Video Fitness

G-Force Step Challenge

Darrin Grove, Patrick Goudeau, Rob Glick

Fun! Fun! This is a great step workout. It is low intensity, high complexity. Not alot of jumping unless there is a move that needs to unload the knee or turn.

I wore my heartrate monitor and my heartrate stayed in the 120's to 130's. The highest it got was 140-143 when all the choreography was put together at the end. The moves are taught very slow and low impact So I might have to raise my step height if I want to have my heartrate higher. When I do Cathe's step tapes, my heartrate goes in the 150's to 170's. So you see, this G-force is perfect to do when you want a fun, low intensity workout with lots of fun choreography. But don't worry, Darrin, Rob and Patrick slowly break down each move so you really are ready when they put the moves all together.

Darrin warms you up with some fun moves and kinda dancy. He does a rhythmic hamstring stretch which I love. Other stretches are for you calfs and hip flexor.

Patrick's combo's are taught very very slow with lots of marches. He does this knee up and turn around on the floor. When you put it all together it is so fun. The music on his section is really upbeat and really fits in with his choreography. Oh, he also does this mambo move that mambo's the step then over the step. It is kinda like his mambo in CIA 9001 but he pivots as he does the mambo over the step so it adds a nice twist to it. He also does a power mambo like Cathe's Step works which is also fun!

Rob does a slow reverse turn to teach you to sashay around your step like a reverse turn which I thought was a neat way of teaching it. He has alot more power moves which brought my heartrate up. He also does this really fun fun move like Christi Taylor's X move in her CIA 7002hi/lo. He does the X move on the step so you straddle to the top of the step and then staddle to the back of the step. I was loving it!

Darrins, moves are fun too. He does a knee up and then jumps over the step and does a stomp step. It is tricky but once you get it , watch out, it's a blast!! He has a great personality too and just makes you feel so welcome to workout with him. He even apologizes for turning his back on you. What a gentleman!

I love how you have three different instructors teaching their own choreography and then you put it all together at the end.

Rob does the cool down which is short so I think if I want a longer cool down, I can always use CIA 9001 cooldown with Patrick:o))

The music is very very upbeat and I loved it! It is some of the same music from Body Max but some other new songs.

They are all wearing black shorts and Patrick is wearing a blue tank top, Rob is wearing a white tank top and Darrin is wearin red. Both Patrick and Darrin are wearing hats.

They all use a 6 inch step which I thought was strange because they are in such great shape. Even Cathe Friedrich uses an 8 inch step. Even Patrick being so tall, he should of had an 8 inch step! I used a 6inch step but might have to make it higher to get my heartrate up higher.

When I first previewed the workout, I hated the set. It is a huge dark wherehouse with big metal pipes in the back and some smoke comes out once in a while. But after I did the workout, I was having so much fun with Patrick, Darrin and Rob that I didn't even notice the set. Just some fun info, they all made mistakes which was great because nobody is perfect right? Even the G-force.

This is a fun fun workout and I highly recommend it.

Instructor comments: Perfect cueing at a nice slow pace to help you get used to the moves. Patrick is friendly and just plain fun to workout with. I am thrilled to have another workout with him in it. I wish Patrick did the cool down. Rob does the cool down and seems to not be as camera friendly as Patrick. They don't banter with one another as their other video's because I think they want to focus on teaching the moves right with no mistakes. Some of the moves are very complex and tricky. But stick with it, you will love the variety of moves to keep your workout fresh.

Mandy Lee
9/20/98

Of the two new G-Force tapes, this is my second favorite. I think the Hi/Lo Challenge workout is a lot more fun and more intense, but this one is very, very good, too.

The format is the same as all the other G-Force tapes: each instructor teaches 1/3 (more or less) of the combos, and they are all put together into one big one.

Patrick teaches first, and he takes a long time to teach his combo. I'm glad that was at the beginning, because your heart rate doesn't really get up enough until he finally puts it all together. Once he's done, though, it's a lot of fun.

There is one part of this workout that left me blubbering in frustration the first time I did it. Darrin teaches a move where you cross over the step pretty quickly and turn at the same time -- you're crossing from floor to floor, it's not like an over the top. Anyway, I was really uncomfortable with it because I'm too short. But he said, if you don't like it, just do the previous variation that he had already shown. So, fine, I'm busy having a blast doing the previous variation, and then he starts teaching the next move. Lo and behold, you have to do "the leap" to be in the right spot to do the next move. I know my reaction sounds funny, but I was so mad!!! I felt like I had been cheated! I just stood there sputtering at the TV. So now I do "the leap" even though I'm certain I'm going to break my neck one of these days. If anyone comes up with a good variation for this move that leaves you in the right position for the next step, I'd appreciate hearing about it!

Despite my moment of anger, I still have a lot of fun doing this tape. The music is excellent -- even better than the hi/lo tape, I think. The stepping is a full 45-50 minutes, and it goes by quickly. Grade A.

Instructor comments: Is it my imagination, or is Darrin getting better and better? He may be giving Patrick a run for his money one of these days!

Annie S.
10-12-98

With G-Force, you are sure to have fun and creative choreography. This tape is no exception. They break the routines so well that I can get almost everything down in the first time. As Mandy said, the way Rob teach how to scoop around the step is really excellent. I believe that Rob must be a superb instructor in live class. About their "infamous" step touch and march in place, yes, I wish them repeat the previous routine many times instead before going on, just like Donna Read does in 9701. But these guys use their step touch to explain the next combo and I think they are incurable in this. All my best male friends, my nice brothers, my lovely husband have one thing in common. If I ask them anything, they will explain it in length although I understand clearly in the first few sentences. You can’t do anything but let them explain until they are satisfied. The three Gs are this typical mannish. So I bet they are all nice guys in persons.

Instructor comments: I and others have said many good things about them. What is left for me to say? I myself am not very musical and I’m not a dancer. But it is not difficult for me to appreciate the choice of music in all G-Force tapes. The music is always fabulous and their choreography really fits in. When I use their tapes, I never feel like I’m working out. Just having fun.

pakavadi
12/05/98

Interesting choreography, but not always easy to follow. I like a challenging step routine but the boring attitude just turned me off. I am NOT buying anymore tapes from these guys

Instructor comments: I absolutely liked ultimate step so I had high expactations. Unfortunally they were not fullfilled. What is going on between those guy's? It looks like Patrick has a bad day. And am I the only one who thinks Darron Grove just can not keep up with the others?

richard

30-3-99



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