I’m reviewing this workout after doing it once.

General workout breakdown: Julie, Micki, Annie, and Mary have all written great reviews describing this workout. I’ll just add a few more details in the rare chance there’s something else folks might want to know about this one.

The total running time for the workout is 63.5 min. The warm-up (6 min.) takes you through a basic combo, most of which is on the floor, into which Rob works rhythmic (aka dynamic) stretches for the lower body, low back, and shoulders. The first half (first 5 combos) is just over 22 min., the second half (final 3 combos) is just under 26, and the bonus runthrough of all 8 combos is 3.5 min. The cool-down (6 min.) takes you through a simple combo, mostly on the floor, which will lower the heartrate, then both dynamic and static stretches for the shoulders, inner thighs, torso (side), hip flexors, hamstrings, shoulders, calves, and chest.

The combos, all tapless, are also all taught symmetrically, switching back and forth between sides, with little to no downtime between combos. As mentioned, the first five combos make up the first half. These five combos become one large combo, with Rob adding in each new (relatively short) combo back in and then slicing and dicing (or weaving) the parts from the start. In the final three combos, each is made up of three smaller blocks that are sliced and diced together, then you add them together and weave – but just these three combos. In the bonus you’ll do both halves back to back, although you only run through everything once.
As you might expect, there’s a good bit of TIFTing (taking it from the top). It’s not unusual for Rob to do two TIFTs before moving on, either.

Rob’s style is somewhat dancy step aerobics. He loves his mambos and box steps, but you’ll also do some more classic step moves (revolving door, v steps, scoops) and some more athletic ones (power knees up, lunges). Those who will scream if they do many more repeaters may find this one refreshing, since this particular move only appears in the warm-up and then for a brief moment in the workout itself (where Rob remarks that he hasn’t done them all day – um, I guess the warm-up doesn’t count…).
Rob is one who uses the floor almost as much as the step, and I have to say in a few places it was actually hard to take my foot off of the step and leave it on the floor.

Although there are a fair number of turns and pivots I also found this isn’t as aggravating for cranky knees as some other recent videos I’ve tried. I think it’s because Rob is more conscious about unloading the knee and doesn’t do a lot of big twists and turns, especially on the step. And although there is some impact it’s easy to take it down a notch – or bump it up.

Level: I’d also recommend this to intermediate / advanced steppers experienced with complex choreography, although more intermediate level could take out the jumps, lower the step height, and/or do half at a time while low advanced workouts could ramp it up a little. I consider myself an int. / adv. exerciser who gets complex choreography easily, assuming it’s taught well and makes sense, which is true here. I felt confident in the choreography after one runthrough, although I’ll agree the second part, especially the first combo of it, is trickier thanks to all of the directional changes and the few rhythm moves.

Class: 4 women join Rob, who instructs live. The two in the back, who hold off on the final flourishes in only a few parts, wear red tops (or almost a top, in the one’s case), while the two in front, with black tops, do the full shebang with Rob. I agree that I wouldn’t mind seeing the two in the back swapped for the two at the front, although the one to Rob’s left (our right) puts a little more oomph into things while the one to Rob’s right (our left) seems a little overwhelmed by the whole experience and has trouble concentrating.
Note that there’s some woo-ing, which Rob perhaps unintentionally encourages by asking things “What’s next?” or “Do you remember the next part?” and even saying “Whee!” himself at one point.

Music: upbeat instrumentals from Dynamix, with that one recognizable remade pop song. I agree that the music, while not bad, could have been better, and that would make this workout just that much more fun.

Set: the 2003 CIA set with a red wall insert between two slit windows (makes you feel as if someone might be spying on the set), with brightly colored mostly plastic-looking furniture and accessories and that Joan Miró print hung the wrong way (Argh! I just want to fix it. I know, talk about random things that bug someone…) plus the Rothko(-esque?) prints along the side wall with the odd swooping cut outs in front.

Production: clear picture and sound; mostly helpful camera angles, although I could do without the sort of to the side angle, especially when it didn’t show Rob’s feet. It’s what you’d expect from Greg Twombly and the CIA.

Equipment: step (Rob and crew use a full-sized club step with one set of risers) and sneakers that can pivot on your flooring and platform.

Space Requirements: You’ll need plenty of space behind and in front of your step plus be able to work off to the sides as well. Although this certainly covered a lot of floor space, I didn’t feel squeezed in my decent-sized - but by no means large - workout area.

DVD Notes: After the CIA intro and standard warnings, your main menu options are Intro to Workout, Mix & Match (i.e. the chapter menu; Warm-Up, Combo #1, Combo #2, Combo #3, Combo #4, Combo #5, Combo #6, Combo #7, Combo #8, Bonus – All 8 Together, and Cool-Down; a few of the combo chapter points aren’t perfectly on, but since Rob often right into the next block without leaving clear breaks in places I’ll cut the editor some slack), Bio & Program Content (identical to the back cover), Contact, NUGENIX (a print ad for a DNA-based nutrition company – not sure what this has to do with anything else here), and Credits.
One odd thing is that if you play the workout straight through (with the Intro to Workout option) the bonus cardio segment is AFTER the cool-down. So have your remote handy so you can skip forward, then back.

Comments: Yeah, I have no idea what the three different styles of stepping are, either. There’s no mention of them in the workout itself. Now I really want to know…

I agree with the comparisons with Christi Taylor, especially in terms of style, complexity level, and intensity. VFers recommended Rob to me way back when as someone else I might like as a Christi fan, and honestly I see that comparison better now with this workout than his hi/lo workouts (which are a tad dancier and less intense than Christi’s stuff – and often space hogs, to boot). Also, Rob had clearly started hanging out with the Evolution crew (Marcus Irwin, Rebecca Small, etc.) before he filmed with them; you can see their influence in how he breaks down some of the moves (especially when he does some basic steps, then backs off to a march, and then really gets going with the layering) plus the inclusion of the Elvis move.

This is a slightly older title, but I think it’s still worth a look, especially if, like me, you were relatively late to the step aerobics craze and have discovered you “need” more variety in your collection once you’ve gathered up all of the Christi Taylors and worked your way through a number of the CIAs and Evolutions on DVD. The number of new releases among step cardio videos, especially those with any sort of interesting choreography and most especially those with well taught complex choreography, has slowed in recent years, so these older videos are going to keep some of their value, especially one like this where the choreography still feels interesting, different enough, and even fresh. This is a keeper for me.

Instructor Comments:
I agree that Rob is a good cuer, although I wouldn’t have minded if he had been a little more specific and/or included more directional cues (although when he does he mirror cues). And he definitely uses the “watch me” method very well.
I’ve only seen Rob as a solo instructor, actually. I like him. I know he’s not a favorite for many on VF, but I never got any weird vibes from him, even during the one quick hip shake move here. I find him professional without being stuffy, positive without being peppy. He’s clearly comfortable in front of the camera, with an engaging on screen personality, but he never loses sight of the fact he’s teaching you choreography. He mentions this is a good time to get the heartrate up and burn those calories a few times, but that’s about it for that sort of thing.

KathAL79