AllMovie

There are no gimmicks in this excellent aerobics workout -- no pseudo kickboxing, no fancy Latin moves, just great choreography in four sweat-inducing sections. But then, these two instructors don't need to toss trendiness into their routines to make them interesting and fun. For those who don't know, Kari Anderson and Jay Blahnik are both top fitness figures -- they've each earned the title of "IDEA Fitness Instructor of the Year," and have starred in literally dozens of exercise videos. Separately Anderson and Blahnik are powerhouses; together their enthusiasm jumps off the television screen. They alternate leads for the four segments -- Anderson's more dancey technique compliments Blahnik's higher-impact athletic approach -- and everything they've taught comes together at the end for one long, complex routine. Warm-up is approximately eight minutes, the aerobic section runs for 40 minutes, then Blahnik gives a four-minute cool-down and Anderson offers up a four-minute stretch. The secret to this video is that the instructors always start out simple, and as they add on choreography, they make it so fun that viewers won't even realize how much they're actually doing. Intermediate exercisers will surprise themselves at how quickly they learn the more complex moves; advanced exercisers will probably breeze through them after the first couple of tries and can add intensity. Two caveats -- there's really no lower-impact option, so be prepared to do some jumping -- and viewers do have to know what they're doing. This is not a tape for a total beginner, but once viewers know what they're doing, this should be one of the first tapes to add to the fitness collection.