I’m reviewing this workout after doing it once in its entirety (although I’ve probably only done some of the bonus segments once each).

General workout breakdown: This 45-min. step workout (just over 24 minutes for the first half, or the horizontal step workout, and just over 21 for the second half, or the vertical step workout) is followed by a 5 min. cooldown (I agree that it’s not much more than a lot of hip swaying, as if Christi ran out of inspiration, and there’s a big jump down for me from the last run through to this, which is done nearly standing still) plus has the option of an extra 3-min. warm-up (which consists of basic moves plus some dynamic, or as Christi calls it “rhythmic” stretching) and a 5.5 min. stretch (which begins seated but ends standing and covers most of the lower body as well as the low back and some upper body). Note that the bonus warm-up, cool-down, and bonus stretch also appear on Solid Gold Cardio.

Christi combines standard step aerobics moves with a bit of a dancey flair: you’ll start with basics, toe taps, grapevines, repeaters, hamstring curls, knee lifts, mambos, cha chas, squats, lunges, hamstring curls, over the tops, straddles, and other moves which get jazzed up as the routine progresses. Although this isn’t straight up dance, Christi’s ability to match moves to music and make them flow together in a sequence will make you feel almost like you’re dancing.

Christi’s teaching method: Christi always begins with basic steps but quickly layers them, either transforming the moves, changing the order and/or rhythm, or cutting down the number of repetitions. Her style of instruction is to begin with a few counts of basic moves, then layer it up, run through the new variations of the moves a few times, then put them together to take it from the top. I agree that there are in general fewer repetitions here before Christi does one big TIFT, plus Christi skips the TIFT in the middle of the combo that she often does in some of her other workouts. Also, she only does one TIFT before moving onto the next combo and only two or three final TIFTS here. She often uses the “watch me” method, although here she and her two “flippers” will launch right into the final variation with just a warning that a move change is coming up. I appreciate that Christi only changes one thing at a time and almost always gives you at least one chance to see and then do it on each side before adding any other changes.
Christi teaches things symmetrically, and she balances out break downs on both sides, more or less. Christi never weaves, or slices and dices, combos; she’ll always do combo #1 on the right (or whatever side she does first), combo #1 on the left, combo #2 on the right, and then combo #2 on the left, and so on.

In addition to the main step workout, this DVD contains 45 minutes of strength add-ons taught by members of Christi’s classes on the Solid Gold series who are solid instructors in their own right. These add-ons also appear on Solid Gold Cardio.
- Julie’s Abs (5.5 min.) has two women, one of which modifies, doing the workout; Julie begins coaching but joins them for basic crunch (with several arm variations shown), oblique crunch, crunch w/ legs in tabletop, crunch w/ reverse crunch, crunch w/ reverse cruch / leg push-up, oblique crunch w/ ankle over knee into 4-part series (adding in reverse crunch / lift), and tempo pulses reaching towards legs.
- Nate’s Squats & Push-ups (9.5 min.) has two women, one of which modifies; Nate usually joins them but once or twice stops to coach during squats, push-ups, static lunges, triceps / narrow push-ups, wider / plie squats, push-ups w/ 1 leg slightly raised, and finishing with one more round of regular squats, triceps push-ups, and wide squats. You change the tempo as the set proceeds (e.g. 2 and 2 or 3 and 1).
- Michele’s Core Ball Workout (10 min.) coaches one woman through wall squats with the stability ball, adding in small balls (suggested substitute: pillows) between the feet and knees, push-ups against stability ball at wall, push-ups against stability ball on the floor (Michele demonstrates a full plank option, adding in 1-leg lift, too), crunches over the stability ball, and pikes on the ball.
- Michelle’s Back & Behind (8.5 min.) has a man and woman showing different variations as Michelle joins them for “dips” (e.g. bridge, either on the floor or w/ shoulders on a step, w/ or w/o weights; Michelle does straight up and down as well as side to side), side-lying leg lifts up & down (either on the floor or with torso on stability ball, w/ or w/o weights), and quadruped leg lifts & lowers and bird dogs w/ opposite arm & leg extended (either on floor or draped over stability ball). Michelle does regular tempo, pulses, and holds.
- Maria’s Pilates (11 min.) coaches two women in Pilates breathing on back, the hundred, footwork-type series (extend legs out at 45 degrees, adding in pointing & flexing), half rollback, single leg circles, single leg stretch, double leg stretch, double straight leg stretch, criss cross (aka bicycle or obliques), spine stretch forward, swimming, double leg kick (upper body part only – so no leg kick!), child’s pose / shell stretch / little piece of heaven, and ending standing for breathing.

Level: I’d recommend this to experienced exercisers at the intermediate through low advanced level who are comfortable with complex choreography. Those looking for a less complex / strenuous / torque-y workout can stay with the modifiers, and I highly recommend those new to Christi and/or more complex workouts follow them at least the first time through.
I consider myself an intermediate / advanced in cardio, although I’m more of an intermediate plus when it comes to step, since I’m still working my way through more complex step aerobics workouts. I pick choreography up pretty quickly if it’s broken down and cued well, which is mostly true here. I felt fairly confident with the full choreography after just one run through (again, know I think I’m better than average at picking up – although probably not exactly executing – choreography), although I could stand to polish both halves, especially the accompanying arms. Yes, I tried to do the full shebang the first time through, but I’ve been working somewhat systematically through my complex step workouts and now through my Christis. Anyway, this gave me a solid steady state workout that had me in my moderately to borderline high zones.

Class: 5 women and 1 man join Christi for the step workout. The four exercisers in the back two rows, who wear all black, stick with the lower impact / less pivot-heavy version of the routine, while Christi and the two women in the second row, who wear purple shirts (which in the front on shot look almost black, which adds to some confusion as to who’s doing what move), show the full routine. The set’s a little crowded with all of those folks on steps. Oh, and there’s a whooper in there (Michele?), at least for the horizontal portion.
For the cool-down 10 women and 1 man join Christi (in their “normal colors,” although some of them seem to have amped up their wardrobe – I know I would if someone asked me to wear my usual workout outfit to a filming, although I personally would have left the bandana and midriff-baring top under the denim jacket or hoodie at home). They’re all bunched up, so if the regular workout inspired thoughts of claustrophobia you may want to do your own cool-down…
Christi is alone for the bonus warm-up and stretch portions (as well as for the MoveMaster).

Music: a mix of upbeat instrumentals and (remade) vocals, including “I Feel the Earth Move,” “Tearing Up My Heart,” and “Play.” I agree that the soundtrack doesn’t stand out as much as in some of Christi’s other videos (like the Totallys). Oh, as mentioned the cool-down and stretch song, with more of a hip hop / rap feel to it, is done by Christi’s son. I agree that I kind of like it, although I could do without the repeated plugging.

Set: the 2003 CIA set with neutral walls and kind of an Asian flair, with what looks like rice paper screens and vases with branches. Out of all of the CIA sets this may be one of my favorites, as it’s uncluttered, not distracting, and actually a kind of space I’d like to spend time in during real life.

Production: clear picture and sound, with Christi’s voice clearly audible over the music. The camera angles are the usual CIA and thus usually helpful. There’s a few odd shots and edits in the cooldown, or maybe I’m just paying too much attention to that stuff as the cool-down drags on and on.

Equipment: Christi and crew use a full-sized club step with one set of risers, which is what I used (and what I normally use). You’ll want sneakers that won’t get caught in your step and/or carpet (if relevant). The bonus segments require a mat (or equivalent), light dumbbells, a stability / Swiss ball, two small squishy balls (unweighted is probably fine, if not better; substitute = towels), and maybe a step.

Space Requirements: For the horizontal step portion you’ll need to be able to grapevine off to each side behind your step plus have room to take a big step off of your platform to each side and to the front. For the vertical it’s best if you can take a few steps behind and to the side of your step plus have plenty of room to move around the sides and front. I felt like the vertical portion almost needed more room than the horizontal, but the fact that I tried to do them while facing the same direction in a space that’s longer than it is deep may have contributed to that.

DVD Notes: The main menu options are Aerobic Instructor Training promo, Introduction, Straight to Solid Gold Step, Solid Gold Step Combos (X-tra Quick Warm-Up, First Half beginning at combo #1 / #2 / #3 / #4, Second Half beginning at combo #5 / #6 / #7 / #8, Cool Down, X-tra Stretch), Cooldown, MoveMaster, Choreography 101, Bonus Beauties (Julie’s Abs, Nate’s Squats & Push-ups, Michele’s Core Ball Workout, Michelle’s Back & Behind, Maria’s Pilates, Christi’s X-tra Quick Warm-up, Christi’s X-tra Stretch), Combination Platters (Kwiki Platter #1 = Combos 1-4, Cooldown, Stretch; Kwiki Platter #2 = Warm-up, Combos 5-8, Cooldown, Stretch; Aerobic Platter = Combos 1-8, Cooldown, Stretch; Strength & Stretch Platter = Warm-up, Nate’s Squats & Push-ups, Michele’s Core Ball Workout, Julie’s Abs, Michelle’s Back & Behind, Maria’s Pilates, Stretch; and Everything Platter: Warm-up, Combos 1-8, Cool-down, Nate’s Squats & Push-ups, Michele’s Core Ball Workout, Julie’s Abs, Michelle’s Back & Behind, Maria’s Pilates, Stret), and Credits.

Comments: Honestly, I’m not the biggest fan of Solid Gold Cardio, but SC Step saves the pair for me. Wow, this is a fun workout, even if it comes at you a little fast and furious in places and doesn’t have an amazingly rockin’ soundtrack and portions of the vertical step get a little repetitive with the over the top, now back over the top in the other direction, and back over again. I’m looking forward to doing this again. And again. :) This will get a lot of use because I can split it into the two halves, perfect for those days when I need a quick Christi fix.

Instructor Comments:
Christi cues well, although I agree that her cuing, at least for the horizontal portion, doesn’t seem as copious here, perhaps because she mainly calls out the full moves rather than also mentioning the modified routine. She cues a little ahead of the move. Also, she mirror cues but doesn’t include a lot of directional cues, which can be tricky with some turns and footfalls, although she includes a lot more terms like “turn back” in the vertical step, which is frankly where I needed them the most. She doesn’t sing as many cues as normal, but she’s still having a good time, and that joy is infectious. I love that Christi focuses on the moves: there’s no extraneous chatter or silly phrases. (The only exception here is gushing over her son’s song, but that’s just in the cool-down and is understandable from the proud mama.)

KathAL79