Shakra's Industrial Strength Dance Workout – Because Corsets Can Only Do So Much...

Now I’m not sure really how to classify this, but these girls describe their art as “Transfusion Dance.” (Now don't get your hopes up, there's no blood letting in the dvd.) I picked it up thinking that this could really work because metal music would be a great sound to work out to and if I had to listen to one more “Only 3 more! You can do it!” in the terrible sing song voice of “Sasha” on the last dvd I purchased I'd probably murder the television. I was desperate for something that got me moving without forcing me to endeur faux beach landscaping or kick boxing routines. A metal fitness video seemed too good to pass up...

First things first, it doesn't look big budget but that makes it all the more appealing. They obviously didn't hire models to pretened they were trained fitness models so I feel assured that the girls know their stuff. The outfits in this video look pretty cool, they all seem to have a standard uniform going with the trio but it’s an industrial look that works pretty well with what they’re trying to evoke on the cover. Not something I’d rave about as a fashion statement personally however but still much better than clingy, brightly coloured spandex and lycra. It doesn't make me feel quite so terrible about working out in my old, yellow soccer uniform.

Now let's begin. Right off the bat I’m impressed by the attention paid to health and the amount of emphasis they’re putting on the warm up at the start. This shows me they’re at least serious about this being physical activity and not just showing off their awesome dance skills on a dvd. Instruction and warm up time takes a lot longer than I expected though and I’m already feeling a bit distracted by the time we start our dance but at least I’m not going to sprain something because we jumped right into it.

Starting the dance everything seems to go well, there’s constant movement and engagement with very little pause between steps and variations. It’s not a high impact sort of motion right off the start but it’s working its way up to a point where I could break a sweat. So far it seems like something I could pick up and this is more fun than watching that perky girl with the tan from the last video I bought.

Stupid perky “Sasha” with her stupid tan and her stupid washboard abs...

After learning a few more moves and combinations it’s suddenly obvious that I should have paid more attention during the instructional phase. This isn’t some walk in the park once you get to some of the more difficult parts. It seems that they lure you in with the extensive instructional portion and the easy to follow start up and then smack you across the face with the realization that this stuff is not so easy as they make it look. This video will take practice if you’re not a regular dancer. (Note I am NOT a dancer.) Not a break your back for an hour everyday sort of practice, but you do need to focus on what your doing after a point.

I start the video over again and try to start from the beginning. I realise there’s a lot to try and remember in your head. I’m tempted to start taking notes. This time around it makes a bit more sense, I’m following along fairly well I think. A couple short rewinds were involved but I think I can handle this, even if I don’t look all that graceful doing it. It’s actually pretty fun; I just wish the music was a bit louder.

I guess I lied earlier when I said I didn’t have to worry about sprains. As it turns out I’ve forgotten the actual size of my living room as I get carried away with stomping, turning and dancing away the calories. Luckily my coffee table is solid wood so it suffers no damage as tumble back over it sending destruction and chaos sprawling about me once again.

A few moments later I open my eyes when I feel something wet soaking the front of my t-shirt. Am I bleeding? No, but my flower vase is no more. It’s probably not safe to continue dancing around when there’s broken glass everywhere so I think I’m going to call it quits for tonight. Overall, it was fun. It’s a very unique idea and something I’d much rather invest in than a lot of the other work out videos out there. Was it intense? I wouldn’t think that you could rely on this to really get the job done by itself without supplementing a variety of other exercise methods but it’s something you can do when you’re not willing to haul your ass out of the house to hit the gym. It’s worth the money I paid for it unlike that over priced Wii fit we bought. If you’re looking to up the workout you get form this then just strap on some ankle and wrist weights for some help with toning. Just don’t over do it of course and make sure you have plenty of space open around you before you start. Oh, and you can buy this from Amazon.