Background on me: I have been using exercise videos for 3 1/2 years. I considered myself to be an advanced exerciser until I got pregnant. Now, at 8 months postpartum, I would say I'm at an intermediate level because I haven't been able to exercise as much as I would like with a new baby around.

I bought this video because it has two short workouts on it. The first workout is 25 minutes of cardio. The second workout is 25 minutes of toning.

The cardio section has relatively easy, dancy choreography. Minna uses mambos and cha chas almost continuously. The music is latin ("salsa aerobics" as the box states) and easy to move to. Compared to other dancy tapes or instructors, this choreography is easy. If you don't like dancy or are intimidated by it, this tape should be fine for you. If you REALLY like dancy, you will be bored by this tape. I would not describe the choreography as complex at all. One thing Minna does that I haven't seen done before is to have you do a grapevine left and then do some athletic moves, then grapevine right and do some dancy moves. So it's like if you don't like one side, just wait until she goes to the other side. It felt like a good mix for someone who might not want all dancy choreography or all athletic moves either.

The toning section was harder than I thought it would be. Minna gives you a total body workout by having you combine upper body and lower body moves. For example, she'll have you do a bicep curl with your right arm as you are doing a lunge with your left leg. So instead of doing lunges and holding weights and then standing still and doing bicep curls, you are doing the two exercises at the same time. I don't know how effective this method will be, but it's sure a time saver.

As for the claim on the box that this workout is for fitness "emergencies", I don't plan on using the workout in that way. As I said above, I bought it because the workouts are short. Anyone who went from being nearly sedentary to doing this workout 4-5 times a week and following the enclosed eating plan would surely see some results in six weeks. However, any other good workout would give you results as well.

Overall, I would recommend this tape because it has good cardio music, dancy moves, shorter workouts, and a pleasant instructor.

Instructor Comments:
This is my first tape by Minna Lessig, and I can say that I really enjoyed her. She cues great and smiles a lot. She doesn't do any whooping or unnecessary chatter. I would buy more of her tapes.

Wendy Kane