Pros: I really like the actual workout. Amy does two strength segments and two cardio segments. The strength segments are compound, like deep squats plus hammer curls, front raises and back lunges, side steps with rhomboid pinches. The cardio includes advanced bursts, like the double ski into plyo lunges, the side to side jumps (as if you're on the slopes), and a few burpees. Also low-impact jacks into jacks and then plyo jacks.

The second cardio is "kickboxing" but not really - you do some front kicks, then some roundhouses (the form the women exhibit on those is pretty bad, IMHO) but NO punches.

It definitely raised a sweat for this advanced exerciser - high intermediate with some advanced moments.

CONS: The workout was little more than half an hour! A third circuit would have made it just about right.

The whooping - if the Crunch gals annoyed you, these gals will too. They seem to whoop and laugh at EVERYTHING Amy says. She's got a wry sense of humor but geez, you'd think she was Billy Crystal. Fortunately the whooping is not too loud thanks to whatever sound system, but it's there.

Occasionally she is off beat with the music, though not consistently enough to be a deal-killer. She often counts "4..3...2...1" oddly, so that I wouldn't quite be ready to go at "1."

Neutral: The set was nice enough. Exposed brick and industrial light bulbs. A stylish warehouse-house look. The music is sort of like Dynamix, but with violins, if that makes sense.

Instructor Comments:
Amy, a redhead with a strong and muscular rather than ripped or bone-thin structure, somewhat reminds me of Donna Read, but with less light-heartedness. She seems to have a wry sense of humor combined with a no-nonsense demeanor. Occasionally her voice will get really excited -- usually as you're at the peak of that last "blast" before coming back down to a step touch (she'll yell "Now step TOUCH!"

acey