Review: Ministry of Sound: Pump it up! The Ultimate Dance Workout

I got the very popular 'Ministry of Sound - Pump it Up! The Ultimate Dance Workout' DVD recently. The DVD is choreographed by Deanne Berry who is also the instructor in the video. A fun fact about the DVD is that the dancers in the DVD also feature in the hit single 'Call on Me' by Eric Prydz. That would explain why the ladies in the DVD are dressed the way they are!

First off - this is the best workout music I've ever heard. Its fun, energetic and gets you in the mood to workout even on the dullest of days. All the steps have been made to co-ordinate with the music. The dancers are slim, dance well and are very inspirational. But you know they are only human because they make quite a few mistakes and check each other out often to see if they are doing it right! It can be a little annoying but I think you can just ignore that anyway. Though it makes me wonder if they hadn't rehearsed enough. Apart from the skimpy costumes and sexy pouts, this is a serious and fantastic workout.

The DVD is broken into 4 sections:

Heat - This is the 10 minute warm-up section that starts off with really simple aerobic exercises. It gets your body warmed up but I found that the squats and lunges hurt my knees. Now I just skip the squats and just do some spot-jogs instead.

Dance it out - The next section is the very fun 20 minute Dance it out section. Instructor Deanne Berry takes you through some very groovy music and moves but also manages to get you out of breath in no time. I found it particularly effective in toning the hips. She throws in some sexy salsa steps, but it slows down the pace a bit too much for my liking. The pace picks up again towards the end and leaves you panting.

Pump it up! - The third section is the challenging high energy workout for 20 minutes. This section involves a lot of jumping, leg - lifts and high impact exercises. It's no doubt very effective if you want to lose weight fast, but it's extremely strenuous. Be careful not to hurt your knees when you do this section. The music is fast-paced and gets you moving. I did find the last 10 minutes of the section a tad boring with a lot of moves from the video 'Call on me' thrown in. I feel its a bit boring to do but its a good cool down after the high impact jumping.

Bums and Tums - I know...bums and tums? Really? But don't be fooled by the silly name this section has got. It's a killer workout for your, er, bum and tums. That's of course, your belly and buttocks. This section has strength-training exercises; push-ups, sit-ups, crunches and ab-holds - all crucial to complement the cardio training you get from the first three sections of the video. I never miss this section because it's great to tone the arms, chest, stomach and buttocks.

Chill - The DVD finishes off with a 15 minute cool down that has a few yogic postures and Pilates moves that stretch your body well. I found it a bit too long. After you've finished sweating it out and you're all out of breath, 15 minutes of more stuff is a bit too much to do. But this is very important to prevent injury so I never skip it.

The whole DVD runs for an hour and 17 minutes. Its a little long, so try to set your own pace otherwise you might land up with an injury. The steps are tough for beginners so do exercise caution while trying out the steps. Deanne does not explain the steps but then, she doesn't need to as you just need to watch and follow. You may even end up adding your own style to the steps. Do modify the steps and make it a little easier on yourself. Overall, the DVD is a good buy for someone who is serious about losing weight but can't go out or to a gym.