Format: VHS – To my knowledge this isn't available in DVD

Type of workout: Step, double/quad step in section 3

Length: 70 minutes

Set: bright, studio-style set

Background on me: Advanced Exerciser who loves complex choreography. Christi Taylor, Seasun Z., Patrick Goudeau, Andre Houle, etc are all faves of mine. The more complex the choreo, the better I like it.

The short version of my feelings about this workout: WINNER!! Okay, now for the longer version: Marcus has this workout organized a bit differently from some of his other workouts that I've tried. As usual there is no warmup or cooldown, and as usual you can build up the intensity gradually in the 1st section so you get nice and warm and don't risk injury. What's different about this workout is that he splits the 3 sections into different levels of complexity, starting with the least complex and building up from there. The blocks in all 3 use the same general footstrike pattern, making the choreography easy to pick up, but are not so similar that I lost interest. This structure makes Step Express, in my opinion, an excellent workout for someone who WANTS to be a choreography maven, but lacks the experience base to tackle instructors who don't really break down their choreography very much when teaching, like Christi or Patrick. There is no taking it from the top ( TIFT ) of all of the blocks in each section. You complete one block and then move on. Some blocks are actually combos of 2 smaller blocks he has taught, so there is TIFT within that combo. I was concerned, since I have done some of his more recent step workouts, that this one, from 2001, might feel “old,” as if the choreography had been recycled and updated in the recent ones. I need not have worried. :) While Step Express has an obvious Marcus Irwin flavor, chock full of L-mambos, cha chas, and chasses, he puts them together with other choreography in fun and innovative ways that kept me wanting more. As a special treat, the 3rd section can use 1, 2, or 4 steps! Gosh, do I ever wish I had room ( and steps ) to be able to do that! He builds the combos 1st on a single step, so there's no problem if you have just one, but I admit that I was very envious of him traveling all over the 4 steps! :) If you have the room for 2 steps, there is also no problem with using 2 in the quad step sections.

The music was quite good, in my opinion. I recognized most of it as being the same as in Andre Houle's Advanced Step and Advanced Cardio workouts. The production values were not stellar. Certainly they were not on par with, say CIA or Cathe, but were above what I have seen in most Sara City productions. Unlike in those Sara City workouts, the production values did not distract me from my enjoyment of the workout.

Section 1 is significantly less intense due to longer breakdowns and lots of marching as placeholders as he builds the combos. I jogged on the step during the marches on the step, and was able to bring the intensity up. There were a couple of other parts where the intensity dropped, but I was able to substitute a higher intensity/higher impact move quite easily. By the end of section 2 it was a solid moderate intensity without any need on my part to modify upwards. The impact is mixed, but given the layering system Marcus uses when teaching, it's easy to stick with the lower impact option. You will sacrifice some of the intensity, obviously, but save on your joints. :) I forgot to note the time for section 1, but the 1st 2 sections together were 55 minutes, while the 3rd section was 15 minutes. While this is only available on VHS, Marcus has numbers in the corner of the screen that correspond with each new element that is added, so it is relatively easy to find the right spot if you want to use this as an add-on to another workout.

Instructor Comments:
Marcus is just a blast to work out with! He laughs and has a great time the whole way through, and you can't help but come along for the ride. His cuing and teaching style make the most complex choreography doable.

ErinF