My teenage daughter and I never miss an episode of the hit television series So You Think You Can Dance, on which America’s best dancers compete to become “America’s favorite dancer.” That’s why we were excited to discover that the show was releasing a workout DVD, So You Think You Can Dance Get Fit: Cardio Funk, featuring some of our favorite dancers from various seasons: Travis, Lauren, Courtney, Twitch, Katee, and Dmitry.
Now, we all realize that these guys and gals are particularly flexible, extremely coordinated, and already fit. So I was concerned that the workouts would be totally over our heads (or should I say our bodies?). Fortunately, though, the routines are designed for all levels of flexibility, and the process used to teach the moves allows even the most uncoordinated among us to master the routines.
After an extensive warm-up, you get to choose from three routines: hip-hop taught by Lauren, contemporary funk led by Travis, or a disco routine directed by Courtney. The steps are broken down slowly, step by step. Then multiple moves are strung together, and eventually you have a complete routine. When you feel comfortable with it, then it’s time to put it all together with music—first, at a slow pace, gradually faster, then finally at a quick tempo. Once you’ve mastered all of the moves to a particular routine, you can choose to skip the instruction portion and go straight to the cardio workout and boogie along with all five of the dancers. To get your heart really pumping, there’s a bonus routine, incorporating all of the moves from the three routines. Finally, to end the workout, each of the five dancers takes you through a cool down and stretch.
The nice thing about working out with a DVD is that you can stop and rewind to repeat any step or series of steps if you need more practice. Not only do you work up a sweat, but from Lauren’s knee to chest moves, Travis’s full arm and back rotations, and Courtney’s body rolls, you use various muscle groups to get those abs, glutes, and thighs into shape.
So You Think You Can Dance Get Fit: Cardio Funk is perfect for those who don’t like to exercise or who are looking to supplement their current cardio routine with something different. It enhances coordination, and, most of all, it’s a lot of fun.
Hopefully, they’ll add more cardio DVDs to the collection. After all, how often do you get to dance with America’s favorite dancers?
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