CIA 9803: Two Workouts in One

Greg Twombly, Sue Gent, Dottie Lee
Year Released: 1998

Categories: Floor Aerobics/Hi-Lo/Dance , Step Aerobics



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I love this hi/lo workout. I recommend it for advanced exercisers who like Franny Benedetto or Cathe Friedrich. It is a great, intense, hi/lo workout. Please note the emphasis on "high." Greg makes it high intensity and mostly high impact -- although if you don't like high impact, Greg's good about showing variations and reminding you to go at your own level -- he says, "make it your own workout," a lot. But you'll notice that he sticks with the high impact variations.

For comparison's sake: I have one other video of Greg's -- CIA 9003 (an earlier Greg T release.) They are both high intensity with a very athletic approach. In 9803, Greg's choreography is a little more sophisticated, but still very gettable. I disagree with some other reviewers who said they think 9003 was higher intensity -- I thought 9803 cranked up the intensity higher than 9003. If you're familiar with Franny B's hi/lo routine in 9905, I found this to be a similar intensity -- at times higher. I think exercisers who liked 9905 hi/lo would also like 9803.

Among the other things that I love about Greg's style is that he doesn't takes it from the top incessantly. He teaches two combos, strings them together and then throws in these very intense interval bursts. In this case, he taught a warm-up combo (I never knew I could get winded just doing mambos), then a second combo, and then Heather Day came up and taught a '50s combo. Like the other reviewers have said, Heather's 10 minute section ends up being really fun, but it was hard to follow her at first because her big bellbottoms disguised her quick footwork. (And her pants hung so low that I was sure they would fall off during her shuffle series. She eventually tugged them up an inch or so -- yes, I am a vidiot, I actually stopped the tape and rewound so I could catch this moment.) Then Greg stepped back in, put her '50s combo together with his combos and proceeded to plyo my legs and lungs out with an interval blast where you do a series of two knee-ups/two flying jacks/and a football drill.

Then on to the next two combos. Lots of plyo heel digs, jacks, his baseball run move, ham curls, side kicks, front kicks ... it's Rockette city. It all moved really fast. The aerobic section of this workout is 45 minutes, but it seemed like only 25 to me, it just flew by.

To do the routine as taught, you need a generous amount of space: enough to double grapevine to the side with a lunge at the end; you need space for 4 scoops going front and back. You could modify these moves pretty easily for your own space.

I haven't done the 2nd workout on this video yet -- you need two steps for it and I only own one. I'll give it a try on a day when I'm feeling more creative.

Instructor Comments:
I love Greg's hi/lo routines. He consistently provides the best high intensity hi/lo routines out there. He cues well and engages in some nice banter with the other exercisers. I find him a joy to follow -- maybe it's the long legs, but I have an easier time copying his movements than I do with many other instructors. I liked Heather and her choreography, but her pants were VERY distracting and made it hard to follow her footwork.

Daphne M

02/15/2000

Greg has done it again. I love this workout; it may say that it is hi/lo, but it's more HI than it is low. No sacrifice on intensity. This is pretty much a non-dancy workout until you get to Heather Day's portion of the routine, but still not that much. Heather does a great job also; some killer plunges (similar to Gin miller's, only without the step). So it's 60 minutes total for Greg & co.-a warm-up, hi/lo and cooldown & stretch. Then Sue and Dottie start with their own warm-up and then double step. This is alot of fun. I went out and got a second step so I could enjoy this tape. It's nothing too difficult, but you must pay attention as to where you're at: home or "buddy". Their cueing is quite good, so it's not hard to follow. The intensity is only moderate, so I usually put this at the end of my workout to relax with a little fun. GReat tape!

Instructor Comments:
What more can be said about Greg?!! He's the patron saint of hi/lo! Dottie and Sue are really great too. Their cueing and personalities are wonderful.

germaine

04/20/1998

A++ for this one! Greg starts off with a high/low routine that I *LOVE*! This is definitely one of my favorites from Greg. It's high-intensity, high-impact for the most part, and high-fun! He has a co-teacher (Heather) for part of it. She teaches a "50's routine" that really doesn't seem to go with the music too well, but then Greg combines it into his routines, and it fits great. I can't say enough about this workout. I recommend it to all high-impact lovers who like a slight amount of danciness with a lot of intensity.

The next part is two-step with Sue Gent and Dottie Lee. As you might guess, you use two steps. I only have one, and when I tried to do it, it just wasn't as intense or fun as what it looks like with two. If I ever get another step, I'll definitely be popping this in my VCR, though. Judging from the looks of it and the reviews of others, I think I would have a great time with it.

Annie S.

03/29/1998

Wearing all black, Greg Twombly begins his workout with his usual high energy warm-up leading into 42 minutes of hi/lo aerobics. I love the instrumental music, which is the same as CIA 8003 with Jennifer Mills. Greg does his baseball move, plyo heel digs, jump squats, his usual leaps, sashays and pivots. He showcases Heather Day, who does a fifties combo, that lasts about 10 minutes. Then Greg comes back adding on her combo to his. Heather and the other woman wear hip hugging, bell-bottom pants which crack me up. I couldn't follow Heather's moves because of the long pants, but when Greg came on again, it was easier to see the legwork. The music towards the end is a little strange, and they go off beat for a couple of seconds.

I found it to be much easier in intensity than 9003, which still remains my favorite. I did have a great time doing the workout, and Greg's workouts are always fun. Next is a double step workout with Sue Gent and Dottie Lee. I have two steps and for the first time tried a double step workout and had a lot of fun. They call the steps "Home" and "Buddy" using the same moves on both steps. Sue does half the workout, followed by Dottie. There are pendulums, hesitation step, across the top from "Home" to "Buddy."

The music is outstanding - both from Donna Read's CIA 9701 and Jennifer Mills CIA 8003. The music makes a difference to me in how I enjoy a workout, and I love the music on those tapes so I couldn't help but have a lot of fun. A 7-minute ab section followed which was done on an inverted step, followed by the stretch. I recommend both workouts on this tape, but will probably do Greg's hi/lo more often.

maryann parker

02/18/1998