Video Fitness

Cardio Collectibles

Christi Taylor

Cardio Collectibles starts off with a quick warm up and then leads into about 32 minutes of step and 28 minutes of hi/lo...followed by a cool down.

The step portion is great - a few turns, though not as many as in some of her other workouts. Some unique moves I've never seen before.

The hi/lo portion seems to me to start off a little slow but it builds up speed before long. There is some impact that can't be avoided (unless you just skip the turns and stick with her original move), but lots of modifications as well.

I'm an advanced exerciser and I loved this workout - it's a keeper. I rate her Totally Hot Cardio (hi/lo) above this one, as well as some of her other step but it's still really good. I haven't tried some of her other recent ones that didn't get such great reviews though.

Cons: The only one I can think of is that some of the screen shots seem a little too far away - there is space both above & below Christi & her two cohorts on the screen (not such a close up). I guess that can be a pro or a con, depending on if you need to see it all and not just rely on cueing !

Instructor comments: Christi is the cueing queen. She knows her way around a breakdown and gets you doing advanced choreography before you know it ! She has an upbeat approach and incredibly innovative stuff !

CJ

February 2006

I put off buying this workout when I read that the choreography wasn't as complex as Christi's usual stuff, and after having been somewhat disappointed in Stepsational. My favorite Christi workouts are CIA 9801 and Step Heaven, but I like all of her workouts aside from Funktional Fitness. I love complex choreography and in particular the way Christi cues fits me very well. I finally decided to rent it from Netflix, and I was pleasantly surprised.

I love the choreography in the step portion of this workout. Although it is broken down slightly more than some of her other workouts, I feel that Christi layers changes on quite quickly, so that you never feel like you're just doing the same thing over and over. The way the moves go together is really very fun, and by the end of the step section the moves and the music just make me smile.
I am a bigger fan of Christi's step than of her hi-lo, but I was happy to see that this hi-lo was more reminiscent of Still Jumpin' and Totally Hot Cardio than of Solid Gold Cardio, which I traded. The difference to me is that CC is more adaptable to low impact than was SGC, which is important to my knees.

All in all, I enjoyed the originality of the choreography, Christi's sunny disposition :) and the lack of Theresa's camera-hooging ways (sorry!).

Instructor comments: Christi is her usual upbeat, smiling self. She cues perfectly (for me) in this workout.

Wendy2

4-17-06

R>
1/1./06

Cardio Collectibles was released at the same time as Mission Possible. Like Mission Possible, it is a split format: half the routine is step, half the routine is floor aerobics. The workout takes place on the same set as Mission Possible-- light hardwood floors with pale pink and ivory cutains in the background. It is fairly tasteful and not distracting. It differs from Mission Possible in that it is longer, higher intensity, the choreography is more complicated, and there is slightly less break down of the moves. Each half has four combinations to learn. There are more pivots and turns than in Mission Possible, but the step routine does not have a huge amount of travelling moves. You do stay close to the step. I liked the step routine a lot. The music goes well with the choreo. It is not super recognizable tunes (which is fine by me), but it is fun and danceable. I especially like the song that complements the second step combo.
It took me a few tries to get the routine down. I had difficulty with the third combination in the step routine. The moves are a little less precise (if that makes sense) and includes some walking away from the step with which I always have a hard time. The finished combination seemed to be easier to perform than the learning part. Fortunately, the last combination of the step routine is easier to learn. She has you run through it a couple of times and then it is on to a super fun floor routine. The floor routine is a little bit longer than the step routine. You will need enough room to grapevine from side to side and do some side kicks. Christi starts you off with a fun hamstring curl, figure eight combination. It is then on to the aformementioned grapevine, knee turn, side kick combination. The third combination is fabulous. Lots of turns, pivots and up and backs. I love that. The last combination is a bit of a dud (to me). I have not really mastered it and it always seems like a bit of a let down. Sometimes I cut it out. After all, the routines plus warm up total over 65 minutes. It can get a little fatiguing-- mentally as well as physically-- to d the whole thing.
Sorry! I have not done the cool down enough to comment on it.
The great thing about this workout is that it is so long and you can always skip various parts to give your workout a different feel each time. Of course, sometimes you may find yourself having such a good time that you complete the whole thing!

Instructor comments:

Roz

1/1./06



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