Absolute Body Power - Basic & Intermediate Step - Alan

[Guest guest]

I picked up these two workouts on dvd for $1 each, and I couldn't

even figure out what kind of workout " Basic " was from the package.

The write up on the back was vague, and the one screen shot didn't

help.

" Basic Workout " as it's called, is a beginner cardio floor workout.

No step is used, but I recognized some of the words from my very

limited exposure to step workouts. Alan is hyper, but was decent at

explaining things. There is a long bit at the beginning that you

can't skip, a pep talk that I would have liked to option to fast

forward. The sound on this dvd is awful, very muffled. And for me

to notice, it must be really bad, since I have a cheapy TV in the

workout room. There isn't a whole lot to this, as the package

says that it is 30 minute, but that includes the pep talk and other

intro. So I think the workout part is only about 20 minutes. It was

a good intro to step moves for a newbie like me, but that being said

I don't think I got much of a workout from it. If I were to try

again and use my step and some light weights, I think I could get

some limited use from it in the future. Worth a dollar to me,

probably not much more, though.

" Intermediate Step Workout " turned out to be a good follow up to

Basic. He uses many of the steps from Basic - on the step this

time. I didn't notice the sound issues with this one. There is an

instructional section, and the dvd is chaptered so you can start with

the workout if you prefer. The instructions are about 14 min, and

the workout that follows is about 40 min. I really liked the

instruction part, and found it easy to follow and very helpful. But

again, I know nothing about step!

The workout starts off slow, with some strange stretching, then some

basic stepping. I did marched instead of the weird stretches, as I

wasn't really warmed up from just the instuctions. After a few min

of basic step, he does some normal stretching. There are like 15-20

people in this workout with him, all shapes and sizes. I liked that,

but many of the people need to wear clothes that fit, lol. But there

are all ages, and fitness levels, with some people having the step

right on the floor without any risers. Alan is pretty loud and

spazzy throughout, making noises like Brown, sometimes bursting

into terrible singing. I can see that I will need to be in the mood

for that when I use this one! Luckliy it worked for me today.

Alan really eases into the stepping, so I felt pretty good that I

could keep up. Even as a complete & total beginner stepper, I'd have

a hard time calling this intermediate. He keeps is pretty basic for

several minutes, and always stays with the basic step in between the

other moves. I wasn't very good with the turns, as I would get all

out of sync, but by the time he did those I had learned other steps

that I was better at and could sub out. V-step, heel digs, kicks,

knee lifts, etc. And he doesn't add in arms right away, either.

Once he did, I was getting all mixed up (like usual) and figured out

that if I kept my arms moving at half time to what he was doing I

could keep going. I would move my arms every time I stepped up,

instead of with every up and down step. I worked up a good sweat

anyway, so I think I did okay. I figured it was better than just

giving up on the arms for now, lol.

He's very encouraging (in a loud way) the entire time, and offers

modifications on some moves, too. He lost he train of thought a few

times, and mis-spoke his right/left here and there, but considering I

was just concentrating on keeping my feet going that didn't really

affect me, lol.

At the end, he had a fun drill section that I liked. It was only 4-5

minutes, but it was short bursts of football runs and fast up/downs

on the step. A nice way to end it for me. It ends very abruptly,

with him mentioning starting to cool down, then it goes to him in a

room with another pep talk. No real cool down, no stretching at

all. Odd, but I just kept marching until I cooled down and did my

own stretches. Worth a dollar to me, maybe even $5!

Overall, I like these two, and am glad I bought them. I might look

around for some of his other workouts. And now, I may even try

Cathe's basic step tomorrow!

Sara

[Guest guest]

What bizarre sounding workouts!! I've never seen this and now I know I won't need them if I do see them. Thanks for reviewing them and I'm glad they were worth the money for you, I have some like that too (that others might not like but were worth $1 to me). I hope you enjoy Cathe's Basic Step! I've done a lot of step in the past so I liked it but found it to not be enough of a challenge (but great for a lighter day). I think Cathe's instruction is really good, but then again, I have some background in step so it will be interesting to hear if you find it the same way.

Absolute Body Power - Basic & Intermediate Step - Alan

I picked up these two workouts on dvd for $1 each, and I couldn't even figure out what kind of workout "Basic" was from the package. The write up on the back was vague, and the one screen shot didn't help."Basic Workout" as it's called, is a beginner cardio floor workout. No step is used, but I recognized some of the words from my very limited exposure to step workouts. Alan is hyper, but was decent at explaining things. There is a long bit at the beginning that you can't skip, a pep talk that I would have liked to option to fast forward. The sound on this dvd is awful, very muffled. And for me to notice, it must be really bad, since I have a cheapy TV in the workout room. There isn't a whole lot to this, as the package says that it is 30 minute, but that includes the pep talk and other intro. So I think the workout part is only about 20 minutes. It was a good intro to step moves for a newbie like me, but that being said I don't think I got much of a workout from it. If I were to try again and use my step and some light weights, I think I could get some limited use from it in the future. Worth a dollar to me, probably not much more, though."Intermediate Step Workout" turned out to be a good follow up to Basic. He uses many of the steps from Basic - on the step this time. I didn't notice the sound issues with this one. There is an instructional section, and the dvd is chaptered so you can start with the workout if you prefer. The instructions are about 14 min, and the workout that follows is about 40 min. I really liked the instruction part, and found it easy to follow and very helpful. But again, I know nothing about step! The workout starts off slow, with some strange stretching, then some basic stepping. I did marched instead of the weird stretches, as I wasn't really warmed up from just the instuctions. After a few min of basic step, he does some normal stretching. There are like 15-20 people in this workout with him, all shapes and sizes. I liked that, but many of the people need to wear clothes that fit, lol. But there are all ages, and fitness levels, with some people having the step right on the floor without any risers. Alan is pretty loud and spazzy throughout, making noises like Brown, sometimes bursting into terrible singing. I can see that I will need to be in the mood for that when I use this one! Luckliy it worked for me today. Alan really eases into the stepping, so I felt pretty good that I could keep up. Even as a complete & total beginner stepper, I'd have a hard time calling this intermediate. He keeps is pretty basic for several minutes, and always stays with the basic step in between the other moves. I wasn't very good with the turns, as I would get all out of sync, but by the time he did those I had learned other steps that I was better at and could sub out. V-step, heel digs, kicks, knee lifts, etc. And he doesn't add in arms right away, either. Once he did, I was getting all mixed up (like usual) and figured out that if I kept my arms moving at half time to what he was doing I could keep going. I would move my arms every time I stepped up, instead of with every up and down step. I worked up a good sweat anyway, so I think I did okay. I figured it was better than just giving up on the arms for now, lol. He's very encouraging (in a loud way) the entire time, and offers modifications on some moves, too. He lost he train of thought a few times, and mis-spoke his right/left here and there, but considering I was just concentrating on keeping my feet going that didn't really affect me, lol.At the end, he had a fun drill section that I liked. It was only 4-5 minutes, but it was short bursts of football runs and fast up/downs on the step. A nice way to end it for me. It ends very abruptly, with him mentioning starting to cool down, then it goes to him in a room with another pep talk. No real cool down, no stretching at all. Odd, but I just kept marching until I cooled down and did my own stretches. Worth a dollar to me, maybe even $5! ;)Overall, I like these two, and am glad I bought them. I might look around for some of his other workouts. And now, I may even try Cathe's basic step tomorrow!Sara