Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

The Short Review: Should you buy this? Yes you should. The In-Depth Review: Let me preface this by saying that I own Zumba: Total Body Transformation and Zumba: Exhilarate, so I’m not a newbie to this. I exercise in my living room, barefoot, on carpet. Zumba for me was never about losing weight, but rather maintaining my current weight and just staying healthy. Here we go! Zumba Incredible Results comes in a huge box- inside is the new Zumba Rizer, 4 discs in individual paper sleeves, a program guide, and a nutrition book. The program guide talks about the history of Zumba, gives suggested workout calendars, and introduces you to the All Stars (the dancers). The nutrition guide has a bunch of delicious sounding healthy recipes that I know darn well I’ll never actually make. The Workouts Before I go into detail about each individual workout, I should say that every routine is in a well lit studio, as opposed to the darker, club-like atmosphere of Exhilarate, and the music is wonderful. With the possible exception of the rock ‘n roll song (honestly, why can’t they get that one right?), the music is never that sort of uptempo elevator music you get in a Denise Austin workout (no offense Denise- I’ll always love you). The editing is great- I didn’t catch any moments where suddenly the dancer on screen is doing the complete opposite of what I’m doing, even though I KNOW I stayed on the beat. You need like an 8’x8’ space to do these workouts, but you could modify them if you’re working with less space. Quick Start: Loretta and Hermann take you through the basic moves. There were only a couple of moves I didn’t recognize from previous Zumba incarnations, so if you’re a pro, you could easily skip this part. If you’re new to Zumba, I strongly encourage you to take the time (39 minutes) to learn the steps. They show you the moves full speed, then slow it down so you can learn it. 20 Minute Express: Nick is the host. There isn’t a warm up, unless you count the first song, and no cool down. There’s also no option to turn off the vocal cues. Compared to the 20 minute routines from the earlier Zumba sets, I found this one to be not nearly as intense. It’d be perfect to use on a day when you know you should get up and move but you don’t want to kill yourself. Zumba Step: This is Zumba’s new baby- the Rizer. The Rizer itself is a step about 4” tall, 16” wide, hard plastic, and weighs about 3 lbs. Unless you really try, you won’t tip it over. There are nubs on top to keep you from sliding off. I ignored the instructions and used it barefoot, with no problems. The only potential problem I could see is if your feet get sweaty- it might get slippery. Beto hosts, and there is the option to turn off the voice over. There are four other All Stars with him, all ladies with MUSCLE in their legs. It’s refreshing to see. 45 minutes, including a cool down. The workout is fantastic- it’s not just a basic step routine. There’s a bit of dancing, and plenty of leg sculpting moves. However, if you’re like me and lift relatively heavy weights for your lower body, this might be too easy for you. But if you’re new to sculpting, this is perfect. 30 Minute Burn: Simply excellent. Gina is the host, and a different All Star joins her for each song. Sadly missing is Tanya, my favorite dancer from the previous sets. There’s no option to turn off the vocal cues, but Gina hardly talks at all. High energy routine- you will sweat. It’s fast, but relatively easy to follow along. No cool down, but the final song moves slow. Amazing Abs: About 17 minutes, no warm up or cool down. You should definitely stretch afterward. This is adapted from Beto’s Sentao routine from Exhilarate, and takes place mostly in a chair. There are dance moves sprinkled throughout. You do have the option to turn off the voice over. If you don’t usually work your abs, this is probably going to leave you sore the next day, primarily in your obliques. Super Cardio Dance Party: 55 minutes, including cool down. Kass, Steve, and Ricardo take turns leading. You have the option to turn off the vocal cues. There is a Learn the Steps section that only lasts about 5 minutes and frankly, I skipped it entirely. The routine does a nice job of balancing super fast “Oh my gosh, I’m going to die” songs with slightly slower songs to let you recover. Each song includes cardio bursts, wherein the picture turns black and white and you get to really exhaust yourself with a high intensity move for 30 seconds. This one may be tough to follow at first, but stick with it. As long as you keep moving in time with the music, you’re golden. Overall, it’s amazing to see how far Zumba has come. They’re much more polished now than they were in the early days, but they’ve maintained their Latin flair. If you stick with it, you WILL see results. At the very least, you’ll become a better dancer. Your hips will move in ways you didn’t think were possible. So yes, you should buy this. Join the party!