G-Force Hi/Lo Challenge

Like the other G-Force videos, the choreograpy is for intermediate exercisers. This one also got my heart rate up, even the first time out of the box. The video begins with a warm-up lead by Patrick. It is easy to follow and it's a lot of fun. Darrin leads the first aerobics segment. His segment took a couple of viewings to get. There is a lot of side to side movement, you need a lot of room to do this video. There are also a lot of spins in this video. Rob leads the next segment, which for me was the easiest one to follow, I got it the first time through. Patrick leads the final segment, which is the most difficult one to follow. This one has one portion where you need a lot of room to run back and forward.

Rob leads the cool-down and final stretch segment.

The production and sound of this video seems better than the previous G-Force videos. It is filmed in a strange warehouse setting, which is a little distracting. Sometimes the music seems a bit too loud and overpowers the voices, but most of the time the volume is fine.

Again, you need lots of room to do this video properly. But it is a lot of fun to do and I look forward to doing it again, something that I cannot say for a lot of other HI/LO videos.

Instructor Comments:
I think the G-Force workouts are a lot of fun, mostly due to the personalities of the three G men. They are spontaneous and seem to have a lot of fun together. If you have tried a G-Force video and don't like them, this video probably won't change your mind. I like the variety of having three different instructors with different styles. Darrin in particular makes faces at one of the cameras, which you may or may not find amusing.

Cathy Mark

I wonder if it could be a crime to have this much fun. If so, I'll happily go to jail for it (as long as I can take this tape with me)!

Everything -- the music, the choreography, the personalities, the teaching -- is just great! Well, ALMOST everything. I think the set is horrible. It's a warehouse, dark and gloomy. But when I start doing the tape, I don't notice it anymore, so I can live with it.

The intensity level is intermediate/advanced, and the choreography is complex. I don't consider this a dancy tape, but the steps involve some fast footwork and a lot of turns. With the excellent build-ups of the steps given by the G's, I had absolutely no trouble learning any of the moves. For those who do, it's incredibly easy to modify -- you can just keep doing the previous variation.

The G's teach a complicated move by first doing a basic pattern, then "upping" it two or three times to more advanced levels. The next variation just smoothly flows from the previous one. I really like this style of teaching. I find I don't get lost as much.

One drawback that some people may not like is that you often step-touch between iterations of the routines. It's not enough to bring your heart rate too far down, but I know some people don't like that. I don't mind, I'm having too much fun!

The tape starts out with a vigorous warmup, actually a mini-routine, so you get your heart rate up right from the start. The actual aerobics are about 45-50 minutes long, and the total tape is just a little over an hour.

If you want to have a great time, and are not afraid of a little complexity, I highly recommend this. I give it an A+.

Instructor Comments:
The G's are just awesome. There's no other word to describe them. Their personalities, choreography, teaching skills, and cueing are all superb. In this tape, I think Rob could use a slight improvement in his cueing, but I think maybe he was just having an off day. It wasn't bad, just not as timely as it could be.

Annie S.

I traded this tape away fairly quickly as I was disappointed with it. I have to admit that I may be biased because I will always like step aerobics more than floor. However, there are other floor aerobics tapes that I do like. This just isn't one of them.

The routine is taught add on style with Darrin going first, Rob second and Patrick last. Patrick's section is the only part that really has any intensity at all. That's where you get into leaps and some really fun moves. But, alas...the tape is uneven. There was way too much side to side step touching while the instructor is previewing the next move. My heart rate would plummet plus I got really bored. I decided that I would need to do alot of modifications to maintain intensity with this tape and I'm not a modifying kind of person. I prefer to do the tape as is with a few mod's.

As others have said, you need to have a fair amount of space to do this tape as there are a lot of side to side movements, turns, etc. I definitely found this to be true. I have a good sized space and found myself running out of room. I give this tape a B-,C+.

Instructor Comments:
Patrick's choreography is always my favorite of the G-Force tapes. This tape is no different. He seems to put together moves that flow well and are the most challenging. That's not meant to down the other two guys, Darren and Rob. I just am able to pick up and have more fun with Patrick's moves.

Joyce Thurman

I have mixed emotions about this video. I am not much of a hi/lo fan. I got this video mainly because I like Patrick and Darrin. The workout starts off with a fun warmup with Patrick. He does some fun combos with a turn in it. He gets really SWEATY on the warmup. The music is really upbeat.

Then Darrins combo's were taught very slow with lots of step touches. I had to jog in place to keep my heartrate. I enjoyed his section a lot when he finally put it together! My heartrate was in the low part of it's target range. Darrin is just plain cute. The kind of guy you would have a crush on in highschool but you know he would never notice you! His music in his section is upbeat and fun. Then Rob did his combo and my heart dropped to lower than the warm up. He is definately not a dancer and looks like a guy trying to dance but can't. He must be a cycler because he has huge quadriceps!!!! His hair is slicked back. He has a nice smile.

His cueing is off though and his 8 counts were hard to do on carpet. Lots of turns that would be easy on hardwood but not carpet. I almost turned off the video but told myself that Patrick was coming. Boy was I glad I kept at it! Patrick was awesome! Yes, he does step touch too much but I was having so much fun on his combinations. Lot's of turns, foot work and more high impact. One is called Indecision and it was tough to learn at first but then once I got it, it was a blast! The only thing was he would do the combo and then STOP! and Step touch! "No Patrick! Don't step touch! Plueeeease keep going" But he would not. He finally put it all together only once. Then instead of going back to the top of Darrins combo then doing Robs(yawn..boring) combo then finish with Patrick( this is what they do in all their other video's), they didn't!

Patrick does his then they do Darrins and finish off with ROB! Ugh! I was so bugged because I wanted to finish off with Patricks section. Oh well, Cest La Vie! Then Rob cools you down with a boring cooldown and the goodbye isn't that exciting. He talks but you can't understand what he is saying. I wish Patrick did the cooldown or Darrin. Ok, I'm putting down Rob too much.

The set is in a factory somewhere in Germany and it looks like there are a bunch of smokers hiding behind one of the metal screens. Smoke comes shooting out of nowhere. The smoke made me feel like it was stuffy and unhealthy. During the cooldown, Rob is leaning over and the smoke looks like it's coming out of his rear end. How unattractive. The music for Patricks section was tons of fun!! It was the same song as Cathe's MIC hi/lo section. The last song. Super fun!

I don't know if I will keep the video. It really wasn't that challenging cardiovascularly. Too many step touches that would be annoying after a year of doing the tape over and over. But it would be a nice light workout to do the day after say, Cathe's Interval Max? Well, if you think Interval Max is your kind of workout, then maybe this G-force would be like the Firm Basics. Too easy.

I might keep this video just because Patrick is so great. He is the combo king of exercise videos!

I guess the reason why I have mixed emotions is that the moves are very complex but low impact. I don't think it would challenge the seasoned advanced home exerciser but the complex choreography is not for the beginner. I would say this video is intermediate intensity wise but advanced in choreography.

Instructor Comments:
Darrin is cute as a button and has some fun combos that are low impact but have lot's of turns. He teaches them slow with lots of step touches. When he puts it all together I love it! He is also encouraging and friendly instructor who flirst the most with the camera( winking, saying hi ect). Rob Glick just didn't do very well in my opinion. His combo's made my heartrate drop lower then the warmup. His cueing was off and he acted sorta nervous. He does get into the moves but they weren't that fun. Mostly low impact. Patrick was FABULOUS! My heartrate was so low after Robs that I almost turned off the video but forced myself to wait for Patrick. I'm glad I did! My heartrate shot up during his combo. It was mostly high impact with lots of tricky foot movements and turns and jumps. His cueing is perfect and his personality is contagious. You can only have fun fun with Patrick! This tape is worth every penny since Patrick is in it and Darrin too.

Mandy Lee

This is the first G-Force tape that I have a moment of thought to put it into exchange! No, I will never actually do that. It is not because it’s not as good as their other tapes. On the contrary, it has such an excellent choreography and music. But as other reviewers said, it consumes so many space that I can’t do it properly and still have a difficult time to modify. I am an intermediate exerciser. I believe that if I have enough space and if I can do this workout in full range of motion, my heart rate will soar up. Patrick does warmup with a fun routine. He does that X step (V step to the the front and to the back) like Christie in 7002. I wish I could say that this is my favourite warmup in all workout tapes, but -I have to say that I hate that punching he puts into the routine. I feel that it is incongruous and out of place. I have nothing against boxing and do it once in a while. This is the first time that I find Patrick’s choreography to be awkward. And it’s all because that punching step!

After the warmup, Darrin and Rob come up with interesting choreography. Compared to the Ultimate Hi/Lo, I like their routines in this tape much more. And Rob teaches much better in this tape. Although I think Rob is more talented on the step than on the floor IMHO. Then comes Patrick with his incredible combo. It is superb, it is excellent and it means that I cannot master it until now. That’s why I love his choreography. He always challenges me. Because his footstep is complex but athletic, it is always in the realm of possibilities that I should be able to do it one day. Just keep going:) His Indecision combo is to do boxer’s shuffle (and turn your body a little as if you don’t know which direction to go) then turn and crossover, then leap high and into heel jack. (Sound so easy, huh?). Then you kick side to side and travel into power mambo, chasse to the back, lunge and jog to the front. During the time he teaches the routine, he makes us feign the leap. It is so funny. The three guys seem to have so much fun too.

Instructor Comments:
I just don’t know why they go to film this series in Europe. But if they want to go there again, I just hope the Gs would climb up to the rooftop of some Czech castle and do the workout there. The bleak atmosphere of that warehouse is not their place. It does not fit with their airy and fun personality.

pakavadi

There was nothing about this video that I liked. I agree with many of the earlier postings, and will not repeat all of the criticisms, except the problem of the amount of space needed...no wonder they set it in a warehouse! I would estimate that you would need a 20 x 15 foot livingroom for this one. Also, I am surprised that no one mentioned how unpracticed the instructors were. The camera often went to a close up of their feet, just when they were beginning a tricky move. When they were in the shot, the two back-ups were often out of step. D

Instructor Comments:
This was my first G-Force video, and will be my last. While the cuing was OK, their arrogance was distracting.

Allison