Cardio Funk features three different workouts, "Disco with Courtney", "Contemporary with Travis", and "Hip-Hop with Lauren." All six dancers are there for all the workouts as backup dancers though, so just because you're working out with Courtney's disco doesn't mean that you won't get to see Dmitry as well. I like this benefit of being able to watch the slightly different ways each of them dance the workouts. I say workouts instead of dance because they really are more of a workout and were designed by the dancers to be so.
Each DVD is comprised of several parts: Introduction, Warm-Up, Workouts, Cool Down, and Bonus Interviews. You can choose to play them all together though, which is probably the easiest way to watch them, although I wouldn't count on making it all the way through until you've worked at it for a while! They aren't easy to do, and they're a really good workout! The warm-up is essentially just the same moves as Tae Bo or any other workout video I've done, just more dance like, especially towards the end of the warm-up. After you're done with it, you will be quite warm (and possibly a bit tired already). When you get to the workouts, you can choose to do the workout alone or do the instructions and workout. This way, after you know the routines, you don't have to keep doing the instructions again and again.
The first workout on the disc is Lauren's Hip-Hop. We really loved Lauren when she was a contestant on the show and have been very happy that she still shows up on there from time to time! The hip-hop routine that she has designed specifically for this DVD isn't very difficult to do, but it's not the world's easiest thing either. Luckily, they start out really simple and go over the steps again and again until you get it. Then they add more dancers and count it out for you. Finally, you'll get all the dancers and some music. I do hate to say that the music isn't very good. I'm sure they have problems licensing music, but I really was hoping for something more interesting!
The next one is Contemporary with Travis. This one was very different for me, having never danced contemporary. Hip-hop is one thing, since we've all danced in clubs to get some however minor exposure to it. Contemporary almost reminded me of my tae kwondo forms from years ago, at least pieces of it did. I didn't feel like it was as good a workout as some of the others, but it was still fun.
Last on the disc is Disco with Courtney. Shockingly, it was my favorite on the disc. I've never really cared for disco before, but it was the most fun one and still a really good workout. After you're done with all the dances, there is a Cool Down that I highly recommend. It'll help you stretch out and avoid sore muscles.
There are also bonus interviews on the DVD, with Nigel Lithgow, Lauren, Travis, and Courtney. The interview with Nigel is the same one as on the Tone and Groove disc. The interviews with the dancers are quite interesting as they go through a bit about how and why they chose the moves for their dances. You also get to see some of the behind-the-scenes from creating the discs, which is a lot of fun.
I've been watching So You Think You Can Dance since I first heard of it mid-way through the second season. While this may not be the greatest workout video I've ever done, it's a lot of fun to get to dance with some of the dancers that we watched for so many weeks. If you're a fan of the show, you should go get this and workout along with it today!
