I’m reviewing this workout after doing it twice.

General workout breakdown: Sundari, Denise, and Donna have already described this workout well. I’ll give some nitty gritty details for anyone who wants to know a little more.

I agree with the others that I would have preferred a short warm-up in a separate chapter, especially since the warm-ups are so similar. Still, even the longest warm-ups (2-3 min. in the 20 min. segments) aren’t that long, so it’s not a big deal to me.

As mentioned, each segment builds up into one big combo. Petra will usually teach a few steps together at a time, and then you’ll TIFT (take it from the top, or run through what you know from the beginning). She’ll often do a few reps of a step (for example, you’ll march up for steps, do a wide march for a four-count, then shake your hips four times), so you’re not rushing from one move right into another right into yet another. Most everything is done symmetrically, or the same amount on the right or left, but not all parts are; it’s not that confusing, however, the way she puts it all together.

- Athletic Cardio (10 min.), which runs almost 10.5 min., begins with a short warm-up of very simple moves like a step tap, alternating between just the feet and adding in the arms. The moves for the combo include walk up with a knee, step tap with lateral raise, hamstring curl, v-step, grapevine, little squat, diagonal side lunge, heel dig, knee lift, and a double tap. This ends with a wide march with a few deep breaths.
Petra seems to intend this one to be the first you do, because she introduces her background exercisers, explains that you can always come back to marching, and demonstrates how adding arms boosts the intensity. But then it is the first one listed on the menu.

- Dance Cardio (10 min.), which runs about 11 min., begins with marches and hips, deep breaths and shoulder rolls. The moves for the combo include walk it up, march with feet wide, hip shakes, grapevine, reach & throw down, walk it back, mambo, slow box step, v-step, and stroll w/ attitude. This also ends with a few seconds of marching and some deep breaths.

- Athletic Cardio (20 min.), which runs just over 20.5 min., has a little more of a warm-up, with a Tai Chi-inspired drawing in of energy / breaths, elbow strike, shoulder roll, static calf stretch, dynamic hip flexor stretch (lunge), static hamstring stretch, and low back roll. The moves for the combo include step tap (this reappears several times w/ different arm variations), hamstring curl, v-step, jab & cross, bob & weave, pump / push-up on heels (this is often shown as a substitute for jumping jacks), side tap, diagonal side lunge, lunge back, little / power squat, repeater knee, grapevine, double side step, and power push. As you might guess by now, this ends with a few seconds of marching and deep breaths.
I find that this is the most intense of the four segments. I can’t say it’s a lot more intense, however, and it may be that for whatever reason I find it easier to put more oomph into these moves and thus get a little more out of them.

- Dance Cardio (20 min.), which runs almost 21 min., begins with some reaches, hip shakes, lower back rolls, and shoulder rolls; Petra then introduces a step tap combo with reach, “wash your hair,” punch up, and shoulder rolls, which will reappear later in this segment. She does a mambo into a static calf stretch, dynamic hip flexor stretch (lunge with shoulder shimmy), and a static hamstring stretch to round out the warm-up. The moves for the combo include v-step, put it in your pocket (an out out in in), Fred Astaire / Ginger Rogers (a slide with a step back front or step ball change), hip shakes, tap with a hip shake, walk it back, push it (a step touch with a hip shake), mambo, step tap with various arms (reach, wash your hair, pump), grapevine, and an optional pivot turn. This ends with a few marches, then some slow reaches, before a few deep breaths.
This may be my favorite of the four segments; although there’s a lot of TIFTing here, I found it a little easier to get into the flow of things, or maybe it’s the invitation to pretend to be Ginger. ;-)

- Bonus: Stretch (5 min.), which runs just over 5.5 min., is vaguely yoga-inspired. After some more deep breaths, Petra does several rounds of a standing side bend, then folds halfway down for a lower back stretch by tucking and releasing the lower back. She moves to the floor for a seated twist, seated forward bend with legs straight in front of you, and a seated forward bend with legs crossed. On the plus side, Petra moves through each exercise deliberately, never rushed. On the con side, this isn’t particularly through. Has Petra left out so many muscles because she touched on them in the warm-ups for the 20 min. segments?

Level: I’d also recommend this to beginners to intermediates. This is one “for beginners” video that’s great for both newbies and experienced exercisers who are restarting, dialing things back, facing time crunches, etc. You’ll have to be willing to deal with some choreography, but it’s nothing too complicated, and the impact is minimal, making this accessible to most everyone.

I consider myself an intermediate / advanced exerciser. This doesn’t get my heart rate up all that much; it’s comparable to my walking videos and some of my easier dance ones. That said, I see the value in this DVD for three reasons:
- First, when I was first starting out with home exercise videos after a break from fitness activities (and admittedly I wasn’t exactly coming off of a high level of athleticism before that break) 10-20 min. was all I could do at one time. A video like this makes it easy to build one’s endurance and stamina. Petra also introduces many of the basic moves that you’ll find in just about any floor aerobics workout as well as leads you through TIFTing (taking it from the top). I would have loved to have had this before I stumbled through Kathy Smith’s TimeSaver Cardio Fat Burner, which was my main cardio video for a while as a newbie to exercise videos. (Another one I wish had been available when I was still a newbie is Michelle Dozois’ Walk Your Way Slim, which is billed as a walking video but is really about basic floor aerobics and would make a nice one to try once someone is starting to feel comfortable with this one.)
- Second, I recognize the benefits of having a decent collection of solid “for beginners” DVDs that aren’t just for those new to exercise because although I’m at a relatively high level of fitness now not that long ago I had to work my way back up to even an intermediate level several times due to extenuating circumstances. I’m fortunate to have the space to keep a variety of levels of DVDs in my collection for that very reason.
- Third, there are times during a hardcore rotation when I need a lighter day, like yesterday when I pulled this one out again. During those lighter days I sometimes want to do something a little more involved than walking in place or I need a little break from Leslie Sansone’s chattiness. This video fits the bill on both accounts for me.
Actually, I have to confess that a major reason I pulled this out yesterday is that I was set to weed it, but once I got going starting thinking about these three points, about how much I was enjoying doing simple cardio with Petra, and within minutes of starting I knew this was going right back on my shelves, not on the to go pile.

Class: 2 women join Petra, who instructs live and does the whole thing; as she reminds you, she and her crew “are with you every step of the way.” The two women don’t break a sweat, but they do appear to be more normal types rather than professional dancers or fitness models.

Music: upbeat mostly instrumental music, some of which I think I’ve heard before on others (maybe a Michelle Dozois?). I thought it nice but not noteworthy. It’s a little quiet in relation to Petra’s voice.

Set: interior set made to look up like a living room, with furniture, lamps, a potted plant, etc., in the background while Petra and crew are working out on the wood floor in front.
For some reason this past time I couldn’t get over the unframed canvases lining the baseboard: Did they run out of time and/or money to frame and hang them? Was there no place else to put the paintings that contributed to the desired pop of color? Is this a sign the workout really has nothing seriously objectionable to it if I’m nitpicking a minor aspect of set design?

Production: clear picture and sound, with helpful camera angles.

Equipment: sneakers. You may want a mat for the bonus stretch.

Space Requirements: Ideally you should be able to take a few steps in each direction. If you don’t have a lot of space forward and back, as I didn’t yesterday (at 5’8” I squeezed this into a space about 6’ wide by just over 4’ deep), just stay in place rather than traveling up and back.

DVD Notes: Your main menu options, which come up within seconds of popping in the DVD (hooray!), are Introduction, Workout Options (This lists the five segments and allows you to program these into whichever order you like, then plays them straight through; note that you can only play each segment once each via this option), Bonus Features (Bonus from Weight Loss Cardio Sculpt, 5 min.; Bonus from Yoga for Beginners, 7 min; and Petra Kolber biography), Also from Acacia (trailers for Strong Body, Ageless Body; Core Fusion Body Sculpt; 3-in-1 Total Body Fitness; and Weight Loss Pilates), and Credits.
The DVD cover notes that this comes with a booklet with tips and cards with bonus moves. I picked up my copy used, so I don’t have these and can’t comment on them.

Instructor Comments:
I’ll echo the comments on Petra’s excellent cuing here. She really does make an effort to cue consistently and precisely throughout all segments, although there are a small handful of oopsies (she forgets to do the full variation of one move in one spot, for example, and in the last few run-throughs she might not cue every move as thoroughly as she did earlier on). She cues just ahead of the move, giving you enough warning of what’s coming next without cuing so far in advance you’re confused as to whether you should be doing what she’s saying or doing. With one or two exceptions, she mirror cues, meaning when she says “right,” she means the viewer’s right even though she’s moving her left.
Petra is on the perky side, but even though I prefer more laid back instructors she doesn’t annoy me. I find her quite enjoyable, really (although I don’t use her every single day – that would be too much of a good thing, for sure). She talks about burning calories but more about building strength and stamina, about getting healthy and happy, and about just having some fun while getting fit. Perhaps it’s because I know about Petra’s own health struggles, but I feel like she has a real appreciation and respect for people at the beginner level; she’s not churning out dumbed down videos because she wants to make a quick buck but rather because she is inspired to help others reach their fitness goals.

KathAL79