or lie face up or down), to make the movements easier to pick up or understand.