Review: Paula Abdul - Get up and Dance workout DVD

Paula Abdul's Get up and Dance workout DVD came out in 1995 but is in no way outdated. I have been working out to her DVD since January of 2010. This DVD has been brought out by Paula Abdul, singer and former judge on American Idol.

The DVD is essentially a Dance workout DVD. So you won't really find any exercise techniques, but a lot of different dance movements which get you moving and shaking every part of your body, especially the legs, making it a very effective cardio workout. The DVD is broken down into 6 sections, an Introduction and set of Instructions, Warm up, 3 sections of 3 dance steps each, a fun YMCA section and a cool down.

I read quite a few reviews of the DVD and a frequent complaint is that the steps are too hard to learn and that this DVD is good only for people who already know how to dance. I do agree that the steps can be a little difficult to master at first, but it's really not that hard to learn. A couple of days in and you should be able to figure it out soon enough. And you can always pause and rewind and learn the steps. In fact, the most fun part is learning the steps because they are real dance moves and make you feel good about learning actual dance steps and not just some aerobic exercises masquerading as dance. I'm no great shakes at dancing myself, but I managed to learn the steps in just about a month, and I'm really having fun dancing to the DVD since then. I really think it is worth putting in a little bit of effort in learning the steps because it really pays off eventually with the weight loss and muscle toning.

I did find the routine too challenging though. Even after a year of intermittent workouts I still find myself struggling to cope with the pace of the dancers. So I just modify the steps to suit my pace. I don't jump as much as the dancers in the DVD do, which suits me just fine.

The DVD is fantastic to lose weight, learn dancing and feel great about yourself. It has some upbeat music which will make you move even in the worst of moods and is guaranteed to make you feel fantastic about yourself the entire day.

Paula Abdul is a fantastic instructor. She is sweet, energetic and encouraging and a fantastic dancer! I loved the steps and have a ball dancing to it. In the end however, there are too many sit-ups she makes us do, which kind of makes my stomach and neck. Guess you must work at your own pace there if you want to avoid injury.

Other than that, I can find absolutely no faults with the dance DVD. Paula advises you to do it at least 3-5 times a week but I think just 3 days is enough to knock you out. Paula Abdul's Get up and Dance is undoubtedly the best workout dance DVD I have come across, and is extremely effective to lose weight and shape and tone your whole body. It does its work very well and in the process turns you into a decent enough dancer too!