This was my first time trying an aerobics tape with the Anderson sisters. I love Power Bar Training and had tried Power Mat Science, but for some reason I had a feeling that I wouldn't like their aerobics and would be putting the tape up for exchange. Well, I was wrong! This was a great workout with lots of variety and innovative choreography. Including the warm up, it lasts about 55 minutes.

The sisters take turn leading and teaching. Shannon does the warmup, which consists of basic moves. She also teaches an arm combo which comes up in the main workout. There are some dynamic stretches as well.

Alison teaches the first combo. It starts out pretty basic with hi-lo moves that you have done before, like walking forward plus a knee raise, then walking back. But soon they start adding on new variations. I thought it was going to be too easy after the first combination, but the workout really started to pick up in intensity thanks to some power moves. Shannon's style was for the most part more athletic and powerful, and Alison taught more dancy moves. There were about 5-6 combinations in the whole workout, most of which were half Shannon moves and half Alison moves. The constant variety made this interesting and more fun, and the best part was that once you learned a combo and practiced a few times, you moved on to the next segment. I actually wouldn't have minded TIFTing once or twice at the end to enjoy all of the fun combos one last time.

Almost all of the moves were variations on traditional aerobic moves like grapevines, mambos and step touches, but Shannon and Alison always added a little twist such as a pony or jazz square after the grapevine. The intensity was pretty high, probably a low advanced, and there was always someone in the back showing low-impact modifications (though she didn't look like she was working very hard).

The cool down also serves as a warm up for the Power Mat Science workout. Unfortunately, there are no stretches after the cardio portion.

The Power Mat Science segment was about 20 minutes. It consisted of Pilates exercises like 100s, leg circles, and planks. It's only the sisters in this part, and Shannon leads the whole workout with Alison showing modifications for beginners. I have done this workout a few times and really felt it in my abs the next day. It's a nice way to add variety to your ab workouts.

As others have mentioned on the Forum, either one of the workouts on this tape would make it a keeper. Two thumbs up!

Aesthetics: The set was the red Oriental CIA set with fans on the walls. Everyone wore jazz pants and tank tops, with the sisters wearing blue and the background exercisers in black.

Instructors: Both sisters did a good job of cuing. Most of the teaching was "watch me", which I prefer to slowing down and doing steps in half time. They were also both very enthusiastic and motivating.

Space: My one major nitpick with this workout was that it required a lot of space. The first combo had a walk forward plus knee, walk back, then another walk back and then walk forward. I had to keep my steps very small, which brought down the intensity. There was also a double grapevine move which I had to modify, but I forgave Alison because it was part of a very fun combo.

Music: The sound on my video was not very good. Once in a while when one of the sisters spoke, it would come out crackly. Also, the music was not very loud, but it was good and had some vocal tracks. I tend not to notice music too much. In the Power Mat segment, the music sounded like Enya and was very appropriate.

Caroline Kim