This one didn't last too long in my collection. It failed on three counts: too hard to follow, too much high impact, and not intense enough. It's not a terrible workout, but I've become picky enough that I had to weed it out.

Although the choreography wasn't that difficult, the way Janis introduced and cued the combinations (particularly in the "hi-lo" section) tripped me up just enough for me to decide it wasn't worth bothering. She taught three separate combinations, layering on new moves and progressively shortening the combinations as we practiced them. I've realized that I don't like this teaching technique because I end up learning the original routine and then having to try to forget it when we're doing the final version. I prefer instructors to teach something to me “as-is” (or very nearly so) the first time around. Adding arm movements after establishing the base pattern for the legs is OK, but changing existing patterns and inserting sequences in different places does not work for me. I also had difficulty perceiving the structure of the workout, not knowing when Janis had switched to a new combination or when she was modifying an old combination. Then, when Janis put all three combinations together, I had trouble calling up the right motor program at the right time. Her cueing was spotty, in that she referred to the combinations by their numbers (Which combo was #2?), cued the punches more than the kicks (even though kicks require more preparation time to execute properly), and didn’t always remind us which side came next (especially important after two-footed landings from jumping jacks).

I was disappointed that I had to modify out so many high-impact moves. I don’t dislike high-impact on principle, but certain uses of it bother me. Especially since the warmup didn’t prepare my ankles and knees sufficiently for the impact, I was worried about injuring my joints from all the bounciness of the jumping jacks and scissor jacks.

Even considering this as an intermediate-intensity workout (132bpm in the hi-lo section, 124bpm in the step section), I was disappointed by the flow of the moves. I felt there was more shuffling and bouncing than punching and kicking, which isn’t what I’m looking for in a kickboxing workout. The step section in particular had me watching the clock; I thought Janis could have incorporated a lot more stepping and kickboxing, rather than shuffling back and forth and around the step. I think the “work-out-with-a-partner” design hindered the choreography without actually adding much meaningful interaction. It crowds the workout space, yet all we were supposed to do was look at our partner and occasionally duck a punch.

The DVD production has two flaws that I noticed: The warmup and cooldown are not chaptered separately, making it difficult to do only one of the two workouts, as Janis suggests. Also, the video clip that plays during the menu depicts a different workout (Brand New Butt and More?).

I prefer workouts by Powerstrike, Aaron Lankford, and Debbie Burns instead.

Instructor Comments:
Janis is friendly and sweet, but I look for more intensity in my kickboxing instructors—she was almost too relaxed leading this workout. Her choreography and cueing also did not work for me here.

KickDancer