This video is fun.

It starts out with a fun 7 min. warm-up that I enjoyed a lot more than the other Shannon video warm-ups. It uses the step and is a short combination.

The main workout consists of 6 interesting combinations. For the most part they consist of moves I've done before, but the moves were put together in an interesting way that really kept it fun. You work on all the sides of the steps, and will have your back to the TV quite a lot. The only move I did not like was the reverse straddle in the first combination. I replaced this with a regular turn step straddle, which works fine. Like most CIAs after learning a new combo, you start from the beginning and go through all those that you already know. One thing I really liked was after going through all 6 combos, they split them up. You end up doing 1 on the right leg, and 2 on the left etc. When this happens you end up doing some of the combos in a direction that is new to you. This kept it interesting toward the end. This section is pretty long - 49 min.

There is a 3 minute cool-down which was so basic, I did not really care for it - you are basically just moving in 1 spot on the floor. A 6 minute abs section follow which I did not do, but it looked interesting. Half of the work was done while sitting in a V position. And finally the 3 minute stretch was a bit short but fine.

The intensity is probably at low advanced. It is certainly not as intense as Cathe F. videos, but closer to a lot of CIA Step workouts - I would probably say it was a similar intensity to 9701. There are not a lot of plyo moves, but the tempo was quick, and you are always moving, so I felt like I was getting a good workout. A super-advanced person would probably not find this workout to be enough, without adding their own plyo moves.

The choreography is not really dancy, but it was complex. It took me a few times to get the whole workout (which is why I like it - if I get it too fast, I'll probably find the tape boring soon.)

Overall, I really love this workout, and will probably do it a lot. I looked at it again before writing this review, and even though I was wiped out from doing Step Works, I had the urge to do this workout.

Instructor Comments:
I like these sisters working together. I liked them in 5005 and Shannon in 7004. They have an interesting way of putting moves together in a workout, and they are fun to workout with. There cueing is pretty good. They do sometimes talk over each other, but it is sort of cute. The only complaint I have is when they are teaching a combo, sometimes I am surprised at how they will teach. Sometimes they give you a lot of explanation and practice on something that doesn't need it, and then not enough on something complex. I also occasionally got confused when there was no reason for confusion. For example they have a move similar to the first move in 9701, the L-step straddle. They spent so much time breaking it down in such a goofy way, by the time it came to do the move, I was totally confused. I had to stop and watch them again to see that it was a step I already knew, which was taught more logically in 9701. Despite this, the workout they put together is so much fun, that getting through these things makes it worth it.

Lisa C