CIA 9905: Non-Stop Workouts: Two Workouts in One

Franny Benedetto
Year Released: 1999

Categories: Step Aerobics


What a great tape! This one is chock full of fun, innovative combinations that Franny makes fun to learn. The hi-lo is very challenging, mostly high impact, and has something for every hi-lo fan. There are some more traditional hi-lo moves (jogging, knees up), there are some dancy parts (chasses, pivots, turns), and there are some kickboxing combos. All packed into 40 minutes (excluding warm-up and cool down/stretch)! Franny takes it from the top when she adds new moves, and I enjoyed doing the moves again. And the cool-down. What fun! I had to keep reminding myself that I was trying to bring my heartrate down so I wouldn't go all out!

After saying all this, I have to say that I'm not the world's greatest hi-lo fan, but I enjoyed this one very much! Then comes the step portion. I LOVE this workout! The nightmare, the whirlybird, the pogo repeater, and all the other moves were put together in such a fun way. It's the kind of step workout that if you like complex choreography you will love this one. It's challenging, but not to the point that you will have to rewind a million times. I got it pretty well the first time through (after previewing parts of it). The pace is fast but not too fast.

The step workout reminded me a lot of a Cathe Friedrich tape, with a similar intensity level and complexity level. I would call the choreography complex (but not too dancy), and the level of both the hi-lo and the step advanced. There is a short ab section at the end of the step, without oblique work, but this is not a big deal at all. There is no stretch to speak of after the step, either, so I just do my own. Definitely not something that should take away from the quality of this tape. Some CIA tapes I do two cardio sections together, but not this one! I get a great workout doing just one of the sections at a time!

If I had to choose only one of the new CIA tapes to get (oh, horrors!), I would definitely choose this one. It's GREAT!

Instructor Comments:
This is my first experience with a Franny tape, and let me tell you, I'm really tempted to get her other ones. She's so full of energy, she seems to be enjoying what she's doing, she relates well to the audience, and her cuing is great and easy to follow. She made even her complex moves easy to learn! What more could you want!

Kristin Aziz

02/18/1999