Quick Fix Cardio Hip Hop

Juliane Arney
Year Released: 2004

Categories: Floor Aerobics/Hi-Lo/Dance


I’m reviewing this workout after doing it about three times since getting it several months ago.

General workout breakdown: Like all Quick Fixes, this has ten minute segments; in this one, each segment contains a hip-hop-inspired dance. The segments are called “Finding the Inner Dancer,” “Rhythm Challenge,” “Low & Funky,” and “Hip Hop Groove” (DVD bonus), all of which are about the same intensity, with perhaps “Inner Dancer” the easiest. In each routine, Juliane starts you off with your “lifeline” move a basic move that you can resort to if you get lost; it also appears during the routine. During the first five minutes you work on half of a routine, ending that part with repeating the first few 8 counts four times. You go back to the lifeline for a moment or two. During the second five minutes, you learn the second half of the routine and repeat just that part two times. Finally you put both halves together for two or four run throughs. Juliane doesn’t break down each move individually, making this tricky to pick up the first few times through. If you’re not familiar with basic aerobics and dance terms, you better be able to pick up the moves by watching! (Some tips: watch it before trying, and skip the arms until the feet know what they’re doing.)

Level: I’d recommend this to experienced beginners through low intermediates. This is a hard workout to classify because anyone beyond a low intermediate level of cardiovascular fitness won’t see her/his heart rate go up much, yet the moves are complex enough that anyone new to exercise, unless s/he has dance experience, will have difficulty picking up the moves.
There are some pivots and shifts here. Otherwise this is a low impact workout.

Class: 2 young women join Juliane.

Music / Set / Other Production Notes: If you’ve held off getting this routine because of hip hop music’s reputation, don’t worry. The cheerful beat heavy music has no vocals. The usual Quick Fix set is here: brightly lit room with hardwood floors and “windows” showing a cityscape. The picture and sound quality are very good.

Equipment: shoes. (I tried this barefoot on my carpet, which is right on top of concrete. Not a good idea.)

Comments: You’ll need some space for this. You should be able to take two steps to each side and at least one good-sized step front and back.

DVD Notes: You can skip the introduction and select your segment. You have to go back to the main menu to pick up the bonus.

Conclusion: This has made its way to my trade pile. It’s good but not for me for two reasons: 1) I’m funk-impaired and 2) I barely break a sweat after doing all four routines together. (I consider myself a solid intermediate+ in cardio.) That said, if you like dance routines, you’ll probably like this. And I’ve read many posts here and on other fora about teenagers loving this workout. So it definitely has its place and is worth checking out.

Instructor Comments:
Juliane is upbeat, enthusiastic, and encouraging, but not annoyingly so. She cues fairly well, although she doesn’t always cue each move and direction. She means for you to mirror her moves. She has a young vibe and voice. (If you don’t like Sara Ivanhoe’s voice in the Crunch yoga series, you might not like Juliane’s here.)

KathAL79

08/15/2005