I’m reviewing this workout after doing it several times, including again recently.

General workout breakdown: This 80-min. hi/lo or floor aerobics workout begins with a just over 6-min. warm-up; an almost 23-min. segment of more moderately complex hi/lo (as mentioned, both interms of intensity and complexity), a 24-min. segment of more complex hi/lo, and an almost 21-min. portion of your choice of short, fairly simple aerobic combos alternating with weight segments (“intervals” in CIA and Collage vocabulary) or with a cardio-based holding pattern; and a 6-min. cool-down & stretch.
This has already been broken down so well there’s nothing else I can add!

Level: I’d recommend this to at least very solidly intermediate exercisers through (low, maybe mid-) advanced comfortable with at least moderately complex choreography, although if you’re tackling stage II a love of complex choreography may be a must.
I consider myself an intermediate / advanced who’s definitely better than average at picking up (although maybe not executing) choreography. Like Laura I was still somewhat new to complex choreo when I tackled this one originally, and it took me a few times to get it, but now it’s like jumping on a bicycle after some time away (OK, maybe more like riding a bicycle while patting the head and rubbing the tummy in some places, especially once Christi throws in a bunch of arm movements…). This workout gets me into that moderately high heart rate zone that leaves me feeling worked out but not wiped out (in other words, it leaves me a sweaty mess, but I don’t feel like I’ve been run over by a steamroller), and the choreography keeps my brain working, too.

Class: four men join Christi, although two drop out for Stage II; two show (a few) modifications for Stage 1 and stay with the cardio holding pattern in the intervals. I’m not sure who cracks me up more: the guy who really gets into it (he’s the whooper and “oh yeah”er, but you have to listen carefully for that) or the one who spends a good deal of the time with a “What did I get myself into?” look on his face. And I hope I’m not the only one who tries to imagine what the two modifiers in the interval portion might be saying to each other as Christi and the front two carry on, either oblivious or purposefully ignoring them.

Music: a mix of upbeat instrumentals and (remade) vocals, mostly pop songs, which as others have pointed out add to the light, fun factor of this workout. After spending the past few months doing mainly Christi workouts her soundtracks are starting to blend together, but this one has some fun songs that stand out.

Set: interior set with a kind of 3-D abstract cityscape feel and sort of pastel colored lights.

Production: clear picture and sound (especially since these are VHS transfers), camera angles that are more helpful than not, although I’ve never been the biggest fan of CIA’s up and away (that is, off to the side and/or overhead) angles, which I don’t find all that useful.
The cool-down inset was a great idea but seems superfluous now, since it’s so easy to hit skip to get to the full cool-down on the DVD version. These insets seem to have been an afterthought, because several times they block the view of Christi’s legs, as if they didn’t fully plan during filming for something to occupy the lower lefthand quarter of the screen for the first few minutes of Stages II and III.

Equipment: sneakers that can pivot on your flooring.

Space Requirements: You’ll need more horizontal than vertical space. You should be able to do a big grapevine across your space with a few steps on either end, and you should be able to move forward and backward a few steps, too. Stage I has the most front and back movement, but I keep it more in place since I don’t have tons of room that way, and I still get a perfectly good workout. I agree that although this needs room it isn’t a major space hog, although I can always find a way to make Christi’s workouts fit into my workout area because to me they’re worth the effort.

DVD Notes: This comes on a DVD with Still Steppin’; it is packaged together with a DVD of Hi-Lo Heaven and Still Jumpin’. By the way, this Fantastic 4 DVD is a must have for any Christi fan and is a great bargain, with 4 great workouts of an hour or more for the price of one, really.
The chapter menu pops right up – love this! Your options are Beginning (a dedication to one of Christi’s back-up exercisers and friends, a collection of Christi family photos, and a shot of VFers watching the filming), Introduction, Warm-Up, Stage I – Combo #1 / Combo #2 / Combo #3 / Combo #4, Stage II - Combo #5 / Combo #6, Stage III Intervals, Cooldown & Strech, Bloopers, and Credits.

Comments: You know, I have to say that personally I prefer Still Jumpin’ and Totally Hot Cardio over Hi/Lo Heaven, but this is on my list of favorite Christis (OK, so I only have favorite Christis and almost favorite Christis…). I was kind of a late comer to Christi, starting with THC and SGC, so keep that in mind as you read my reaction compared to those who started with Christi during her CIA days. I would agree that this has much more of a fun factor, especially in the music, and has more of what many of us think of as Christi’s signature style than the CIA videos on Humble Beginnings and Happy Hour Hi/Low on Terrific Trio, so I can see why those who were with Christi from the beginning were just blown away in so many good ways by this video. Coming from later Christis I see many of the things I love about her workouts in this: great cuing, one of the best senses of how to match moves to music, many familiar or nearly familiar moves, and Christi’s personality. I do see why some people find this too repetitive, however, but that hasn’t stopped me from enjoying it, perhaps because I pull it out from time to time rather than do it regularly.

Instructor Comments:
Again, I’m not sure what else I can add about Christi’s on screen presence, instructional style, great cuing, fun personality, and so on that hasn’t been said already. Well, I’ll point out that as always Christi cues ahead of the move, mirror cues (although she’s not the most profuse provider of directional cues, but at least she sometimes points in the direction you’re going if she’s not giving you a verbal heads up), and cues well and consistently. I agree that it’s her preparation beforehand that allows her to teach so smoothly while having so much fun.

KathAL79