Kathy Smith's Latin Rhythm Workout is a fun, cardiovascular fitness routine which combines latin dance moves with a few more traditional exercises. Kathy works out with two dance instructors, Clara and Ashley, in front of a class of about 10 additional participants. The setting is on a dance floor in front of a band on a stage, although the camera occasionally shows the group in a smaller, carpeted room. Prior to the start of the workout, Kathy provides a brief overview of the three main moves that will be used: the salsa, the merengue, and the cha-cha.

The video is actually broken into two separate workouts, although they flow together nicely for a longer session. Workout 1 starts with a 5-minute warm-up consisting of simple steps to get you moving; you'll really shake your hips and begin to raise your heart rate from the start. Next, you'll focus on each of the three dance moves in turn, spending approximately 5 minutes on each segment. Because you are just learning the footwork, Kathy does not specifically teach any upper body moves, but I found that by involving my shoulders and hips in the movements, my heart rate was really getting up by the end of this workout, which lasted about 19 1/2 minutes total. Workout 2 starts right up with a slow merengue segment that serves as a kind of warm-up. Following this, the workout again focuses on each of the three dance moves in turn, starting with a fast merengue, moving to the salsa, and ending with the cha-cha. This time, you'll add some more traditional exercises to the dance steps--eg, there are lunges, knee lifts, etc. You'll also do slightly more complicated versions of the basic steps as well as add a bit more upper body into the movements. The second workout is about 18 minutes long, and then Kathy leads you through a short series of stretches to cool-down, bringing the entire workout in at about 41 minutes. As a bonus, the the video ends with a brief segment where Clara and Ashley display how to perform each of the three dance moves with a partner (this was the only part of the video that was true dance instruction).

After doing both workouts in one longer session, I wasn't quite sweating, but I definitely felt like I got a good, low-impact cardio workout. I'm not a fan of complex choreography, but I found the dance moves to be simple to learn and fun to perform. At times, I'm sure I was moving in ways that didn't quite match what Kathy and the others were doing, but the great thing was that it didn't matter since I was moving, keeping my heart rate up, and having a good time. Overall, I found this to be a fun cardio workout which I know I will use frequently, especially when I don't feel like doing a more traditional aerobic workout.

Instructor Comments:
I thought that Kathy cued well as always and that she did a nice job with the dance moves--she certain danced better than I did! She provided mostly live instruction, but there were also occasional voiceovers in which she gave additional cueing and form pointers.

Beth C (aka toaster)