I’m reviewing this workout after doing it twice (once through all in one fell swoop, once through in parts).
Sandra and Helen have already described this workout so well that there’s little left to say, but I like it so much I’m just going to add a few more thoughts to convince people that, yes, they really do need another Leslie. :-p

Level: I’d recommend this to experienced beginners through intermediates. The faster pace might be too much for those absolutely brand new to exercise, but those who have walked with Leslie before shouldn’t have a problem, as you can just do a mile at a time if needed. Those at the int. / adv. level of fitness can find ways to boost the intensity: adding light hand weights (1-3 lbs.), adding impact (e.g. turning side steps into skater hops, making the lunges into plyo lunge jumps), taking this to a piece of equipment (e.g. rebounder), etc.
I consider myself an int. / adv. in cardio; I normally do hi/lo or step aerobics, kickboxing, etc., but nowhere near a puke in the bucket level. I did this when stressed and sick, and it gave me a decent workout without much jazzing up; just a few tweaks, and it’ll still give me a good workout at my usual level. I don’t expect the strength benefits to be all that great at my level (I’m currently working through a New Rules of Lifting rotation at the gym), but I go to Leslie for cardio, really.

Production: Most of the time Leslie is clearly visible, although there are few shots from odd angles and one or two close-ups of the wrong half of the body when a new move is introduced. The music is a little quieter than Leslie’s voice but is audible. I’m not sure why Leslie seems to be using music soundtracks with pauses in between songs lately, as this interrupts the flow a little; I know mixes exist where one song fades into another. Also, I found it interesting this was filmed in wide screen / letterbox (the screen with the black bands along the top and bottom) since it’s just Leslie in her studio; the result is that in some of the shots Leslie seems to be a tiny little person in a big black cave, and Leslie could be hard to see if you work out to a small screen (although fortunately her moves are simple enough this isn’t as much as a problem as it would be for, say, Patrick Goudeau or Seasun Ziegler).

Equipment: sneakers.

Space Requirements: Although you can always stay in place when Leslie starts traveling, it’s probably best if you can take a couple of big steps side to side as well as move up and back a few steps.

DVD Notes: While a matrix option to string segments together would be icing on the cake, I would actually just prefer that the cursor not skip back up to the “Introduction” after every segment, especially since the screen resets itself after only a few short seconds (meaning if you don’t hit the new chapter right away you have to wait a couple of additional seconds until the cursor is ready to go again).
The flexibility of this DVD is great, allowing for you to do the full workout or just do portions at a time. These segments make great warm-ups, post-weights cardio sessions, boosters, or however you can think to use them.

Comments: I ordered this on a whim, but when I went to cancel it (for some reason I got the – wrong – impression this was more for beginners) it was too late. Am I glad I got this after all! From my first run through this entered the competition for my favorite Leslie. I’ve found that I’m really drawn to Leslie’s newer offerings – the Walk Slim series, the 3 Mile Weight Loss Walk – and this is right up there.
There’s only that one brief bit of jogging, but the variety of moves here is what makes this workout so appealing. I know, it’s crazy to be so excited about a heel dig or a grapevine, but this just proves Leslie can shake things up a little from the four basic steps. And the fact that each mile has a theme makes them easily distinguishable from one another, even though as Sandra pointed out Leslie doesn’t reserve certain moves only for the segments where they’d most apply. My only quibble is that the Tummy segment has tons of knee lifts and a lot of kicks, so this one drags a little for me.
You know, I don’t mind Leslie by herself here. Maybe that’s partly because I’m not as familiar with and thus not as attacked to her usual workout crew. But Leslie is definitely more focused on the workout here, with the result that there’s far fewer “Say wha?!” moments or “Walk, walk, walk, walk, walk” bits or “So-and-so’s a grandma!” comments, which bodes well for those repeat viewings. There’s just something about this one, too, that makes me feel more like I’m in one of Leslie’s classes and less like I’m working along with a video or I’ve stumbled across Leslie when she’s out with her friends.

I prefer both 5 Day Slim Down and 5 Mile Fat Burning Walk to Leslie’s 5 Mile Advanced Walk (or is it Advanced 5 Mile Walk?). I don’t know if that will be true for everyone, however, but this is what I seem to like better: the presence of a warm-up, more freedom to pick and choose individual miles rather than a few set premixes (especially since I can choose directly from the main menu, not rely on the skip button), more variety in moves, no equipment other than sneakers required (although there were people in the Advanced who did the workout without boosters), and a calmer Leslie. Of the three 5-mile walks Leslie has released so far, Slim Down is my favorite because of its variety, followed by Fat Burning Walk.

The lower body segment reminded me of Walk it off with George! Circuit Walk (which is currently out of print).

Instructor Comments:
I agree that Leslie is much less chatty and calmer here, although she’s still positive and encouraging. She cues more here than I’ve seen in the other workouts I have, although she’s inconsistent on letting you know when move changes are happening (sometimes it’s so far in advance she forgets to make the switch when she said, sometimes it’s, “Oh, yeah, we’re doing this now!”). She’s not concerned about left / right.

KathAL79