Review of Cheryl Burke's Disco Abs Workout

In my quest to find several workout routines that will help me maintain last year's weight loss, I decided to try out different exercise videos. The first one I tried was Cheryl Burke's Disco Abs. If you're looking for a fun exercise video, this is it. Disco Abs Cardio is a nostalgic reminder of the Disco era, without the leg warmers or bell bottoms.

Cox Cable in Phoenix has Exercise TV in their 'On Demand' channel that provides different workouts for limited time periods. This workout looked fun, so I chose to try this Disco Abs segment prior to buying the full set. The workout I tried was 30 minutes of fast paced, low to mid impact, heart pumping cardio exercise, blended effectively into those funky Disco moves of the seventies and eighties! From the first bar of "YMCA", I found myself motivated to find out what this workout had in store for me!

Exercise Video Reviewed:

Cheryl Burke's Disco Abs Cardio
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDlFoXNa-Q0

Instructor: Cheryl Burke
Exercise Level: Beginner to Mid-level
Workout time: 30 minutes
(Approx. 3 minutes warm-up, 25 minutes aerobics, 2 minutes cool-down)
Equipment needed: Just your athletic shoes!
Estimated calories burned: 200

Disco Abs Rating (1-5 stars, 5 is best)

*Easy to follow: 4.5 stars
*Fun moves: 5 stars
*Total body workout: 4.5 stars
*Motivating: 5 stars
*Music: 5 stars

What to Expect from the Disco Abs Workout

Most of us know Cheryl Burke from her role as dance coach and partner in Dancing with the Stars. She is as effective a workout instructor as she is dance coach, demonstrating the exercise moves in an easy-to-follow manner.

I found myself energetically doing the grapevine, egg beater, hustle, shimmy and yes, the 'disco finger point' made so famous by John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever. You'll be air-drumming, slicing, gyrating your hips in figure 8's and strutting as if the Bee Gees were on stage in the room! Undoubtedly, Cheryl and her workout friends executed the funky dance/exercise moves better than I did, and there were a few spots where I wondered, "How do they move their arms or feet that fast?" But overall, I kept up and enjoyed the workout! (After this workout I also remembered why I was so skinny in the late seventies!)

What I liked about Disco Abs

*I give Disco Abs Cardio high marks for providing such a fun workout in moves that don't jar joints.

*I liked the fast pace of the routine, and that it was easy-to-follow yet challenging. With a few more sessions I will probably be lifting my knees a little higher, boogying a little funkier, and be able to lace the moves together more gracefully.

*I liked the fact that the video had a countdown timer visible during the entire workout.

*I was happy that the next day I definitely felt the workout in my muscles, without any serious discomfort.

*I loved the music. It was fun working out to disco songs like "YMCA", "Burn Baby Bur", and "It's Raining Men".

What I didn't Like about Cheryl Burke's Disco Abs

I found almost everything about this workout wonderful and plan to do it again as often as I can. The only negative is that, as a total body workout, I found this routine a little light on the arms. I plan to pump my arms more next time I workout to this routine, and might add wrist weights to to see if that helps.

Note: Since I was working out to the only routine available on Cox Cable's exercise TV, it is possible that there are other routines in the DVD set that targets arms.

Summary of Cheryl Burke's Disco Abs

Overall, I found Cheryl Burke's Disco Abs cardio routine a motivating, effective and enjoyable way to burn calories and tone up. I am listing this workout high on my "buy" list and will more than likely add it to my workout routine soon!