Xtreme fitness with Phil

[loverly7]

These dvds have always interested me but were always out of stock. I signed up for their alerts and just received an email that they have some available. I just ordered all three today. Thought I would share for others interested. The website is http://www.xtremefitnesswithphil.com

[alydinva]

Here is a thread from when he came out with his first DVD.
http://forum.videofitness.com/showth...t=hip+hop+step

[owltx]

Does anyone have anything to report regarding the sequel? I tried a couple of his you tube videos but it is hard to tell how those differ from the workout videos. For example, does he lead, or does he walk around a lot? In the workout DVDs, can you clearly hear his voice?

[adawn]

I remember being somewhat disappointed with the step dvd he first came out with-- Xtreme Hip Hop (never actually did it though, just previewed). I should have actually tried it, but a lot was too high impact for me right now like the jumping jacks, jumping on and off the step with both feet, and the fast feet tapping the step as you go 360 degrees around the entire step (for example). And some of the moves were done too fast for me to be able to do at this point in my fitness journey.

I also didn't like that such a big group was stepping together. I'm used to about 5 people max like in Cathe's step workouts with 3 rows total including the instructor by him/herself in the first row.* There must have been about 15 people in Phil's workut, 4 rows, and there was at least 3 or 4 people in the same row first row as Phil. And sometimes it felt like the camera was too far back (in order to get them all in one shot?). Other times the camera was closer. A contributing factor to the screen feeling too crowded may have been the fact that everyone was wearing black---different outfits, but in black. Again, I was previewing on my laptop so maybe it's better on a tv screen.

The music was obviously not as good as in the youtube video I had seen previously. I knew it wouldn't be as good because it's too expensive to get music rights, but still. I wasn't overly thrilled although it wasn't terrible. My main issues were the high impact moves, the speed of some of the moves, and the large stepping group.

There was a person in the front row doing the whole workout on the floor without a step which was nice.

*Yes, Karen Voight's Energy Sprint and Kathy Smith's Great Buns & Thighs have a larger group than a Cathe video, but the people/steps in those ones are set pretty far apart and it's rare that you can see everyone in one shot (people off to the sides are often cut off).

[zraipel]

I purchased this when it first came out, and posted my thoughts on here back then, but mostly I agree with the feeling of the screen being too crowded. Back then, I only had a 24" TV, and because of the number of people on the screen and the camera being so zoomed out to get everyone in frame, and everyone wearing black, I couldn't really see what they were doing on my small screen. I ended up trading it away.

I think the workout looked like it would have been fun if I could have seen the moves in more detail. I now have a larger TV, so am thinking about trying this one again!

[Lori_Michigan]

I only have the first step one, and it was a huge disappointment. The music wasn't the same as in his youtube channel (although *tons* better than the instrumental boringness in Cathe's newest), but it was the lack of/inconsistent cueing that I had a problem with. It was also much higher impact than I thought, and just didn't flow. But I really enjoyed the big group, so go figure. This one also has some weights at the end, and I liked that portion the best. I don't think I've done it since I originally received it; I should it try it again...

[owltx]

Thanks you guys this helps. I think I will pass for now. I would love to go to a class with him in person at some point; looks like so much fun!