On cardio work, I am an intermediate to advanced exerciser who enjoys with complex choreography at some level. I also enjoy my “easier” workouts on those mornings I don’t feel like thinking that much. After trying many different cardio workouts with varying complexity, I have found that I enjoy many different workouts, but my absolute favorites are those that many complexity lovers on VF would classify as intermediate because the instructor takes awhile to build combinations and/or explains more than the most complex instructors (like Christi, Patrick, or Andre). I got this workout as part of one of the compilation DVDs sold on the CIA site.

The warm up is a blast. I usually don’t ENJOY warm ups, but I do this one. It is fun and seems different than a lot of them. I just get sucked into it. Mark Hendricks leads it.

The first segment is led by Laura Downing. Granted, I may be biased in her favor because she has such a great name :D , but I really did enjoy this section. It is very athletic and it takes a lot of energy to do it. She basically does three combinations, TIFTs them, and then splits them and does them on each side. She really seems to be enjoying what she is doing.

The second segment is led by Melissa Cantillo. I can’t give a real review of this segment because I can’t STAND it from the moment it starts. I don’t know what it is – but, I think it’s mainly Melissa and the way she leads the workout. Plus, I find the moves themselves boring.

The third segment is led by Mark Hendricks, who does the warm up as well. I was sooo ready to have fun, but was disappointed. I found the moves hard and kind of jarring because they include a lot of hopping over the step. Like Lisa, I thought that if I had longer legs, it might have helped, but it just wasn’t fun. And, I thought he could have been easier to follow.

I was so prepared to like this workout for some reason, but I found it disappointing. I will pull out the warm up and Laura’s section when I want an intense step workout that I don’t want to think about much that can be done in under 40 minutes.

Instructor Comments:
I liked Laura. I didn't like Melissa. I did like Mark, but didn't like his workout section.

Laura S.