Fitness level: intermediate
Breakdown: 5 minutes warm-up; 35 minutes floor aerobics;
5 minutes cool-down; 5 minutes stretch
Impact: mixed, but one exerciser demonstrates low-impact through-out
Soundtrack: Motown hits from 60's and 70's
Setting: Studio

Donna promises "serious fun" in her intro, then she sucks you in and you're hooked from the first "Temptation walk" to the final step-tap and lunge. I have to make myself do other tapes, this one is such a blast it's all I want to do these days!

This is definitely a serious workout--last night I had to stop right before the cool down and I had to take a minute to catch my breath--but Donna packages it as a "big old fat-burning party." And what a party it is! The timeless sounds of the Temptations and the Four Tops, the high-energy group accompanying Donna, and especially the cool-down routine all remind me of the all-girl all-nighters and college dances I enjoyed in my junior high and late teen days.

Donna enjoys herself throughout the routine. Her love of the music is obvious and she cuts up with the crew throughout. But none of it distracts her from her instruction. She's very conscientious about cuing for the changes, giving pointers for proper alignment, and encouraging you to keep moving even if it means doing low-impact or reducing your range of motion.

While her focus is on fun as well as fitness, and this video comes across as a bunch of friends getting together and dancing, the workout itself is not all that dancy or complicated. One of Donna's trademarks is adding her own flair to basic stretches and aerobic moves. So you get, among other things, sideways shoulder dips during grapevines, and little pelvic tilts during the quad stretches. (I'll leave the rest for other reviewers to discover. . .)

The cool-down is all dancing, but trust me, none of it is hard. Most of the steps, such as the pony, the popcorn, and the washing machine, I remember from eighth grade. In fact, I get so caught up in having fun here that instead of cooling down, this turns into five more minutes of aerobics! The stretch includes more of Donna's attitude moves built into the routine, and she advises the exerciser to balance this tape with muscle toning and stretching. (In fact, I'm thinking of getting her 4 Day Rotation to see if she can work her magic and make me love floor exercise!)

Of course, Donna's the star here. But her troupe of exercisers--some of them her pals from Crunch Fitness- deserve a hand for their enthusiasm. They're all in great shape, but encouragingly, they're not all hardbodies or youngsters. The lady who does the low-impact version here is built a lot like me--petite and a little bit busty. Another exerciser is taller and a very shapely size 12 at least. These are real people, all right!

This one's for anyone who needs any or all of the following: 30 or more minutes of cardio work that won't blow out your joints, fun but not complex routines, an instructor who's cheerful but doesn't get on your nerves, and a workout that doesn't feel like a workout. "Donna-Mite" sells for about $15 from Collage, and it's often available for less in stores like Media Play or the larger discount stores. I don't think I've ever bought this much fun for so little money. Enjoy, enjoy!

Grade: A+ and 10 points extra credit

Melissa Cooper