I’m reviewing this workout after doing it twice.

General workout breakdown: This has already been described well in previous reviews, so I’ll just add a few more details here and there.

The workout runs 40 min. total (without the power-up) and 46.5 min. total (with the power-ups), with 5 min. for the warm-up, 21.5 min. for the main cardio portion, and 3.5 min. for the cool-down / stretch; the power-up section runs 6.5 min.

Amy builds up the combo on the right, then on the left, and then does 1, maybe 2, run-throughs back to back alternating sides. She doesn’t really layer, with the exception of an added turn here or there; pretty much what you see is what you get, although she’ll cut out filler moves and cut down on repetitions in the final product. I would have liked a little more repetition, if not break down, of a few tricky parts, like one big chunk of combo #1 that gets thrown out at once before you repeat somewhat easier moves a number of times. I guess the flip side is the moves that get a lot of repetition are a little more intense, so they keep your heartrate up more. Amy doesn’t always run through everything evenly; it feels like the second side gets shortchanged a few times. For example, I think it’s in the second combo where she doesn’t run through the full left side a few times; she just goes straight into alternating the right and left of the full combos.
There is no TIFTing (taking it from the top). Once you learn a combo, you’re done with it. There’s no running through all four combos together.
Another thing that makes this workout tricky to learn is that you’ll spend a lot of time in front of your step and thus with your back to your TV quite a bit.

This has a lot of quick pivots and turns, including a number of ones on the step itself. I was able to take out some, for example by doing crazy shuffle as fast feet (that is, staying behind the step for all four toe taps on the step), but some are needed to transition from one move to another, so if your knees don’t like torque it might be best to pass on this one.
There’s also a good deal of impact, although none of it felt unreasonable to me (there’s something about Cathe’s high impact that bothers me, but I don’t have problems with Amy’s). You can take out some, for example by doing basic instead of run. It’ll take more creativity to modify the plyo jumps in the Power Up, but if you’re creative it’s not too hard, plus you could always do this segment without a step.

The cool-down consists of a minute or two of basic steps to get the heartrate down (see, Cathe, Mindy, Petra, and others who haven’t bothered to include cool-downs on recent releases, it’s not that hard!) followed by a few quick (and I mean quick) stretches for the back of the leg. I definitely needed more, especially for the quads and hip flexors, although I definitely appreciated having the two different calf stretches.

Level: I’d recommend this to experienced steppers at least at a high intermediate through mid-advanced level who are comfortable with moderate to fairly complex choreography and some impact.
I consider myself an intermediate / advanced exerciser who’s better than average at picking up choreography, provided it’s taught and cued decently enough. I watched the preview segment and got most of this the first time through, although I took some modifications, as I noted above, to take out some of the quick spins and some of the impact moves. This is plenty of work for me on even 4”; when I do it on 6” it’s a real advanced step challenge!

Class: 3 women join Amy, who instructs live. She’s the main whooper; you can’t really hear much from the others.

Music: upbeat mostly instrumentals with a beat. Amy is known for her great music, but in this, one of her first releases, she doesn’t seem to have the money or connections yet. Still, this is better than your average generic workout music soundtrack.

Set: neutral-colored “room” with two windows and potted plants in the corner. It’s bright and airy. Personally I rather like it: I’d rather have a bright, clean, plain set than the wacky ones out there; the fewer the distractions from the workout the better for me.

Production: clear picture and sound. Although Amy’s voice is a little echo-y, it is clearly audible over the music. The camera angles are helpful. You know, there are people who’ve put out many more videos who do a poorer job with production issues than this, Amy’s second series and done on her own.

Equipment: step (Amy and company use a full-sized club step with 1 pair of risers), sneakers that’ll turn easily on your platform and flooring, and a supportive jog bra.

Space Requirements: You’ll need approximately an equal amount of space to the back, front, and sides of your step. I put mine smack dab in the middle of my workout space, which is about 6’ deep by 8’ wide, and that gave me enough room as long as I stayed in place rather than doing the step out pivot turn to the side in combo 2 or 3. For the main step workout the step is horizontal, but it’s vertical during the power up segment. (I kept the step in place and changed my position.)

DVD Notes: I have a pressed DVD, but I believe the very first edition appeared on DVD-R. This has also been rereleased with a different cover, but I don’t know of any notable differences besides the artwork.

Comments: How does the original ASC compared to ASC 2 and ASC 3? It’s the shortest of the three, that’s for sure (although ASC4 might only be a little bit longer than ASC 1). I feel this original one is the most intense, perhaps because no modifications are shown, so the impact and pivots are nearly unavoidable unless you preview it and devise your own. Amy seems to have kept a similar format for her later ASCs, with the Power Ups in a separate chapter, although at least ASC3 has a premix throwing the Power Ups into the mix. Here you’ll have to be pretty handy with your remote if you want to do the Power-Up within the main workout. Oh, and ASC 1 is the only one with whooping, as Amy listened to feedback and has worked to removed that from her later releases.

Instructor Comments:
Amy is upbeat, positive, and cheery, without being too much so; it’s just the right level of enthusiasm for me. She has almost a goofy or quirky kind of sense of humor, which I like, as it adds to the sense that she’s really being herself. Amy has great camera presence; it’s hard to believe this is just her second filmed series.
Amy cues for someone already familiar with the routine; she is not cuing to teach the routine. While this means her cuing will stand up better with repeat viewings, it leaves the burden of learning the routine on the user. Oh, and don’t listen to her when she says “X more” or “last one,” because she invariably ends up doing more than that.

KathAL79