Rhythmica Cardio Dance Party DVD

About.com Rating

Updated January 01, 2014.



With three different dance-based workouts, Rhythmica offers three ways to dance calories away. Choose from hip hop, house, or Latin dance music, or combine two or three segments (of 20 minutes each) for a longer workout. Instructor Marc Santa Maria brings plenty of energy and fun, although exercisers who pick up dance moves quickly may tire of the party before it's over.

Rhythmica Cardio Dance Party: Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Personable, enthusiastic instructor
• Good variety of moves
• Workouts target different muscle groups

Cons:

• Music has a good beat, but is generic
• It's easy to cheat and not work hard

Guide Review - Rhythmica Cardio Dance Party DVD

This cardio workout DVD includes three separate workouts, each with its own music and costume changes for the instructor and his helpers. There's "Get Fit House Party," designed to work the lower body (legs and glutes). "Latin Dance Mix" features Latin music and heart-pumping cardio. In "Hip Hop Fat Burn," you get hip-hop beats and a challenge for your arms and abs along with your lower body. Each workout is 20 minutes long and can stand alone, or you can combine them for a longer dance party. And since each workout features two routines, you can easily break them into two 10-minute sessions as well, giving you more options for your workout's length and focus.

Rhythmica's instructor is Marc Santa Maria, who teaches at Crunch fitness centers (known for their unique and cutting-edge classes).

He is lively and encouraging as he demonstrates dance moves and offers suggestions on form. For example, he'll suggest "getting low" during a side-to-side move, which will help work your glutes—although he doesn't specify that that's why it's a good idea. This helps keep up the "dance party" vibe Santa Maria is going for, so you feel like you're dancing at a club instead of exercising.

Well, sort of. Since I have little natural rhythm and even less innate coordination, it took me several times through the workouts to get the hang of Santa Maria's choreography. As in a typical dance or aerobics class, you see each move slowly first, then up to tempo. He then adds another move using the same method, and another, and so on until you can put together a full combination. As I mentioned above, this ends up taking about 10 minutes, and there are two combinations per 20-minute dance session.

I needed every one of those 10 minutes to get anywhere close to performing the moves correctly, and even then I left out some of the turns and upper body moves just to keep up. If you're more adept at dance than I am, you won't have this problem—but then again, you might be bored by the teaching process and wish you could skip ahead to party time. For people in this category, it would have been nice to include a dance-along segment that lets you do just that—the same way that some songs have an extended dance version!

Even with my inept and far-from-hip dancing, I did feel the calorie burn with these dances. With more practice, I found I could focus more on my form and boost the intensity of my exercise. If you have trouble following the moves, it's harder to really work your muscles and you might find yourself cheating. Still, just staying upright and moving for 20, 30, or 40 minutes can boost your cardiovascular fitness.

One last note: If you're looking for a workout that's both appealing to tweens and teens and suitable for them, this is a good option. You get the fitness and the party without any scary lyrics, inappropriate clothing, or suggestive dance moves (despite what you might conclude from the cover photo). And I'll bet your child picks up the choreography much quicker than you do!



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