Tag: dance fitness DVDs

Dance fitness is my favorite form of exercise, and, over the years, I’ve accumulated quite a collection of dance fitness DVDs and Just Dance games for Wii. I’ve had The Firm: Cardio Dance Slim Down DVD for a while, but it’s a favorite. It was first released in 2006 and re-released in 2013. What makes things a bit confusing is that The Firm released a different DVD by the same name in 2015, this time with a different instructor. The one I’m reviewing is led by Allie DelRio Pointer.

The workout is 45 minutes long and, aside from warm-up and cool-down, has three dance segments in different dance styles. The second is Latin dance, and the third one is disco. The first dance style is un-named both on the packaging and by the instructor in the video. Perhaps, it would be considered club or modern dancing. I’m not quite sure, but it is fun.

This video has more interesting warm-up and cool-down segments than in many workouts. I’ve seen so many that use different combinations of very similar stretches. These feel a little more choreographed and have a few interesting and fun moves. For instance, you “butterfly”your legs in the warm-up, a kind of move where you slide on the balls of your feet and alternately point your knees inwards and outwards. In the cool-down, you do the “jerk,” a ’60s dance move, for a bit and also a sweep kick where you balance on one leg and sweep the other around in a circle.

It’s considered a low-impact workout, but there are a few little hops. In the first dance segment, there’s a cool move where you give a low kick followed by bringing both knees up in a little hop and then quickly followed by a dirt-off-the-shoulder move. (You just brush imaginary dust from your shoulder.)

In each dance segment, Allie starts out teaching one dance move, then adding on with another move and continually repeating the sequence as new moves are added until you have a full routine. I’m a little bit experienced at this, but I thought it was easy to learn.

The Latin dance segment is also fun and features mambo and cha cha inspired steps. There are even some cha cha moves in the disco segment.

I really enjoy the disco segment. Whether you are hoping for some ’70s flashback music or really hoping there won’t be, those tunes are not featured. Many of these fitness DVDs don’t have the music license to play music hits either new or old. The music throughout sounds like some electronic instrumentals. You can get a feeling for it with a little preview clip below.

I find that locomotion (kick ball change) move, in the clip above, to be one of the most fun out of the whole . I don’t know why. It just feels good to do those kicks.

By the way, I think Allie misspeaks in the clip when she says her favorite move is the cha cha “with legs.” I think she means to say “with arms.” It would be impossible to cha cha without legs. 🙂

Over all, the workout is very fun and varied, low impact and not too overwhelming if you are a beginner or at intermediate level. It works a variety of muscles.

You can buy the DVD on Amazon with the link below. I do get a little commission as an Amazon affiliate, but that does not affect the price which is a pretty good one.