This multilevel class is safe for and accessible to beginners, and just right for intermediates. Three of Fonda's able and motivating instructors teach the 45-minute step class. Half the room does lower-intensity moves; the other uses higher steps and higher-intensity techniques. The teaching technique is excellent: a pattern is taught on the floor before taking it up on the step. One participant does the routines totally without the step to guide beginners or others who don't feel comfortable using the step. The patterns never get very complex, but they are varied enough to keep you interested and energized, and you can adjust your step height to make the workout harder if you wish. The instructors cue seamlessly. Fonda herself teaches the 10-minute abdominal segment, with enough variations of the standard crunch to keep your abs contracting and your mind engaged. --Joan Price

Average Customer Review: ( 83 customer reviews )
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The ab workout makes this video well worth seeking out. Fonda
does an excellent job explaining the moves, especially how to
breath during the crunches. I used to be confused on the correct
breathing procedure during abdominal crunches. Often, I would
unconsciously hold my breath. After using this video, I know
the correct breathing plus correct arm placement for all my
ab workouts!

16 of 16 found the following review helpful:

A great workout.Feb 08, 2001
By G. Sawaged
Don't listen to those detractors of this exercise video. I consider myself an intermediate, and I find it a great routine. I have been doing this tape on and off for years now, and I am not bored with it. In fact after you really get to know the routine and steps, it's a lot of fun, and there are certainly enough ways in which you can challenge yourself. Beginners can start on the floor before advancing to the step. And once you are using the step you can increase the height as you get fitter. Plus there are different levels of intensity that you can follow, for example, bigger arm movements or higher knee or leg lifts, plus you can do high impact moves as opposed to lower impact. The instructors are friendly and helpful, and each movement is easy enough to follow so you're not falling over your feet all the time (which can lead to injury) like some exercise tapes I've done. The final 10 minutes you get a one-on-one with Jane for a great ab workout that really works. This is a workout that will make you feel and look wonderful. Recommended.

11 of 11 found the following review helpful:

Totally Unhip, but totally worksAug 08, 2004
By J. Harris
I agree with another reviewer... this is not an exciting workout, but I have been coming back to this workout time and again for over 10 years. This routine goes by so quickly and doesn't kill you, yet you get fit so soon! Start off by using "no step" a few times and before you know it, you are putting everything you have into it with the step.

I rarely did the abs part of the workout because I am always crunched for time. Also, this workout NEVER hurt my back. I quit this out of sheer boredom and tried the firm for 9 months and really killed my back. I've just gone back to Jane and will probably never leave her again!

10 of 10 found the following review helpful:

Too basic, and too easyNov 18, 2004
By poshbecky "EJ"
The ab work after the main step/cardio workout is absolutely fabulous. As always Jane Fonda is great at instructing and the ab work is really hard but really worth it, as you almost can feel your abs shaping and toning up during this section.
But the step workout could be a lot better. The coreography is way too simple if you have been stepping for years. And I found that the stepping section was just way too easy for an advanced excerciser like me.
Try the other Jane Fonda video, step and stretch, for a better and more challenging step workout!

9 of 9 found the following review helpful:

Excellent Step Workout!Dec 09, 2002
By J. Edwards
I bought my aeorbic step about a month ago. This was the first step video I tried. I chose this workout video because I wanted to try step aeorbics, and Jane Fonda is the leader in workout videos.

This workout is fun and effective! I consider myself to be in pretty good shape and this workout makes me sweat buckets! The step portion of the video lasts for 45 minutes. Jane is not in the step class, but it feels as if she's there. The 45 minutes of stepping goes by really fast. The moves are fairly simple to learn. I'm very uncoordinated, so it did take me about 5 or 6 times of doing this video to catch on to the choreography. However, if you are the least bit coordinated, it shouldn't take you as long as it did me to catch on.

The workout starts with a five-minute warmup. Then the stepping is taught by three instructors who take turns leading: Laurel, Jeannie, and Mark. I like all three instructors, although I must say that I think Mark could have been a little better with his cueing during one particularly difficult (for me) sequence. Otherwise, I think they all did a fine job. After the step aerobics, Jeannie leads a cool down.

Jane is alone while she leads the 10-minute abdominal class at the end of the tape. These ab exercises are quite challenging without being extremely difficult. I love the way Jane teaches. She's very encouraging without being phony.

I enjoy this tape much more that the Step Reebok video that came with my step! At least the people in Jane's video look as if they're having fun and want to be there. I think this video would be good for beginners through advanced, and especially good for intermediates. If you are advanced, you'll probably have to raise your step up to the highest level, and then it would be perfect.

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