This is an all-out rave from me. I LOVE this video. With a very few exceptions, hi/lo is usually not my favorite workout, but I find myself preferring this video to many of my beloved step videos. Happy Hour is the one I find myself reaching for on those days that I just am NOT motivated to work out. Here's why:

Christi provides a workout that is dancy AND athletic at the same time. Happy Hour is complex, but much less so than the hi/lo in 9801 and there is less choreography to remember. And it is more cardio-vascularly challenging than her 9801 routine. But not as intense as my other favorite hi/lo's (Franny's hi/lo in 9905, Greg Twombly's in 9003 and Cathe F's Max. Intensity Cardio)

Unlike her 9801 hi/lo, the warm-up is not repeated in the body of her workout. But it is fun, interesting and you'll break a sweat doing it.

Lots of Christi's famous rhythm changes keep the workout fresh and interesting.

And, of course, Christi's incredible cueing and instruction. She's a genius.

As in all of her hi/lo workouts, Christi takes it from the top, but she does it in a balanced way and will usually teach a big chunk of choreography before she has you go back and repeat it all. I have yet to get tired of the repetition. Although Christi spends time breaking down the moves to teach them, she keeps you moving throughout the workout and provides plenty of easy substitutions if you want to modify down either the intensity or complexity. And for intensity-addicts like me -- I could modify UP! UP! UP! with ease and joy. Yippee!

The music is good -- I've got to admit that the 9801 music was better, but I like this music too.

The ab work is really good. She punctuates the crunches with 3 different sets of stabilization work.

Tiny picky complaint: I wish that the cooldown was a little longer and more of a finished combo.

On a sad note:
Some people may be uncomfortable with the fact that background exerciser Tonya grapevines off the set halfway through the video and another exerciser replaces her. As many VFers know, Tonya collapsed and received medical attention halfway through the workout. At her urging, Christi & the others finished the video without her. During a stress test at the hospital the next day, Tonya collapsed and died. This provides an extremely sad note to the workout, yet at the same time, it is uplifting to know that Tonya's two young children will be able to have this video tribute to their mom, who appears full of joy and good health.

For your frame of reference, I'm an advanced level exerciser and my other favorite instructor is Cathe Friedrich.

Instructor Comments:
I LOVE Christi. The more I do other videos, the more I appreciate the brilliance of Christi. She is so natural and full of joy with the camera, her workouts feel so spontaneous and fresh -- yet her routines are practically flawless, and you can tell she put a lot of thought into the design and instruction of the choreography, along with many hours spent practicing the routine. I'd love to take a live class with this woman.

Daphne M