Customer Rating: 
Summary: Hip Hop Abs Review
Comment: I have done this Dvd once. It was awful. I will never purchase another
exercise program form this instructor. I'll stick with Gunnar Peterson, Ellen Barrett, and Kathy Smith.
This one was Horrible!!
Customer Rating: Summary: Keep 'em coming, Shaun!
Comment: I love Hip Hop Abs Level 1, but I'd been doing it for nearly eight months and was ready to have some new routines. I know Level 1 backwards and forwards, so I was curious to see how Level 2 would measure up. Gladly, Shaun-T brought the goods!
Fat Burning Cardio Level 2 (43 minutes): Whereas there are only five main combinations in FBC Level 1, there are ten or so in Level 2, which means there's a wider variety of movement and muscle groups that get worked. The progression from one move to another also tends to be faster; in Level 1 Shaun starts with basic core movements, slowly incorporating arm and leg actions, only reaching the "put it together" at tempo after several minutes of build-up. Shaun jumps headfirst into most of the combinations in Level 2, which is no problem if you are familiar with Level 1 because a lot of the moves are similar. (If you haven't tried Level 1, however, you may be a little lost when he just tells you to go to into "Kick It," "Up Rock, "Get Busy," etc.) Not everything is the same, though: there are more difficult variations on Level 1 moves as well as several fun new ones like "Ghetto Stomp," "Booty Pop," and "Washing Machine" (my favorite!). He also incorporates some lower-body movements from Level 1 Total Body Burn and Ab Sculpt as well as Hips, Buns & Thighs. The sustained movement definitely gets you sweating, especially if you do the high-impact version.
Ab Sculpt Level 2 (32 minutes): I found that the key to getting a good burn with this workout is to use weights. The first time I tried it I didn't have weights, and the movements just felt slow and useless (and there's no "Flava" in this workout, which is my favorite part of Ab Sculpt 1). But when I tried this workout again after I'd invested in some 2-lb. weights, it was a whole different story: I suddenly felt the purpose of each movement, and man alive, my whole abdomen *and* my arms were burning like nobody's business. The cardio burn is not as intense as in the other two workouts, but I think overall the muscles in my middle and upper body got the best burn from this routine.
Total Body Burn Level 2 (45 minutes): TBB 2 is about the same length as TBB 1, the main difference being that there is only about five minutes of real mat work at the end of Level 2 as opposed to about ten in Level 1. This routine combines a lot of concentrated muscle workouts with intense cardio, though again most of the moves are just variations on exercises from other routines (there's even a section of the workout called "Cardio You Know"). Some people don't like the repetition of movements, but I think it's fantastic: since I already know the basic movements so well, I can concentrate on the new, harder twists Shaun puts on them.
As always, Shaun is super-energetic throughout the Level 2 workouts and makes each routine a blast. I hope he keeps new Hip Hop Abs workouts coming!
