Tracey Mallett's FuseDance Cardio Melt DVD: A Review

photo from TraceyMallett.com

From the DVD:

FuseDance Cardio Melt is an exhilarating high energy low impact workout, incorporating a fluid fusion of dance styles from salsa, jazz, funk and ballet mixed with athletic fitness moves that are easy to master and gentle on the joints.

Your heart will pump, your body will pulse, your energy will soar, but most importantly, you'll forget you're actually burning mega calories because you're having so much fun!

My Overall Rating of this workout: B+

Production Quality: 5/5
Fun Factor:              3/5
"Burn" Factor         2/5
Instructor:                5/5
Value:                       5/5

Workout Level: Beginner/Intermediate
Workout Length: 30 Minutes (2 Workouts)
Equipment Required: 3 and/or 5 lb weights

This DVD is broken down into 2 workouts, each 30 minutes long. I own many of Tracey Mallett's DVD's (primarily the Booty Barre collection), and find her workouts fun, energetic and inspiring.

PROS:

• Instructor is upbeat, inspiring and fun
• Dance moves integrated to make the workouts pass quickly, but steps are simple enough for those with little to no dance background

CONS:

• Routines are fairly easy, "sweat factor" lower than many of Tracey Mallett's other DVD's (primarily her Booty Barre collection)
• Even though this is touted as "low impact", I would describe it rather as "medium impact." One must be careful during many of the moves. I have prior knee surgery, and found myself at times exercising with caution due to impact to my knees and wrists.

Workout 1: Interval Fat Burn

This is the Dance Cardio workout. There are elements of ballet, jazz, and modern dance in this workout, but the moves are quite easy, and will be appropriate for anyone with no dance background. She does use technical terms, however it's easy to follow her moves for those unfamiliar with the terms.

This workout is fun and fairly easy, but gets the heart rate going. I enjoyed it, but prefer more high-intensity dance cardio (such as Zumba.) This is a good workout for beginners or for those days when an easier workout is desired. These workouts can also be performed together for an all over work out with light cardio.

This workout transitions into the "Total Toned Body" segment, so be sure to incorporate your own cool-down if this is the only workout you will be doing.


Workout 2: Total Toned Body

This segment is less dance oriented, with athletic/strength moves integrated in between cardio intervals. I would describe this workout as an "intermediate" workout, with modifications available for those that prefer to go the beginner's route.

 I used 5 pound weights, and felt my arms tingling by the end of the workout. This is primarily an upper body workout, with some core work and light leg work.

Overall:

 The choreography is clean, simple, and easy to follow. Tracey Mallett's cuing is excellent, and all women in the video have great chemistry. Tracey has an immaculate body (perfect six-pack!) which is quite inspiring, but she adds 2 "non-dancers" to the mix, which gives a very natural and approachable feel to the routines.

I'm glad I added this DVD to my collection, but I feel that I will be incorporating the Total Toned Body workout much more frequently than the Interval Fat Burn. It's great that there are 2 options on this DVD, so I will still be able to put it to good use.

Many of Tracey Mallett's other workouts are staples in my weekly routine, including Functional Intensity Training and Booty Barre Total New Body. I will be including reviews of those shortly.

For more in-depth reviews or to purchase this DVD, click on the image below.

Top 5 Workouts for the 17 Day Diet

Dr. Moreno recommends at least 17 minutes of exercise a day for those beginning the diet. He does, however, state that everyone is different, therefore you need to adjust the exercise based on the individual. The 1200 calories in Cycle 1 are quite low for most individuals (particularly for those that are already fairly active, such as myself) so I decided to slowly work in intense exercise into my routine and increase as I progress into later cycles of the diet.

I am a huge fan of barre workouts. The barre workout is a blend of ballet, Pilates and yoga, with a major emphasis on core stability and flexibility. Different methods offer barre workouts with a slightly unique approach, however I have found from experience a variety of  barre methods that have provided tremendous results.

Because the barre workouts are intense yet low impact, I find them to be a perfect option to integrate while following this diet. I also add cardio 1x-2x a week, rotating the following barre workouts 3-4 times a week. I am a DVD workout junkie (I have over 60 workout DVD's at home!) and the following are my absolute top picks. The moves seem very simple- but be prepared to sweat!

NOTE: I purchase all of my workout DVD's on Amazon, and I have included a link to the product on the website. Amazon also provides detailed reviews that I have found quite helpful when deciding what products to purchase.

Top 4 Barre Workouts: 

1.  Tracey Mallett: Booty Barre:  Beginners and Beyond

The perfect introduction to barre for beginners, with a booty-kicking workout to boot! Tracey Mallett is a tremendous instructor- she has incredible energy, and her timing is impeccable. Her DVD's are staples in my weekly routines as they score a perfect 10 on all my criteria: production quality, efficiency of the workout, fun factor, and quality of instructor. The short 35 minute workout is incredibly convenient for busy schedules.




2. Physique 57

Exactly a year ago, I decided it was time to discover for myself what the barre fuss was all about. I was also a bit fascinated (yet dubious) reading all of the glowing 5-star reviews on the Physique 57 DVD's, which are one of the top-rated barre workouts on the market. The reviews were right. One week of workouts, and I was hooked. One year later, and I have yet to do barre less than 3 times a week! While I do rotate through different barre workouts, Physique 57 still is a weekly go-to. The main workout is 57 minutes long, but I love the 30-minute Express workouts that I can squeeze in on my busiest days. The instructors are soothing yet encouraging, the workouts challenging, yet fun. And I won't lie- the lifted seat (booty in barre terms) arrived in less than a month of regular workouts! In fact, the long, lean figure and chiseled core is what you will get if you follow the workouts and a practical diet religiously. If only I had started the 17 Day Diet a year ago...!




3. Cathe Friedrich's Low Impact Series: Turbo Barre

A word of caution for barre newbies: this DVD may be low-impact, but it is a killer when it comes to intensity. I do this workout on my day off of work, as it is long (74 minutes) and I know I will be a sweaty mess once I have finished this DVD. The saying "hurts so good" is perfect for this grueling barre workout, but Cathe is engaging and it is hard not to be inspired by the perfectly chiseled bodies working out alongside Cathe. I find this DVD is the most challenging of the bunch I have listed, but even months later I have yet to tire of this workout. And I feel so fantastic after I'm finished!



4. Tracey Mallett: Total New Body

This is perhaps my favorite of all of Tracey Mallett's DVD's. It is a challenging, fun, unique workout, and I feel inspired and energized following. If you were to choose only one DVD out of the five listed here, I would say go with this one! It is 60 minutes long, but the title truly says it all, as it is a total body workout.




Top Cardio Workout

5.  Zumba Exhilarate

I was looking forward to my barre workouts so much every week, but I realized my cardio time was slipping. I needed to find a way to integrate more cardio without having to make the trek to my gym, so I decided to give Zumba a try. I was pleasantly surprised at both the fun-factor and the sweat factor. Sure, it can be cheesy at times, but the feel-good energy it dispenses makes me appreciate the flashy productions and colorful attire. I only do this about once or twice a week, but I find it much more fun and effective than all of my other dance workout DVD's.