Bollywood Dance Workout

Hemalayaa Behl
Year Released: 2006

Categories: Floor Aerobics/Hi-Lo/Dance


Instructor - Hemalayaa Behl
Type - Aerobic dance workout
Impact - Mixed, but mostly high
Choreography - Basic
Duration - 45 minutes
Equipment - Bare feet!

This is a bollywood dance inspired aerobic workout featuring the lovely Hemalayaa Behl. She is accompanied by two other exercisers. Their bodies are not ultra toned, but curvy and in shape. I like that they look like real people. The set is breathtaking, with lots of colorful scarves and Indian looking artwork.

As for the workout, you start with a warm up that includes bouncing around and moving your head from side to side. Hemalayaa instructs via voiceover the entire time. She previews each move then picks it up when you've mastered it. The workout moves fairly quickly from one move to the next, but since each move is well explained you don't get lost. There are many moves involving squatting, pulses, kicks, and just shimmying to the music. Most of the moves have a hip hop and bellydance flair to them.

Hemalayaa approaches the workout as a time to just have fun. She laughs a lot and reminds you that it is for enjoyment, not just exercise. She even has funny names for the exercises, like feed the chickens.

This DVD would be great for someone that is just starting out to exercise, but for anyone that is advanced beginner or above, I don't think this would be the one to go to. I am an self proclaimed intermediate exerciser, and this workout did not raise my heart rate very much. I may have burned 120 calories during the workout. The real meat of the workout was only about 20 minutes, not including the stretches, toning segment, dance demonstration, warm up, or cooldown.

PROS - lovely set, engaging instructor, nice moves and music

CONS - the actual workout portion wasn't long enough, so I didn't really break a sweat or burn enough calories. Also, you need strong knees for this DVD. Lots of pulsing and hopping about.

GRADE - A. It is a great workout, just not for my needs.

Instructor Comments:
She really seemed to enjoy herself, but it may have been hard to tell with voiceover. She made lots of cute "come hither" faces at the camera, that I found charming. Sort of like saying "don't be afraid to show off your inner sexy!". I know some people found that annoying, but I found it appealing. Sometimes, I forget I have an inner sexy, tee hee!

bubbles76

02/17/2011