I am an intermediate to low advanced exerciser just getting into more complex choreography. Lately I have been enjoying Christi Taylor workouts the most—I love the intensity and the music. This is almost as fun as some of Christi’s workouts.

Tamilee starts the workout with a fairly short warm-up that doesn’t include much, if any, stretching. The routines all last through one song and she builds the combos fairly slowly—they last approximately 5 minutes each. The workout is approximately 32 minutes. She only teaches them on one side (the exerciser’s right side) and starts the combo from that side each time through. Most of the time this isn’t a problem because you still work the other side equally.

While there is TIFTing, it is only within the combo you are working on, not from the beginning of the workout. Even the cooldown has its own little mini combo before a short stretch segment. The combinations aren’t incredibly difficult, so I caught on easily the first time through. There are some turns and pivots, but no more than two or three and it is easy to figure out which direction they are going. This one has more “dancy” stuff than its partner video--there are more cha-chas, mambos, hip sways, and such.

The camera angles are good for the most part and there are no diagonal angles that I can recall. I don’t remember getting frustrated with the cameras not showing what the feet and arms are supposed to be doing.

The music is all vocal and has a good instructor voice to music balance. The songs include I Can’t Help Myself, Signed Sealed Delivered, Nowhere to Run, This Old Heart of Mine, Uptight, and I Heard it Through the Grapevine.

The outfits aren’t your typical exercise gear. Tamilee is wearing something orange—pants and a half top in materials that I don’t even know how to describe. The background exercisers’ outfits vary from tank top and pants to bikini top and short boy shorts. One of the ladies is wearing dark green flare pants that have a flare at the bottom and at shin level.

The workout isn’t high intensity for me at all. It’s along the lines of some of Leslie’s videos as close as I can describe--the tougher ones such as Walk & Jog. It’s definitely low to moderate intensity. This one is more low impact than Rock Hard Assets, but again, you get out of it what you put into it. I like it for the energy, the fun factor, the music, and the fact that I can do it without working up a big sweat. That way I can do it in the afternoon if I’ve skipped my morning workout and I still have to go somewhere. I might get a little sheen, but I won’t be pouring sweat and needing a shower right away like I would if I did a Cathe workout.

Instructor Comments:
Tamilee sings the songs often and encourages the exerciser to sing, too, since “no one is watching, anyway.” I noticed that she has some kind of belly button jewelry—I can’t see it very well to tell what it is, but it flashes from time to time so you’ll know it’s there. The clip at Collage shows pretty much what Tamilee is going to be doing as far a talking and singing throughout the workout. Her cueing isn’t excellent, but it is okay.

Karen (Rhae)