Video Fitness

Step Mechanic

Rebecca Small

A little about me before plunging into what I think. I am a committed intermediate exerciser. Recently, life has been out of control, so I have had to deliberately try to do longer and/or more intense workouts (for me). If I manage a 30-minute workout, that's good. A 45-minute workout is MAJOR. I have arthritis and the worst joints in my body are my hands and wrists. This precludes many, if not all, moves which require me to support my body weight on my hands. Finally, I much prefer cardio workouts to strength usually. The complexity of choreography I prefer ranges from intermediate into advanced, but I don’t enjoy the super advanced, like Patrick.

I felt like I should write a review for this workout because it is one of my most favorite step workouts and it’s advanced and every advanced stepper on VF should have at least one Rebecca Small workout! She is just so much fun and is one of the best cuers in the industry. She says, “Now we are going to ___________, “ and I think, “Yeah, right!” Then, we do it and, with her cueing, I end up doing exactly what she said I was going to do.

There is no warm up. The first three combos are simpler than the later ones. In every case, she adds layer after layer after layer. She enjoys doing workouts from the viewpoint of teaching other step instructors new choreography AND how to teach it. As a non-step instructor, I still enjoy the process because it’s really interesting how she builds combos. She does things like hold the leg of her pants on the side you are working, so you know which way to go. She explains how you know which foot to lead off with when it’s not obvious. She cues phonetically when there are rhythm changes. She is just a born teacher and she obviously loves the subject she teaches.

The set is the standard Evolution set, which is a vast improvement over their earlier sets. It’s fairly open and bright. The music is standard Evolution music, but it seems to fit this workout well. The background exercisers seem to be enjoying themselves and are good. Once in awhile they mess up, but it’s just part of the process and not a big deal.

My favorite moment of this workout (and there are many of them) is when I am spinning around the step having a blast and Rebecca says, “Wheeeeeeeee!” I simply repeat what she just said because it fits so well.

Instructor comments: She is a born teacher and she loves the step. She is focused on what she is doing, but she still has a sense of humor about the whole thing.

Laura S.

August 2, 2008



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