Promoted as the workout that gives you a six-pack without ever doing a single crunch, Hip Hop Abs combines infectious music with the kinds of dance moves you'll see in modern media. As stylish as this program's presentation is, it's far from a fad workout; it combines solid principles of cardio training to burn fat, and core workouts -- on your feet, as promised -- to tone your abs. The combination of up-tempo workouts and sound fitness principles is hard to resist.
Basic Elements
The original Hip Hop Abs workout package includes a short instructional DVD, two cardio DVDs and one DVD centered on sculpting your abs without doing a single crunch, even though this is the stated premise for the entire workout series. The workout package also comes with a nutrition guide, workout calendar, online support and a measurement card and tape measure to help you track your progress. Bonus materials include an extra DVD for sculpting your hips, buns and thighs, and two extra hip-hop dance routines. More Hip Hop Abs DVDs are available for purchase if you like the program enough to continue.
Basic Cardio Exercise Guidelines
Hip Hop Abs follows the same basic format you'll find in almost any group fitness class, and the same format you should use to conduct your own workouts: Warm up, work out, cool down. The warm-up gives your body a chance to adapt to the demands you're about to place on it, literally warming and limbering your muscles and joints. The cool-down gives your heart a chance to adapt back to a state of rest, and is also the perfect time to include stretching to increase flexibility, reduce after-workout soreness and reduce your risk of injury.
Duration
The American College of Sports Medicine recommends that healthy adults should do 20 minutes of vigorous cardio three times weekly, or 30 minutes of moderate cardio five times weekly. Both the Fat Burning Cardio and Total Body Burn DVDs can meet these recommendations, although you'd need to work out at an intense level to get a full workout session from the former. Cumulative sessions add up, so if you can't do a full workout session at one time, you can get similar benefits by splitting your workouts into 10-minute or longer sessions throughout the day.
Intensity
You're in complete control of how hard you work out with Hip Hop Abs. You can walk through the more difficult moves -- or you can attack them with high intensity. Aim for at least a moderate-intensity workout: Your heart rate should elevate and you should break a sweat, but you should still be able to carry on a basic conversation. If you work out hard enough that you breathe hard and can still talk, but only a few words at a time, you're working out at a vigorous level. If you want to see continuing results, keep working out harder to maintain the same intensity level as your abilities increase.
Fun Factor
Although it might seem superfluous, the "fun factor" is critically important when choosing an exercise program. If you can find an activity that you enjoy doing, you're more likely to put in extra effort and stick with it over time. Although Hip Hop Abs might not appeal to all sensibilities, the chance to practice exciting dance moves in the privacy of your own home encourages you to feel fabulous instead of self-conscious.
