Exercise Video Review: Fat Burning Workout for Dummies with Gay Gasper

Fat Burning Workout for Dummies is different from any other aerobics video I have seen because it teaches the basic steps that form the foundation of aerobics. Only after the steps are thoroughly explained are they combined into routines.

The instructor, Gay Gasper, is enthusiastic and upbeat without being annoying. She doesn't whoop. She explains things very clearly. I've done a lot of exercise videos, and I think she is one of the better instructors I've seen.

She starts off with a 12-minute segment that teaches ten basic aerobics steps. On some of the trickier steps, such as the mambo and the box step (which she calls the jazz square), she starts off the demonstration at half speed. Otherwise, though, she keeps going at a normal aerobics tempo, without pausing or slowing down. Because of that, this section of the video is itself a good warm-up and workout, unlike some videos where the instructors stop moving while they explain something, which makes the videos useless after you have learned the moves. She then combines the steps into five routines, followed by a cool-down routine and a stretch.

This could be a great video for someone who has never done aerobics before, because the steps that you learn here are steps that are used in many different aerobics routines, and after learning them you will be better prepared to try other aerobics videos or classes. At the same time, I think the video is interesting and fast-paced enough to appeal to experienced intermediate-level aerobic exercisers.

It's more varied and more dance-like than Leslie Sansome's walking videos, a popular series, often recommended for beginners, that uses only four steps. If you are someone who likes Sansome's videos and doesn't want anything more complicated, then you might want to avoid Fat Burning Workout. On the other hand, if you are like me and you get bored very quickly with the Sansome videos, you will probably enjoy Fat Burning Workout a lot more.

You can adjust the length of the workout by choosing how many of the five routines you want to do, and you can adjust the intensity of the steps by choosing low or high impact. Gasper demonstrates the steps in a low-impact version, but periodically the screen splits to show a high-impact variation. For example, the high-impact version of a marching step would be a jog.

I'm in my early 50s and although I try to do some exercise every day, most of the time I am sedentary. I would say my fitness level is okay, but not fantastic. When I do the tape, I do only the low-impact moves. I often like to do a short routine, so I do the initial ten-step part, then only one of the combo routines, then the cool-down and the stretch. All together, that takes around 25 minutes. Someone who wants more of a challenge could do the entire video, which takes 50 minutes, and if their knees are in good shape, they could add in some high-impact moves.

Gasper teaches good form, and most of the moves seem very safe. I would just advise people who have bad knees or who are middle-aged to stick with the low-impact moves, which are much easier on your knees. There is one move, a mambo pivot, that is hard to do on carpet -- if you are on carpet, you should pick up your feet when you turn. Aside from that, all the steps can be done either on carpet or on bare floors. You don't need any special equipment, and you don't need a lot of room.

I like the music in the beginning segment. It is heavy on the percussion, and it really makes me want to get up and move. In parts of the later segments, though, the music becomes more melodic and starts to sound more like elevator music.

The set is very simple, an empty room with hardwood floors. There is no class, just Gasper alone in the room. As in all the Dummies exercise videos, every once in a while, there is a "boing" sound, and a tip appears on the screen accompanied by one of the icons that originated in the Dummies books. I found this incredibly annoying in the Yoga for Dummies video, but it's okay here.

Even though the tape is called "Fat Burning," doing aerobics is good for more than just losing weight. Aerobic exercise is very important for your cardio-vascular health, and studies show it helps alleviate depression.

The video is currently available as a DVD. The VHS version is out of print, but there are many used copies available on Amazon for as low as $3.99. The DVD doesn't have any extra material, but being able to chose chapters is very convenient if you want to do only some of the routines.