We tried out the new Kelta Fit! DVD, a traditional Scottish dance workout you can now do at home — it’s easy to learn, physically challenging, and fun for even the most hesitant of dancers (a.k.a. me).
How long have you got? An hour.
How many workouts? Six 9-minute workouts.
What happens? Scottish actress and dancer Francesca Leyland takes you through six sections of workouts set to traditional Celtic dance music. You’ll dance through an aerobic warmup, a slow stretch, basic Scottish stepping, uptempo polka and jigs, and end with a downtempo core routine and a cool down. The dancing sections feel a little bit like grade school physical education at first (did anyone else have to line dance in that class?), since it’s a lot of basic stepping back and forth and walking backwards and forwards, but once it speeds up, you’ll really sweat. The core section at the end brings the tempo way down as you’ll get on the floor for slow, burning ab move like bicycle kicks and russian twists.
Each section begins at a basic level of movement like stepping from left to right with your arms at your sides to slow-paced music, and gives you enough time to learn each step before moving on to an intermediate level. Stepping back and forth becomes jumping back and forth to faster-paced music and you’ll incorporate your arms, lifting them above your head and back down to your sides in time with the music. Once you’re in the intermediate levels, you’ll start to incorporate high knees and kicks as well.
Level of difficulty? 3 levels of difficulty, each of the three dancers uses a different variation of steps, you can follow any one of them. The dance steps are simple, Francesca teaches on a watch-and-learn basis, and every routine starts slowly enough for you to have it down before getting to the nitty-gritty, fast-paced workout.
I wasn’t sore in the morning, but after doing the whole hour’s workout myself and my flatmate were left sweaty, heart pumping and out of breath – this is a real workout and it’s fun. You can choose workout routines by chapter depending on how much time you have.
The dances involve a lot of high kicking and jumping, so during the workout you’re going to feel it in your legs and your butt more than anywhere. The traditional Scottish music (you heard me right — think bagpipes and fiddles) sets the pace for everything so it’s really easy to follow along without going too easy or hard on yourself, even when the music speeds up.
Equipment? If you’re on a hard surface like tile or wood floors, you might want a mat for the core section. Other than that, nothing required but your dancing shoes. And maybe some friends (it’s always more fun that way).
Healthista verdict: If you’re bored of your cardio routine or are up for trying something new, this is it, especially if you want to work your lower body. It feels like a bit of a laugh at first, but once you get into it you’ll realize you’re having way more fun than you intended. Even for me, the world’s most hesitant dancer. Was it a workout? It certainly made me sweat – a lot – and it was so much fun that I (almost) forgot it was a workout routine albeit unlike any I’ve ever done before.
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