So You Think You Can Dance Get Fit: Cardio Funk

I just received the So You Think You Can Dance Get Fit Cardio Funk and Tone & Groove dvds yesterday (I tried CF yesterday and T&G today), so my reviews will be based on my first impressions, and then I'll edit them again later regarding the long term results.First thought-I LOVE these dvds! Because the routines were explained well and taught in a progression, I was able to pick up the choreography for each dance the first time through, though I felt all of the routines were definitely challenging and VERY effective as workouts! After just finishing the second dvd today; my muscles are sore, I'm sweating, and I feel fantastic (and like I worked really hard)! The dancers were all very energetic, encouraging, and none of them ever missed a beat/step on the routines. It was exciting to see all of these great personalities from the show (definitely 5 of my many favorites) choreographing, dancing, and having such a blast out there-and it's even more fun to dance along with them!Getting down to business, the menu screen has a 'Play All' option which takes you through the warm-up, all 3 routines (with instructions), and the cool down. In the 'Workouts' section, you can choose between the 3 routines (with or without instructions) and the bonus workout that combines the three styles with some extra steps (also with our without instructions). The Warm-Up and Cool Down sections are taught by the whole group of dancers, switching off. They're the same combination of dance-infused stretches on both dvds and they've got a funky flavor going on the Warm-Up and more of a bluesy tone on the Cool Down. I found them to be fully effective in preparing me for the workouts and cooling me down afterward, as well as enjoyable ways to begin and end the session. For extra entertainment value, the dvd also includes interviews with the three dancers featured on the front cover, as well as with Nigel Lithgoe. The dancers' interviews include behind the scenes clips from their workout rehearsals, taping, and photo shoot, as well as them just goofing off with each other and having fun. I expect that all fans of the show would really enjoy these parts as much as I did. :) Anyway, I chose to 'Play All' and then perform the Bonus dance with instruction and my total workout time for each day was about 1 hour and 40 minutes! That will be reduced without the instructions, though I think it's always good to get the extra benefit of performing the moves slowly and isolating the muscles whenever there's time. Seriously, for only $11?-What a tremendous value for the money!On this dvd:-Lauren-Hip Hop: This had a very nice groove to it and you can tell that she really focused on making sure that we got a tremendous cardio workout in her routine (especially at full speed). It's fast, it hits, and it's very fun!-Travis-Contemporary: I loved this one! Beautiful, flowing movements and stops that if done correctly will give your back, arms, waistline, calves, and abs a great stretch and workout!-Courtney-Disco: This was so cute! Fairly simple moves strung together into a FAST and extremely fun little number. I found this to be an especially effective on my legs. There's lots of comedy in this one too, "check you out, check you out!" :)The video clip at the top of the screen will give you a nice preview into how the steps are taught and the types of moves you'll be doing. I'm so excited to have added this fitness dvd into my collection and hope you'll enjoy it as much as I did! ***** Difficulty: Intermediate/Challenging (At least a little dance training recommended, if not required).

The two So You Think You Can Dance Get Fit DVD's are the best thing to come out since my favorite summer TV show started five seasons ago! This one, Cardio Funk, is such a wonderful change from the same old regular contrived "hip hop" moves in 10-minute segments, or proliferation of oldies music dance tapes. YUCK! I would rate this DVD as intermediate with some impact. If you are not already fit and haven't done dance workouts before, you will be overwhelmed by the choreography; start out with Petra Kolber. I consider it an interval workout, considering the slowness of the beginning choreography of each dance segment. However, each dance builds in tempo until it is being done at full speed and full impact. Even the 10-minute or so warm up starts very easy and builds up to a cardio tempo. However, I didn't feel I would have gotten a full workout unless I did the entire tape, which was about 140 minutes long. I must say, the time absolutely flew by.Some things you don't get on an ordinary dance exercise tape: the contagious energy and enthusiasm from the SOTYCD crew. Also, really creative choreography. And don't think these guys don't know their physiology as well as say, Kathy Smith. They have been training for years, and throughout the DVD they point out how to do moves correctly to avoid muscle strain.Throughout the teaching of each set of choreography (hip-hop with Lauren, disco with Courtney and contemporary with Travis), the moves initially seem confusing when they are taught one-on-one with the dancer. But they are done again and again, slowly adding more dancers and slightly increasing tempo, then adding the music, and by the end when they are doing it full tempo with music, I totally had it down. I've also been doing home workout videos for 25 years, mainly dance and kickbox, so again, not for total beginners. At the conclusion, there is a bonus workout, shorter than the other dances, kind of just for kicks, that uses moves from all three workouts.This workout is a total blast! Not my hardest workout; I have 45 minute kickbox DVD's that leave me more winded. But none are more fun, and if you do the whole thing, you've done a good, core-emphasizing workout. My only complaint is that the choreography of the warm-up of this one is identical to that of the Tone and Groove DVD, and I think universally everyone is going to buy both. With all their creative choreography, they could have come up with different warm-ups. But the rest is so great, I forgive them!

I recently got my Mom both So You Think You Can Dance workout DVDs for her birthday and have been using them myself since. Personally, I recommend the Cardio Funk DVD over the Tone and Grove: the routines feel like more of a workout and they're more fun. Lauren's hip hop involves a lot of jumping around so you're really breathing heavily when it's done. Travis's contemporary is my favorite: it's not as fast-paced, so it gives you time to focus on your movements and engage your muscles. My back and arms were sore after performing the contemporary workout. Courtney's disco is just fun and energetic, so you don't mind repeating it a few times.It's easy to learn the routines at your own pace thanks to the scene skip function on any DVD player. Once they're taught slowly in detail, the routines are done to counts and then to music at three successively faster speeds. I found the routines easy enough that I only had to go through the instructions once to learn them sufficiently. The bonus workout that combines moves from the three routines is done much more quickly and can be a little hard to follow; I haven't mastered that one yet. As others have said, the music is somewhat uninspiring, but the dancers' enthusiasm makes up for it.I'd recommend this DVD to anyone who's a fan of the show and finds traditional workouts a chore. The familiar faces and fun dance routines are a great way to mix things up!

I really enjoyed the actual workouts of this DVD but found it a little bit of a slow process. Dance steps are not tough but you need to do slow first at least once. Now I just go right to the workouts and do them all twice so that I get a bit of cardio. This is not really a "great" workout but I found it fun and use it on my recovery days because it is less intense.

I purchased both the SYTYCD DVD's and they are pretty good but not great. Maybe I am biast as I love Julianne Houghs's DVD but I wanted variety so I bought these two.The warm ups are a little different, and all six of them take turns doing a portion of the warmups and cools downs. It was to much bouncing around from 1 person to the next. I can understand that they wanted all six of them to be one the DVD's equally but they should really have drawn a name from a hat or something and just had 1 person do each warm up or cool down.While the routines themselves are good, you don't feel like you have had a full workout if you only have time to do a warm up, 1 routine and cool down as the warm ups are about 12 minutes, routines about 25 minutes and cool down is 6 minutes. I don't know alot of people that would have the time to do the whole 1 hour and 50 mintue DVD the whole way through every day.It is still fun to learn different styles, I have always wanted to try hip hop and it is fun. So if you are looking for an easy to follow DVD this is it, but sometimes the pace it a little fast but if you can master Julianne's DVD you can get through these.

It is an interesting video to watch - very long warm-up I am more interested in the dance moves - hope to finish watching this video in the next few weeks - have been busy with other fitness projects and working out at my local gym

日本ではFOXで放送されている「アメリカン・ダンスアイドル」の出場者が、それぞれ得意なジャンルでホームエクササイズできるDVDです。このDVDでは、コートニーがディスコトラヴィスがコンテンポラリーローレンがHIP-HOPを教えてくれます。他には、トウイッチやドミトリーやケイティがバックで一緒に踊ってくれます。彼らがメインのパートは別のDVDタイトルとなります。それぞれのパートを少しずつゆっくり教えてくれ、徐々に速くなり最後には完成という、この手の教材DVDとは何ら変わりませんが、番組を見ていた人達は出演者が身近に感じられるので受け入れやすいと思います。字幕は付いていませんが、ジムでエアロビクスを受けている方なら、問題なく分かる英語ですし、ちょっとした合間の会話もそれほど難しくないと思います。自分はこの番組でトラヴィスのダンスを見てからファンになったので、後ろで踊っている時でもトラヴィスを目で追ってしまいます。ただ、トラヴィスのコンテンポラリーはこの3種類の中でちょっと難解ですが、それがトラヴィスらしさでもあり、好きなら楽しめると思います。最後には3種類のダンスを1つにまとめて終了となります。きちんと一緒に踊ればいい汗かけますし、インストラクターにも使えると思います。ただ、リージョンコード違いということで★1つマイナスということで・・・。