Dance Off The Inches: Cardio Hip Hop Party DVD Review

Every time I see a commercial for a dance workout DVD I get excited and want to try it.  I am not very good at the dance moves though.  I received a copy of Dance Off The Inches Cardio Hip Hop Party and decided I would give it a try.  There are three dance styles on this DVD.  They include Hip Hop House, Old School and Video Jam.  Jennifer Galardi is the instructor for this workout DVD.  This is a 41 minute live workout and she is accompanied by two others, Dawn and Jenny.  There aren't any modifications show for the choreography.  There is a separate 26 minute step guide that shows you some of the dance steps so you can learn them before doing the workout.  The guide includes instructions for the Cabbage Patch, Old School Shuffle, Roger Rabbit, House Hop, Glide, Sweep, Slide, Push, Dig & Snake and the Swivel Step.

The DVD has a main menu with options to play the chapters or the step guide.  When you select chapters there is a sub-menu that lists a warm-up, cool-down and each of the three dance segments separately. 

The Warm-Up is 5 minutes.  Galardi starts out with an out-out, in-in step.  Then she stands in place for isolation of various body parts including the neck, shoulders, chest, waist and hips.  She also a heel-knee step and a few dynamic stretches to finish it.

The Old School section is just over ten minutes.  These are the dance moves I remember from my youth.  I like this one.  It's got the Cabbage Patch and the Roger Rabbit.  Next she does just over ten minutes of the Hip Hop House.  This one is harder for me to catch on to.  The House Hop is a fairly simple heel-side knee move but then she goes into the Glide, Sweep and Slide.  The final two combinations are a lot of fun with a high knee and opposite arm punch and then a standing crunch with heel push.

Then the Video Jam section lasts about ten minutes.  It is done at a slower pace.  There is a move in this sequence called the stroll.  You have to twist your food on the ground which is hard to do in my living room with the carpet.  I wasn't much of a fan of this section.

Finally the cool down is 5 minutes.  Galardi gets you doing side stretches and then she performs pelvic scoops, upper body circles, shoulder stretches, triceps stretches and chest stretches.  For the lower body we do a forward bend and lunge that stretches the hip flexors.

Jennifer Galardi is an excellent instructor.  Her cues are clear and her instructions are super easy to follow.  I will keep this workout in my rotation and work on getting better at the dance moves.  I can tell that this workout will feel more like fun and less like working out the better I get at the moves.

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