This is one heck of a workout, and definitely advanced level. You do 40 minutes of high-intensity step aerobics and 40 minutes of toning.

The aerobic section is divided into a series of 7 "sprints," which are 3- to 5-minute high-intensity aerobics followed by a slightly lower-intensity phase, but still aerobic. This seems to be extremely effective for me -- when I first started doing this workout, I saw a noticeable improvement in fat loss as well as aerobic capacity and strength.

The back of the video says you can do this without a bench (and one person even does so in the video), but I'm sure it would be less intense that way. However, that may be a good way for a beginner to start this program.

The abs section is really good. The moves are challenging and done slowly enough so that you get some benefit. However, they're not so difficult that you can't do them, or you can't work up to them.

This is a video I'd highly recommend to any advanced exerciser or to an intermediate exerciser looking for improvement. Besides being effective, it's fun!

Annie S.