Now That's What I Call Fitness [DVD] [2011]

To my great surprise, of all the British workout DVDs I have (including all the Davina ones, the Ministry of Sound ones and various celeb DVDs), this one is my favourite by far. It really IS fun, and there are several different dance workouts which incorporate cardio and strength training quite brilliantly. One of my issues with the other British workouts I have is that there are many parts that are interminably dull, with endless repeats, such that I can't do them, not because they are too difficult but just because they are too boring. Unlike some of the other British DVDs I have, which tend to be very 'old-school', this one seems more contemporary. Each of the teachers seems competent and when you have learnt the steps (which of course will take time, but it's fun!) you can opt to play the workout without the instructions, just with the music, so it feels even more like dancing in a club.In terms of difficulty level, I'd say that this is a more effective workout than the MoS ones (which rarely feel to me as though they are doing anything) but until you know the steps enough to be able to really throw yourself into it, it is not a tough workout. It's not a tough workout even when you do know the steps. Normally, when I buy a workout that is on the low-intensity side, I feel disappointed and rarely use it, but this one is very different: it is so well-structured and genuinely fun that I do this workout whenever I am having one of those days where I have every possible excuse not to workout (too tired, heavy night the night before, something hurts, not feeling well, should I still be working out like crazy at 49?, too much to do, no time, it will mess up my hair, just don't feel like it, etc etc) -- and no matter how bad I feel when I start the workout, doing this workout cheers me up, makes me sweat a little, reminds my muscles not to atrophy tooo much, and prevents that vicious circle of not exercising-->harder to exercise the next day so you take another day off--->even harder the following day, and so on. I highly recommend this workout to anyone who likes the music (as I do), enjoys at least the idea of dancing (I can't dance to save my life) and doesn't mind not being at all good at following the steps (you really don't need to be able to do it at all well for it to be worthwhile) whether you are a beginner, super-unfit, or, like me, really very fit but have occasional days where you want something really fun rather than one of your normal workouts.I collect and love intense to super-intense workouts like these American ones: advanced Cathe Friedrich workouts of all types (she is the best!), Georges St-Pierre RUSHFIT 8 Week Ultimate Home Training Program, Insanity: The Ultimate Cardio Workout and Fitness DVD Programme., Beachbody P90X: Tony Horton's 90-Day Extreme Home Fitness Workout DVD Programme, the Supreme 90 series (fab and very cheap in America), Jari Love's Get Ripped series and even some Jillian Michaels (whose workouts are technically good, efficient and contemporary but I find her so annoying I have to turn off the sound). This is nothing like those workouts. If you are want that level of strength training and/or intense plyo cardio or super-intense intervals, this is definitely not the DVD for you. But if you are not super-fit OR if like me you are very fit but you have the odd day here and there when you need a less intense but FUN workout, and you don't mind being rubbish at following the moves initially, and you won't be upset if you don't turn into a professional dancer after doing the workout a couple of times, you might enjoy this one, as I do.

Having purchased all of the Ministry of Sound and Deanne Berry DVD's, I can really recommend this one. The BEST feature is being able to switch off the instructions and just have pure pumping music - I've linked my DVD player to my hifi for more enjoyment (poor neighbours don't know what's going on). Don't know why MOS decided to remove that feature in their later DVD's. Who wants to listen to the same instructions over and over ad nauseam??The music - pumping, current tunes - love them!The moves - different to anything offered by other DVD's - love them! Not a single grapevine or running on the spot!The instructors - each one takes a section of the workout, offering enormous variety - a different sequence for each tune, BUT, the girl in the Grey and Yellow - don't know if the sound mixer changed the tune they were working out to, but none of her sequences are in time to the music - that's the reason for my 4 stars - othewise this would have got 5.The floorwork - a bit muddled because you move from floor to standing and back to floor a few times.The toning - I can feel the next day that I have done a workout. The floorwork is really hard to do even for me, and some of the stomach exercises look a bit dangerous on the spine - just use caution! If it hurts, don't do it!In conclusion, it is at the moment by far my favourite workout DVD, but you have to be co-ordinated to do it. Thoroughly enjoyable!Note:I have a good hint for any DVD's you are bored with - just mute the sound and use your own music (iPod works great!). It doesn't really matter if the time is a little off as long as you are familiar with the routines.

I think that this is a very good fitness DVD, with lots of fun, good music and you can really feel yourselves working. It is more for people who can dance, and it doesn't always go through the moves before you do them but with practice and repeats of the DVD you are good to go!It contains 7 sections..Warm-Up-Mcfly ft. Taio Cruz; Shine a LightEase It In-Taio Cruz; Dynamite-Cheryl Cole; Promise ThisJennifer Lopez; On The FloorTake It Higher-Nicole Scherzinger; Poison-Alexandra Stan; Mr. Saxobeat-Inna; Sun Is UpDance Dance Dance-Lady Gaga; Born This Way-Far East Movement; Like A G6-Roll Deep; Green LightFeel The Burn-Snoop Dogg vs. David Guetta; Sweat-Rihanna; Only Girl (In The World)-Pixie Lott; Turn It UpCooldown-Professor Green ft. Emeli Sande; Read All About ItIt also has Behind the Scenes footage. I highly recommend this excercise DVD! I am doing it in a bid to loose some pounds and will be doing it in the morning, before I eat breakfast and maybe sometimes in the evenings for a DOUBLE boost! Happy workout guys x

Just ok really, very cheesy as it was made quite a long time ago. Also some of the sections are too different footwork wise, you'd have to be a professional dancer to manage it.

I am unfit, have a few pounds to lose and am a terrible dancer and do this workout with my sister who is an excellent dancer and is very fit. We both love it! I like it because you don't have to do the full routine - with other DVDs I have often felt put off at the thought of doing an hour workout, but as I have control over how long I workout for with this one, it motivates me to do it more often and I usually do it a few times a week. This feature is also useful if any of the instructors annoy you, you can just skip their section! I agree with some of the other reviews that there is very little explanation of each move but after a few times you do eventually get to grips with it and the moves are repeated quite a lot so it doesn't take long. The music is great and the instructors are generally quite likeable. I'd absolutely recommend this because it takes a lot to get me off the sofa, and this DVD actually does!

It's an okay video but I've seen better

Det bästa med denna DVD är att man kan stänga av instruktionerna och köra musik och rörelser enbart! Detta ökar inspirationen, speciellt efter ett tag då det lätt blir enahanda att lyssna på samma instruktioner från ledarna hela tiden! Jag ger den inte en 5:a då den kunde ha engagerat mig mer och det är lite blandat vad jag tycker om instruktörerna och musikval. Men den är riktigt användbar. Jag har inte haft möjlighet att använda den så mycket ännu. Inte för nybörjare på dans, det är väldigt bra om du har lite feeling. Detta är ett slags mellanting mellan dance och aerobics, men jag tror jag kommer att använda denna mer och mer och göra min egen grej av det... Allt behöver ju inte vara perfekt haha. Men bra för dig som vill komma i form och dansa. Har även använt Deanne Berry's DVD med Pump it Up och den tycker jag också är riktigt bra för er som vill dansa och gillar lite aerobics. Men jag har börjat tröttna på den nu så ville ha lite variation. Ser fram emot att använda denna mer! Varmt tack.

Fun sweaty workout, with great music! The toning segments were more challenging than I thought they were going to be! I also love that DVD is programmable. This is a region 2 DVD, so you'll need a multi-region DVD player.

I was worried when I first started. The cueing in the beginning was not good, but it got much better and it's so much fun! I had a great time doing this dvd!