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50 of 50 found the following review helpful:
 Fun for all fitness levels!Jul 02, 2002
By JANMC
To begin with, in order to be happy with your workout video purchase it is good to know what it is and what it is not. This is a 40 minute LOW IMPACT work-out that is broken into two 20 minute segments to be done together or on their own. What you will be doing is essentially dancing to infectious latin music and having 40 minutes of fun. If you are like me, good music makes working out easy. Have you ever run on the treadmill listening to the radio and suddenly started working out faster and better when your favorite song came on? Well, this work out is a great choice if you love latin music and you love dancing. I bought it in order to have a fun alternative cardio routine and I'm very happy with it. I cannot say this is the most intense cardio workout on the planet - but it does not have to be. Even for advanced exercisers, there are days when you just cant force yourself to perform to super-human limits and this is a great work-out for that day. For beginners, this is a FUN work-out and you will work up a pretty good sweat just following the moves. To get an idea of how intense the workout is, just imagine dancing non-stop in a club for 40 minutes. The steps are easy to follow for beginners - although if you find it hard to follow dance moves or hate dancing all together please don't bother picking this video up and then critisizing it. Similarly, if you are an advanced salsa dancer and impress the crowds with your dance moves at clubs, this work-out will be boring for you - unless of course you do your own thing to the music. This work-out is ideal for beginners who need something simple to get them started, for kids, for people of all fitness levels who just want to have fun dancing. This is NOT a workout for strength and muscle building - you should have a separate routine for that to alternate with this one for good overall fitness. You will learn the basic steps to the cha cha, the merengue and the samba and you do not need any equipment except for a moderate area to dance in. The setting is in a club with a live band and no-one is even wearing tradional work-out clothes. Kathy is fun and motivational as usual and having lots of fun! I did not think her cueing was bad and she did not struggle with the moves in my opinion. She was not trying to teach an advanced latin dance class - she was just leading an exercise class with simple dance moves for fun and she did that VERY well. A member of the cast was a more advanced dancer and often demonstrated more advanced moves to the dance. But overall, no-one should buy this tape in hopes of learning to become a professional dancer - take it for what is is - a simple cardio work-out with basic moves to latin rhythms and you should be very happy.
39 of 39 found the following review helpful:
Fun,fun,funNov 09, 1999
The music in this video is infectious! Even if you aren't a dancing type of person (I'm not) you can't help but move along with it. The dance steps are easy to follow in the demo, but can get a bit fast in the actual workout. I'm surprised at the amazon.com review which says it's hard to get your heart rate up with this video. Oh really! If you're a monumentally fit person who works out for 3 hours everyday and has a resting heart rate of 25, maybe. The average person WILL get to target heart rate with this workout if they keep up with the dancers in the video. Great video and I just LOVE that music!
35 of 35 found the following review helpful:
 Good for a "Light Day" Workout...Jun 09, 2000
I am yet another Kathy Smith fan and I admit this is not one of her more rigorous videos. However, I am NOT a dancer and am not at all coordinated, but I like Kathy so I bought and tried this one -- and I really enjoyed it. I didn't feel clumsy like I usually do dancing {or attempting to!}. I think that, if you view this routine as a workout to do on an 'easy' workout day rather than a hardcore cardioblast, you'll really enjoy it. As the other reviewers have pointed out, the time DID fly! I personally do a lot of tough aerobic exercise videos plus strength training -- I push myself and my body a lot. I like to work out 4-7 days a week, doing both early morning and early evening routines in a single day, and I like to alternate difficult routines with lighter cardio that still works the heart and muscles but is a bit more relaxing. That is also the recommended way to work out - tough days/easier days. So for that kind of fitness mix, this video is a great addition -- fun, fun, fun! But if you only work out 3 days a week, perhaps you should stick with some tougher routines like Smith's Aerobox {great!}, her Kickboxing tape, her Peak Fat Burning video, Karen Voight's Energy Sprint, Tae Bo Advanced, Step Reebok Intense Moves, etc. So "chill" a bit, think of this as a Ricky Martin primer, and enjoy! :)
32 of 34 found the following review helpful:
 What Happened Kathy?Jan 29, 2000
By Getting There
I couldn't wait to get this video. I purchased it from Amazon.com. As soon as it arrived, I put it in. It was terrible. I have had some lessons in Merengue, Salsa and Latin Dancing (I am a Spanish Teacher) and thought this would be a great 'different' way to work out. I was wrong. Kathy was too dressed up and looked like she was going out, not working out. I didn't break a sweat, was bored and kept telling myself that it will get more challenging. Wrong again. I have only used it two times and I feel like I wasted my money. I love her other videos and feel like I have worked out when doing the others. Not with this one. I don't want to use this video as my workout video because I don't feel like I'll get a good enough workout from it. I hope Kathy comes out with a new, normal, video soon. Don't let us down again.
25 of 26 found the following review helpful:
All I need now is a dance partner!Mar 17, 2000
By Emmeline Esders
This workout is fun, fun, fun! Kathy is as great as ever, the other instructors have big, natural smiles on their faces, and the whole class looks like they're just so darn happy to be there! I am not a fan of sappy enthusiasm and maybe that's why I appreciated the real energy of this group. While I admit that this isn't the most grueling workout in terms of fitness challenge, it is different, interesting, and fun. I love the atmosphere of the Conga room and the live band plays some fabulous music. Don't expect to break a sweat or get your heart rate up too high, but if you want to dance this is the video for you! Now if only I could find a partner for the special instruction at the end....... (A million times better than the CRUNCH Fatblaster Goes Latin video!)
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