Video Fitness

Step Challenge By The Sea

Michael Papamichael, Georgia Janos

Wow! Usually I do a tape 3 times before I submit a review, but I'm so happy with this tape that I decided to go ahead after only one run through it.

This is a step workout, as you can tell by the title, and it is just a total blast. The stepping part is a full 60 minutes, and there is a warmup and cooldown, for a total of an hour and 20 minutes.

They use great music -- some I've heard before and some is new to me -- but it's peppy and keeps you moving. Some of it is what I call G-Force Music, although I've heard it on other tapes besides the G-Force.

Now for the choreography. Awesome! They have some really unique stuff here! But none of it is "dancy" -- well, except for when Georgia shakes her hips during the cooldown, but I can handle that. The moves are all athletic-based, but they're put together in very creative and FUN ways. And the instructors do an incredible job of breaking them down. They start with a move that's rather basic, and then add variations. The way they teach it, the more complicated moves are a breeze to pick up. The variations just kind of "flow" off the basic moves.

Georgia and Michael take turns teaching segments. Michael starts with one combo, then Georgia teaches one, and then you run through the two together twice. They do this a total of 4 times (8 different combos). Finally, at the end, you put all 8 together twice. There is A LOT of stuff here, so I was really glad they did it twice at the end -- the first time through, I kind of stumbled about.

The intensity of this workout is intermediate/advanced, and the choreography is advanced. The time just flies by, even though it's 80 minutes, because you're using your brain as well as your body. The background is really pretty -- you can see the ocean and some palm trees.

I highly recommend this tape! The only place I know of to get it is from MusicFlex (1-800-430-3539). It's $19.95. I give this tape a big A++!

Instructor comments: These two are pros! Greg Twombly needs to get a hold of them and put them on some CIA tapes. Both are creative, fun, likeable, and excellent at cueing (although I think Michael is a little better in the cueing department than Georgia). Their bios on the back of the box say that, among other things, Georgia is a Reebok Trainer and Michael is an Avia Select Elite Instructor.

Annie S.
8-15-98

This is a fun video! Two instructors, Michael Papamichael and Georgia Janos, take you through a total of 8 combinations of fairly complex stepping. There are also several background exercisers. The step portion is a full hour long. I really like the way the combos are built. Michael and Georgia take turns teaching combinations. They first show the basic moves, and then they show more complex variations. They make the steps fairly easy to learn. They teach enough to "get" the moves down, but I didn't feel that it was overly repetitive. After they teach all of the combinations, you put it all together twice. For me, there wasn't too much of "taking it from the top." Regarding the intensity level, I would call it intermediate to advanced since you are stepping for a full hour.

The moves are mostly low-impact, with a few hops and jumps. As far as the choreography goes, I would call it fairly complex but not dancy. Collage rates it as moderate, but there are enough pivots and turns to make it comparable to the choreography of Cathe Friedrich's Step Heat or Step Jam.

The music is by Music Flex--it's good, upbeat club music. It is sometimes difficult to hear above the cuing. The set is a wooden patio overlooking a Florida beach. I've always wondered how people can be so energetic stepping in all that heat and humidity! They do say at the beginning of the video that it's springtime, though!

I really enjoyed doing this video, but there is one thing worth mentioning. If you are a hater of whooping, "hup, hup, hup" noises, "owwwww!", and whistling, this video may drive you nuts. It kind of irked me when I first previewed it. I didn't notice it as much when I was doing the video, though; I was able to tune it out. I wonder if they were overly "huppy" because they were nervous. The tape reminded me of a cross between a CIA tape and a Great Moves tape. It comes in a hard plastic case, and includes choreography notes. You can definitely tell it is not a high budget production, but it's fun to do and there are some really fun moves! I recommend this tape to high intermediate and advanced steppers who like choreography and can deal with a LOT of extraneous vocalization!

Instructor comments: Both instructors are upbeat and seem to be enjoying themselves. The cuing is good--I was able to follow the tape pretty well the first time through. I agree that Michael's cuing is a bit better than Georgia's--hers was occasionally a little late. When I first previewed this tape, I did notice that there is *a lot* of whooping, "HUP," "Owwww," and whistling. Take note, if this bothers you, you may not like this tape much. If you are able to tune it out, it should be fine.

Kristin Aziz
KAziz@prodigy.net
2/6/99

After not doing this tape in a long time, I had to drag it out and was pleasantly surprised. This is a tag team step workout. The cardio section is long 60 minutes, with warm up and cool down the total time is 1 hour 22 minutes.

The workout is filmed outside in the Florida Sun. As with most outdoor filmed workouts, the music takes somewhat of a back seat. You can still hear the music but each of the instructors voices are much louder than the music. The music you will recognized from the Power Max soundtrack as well as some of the more popular music used in the CIA series. The set is a nice gazebo in the sun. Blue skies and blue ocean make for a nice un obtrusive set.

The aerobics are mostly low impact with a few power moves added for flavor. But since the cardio is so long you really get a great workout without all the power. But most of the moves are familiar enough that you can add power to just about any of the moves you wanted to.

The step combos aren't to flashy or to complicated. Michael's sections are more basic while Georgia's are more dancier with more footwork and turns. You do some nice straddling moves and variations of basics, turnstep and L steps. This is a tape you can do well the first time, the learning curve isn't to high.

The great thing about this tape is that it takes no more room than your step does. There are no long hop turns over the long end of the step. If you have room for a mambo on the floor then you have enough room for any of the moves. For all of us space challenged its great not to have to modify for space.

Overall this tape is a solid intermediate level. Advanced if you really power it up. Moderately choreographed combos make it a great choice when you really don't want to concentrate on footwork.

The only negative about this tape is the enthusiasm of Michael. He likes to whoop and whistle. Not so much as to be annoying, but its noticeable. Good thing he's only whooping when he's not instructing. Good for us not so good for Georgia :-)

If you looking for a cardio tape with long sustained cardio with out lots of equipment change then this is probably one of the best out there. ***Collage video says they are no longer distributing this tape, but im sure you can get a hold of a copy from other retailers.

Susie F.
09.24.00



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