I’m reviewing this workout after doing the warm-up, hi/lo, cool-down, and stretch several times and the step once.
Please note that I am reviewing this workout as it appears on the Humble Beginnings DVD, which does not have the slide portion. (In fact, before looking over the previous reviews I had no idea there was originally another part to this workout!)

General workout breakdown: This has already been broken down and described well, so I’ll just note times and add a few more details about Christi’s style here.

Hi/lo: warm-up = 11 min., hi/lo portion = 30 min., cool-down = just over 3.5 min., floor exercises = almost 9 min., stretch = 3.5 min.; total = 57.5 min.
Step: warm-up = 11 min., (vertical) step portion = 29 min., cool-down = just over 3.5 min., floor exercises= almost 9 min., stretch = 3.5 min.; total = 56 min.

Christi will introduce basic steps and layer, although she doesn’t add too many layers here. 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. She’ll then add on another set of base moves, repeat, and then run through all of the parts of that combo before moving onto the next. After you learn the combo fully she’ll do a few TIFTs. Christi never weaves, or slices and dices, combos; she’ll always do combo #1 on the right, combo #1 on the left, combo #2 on the right, and then combo #2 on the left (or whatever side she does first).
Christi teaches things symmetrically, although she’ll sometimes have you do the layered variation on the second side without repeated all of the break down (or build up). If she spends a lot of time repeating the next version of a move on one side (usually these are lower body intensive moves), she’ll do the same on the second, even if she doesn’t repeat the few steps she took to get that variation. Her combos are tapless.
Note that when Christi says that something will be “faster” what she means is that she’ll condense the routine, not speed up the tempo. So a move done twice or thrice will now be done once, and repeating a short series on both sides will now just be done on one side.

Christi draws from what now feels like an old school style of aerobics, relying on simple, clean, classic moves like hamstring curl, grapevine, basic, over the top, ball change, v step, repeater knee, etc., adding a little flavor here and there by playing with the direction, or sometimes arms. This isn’t quite “athletic” - there are moves like lunge and switch / ski / skate but not really many things like basketball hop or boxing shuffle - but it’s not really dance step-based, as you won’t find too many mambos, cha chas, etc. It is dancey in Christi’s ability to match moves to music and make them flow together in a sequence so you feel like you’re dancing (or even flying in some parts).

As has been mentioned, there’s a decent amount of impact here. Christi shows a few modifications if you’d like to keep your feet closer to the ground. There are a number of pivots, including some quick ones across the top of the step, so be careful if your sneakers like to catch on your step and/or carpet.

The floorwork portion has three rounds: squats & leg lifts (to the side for the first two rounds, to the back for the third), “sit-ups” (aka crunches: straightforward for the first round, across the body for the second, and with legs up in the air for the third), and push-ups (regular for the first and second round, what Christi calls “triceps push-ups” but are commonly called (modified) dips) for the third).

The stretch is done seated, covering the upper as well as lower body. I added in a few more lower body stretches, however, especially after the step portion.

Level: I’d recommend this to experienced exercisers at least at the solidly intermediate through low advanced level who are comfortable with at least a moderate – but preferably moderately high – level of choreography.
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 very true here. I felt confident with the 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 clean up the routines, especially the kind of fussy arms, with another run through. This gave me a solid steady state workout that had me in a moderately high work zone according to my heart rate monitor even though I wasn’t going all out with the impact and arm movements.

Class: 2 women join Christi, who instruct live.

Music: mostly upbeat instrumental, with some vocals. Since I don’t have many, if any, older CIAs and Cathes, I can’t say I recognized the tunes.

Set: the 1995 CIA set, with neutral colored walls and window frames, with a fireplace featuring flower arrangements off in the corner. It’s pretty boring and tame, actually, especially by later CIA standards.

Production: clear picture and sound, especially since this is a VHS transfer. Christi’s voice is louder than the music. Overall the camerawork is the usual CIA stuff, although I could do without the up and to the side shot that appears from time to time.

Equipment: Only the step portion uses a step (Christi and company use a full-sized club step with one set of risers, which is what I used, too); the warm-up, hi-low, cool-down and floorwork, and stretch are all done on the floor. You may want to grab a mat for the floorwork and stretch, which is done mostly seated.

Space Requirements: This requires a good deal of space, but you don’t need a whole gym or studio. You should have enough room to grapevine side to side and take a step or two forwards and backwards for the warm-up, to do that plus move up and back a few big steps for the hi/lo, and be able to grapevine off to the side plus work comfortably behind your vertically placed step for the step. The cool-down walks up and back a little, but you can keep it in place if you’d like. The floorwork and stretch are compact: if you can lift your leg to each side and behind you that’s all the room you need.

DVD Notes: As mentioned, everything but the slide portion of this workout is on the Humble Beginnings DVD, with the warm-up, hi/lo (divided into four combos), cool-down, and stretch on one DVD and the same warm-up, step (divided into four combos), same cool-down, and same stretch on another DVD inside a regular-sized case.

Comments: I forget about this workout, but it’s actually a nice one, if a little on the short side. (I loves me my Christi, so about 20 min. of aerobics after a long warm-up isn’t enough to satisfy me. ;)) As mentioned it’s not as dancey as her later ones, but it’s not quite as athletic and straightforward as CIA 5004. I find what it lacks in complexity it can make up for in intensity, although it’s not significantly less complex or more intense than many of her other workouts (if more intense than her later workouts like M:P, Cardio Collectibles, Ultimate Cardio Core, and so on).

Christi also has vertical step portions on CIA 9801, Step Heaven, Still Steppin’, and Solid Gold Step. There aren’t that many vertical step workouts out there, at least not many new ones. Admittedly, I’m late to the step aerobics game, but on my shelves I can only find Kelly Coffey-Meyer’s portions on Get Ready, Step, Go and Step-Boxing 2 as well as Katina Hunter’s Vertical Step Party (and rumor has it she’s working on Vertical Step Party 2). I’m finding vertical stepping a nice change of pace; it’s different enough to prevent boredom but not so different that one’s mind can’t wrap itself around the change in orientation. It also lends itself well to a slightly more athletic take.

Instructor Comments:
I don’t know what else to add about Christi’s cuing and personality that hasn’t been said already! She mirror cues, although I generally find her to be kind of stingy when it comes to verbal cuing of directions. That said, she very helpfully calls out which direction you should turn in a way I found very helpful: “away from me” and “toward your back wall.”

KathAL79