This review is from: Trudie Styler's Cardio Dance Flow (DVD)
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 D'Silva alone in an indoor setting. He performs a gentle series of standing-in-place moves such as prancing, relevés, side stretches, forward bends, arm circles, static side lunges, warrior 2, reverse warrior, and arabesque. For the 22.5-minute Cardio Dance Workout, D'Silva and Styler are exercising together on a patio outdoors. As with the warm-up, D'Silva starts off rather gently here, stepping side-to-side and cuing either foot-to-ankle or foot-to-knee; he combines this with side and forward bends, providing what feels like an extended warm-up. Eventually (about 6 minutes into the routine), D'Silva begins to up the cardio challenge a bit, adding in moves that raise the heart rate. However, he also slows things down with yoga and ballet moves. Despite its shorter length (11 minutes), the Express Workout, which contains the same footage, is actually more intense, as there is less repetition. The Stretch Workout, which is just under 26 minutes, utilizes a foam roller to provide myofascial release, or deep tissue massage. (Note: the roller is a must-have piece of equipment for this segment; any substitutions are not likely to be the appropriate size or density to provide the desired massage effect.) D'Silva is featured alone for this segment, and he uses the roller in various positions, including under the neck, lengthwise, under the hips, and under the shoulders.
I feel very conflicted about this DVD. Portions of the cardio dance were definitely enjoyable, and my heart rate did go up at times. Overall, however, I did not find it to be a sufficient aerobic workout. Also, I don't think voiceover works very well for cardio, and I didn't like having the warm-up chaptered separately. The foam roller stretch segment is much more successful, as D'Silva does a very nice job of hitting all of the major muscle groups and includes some particularly nice moves for the often-tight areas of the neck, shoulders, and upper back. However, some consumers may be disappointed to find that the need for a foam roller is not mentioned anywhere on the DVD case. In conclusion, this DVD might appeal to someone who simply wants a fun, fusion-type workout, but I would be more hesitant to recommend it to someone hoping for more of an aerobic benefit (as I did).
