This is my first experience with a Christi video. I should say up front that I'm not very good with complex choreography, but I'd heard that Christi's hi-low workouts were easier to follow than her step, so I thought I would give this a try.

The workout begins with an "invisible" warm-up, which means the warm-up stretches Iabout 3 minutes) merge right into the first cardio combo. Christi begins with simple steps such as a grapevine and then gradually adds on with arms movements, twists, and turns for more complex sequences. In the first half of the workout, she strings together 3 different combinations, combining only 2 together at first and then all three. She does the same thing in the second half of the workout, this time using 3 new combinations. (The DVD is chaptered for each sequence.) At the end of the cardio, Christi incorporates a quick but thorough 3 minutes of stretching, bringing in the total workout time right around 50 minutes.

The DVD has several bonus features. The 6.5 minute abs segment, performed to the tune "Tequilla," is a fairly standard sequence of crunch variations. There is also a bonus warm-up, which involves 5.5 minutes of more specific stretching than what is included in the workout's "invisible" warm-up. There is also 13 minutes of bonus cardio in which all six combos are performed together; or, for the more choreographically-challenged, there is a 7 minute "Move Master" segment which breaks down the individual moves in each combination (Christi is facing away from you for this feature). Finally, there is a "Behind the Scenes" look at the making of this video--at 24 minutes, this is probably quite a bit more footage than what would interest most people.

As expected, I had trouble following the choreography in this video. First of all, you need A LOT of room from side to side, which often presented a challenge. Secondly, although I could usually follow Christi's initial moves, once she started changing directions, I was lost. Two of the background exercisers did offer low-impact, modified versions of the exercises, but they were very difficult to see. However, I found that by remaining faced forward towards my TV the entire time (ie, obmitting all of the turns), I could at least follow along enough to get a good workout.

So, although this video was not for me, those who like complex choreography and upbeat 70s-style music (eg, "Devil in a Blue Dress," "Your Song," "Jerimiah Was a Bullfrog") are likely to find it to be a fun, intense workout.

Instructor Comments:
Although Christi offered very good mirrored cueing, it wasn't enough for me to keep up with her complex choreography. She is clearly having fun though; she frequently sings out her cues to the tune of whatever song is playing at the time. She works out with four background exercisers, two of whom show modifications, but I found them very difficult to see (they were both in the back).

Beth C (aka toaster)