Jillina’s Shape Up N Hip Out

This week I’ve been using Jillina’s Shape Up n’ Hip Out DVD on my lunch hour. In the introduction she states it is geared towards the beginner student or professionals wanting to drill, however, I would NOT recommend this DVD for a beginner. There is very little in the way of posture instruction and while she does break down a couple of moves (snake arms for one) she does not break down the more difficult moves (in particular the hegalla, which is one I know even my Advanced students have never learned).

The workout is broken into a warm up, three progressively more intense workouts and a cool down. Each of the three workouts can be done with instruction or music only. In the warm up section, Jillina states that one of the ladies will be doing modified versions of the moves if you need an easier/less intense option. However, I did not notice her doing modified versions in the actual workouts or the cool down, only in the warm up, so I can’t even suggest a beginner use the DVD and follow Heather instead of Jillina. If someone was looking for a 30 minute workout, doing the warm up, one of the workouts and the cool down would get you there. Or you could do the whole thing for an hour long workout.

The Slow and Smooth workout could almost be used as a warm up in and of itself. Nothing is overly sharp and most of the moves are moves I use in my classes as a warm up after we have done our strengthening exercises. Rhythm Hips takes things up a notch and Turbo Hips will definitely get your heart rate up as it’s full of shimmies. Turbo Hips is where I ran across two moves I do not include in my beginner or intermediate curriculum, the Saidi hip drop and the hegalla. In all three workouts, Jillina starts with a small combination of moves and then keeps adding small combinations (two or three moves) until you have a full series. She also starts by doing each small combination at half speed before taking it up to tempo.

Bonus sections on this DVD include outtakes and five performances, two by Jillina and then one by each of the four ladies who are showcased in the workout section. The performances are all very nice and use a variety of props (cane, isis wings, double veil and sword). The outtake section is very brief and more like a montage of behind the scenes in less than two minutes than anything else.

I’m definitely enjoying this DVD as a workout. It gets the heart rate up and keeps you moving. I also really like the fact you can adjust it based on how long you have and how intense you want the workout to be.