Well, it appears that Reebok feels they have a star in Petra Kolber. Young, pretty, vivacious, engaging, enchanting, with a terrific body, lots of energy, and an English accent, she was a sure-fire hit in last year's Reebok Winning Body Workout, a strengthening and conditioning tape. This year she pips Gin Miller from the spotlight as the star of a brand new Step Reebok video - Dance Step Reebok. The choreography is fun, if low-intensity. The music starts at 125 BPM for the stepping segment (and I have the stopwatch to prove it). The form and execution is *appalling*. I have been a Step Reebok certification examiner for two years and would not, in good conscience, have been able to give passing scores to any of the three steppers in the video (Kolber included).

Why? Kolber:

• Form and alignment during the warmup and step training segments. Constant bending forward at hips due to severe, uncontrolled lordosis.
• Bouncing through heels while stepping.
• Bouncing throuh knees while stepping.
• Lack of full knee extension while stepping.
• Lack of full range of motion in hip joint while stepping.
• Stepping too far away from the platform.
• Heels hanging off of the platform.

Female participant:

• All of the complaints about Kolber, but more severe.
• Particularly bad bouncing. Right foot heel rarely contacts floor after about 5-10 minutes into the video.
• Occasional unsupported forward spinal flexion.
• Uncontrolled whipping of body during "dance" segments (lack of control). [Ed. note: I would be hard-pressed to decide between a "2" (unsatisfactory) and "1" (high injury potential for a participant following this instructor).
• Stomping on the platform.
• Uncontrolled arm movements.

Male Participant: (the best of the lot)

• Lack of full knee extension.
• Arms lack control.
• Arms not moved through full range of motion.
• Occasionally steps too far away from platform.

In addition, the warm-up and cool-down are a scant 4 minutes each, the RPE check is a "talk test" which is not indicated as such, and the warm-up music is not in synch with the movements (they don't start on beat 1 with a grapevine, for example - other movements are totally independent of the music).

This is a sorry continuation of the sort of slapdash production style we began to see hints of in "The Reebok Aerostep Workout" with its sloppy edits leaving the partipants on the wrong foot sometimes, and a further deviation from the established guidelines from stepping technique and class safety (Aerostep was the first Step Reebok tape to be above 122 BPM - it was 124 BPM throughout the aerobic segment).

Reebok needs to get a real attitude about their music guideline, or they need to stick to it in their videos. Forcing certification specialists, trainers, and certification examiners to try to get people to hold to guidelines even Reebok does not follow is sure folly and damages our credibility in the fitness industry.

Moreover, as the "founders" of step training, they owe it to the public to present the highest level of form and technique. There is a difference between adding dance influence to step training and falling into shoddy technique, and this is clearly the latter. If the leader of the pack can't step up and down with *zero* bounce in her heels, then the rest of the participants who buy this tape and use it at home don't have a prayer of knowing what correct technique is. I adore Petra Kolber. She utterly charmed me in the "Winning Body Workout". But I feel that she is not a good representative for proper step training technique no matter how much fun she might be to be around. Her performance (and that of her compatriots) in this video makes a very strong case for considering 125 BPM way too fast (much less the 130-140 BPM we're seeing with some of the "advanced" step tapes).

I would like to see Reebok return to making the sort of quality videos that have distinguished them in the marketplace. As a group exercise leader and as a personal trainer I have used their videos in the past for inspiration, and as part of client programming. Sadly, "Dance Step Reebok" will stay on my shelf and collect dust.

Larry DeLuca