I originally bought this video because the
advertising for it (found on most of the BodyVision
videotapes, usually at the end of the tape) indicated
that there would be music from the 50's, 60's and 70's.
This claim is also printed right on the front and back of
the video tape cover itself.
I have only been doing step aerobics for the last 4
months or so, and while I often still have 2 left feet, I
do enjoy stepping to tunes I recognize, where the beat
helps carry me along and distracts me from how much I'm
working.
This video tape, however, does ***not*** live up to
the advertising. The music is your standard
unidentifiable instrumental step-paced music, and while
it is not necessarily unlikable, it is definitely not
what I was led to believe would be on this tape.
The other annoying part of this tape is that Cory's
cueing ranges from average to incidental to non-existent.
I am willing to give her some benefit of the doubt, as I
am not the most coordinated person in the world. However,
I usually have a better time at picking up a combination
if it is broken down at the beginning and each part
worked through before it is all put together. Cory is
very lax at cueing at the start of this tape, and she
doesn't get better at it until more than halfway through.
There are 2 heart rate checks - one at the midpoint of
the workout, and one at the end of the cooldown. The
"heartbeat" sound as the time is counted off
can be distracting as you're trying to count your own
hearbeats - I ended up muting the tv during this time.
The production values vary from average to below
average. Cory and her group are matted against a varying
video display, and the sharpness of the picture suffers
when the contrast is too extreme between the people and
the video display behind them. There is the usual amount
of whooping and hollering that you might find on many
other tapes, but not as annoying as other instructors who
are guilty of this.
I've already got a lot of good beginner/intermediate step
tapes (Kathy Smith, Susan Powter), and didn't really need
just another average one. I wouldn't have bought this one
if I had known that the music wasn't what they said it
was. I hope this review will help keep someone else from
making the same purchasing mistake I did.
The good news on this tape is that it is usually
priced under $10. Mine's going to the used book/tape
store, where someone will get the chance to buy it for
$7.
Michele H.
Blech. I found this at a garage sale for $2. Thank heavens I didn't pay full price for it. The back cover says it contains songs from the 50's, 60's, and 70's. It does, but they're more instrumental-type things you've never heard, not popular songs. That's okay, I could have lived with that. What I couldn't live with was Cory's complete incompetence as an instructor. She can do the moves, but she can't teach. She may have improved since, I
don't know. But in this 1991 video, her cueing, when it exists, is horrendous. If she feels like it, she'll cue *after* the move has already started. If she doesn't feel like cueing, well, she doesn't. If you don't mind her poor instruction, the moves themselves are fun with a little bit
of a dance flavor in some instances. The choreography is beginner/intermediate, and the intensity is also beginner/intermediate.
For advanced exercisers, you will probably find the tempo a little on the slow side.
In this video, Cory shows absolutely no skills as an instructor.
Annie S.
11/22/97