I am an intermediate exerciser who flirts with advanced workouts some. I’ve been at it (being a vidiot) about two years now. My pattern of exercising is to alternate cardio days with strength days. I do not like mixing the two, so I don’t do circuit workouts. This tape is an exception to that general rule.

This workout has three sections: upper body toning, lower body toning, and abs. You use the step in all three sections. I count this tape as a strength tape and figure the aerobic workout I get is a bonus.

The first section is the upper body workout. He leads you through sections that work the different muscle groups of the upper body: biceps, triceps, chest, back. (This is not the actual order.) Each section has multiple moves to work those muscles in different ways. You do an exercise several times and then move on to the next exercise, then put the exercises together as a section, then move onto the next section. At the end, you do the entire upper body workout three times. For every upper body move, there is a corresponding step to do with it. At first, I had trouble keeping up, but, once I got my feet moving fast enough, I found it enjoyable. The choreography itself is very simple and basic and that lets me focus on the upper body moves that go with the footwork. My heart rate is elevated through the entire part of this workout, so it does give aerobic conditioning as well.

I find the lower body workout less intense than the upper body. Again, he moves through the different body parts (calves, quads, glutes, etc.). Again, this isn’t the exact order. He uses the step pointing at the TV and most of the moves have one foot on the step and one foot on the floor while you do traditional lower-body moves (squats, calf raises, etc.).

The abs section is one I will actually do. Generally, I do abs on the ball and dislike working my abs on the floor. However, I stick it out through this and feel like I get a good abs workout. Again, he works the different sections: upper abs, lower abs, obliques. You keep your feet on the step throughout the moves.

He ends with a nice stretch. The workout clocks in at about 70 minutes.

All in all, I really like this workout. It is a high-rep, low-weight workout (at least for the upper body) that is different from any of the other workouts of this category that I have tried. I love the outdoor setting. Sometimes, it does get distracting as I dream about being in Hawaii instead of paying attention to my foot patterns though. (smile)

Overall, I highly recommend this workout.

Instructor Comments:
Gilad is an excellent instructor. He is encouraging and motivates me, even when I am tiring. He also gives loads of form pointers and specifics in what he is looking for.

Laura S.