Fun but uneven cardio workout combined with nice foam roller stretch
NOTE: I received a free copy of this DVD to review for the web site Metapsychology Online Reviews; you can read a more detailed version of my review on that site.
This DVD is one of three new releases from Gaiam which feature Trudie Styler, wife of the musician Sting, in a workout led by James D'Silva (sometimes known as a "fitness trainer to the stars" due to his previous work with Madonna, Gwyneth Paltrow, and others). The Main Menu of the DVD offers the following options: Warm-Up - Cardio Dance Workout - Express Workout - Stretch Workout - Bonus Materials. The Bonus Materials section includes interviews with Styler, Sting, and D'Silva (each about 6 minutes long), a Footwork Tutorial segment, and finally, the Making of Sting's Album, If On a Winter's Night....
The Warm-Up, Cardio Dance Workout, and Express Workout are all taught by D'Silva via voiceover as well; each of these segments is chaptered separately. The Warm-Up is just under 7 minutes long and shows...
Not for Weight Loss!
The video is great for warm ups and a mild aerobic workout, which is actually only about a 20 minute segment. Very repetitive motions throughout, but a lot of arm work will definitely loosen your shoulders. I'd never use it for a serious cardio work out, but I can do the arm work on my exercise bike and it should make a difference. Ms. Styler is very controversial; I wasn't aware of that until I got the yoga dvd, which is unique and good/hard - no beginners adjustments on it. The interviews seem to be the same on both dvds. Very pretty surroundings, very buff trainer, good music. If you like to stretch or are already thin and just want to feel "woken up," it'd be great for you!
An exercise in pleasure.
This DVD is not intended as high-intensity cardio exercise, but as a workout that incorporates aspects of ballet, yoga and contemporary dance. If you enjoy Ballecure, for example, you are likely to enjoy this. I love both Ballecore and the NYC Ballet workout so this is just my style.
The video is beautifully choreographed and expertly cued by James D'Silva, with a British voice sure to charm those of us who came of age in the years of Bond and the Beatles. There's a stretch segment (which requires a high-density foam roller) as well as interviews with Styler & Sting, but I'm in it for the dance. What I like is the music (by Sting), the footwork (taught in a tutorial that serves as a short morning workout of own) and the two dance segments. Maybe I'll get to the rest when I stop tapping my feet.
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