Fitness level: Intermediate
Breakdown: 5-6 minutes Warm-up; 30 minutes Step aerobics in six segments; 7-8 minute Abs routine; 5-minute cool-down
Heart rate checks: 2
Music: generic disco/Latin
Setting: sunny Oaxaca, Mexico, one-time home to the Aztecs
Impact: mixed; mostly low-impact with optional power moves

Working out with Donna is like having your pretty, popular best friend show you the ropes. She's a great teacher, and in this tape I see hints of the fun-spiritedness that make her later release, "Donna-Mite," such a favorite among those of us who have to have fun when we exercise. Some folks might find her tied with Denise Austin in the Most Perky category, but she also isn't afraid to occasionally poke fun at her own bubbliness, and I like that in her.

This tape is really not geared for advanced steppers and especially not for the Cathe/Kari/Tim Culwell crowd. However, for a new stepper, it's a great "foundation" tape where you can safely and thoroughly learn such stepping basics as repeaters, over the top, and straddle steps without getting so frustrated you want to hurl your step at the TV. I also find the tropical setting to be much more eye-pleasing than the one in Step Reebok (which gave me the willies). The abs routine--and the wonderful tips on form that Donna shares there--were worth the price of the tape. For those who already do intense ab work, this might not be challenging enough, but I've been able to utilize Donna's technical helps when groaning my way through FIRM IV's abdominal drill. They make a difference, too. Apparently I still have some muscles in that region :)

The video is not without its problems. The music is not very energizing and the two women exercising with Donna don't play along with her the way the crew in "Donna-Mite" does. I keep wanting to tell them, "lighten up and have fun, for Pete's sake!" And there isn't enough intensity variations in it to allow you to use it on a long-term basis. If you look at it as a tutorial tape for both stepping and more intense abdominal toning, however, then you're much likelier to be satisfied that you got your $14 worth.

Grade: A-

Melissa Cooper