Full disclosure: I received a free review copy of this workout.

OK. I'll start with a little about me that might explain my reactions to this workout. I am a 49-year-old woman with basically no rhythm. I am a regular exerciser and don't have the best hands or knees. At this point, I consider myself an intermediate exerciser. Hip hop is NOT my style of music; I do not listen to it in real life.
When I first heard about this workout, I was intrigued. Amy Bento Ross is one of those instructors whose workouts I avoid because I just do not click with her. I've tried several of her workouts, thought they were pretty well done, but didn't keep them because I just couldn't get into them. But, the premise of this workout sounded promising and I liked what I saw in the clip at Collage. So, I decided to try it.

Amy is by herself in this workout. At the beginning of the cardio section, she says, "Try to have some fun. Throw your inhibitions out the door. It's just you and I and we are here to sweat and let go. Look, no one's watching. So, I don't care if you're an 'A dancer' or an 'F dancer'. Hip hop is just about exaggeration and that's all we're going to do." Throughout the rest of the workout she reminds you of this premise and encourages you to really get into the moves. For me, it worked. When I do this workout, I feel like one of those "A dancers" and there is no one and no mirror in the room to tell me differently! For those that simply don't like workouts with just the instructor, this premise might not work as well.

The set is the standard CIA set that has shown up in recent workouts. It is the one with the windows in the background. The set is light and airy and I have no had no problem seeing Amy. She is dressed in a black top, black pants, and black shoes. I've seen comments about loving or hating her outfit and just don't get it. It's a black outfit. (Can you tell I don't have a lot of fashion interest? It must be in the same place as my rhythm... LOL) There is one place in the workout where she does a move when the black pants and black shoes works against her because I couldn't see exactly what she was doing. It was sort of a kick move into a tap back move and is pretty quick. The music seems like standard standard techno exercise musis with a hip hop flair. To me, it seemed repetetive. I didn't really care because I don't like hip hop music anyway and focused on the moves. It did seem to fit the workout very well.

Throughout the workout, Amy compares standard walking moves (vanilla) to more intense options (spiced up). She encourages you to:

> vary the level of your body as you walk and move
> engage and move your core as you move
> include and move your arms once you have gotten the lower body down

Throughout the workout, she points out how doing these things increases your heart rate - and it did for me. She varies the pace and intensity of the moves throughout the workout. She starts with a move and the introduces a more intense move and then backs off of it and then does it again. She also includes intensity segments where she does a drill-type move for 30 seconds. Amy tracks the time on her watch in those segments. She does a combination of moves for awhile on one side and then repeats those same moves on the other side. For some, this will make the workout repetetive and/or boring. There were several places where I was ready for her to move on before she did, but it didn't mar my enjoyment of the workout overall. Many of the moves are basic (very basic) dance moves, but this is not a dance workout. They are included in the walking type workout and they help to increase the intensity and variety of the moves.

The workout is almost entirely low impact. There were a couple of places I didn't do a hop she added and she pointed out those options when it occurred. She adds intensity in other ways.

Overall, I really like this workout. Instead of doing her version of a Leslie Sansone workout, she created her own walking workout and I think it's fresh and different.

Instructor Comments:
I've seen comments about Amy trying to act cool in this workout. Personally, it seemed to me that she is having fun remembering her earlier years and the fun she had doing various moves. She is encouraging and engaging throughout the workout.

Laura S.