Cheap Bellydance Fitness for Weight Loss featuring Rania: Cardio Shimmy (DVD) Price

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Customer Reviews of Bellydance Fitness for Weight Loss featuring Rania: Cardio Shimmy

Jiggle Those Buns
If you're not familiar with the Bellydancer Rania and her Bellydance Fitness for Weight Loss series, she is an AFAA certified Fitness Instructor and internationally renowned bellydancer. Her four part workout series fuses bellydance moves with a variety of different Western musical rhythms in her belief that bellydance can be done to any kind of music. With soundtracks not always coming off as authentic sounding as one may like, you'll have to use your imagination a bit when you hear the `Disneyesque' and sometimes cartoonish sounding strains of Hip Hop, Salsa, and R & B. The Bellydance Fitness for Weight Loss series are a set of fun workouts and a great way to interject life into a dull and stale workout routine. <
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>Before beginning each workout it's important to keep in mind what these are -- workouts. Although you will learn some bellydance, as all of the routines are nearly completely comprised of bellydance moves, don't expect to buy this DVD and have it be your one-stop shopping for instruction and workout. They haven't made anything like that yet. The pacing required for instruction is way too slow to get your heart rate up for a cardiovascular or fat burning workout. Rania does a very good job of creating routines with moves using similar muscle groups, starting with a slower tempo to teach the move and then returning quickly to full tempo, layering all the movements together to create an interesting routine. Lots of repetition will give you plenty of great bellydance practice. <
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>Each one of the four follows a similar format and vary only in specific content and theme. Cardio Shimmy features the signature shimmies that are the hallmark all good bellydance performances. This workout uses a variety of these high-tempo, and high-energy bellydance moves including a calf-building one called a chu chu. It's one workout guaranteed to get your heart-rate up as quickly as you can wiggle your hips, buns, thighs, and shoulders. The Bonus section of this disc includes two performances, Rania's Techno Drum Solo and Rania's veil dance in traditional style, that later helped to form the "Bellydance Divas" CD as well as the "Waist Sculpting" workout that later became one 10 minute segment of "Bellydance Fitness for Weight Loss: Daily Quickies...5 Ten Minute Workouts." <
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>The workouts are set in a studio and Rania is backed up by a small group of dancers in matching workout attire w/ hip scarves -- similar in look and feel of the Crunch workout series but without all those annoying logos. The back up dancer's bodies are all variations on different female body types with some being curvy and some skinny, and at least one should look how your body could look if it were in a little better, but not rock hard, shape. <
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>Each of the four workouts has a warm up of roughly 5 minutes. 20 minutes is spent on each disc devoted to instruction and routines. All four finish with a cool down and stretch segment of approximately 5 minutes in length. My biggest complaint is that I wish workouts were longer in length. 30 minutes just isn't enough for me to keep the fat molecules at bay. I would rather the workout be an hour in length and I could always quit part way through on days I have only 30-40 minutes to workout. Also, studies show that the body does not even begin to burn fat until after 20-30 minutes of sustained cardiovascular activity. <
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>Not a lot of explanation is given to the individual bellydance moves but nearly everything is done in half-time to start before moving up to full tempo. Rania's voiceover often gives pointers as to how the moves are done but one would need to either be a little bit familiar with bellydance, or have a dance friendly set of coordination skills. Nearly anyone could eventually pick up most of the bellydance being done on these DVDs with enough patience and practice. Even without doing the moves perfectly you'll still have fun and get a good workout. Only the beginner absolutely new to all forms of dance would be truly lost. Some of the names Rania gives to certain Bellydance moves are different than I've heard them called before but this is common in the dance world where dancers come up with a move and patent the only part people can't `steal' -- the name. Don't let this bother you; it happens in Bellydance, Hip Hop, Salsa, et all. The move is probably the same thing you learned in class just with a different name. <
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>Probably the biggest complaints about Rania's DVDs are concerning her stiffness, often vacant look, and inability to sustain a heartfelt smile. The look and smile I just consider window dressing for a video; I'm certainly more concerned with her ability to dance and teach. As far as her stiffness goes, it does have one advantage here -- a slightly stiff body is actually easier for a beginner to follow because lots of extra movement is distracting to the beginner who is merely trying to get the essence of a move down pat. While it may irritate an intermediate to professional dancer to watch, the beginner will benefit, and although Rania is certainly not the most fluid of dancers, the routines in the bonus section will attest that some, but not all, of her stiffness comes from making the workout moves look simpler. This is, of course, a fitness video for beginners. <
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>In all, each of the four workouts are fun and you'll learn a little bit of dance. I just wish they all were longer.

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Keep an ambulance nearby!
While this is certainly an enjoyable workout, it is my least favorite in the series. This is because the final routine doesn't look as good as the other workouts. As the title suggests, you will get your heart rate up by doing the "shimmy" (moving your hips up and down really quickly). This particular move is essential in Bellydancing, and this workout will give you a lot of practice. I am quite fit and this workout left me puffing and panting. <
>However, in one section of the workout, the narration is inconsistent with the visuals. Further, I haven't noticed any significant weight loss and the stretches in the cooldown section may be a little difficult for some people. The bonus workout is similar to the "Bellydance Boogie" and "Hip Hop Hip Drop" workouts (which are great!) <
>The bottom line is, getting your heart rate up doesn't necessarily mean you will lose weight. But you will learn some vital moves and have fun!

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I Love This Workout!
This is a great workout. It's great for people who bellydance, but are not at performance level. I go to a class once a week and I've noticed my shimmies have improved. The moves are not that varied, but it's a great way to practice and it's a really great workout. You'll be drenched when you're done. It's worth a try.