Nekea Brown
Lets see...should I give you my "good"
or "bad" comments first? Let's start with
the Bad. Nekea does not cue very well.
It's not horrible, but the step section is
quite dancy and very complex, IMO.
(Please keep in mind that I have a very
difficult time with complex step.) Just
as an example, she does a chasse
(sp?) ACROSS the step, and I thought I
was going to trip & sprain my ankle! I
think this is because she cues the
move a little too late. LOTS of turns &
pivots too. I remember that there was
some concerns voiced in the forum in
regards to the BPM of this workout.
Normally I would not think that 140
BPM is too fast for step, but when the
choreography is very intricate and the
cueing is off, it is very difficult to
execute, and this workout is a prime
example of this. I got really frustrated &
skipped to the kickbox segment.
The kickbox segment reminded me of
a more choreographed & condensed
version of Hollywood Trainer Kickbox
Bootcamp. Not overly choreographed,
just enough to keep it interesting.
Again, the cueing is not the greatest,
but it is much easier, IMO, to recover
from a missed step in kickboxing than
in other aerobics. There are 3 very
short weight segments. All have varied
count variations, meaning that you do
the move up for two, down for two.
Then a few sets are up 3 down for1.
Then a few more sets are up for 6
down for 2. (or a similar count pattern.)
Hope this makes sense. The first
weight sement is deadlifts & bent over
rows. Second weight section is reverse
bicep curls with lunges then Arnold
presses with 1-leg extensions
(balancing on 1 leg) the 3rd weight
segment is tricep dips with squats,
then a few set of tri's without the
squats. The cardio segments seemed
easy at first, but they creep up on you
& I was sweating up a storm! Nekea's
trasitions are not always smooth, and
the cueing is not the greatest, but I did
enjoy the workout alot--lots of kicks!
Yeah! Biggest complaint about the
kickboxing segment is it's too short! I
wanted to keep going, so I did it twice.
Skipped the tai chi cooldown. I prefer
athletic-style streches. The ab section
was not very good thorough. only 3
moves to target obliques, if I remember
correctly. Nothing impressive, or
horrible. Just not enough abwork for
my taste.
So, I liked the kickboxing section,
though it is not as polished as, say, a
Cathe or Kimberly Spreen kickboxing
workout. The rest of the w/o didn't do
much for me. If you love complex
dancy step & enjoy kickboxing, you will
probably like this--if you have patience
for lack of/missed cueing. The
kickboxing segment will be a nice add-
on for me, and since I like to do
"pieces" of workouts, I do not regret
this purchase.
Instructor comments:
Nekea is very straight-forward and
professional. I found her to be very
pleasant and not overly enthusiastic as
some instructors can be.
Adrien
6-1-05
First, let me say, I am only reviewing the step workout on this 2 workout DVD. It is a full 45 minute workout. The other workout is a shorter kicboxing/strength circuit. It looks fine, but I have plenty of good circuit workouts that I use now.
What a find! I received this one in a trade when I meant to ask for Amazing Hot Stepping. I'm glad I made the mistake.
I am not horrible at picking up choreography, nor am I a whiz-- I am somewhere in between. Usually, Cathe's stuff I pick up on the first try. On the other hand, things such as Christi's Step Heaven stage 2 have me stymied.
My favorite step workouts are probably by Christi, Kari, and Gay Gasper.
This one is fairly complex and took me a few run throughs to get down. I would rate the intensity as int/advanced, with the last combination probably being the most intense.
Anyway-- on to Nekea. After an 8-9 minute warm up, which is a fun combination in and of itself, you learn 5 combinations. There is some TIFTing throughout the workout and at the end you run through the entire routine twice. I did not find TIFTing extreme.
If you like turns, shuffling around the step, mambos, and some novelty. I think you will like this workout. I found the cuing good. There was enough instruction, but not so much that it may become tiresome in later workouts.
The soundtrack is oh, I don't know how I would describe it-- "funky"?
I liked it. It worked well with the routine.
The set is ugly CIA stuff.
Nekea just has a wonderful presence. She never comes across as forced cheery-- just warm and pleasant. She does not make lots of additional comments beyond cuing the workout. I like that.
Like I said, I am glad I (inadvertently) ended up with this DVD, and I would recommend others give it a try.
Instructor comments:
roz
2/14/08
