Bellydance Fitness for Beginners - Arms, Abs, Hips, Buns & Thighs

short version: I've owned this for three years. Product works if you use it. The music is wonderful and even you, yes you, the one that has no rhythm. Even you will start to intuitively/instinctively move to the music. It'll take a few times, but you'll be a natural in no time. Buy Basic Moves + Fat Burning if you want to get moving with bellydance moves and are completely new to the idea of dancing to lose weight. Buy Arms, Abs, Hips, Buns, Thighs if you are a little more familiar to the concept. Buy both if you want some variety. Do not buy if you are respectably in shape or you not a beginner to bellydance. Long version: When I bought this, weighed at least 298 pounds (135 kilos). I had seen a late-night infomercial for some sort of dancing for fitness thing. Anyways, since then I've lost 50 pounds so far and I have another 100 to go (23 kilos lost, 46 to go). I want to share that with you to brag a little bit, but also more importantly show that when you eat right and use this DVD, you WILL LOSE WEIGHT. I was extremely out of shape from desk jobs and I wanted to do something fun and not feel embarrassed at a gym like Curves, but also low-intensity so I didn't feel like dying after two minutes. My very first time following AAHBT was about the 5th time with the twins' video (I had been using BM+FB up to that point). I sort of followed along a little bit, but the exercises were just too much for my weak flabby body. I was very unhealthy and couldn't even keep up. Around my fourth or fifth time, I was able to complete it one of the workouts. Around my 7th time, I could do both consecutively. 'Arm and Abs' is low-intensity exercises based off of bellydance for your arms and midriff. 'Hips, Buns, and Thighs' is medium-intensity exercises based off of bellydance for your lower half. Obviously, you should know that this is for unhealthy people who need to stick their toes into exercise and ease into it. You will not learn how to bellydance, per se, but you will definitely feel like you are. The narrator's voice is quite pleasant and it is not either of the twins. You can turn it off if you want. The narrator is less 'exercise-y' about it. By that, I mean she is not continuously repeating the numbers of the reps, nor is she explaining HOW to do the moves very much. Since the twins do not speak throughout the video, you will either love or hate this. Basically, the narrator is there is keep you motivated to complete the workout in a calm way. I prefer it like this, but I did find that about my sixth time of working out, I then had some muscles and those muscles realized I had been doing half the workout in a bad/lazy way and then I really felt the burn one I self-learned the right way to do it. If you have a full-length mirror you could pause and compare I guess. I lost weight (~20 pounds) and built muscle over two months with this through exercise alone (totally was still eating garbage food). Girly muscle is great, being ripped is not! I stopped caring though and gained it all back. About two years passed and then I renewed my determination to be healthy. This time I've lost about 50 pounds and I'm still not tired of BM+FB and AAHBT bellydance videos. Since I own all three, this next part is to compare this one to the other two. I do Arms, Abs, Hips, Buns, Thighs 2-4 times a week and it is a little more 'workout'. It has some more focused exercises compared to Basic Moves. In other words, BM+FB is closer to actual bellydancing than the AAHBT video. I still have been unable to complete Fat Burning of BM+FB; I'm still 100lbs. overweight and there's some intense jumping/bobbing moves in it and my fat rolls just can't handle it. So in my opinion, I'm only got half a video with content I can't use yet. I do Basic Moves 2-4 times a week. The whole third video, Slim Down, I can't say much. It falls into the 'too fat for it' like Fat Burning. I've tried to follow along because I paid for it, but it's too much. Also, in Slim Down the narrator changed and she's all... exercise-y and stuff. She counts the reps and takes all of the fun out of it, making it a workout chore instead of a fun dance. I only play Slim Down with her voice turned off and unfortunately, without a mellow voice to keep me going, I quit before I'm tired. You can search for these videos on YouTube and they have been uploaded in ten-minute intervals. If you like what you see, consider the purchase. I am grateful that I purchased BM+FB and AAHBT. I do recommend them to others. However, you might find this easy or boring if you are doing fast-pased workouts like calisthenics.

I love this video. It is very much a workout video, so if you are JUST looking to learn bellydance I would reccomend something else. While I do have an interest in learning bellydance, this is a workout with bellydance influences to keep it FUN and sexy! The only thing about it, and this makes me feel a little silly, is that for a while I didn't notice that there were TWO different workout chapters. The first is arms and abs, and the second is hips, buns, and thighs. I guess I didn't notice for a while because I would hit "play all" and after arms and abs, there would be a cool down and then the credits would play. One day instead of turning it off like usual, I got distracted with something else and let it play, then I heard a workout I hadn't done before play after all those credits and everything was done. Oops! So I thought that was kind of a strange set up, but I'm new to work out videos, so maybe this is normal. But now that I know that's how it works, I like it. Both workouts are about 30 mins. So it helps manage your time if you're short on it for whatever needs more work. Arms and abs is very fun, you definitely feel the resistance but it's a little bit more relaxing and toning. Hips, buns, and thighs is still fun but more intensive, this is when I start to sweat and feel more of the cardio. Easy to follow, fun, and with commitment will yield beautiful results.

Make no mistake: this is a workout video with bellydance moves, not a bellydance video. It will teach you some bellydance moves, but it will not make you into a bellydancer; you'll need another video (or a real-life instructor) for that! First off, Neena and Veena are both pleasant instructors, with nice attitudes in their introductions. Their choice of outfits is also good, as both are wearing simple sports bras and leggings with a small hip scarf; this makes it easy to follow their movements without distracting costumes getting in the way. (Amusingly, they're not identical dancers. One is smoother with her hips, the other with her arms. It's interesting to see how they vary in their styles.) Their smiles look a bit forced after a while, but one can hardly blame them for having tired cheeks. The moves are simple and easy to follow, though the faceless narrator isn't the best at giving cues, so you really have to watch the twins to see what they're doing. You do definitely need some coordination, especially when first getting the hang of the moves, as a lot of time is not spent on each one before moving on to the next and they're not broken down well in the instruction. Some positions are also named but not explained, such as the Cleopatra positions. This won't matter after the first go-through, but it makes it more difficult initially. The production values are mediocre. It doesn't much matter in the exercise portion, but I find that the bonus dance segments and their intricate costumes suffer from some blurring and pixelization. Overall, despite my complaints, I rather like this video. It doesn't make you sweat, but you'll be feeling the muscles you use. Experienced dancers or people looking for a more hard-core workout probably won't find much here, but most other people should find it more than satisfactory.

You need to know what you are getting here. What you are not getting is a bellydance tape that will teach you how to perform bellydance. What you will get is a FUN bellydance inspired workout that will help tone and tighten the body. This DVD was in fact my first "bellydance" purchase. It motivated me to begin losing nearly 50 lbs., ignited a passion in to to start taking bellydance lessons, and to see myself as graceful and as a DANCER. A year and a half later, I have zillions of bellydance tapes...I still put in this one to tone and condition my body. The additional dancing performance segments at the end of the DVD helped me to keep going with my dance and pursue it with passion. Do you want to connect with your feminine beauty, strength, and embrace yourself exactly as you are? Start here. It's a good beginning....

I wanted a DVD that would really teach belly dance movements and also provide aerobic exercise. This DVD provided everything I was looking for. Each movement was broken down and demonstrated by Neena and Veena--and there were side views as well as facing forward views so that one could get a clear picture of the desired movement. The directions are provided by an unseen narrator which allows the two women to just concentrate on demonstrating the movement being instructed. I also liked the inclusion of floor exercises and the thorough warm up and cool down sections. I have purchased a couple other belly dance (for beginner) DVDs and after using them once or twice, never went back because the movements were not thoroughly taught before another was presented. Rewinding a DVD is counter-productive when attempting to do a physical workout. With Bellydance Fitness, rewinding is not necessary. I highly recommend this video. This was also the opinion of the woman who teaches the bellydance aerobics class I take.

This is definitely a fun workout, but it is more of a dance-inspired workout than a dance workout. I mean, they have you do floor exercises, like crunches, and the only real difference is some flippy hand movements and the like. It's also a bit redundant to have two of them demonstrating; I know they're sisters and this is what they do, but do we really need to watch twins doing the exact same thing? I'd rather have a closer-up shot of one woman the whole time. I don't like how there aren't any pauses whatsoever between moves. The narrator could give more instruction (I particularly was unimpressed with one transition in the "hips, buns, and thighs" section where they switched to another exercise without even telling me; I was concentrating on moving, not watching the screen, and I didn't realize they'd moved on until I heard the narrator say "down down down" and realized they were doing hip drops) and tips for proper movement. Perhaps it's because I'm not as in shape as I could be, but I found myself wearing out and wishing there was a short period of stretching after some particularly strenuous moves. There are also some exercises that are NOT good for someone with a bad back (one where you are on the floor, sitting, and then you prop yourself on your hands and lift your rear off the floor and hold it for about five minutes. Definitely too much of a strain, especially for a "beginner" video). And others that are supposedly for "abs" seem to put more strain on the arms (holding yourself up) and neck (holding your head up) than anything else. Still, the dancing parts are really fun. Hip drops, hip and ribcage swiveling, and plenty of arm moves. It's worth a try.

I discovered Neena and Veena back in the VHS days and had their 4 pack box set which included the Arms and Abs, and Hips, Buns and Thighs. I used to workout to them all the time and was one of the few workout videos that I stuck with because it was fun as well as feeling that it was working. I do a lot of outdoor activity so it tends to be my winter workout routine. I got out of practice and recently pulled out this DVD which I had bought when I'd worn out one of the VHS tapes (since given the others away to a friend). I can't believe I had stopped doing these workouts. It's like seeing old friends and I'm enjoying working out again instead of dreading it. They make it fun and you can feel that it is working the next day without being in pain (I hate the "no pain, no gain" attitude of so many workout plans).

This is my very first exposure to belly dance, I am an absolute beginner and I was highly disappointed. Enough so that I took the time to write this review. As has been said in previous reviews the twins are a pleasure to look at, the moves they perform are graceful and sensual. Unfortunately my moves were not. There is NO direction from the narrator as to what to do and when to do it. "Up and UP and up and circle circle circle" hand in hand with "up and down, front and back" etc is all that you get. I like to be reminded to "engage those abs" and as a beginner I believe you need the reminders as well as the knowledge of steps of the movement you are trying to achieve. I am not one step closer to knowing those magical belly dance hands I see them do, or how to maintain proper posture while performing these moves. I never knew which way to rock my hips and ended up arching my back beyond normal in order to achieve these ominous chest thrust movements that I have no name for because the video never even said what they were called or what exactly I was supposed to be focusing on. I know I was doing the movements wrong, I could feel it but again, there is no hand holding in this video. At the end of my workout I have a sore lower back, I've wasted an hour of my precious workout time, not to mention my $10. If you're a true beginner do yourself a favor and buy a video that instructs the proper technique and has step by step moves. That's what I'm about to do.

This product does what it says on the tin! It gives you a fitness program based on bellydance moves, not to be confused with a bellydance instructional dvd. It comprises two workouts, one for arms and abs, and the other for hips, buns and thighs. You have a brief warm up for each program and then right into the exercises. The arms and abs program really is effective at getting the heart rate up, because your heart has to work harder when your arms are over your heart level. The twins spend about the first 15 minutes with arm exercises, and then move down to the floor for some traditional abdominal crunches and oblique work. Then lastly of course is the cool down segment. As always, at the end of the workout portion of the program, one of the twins does a solo performance. This program is no impact, gentle, and yet very effective. There are Veronic arms, snake arms and some side to side arms as well that would be like trying to stir up the water when you are in it. Also included in the program is a nice selection of moves for the ribs, including chest undulations (which of course work the abs). The hips and thighs portion of this DVD is also great. You start off sitting on the floor, and stretching out your muscles from the hips down to the toes. You move onto doing leg lifts, which work the adductor muscles (inner thigh) and then switch legs to work the abductors (outer thigh muscles). Then you stand for hip circles, and hip lifts and hip drops, along with some gluteal squeezes and then a bit more floor work and a cool down. I found the second workout to also work the abs. Both programs do get the heart rate up to a safe target range, and do not be deceived by how gentle it all looks if you are just watching it rather than participating. I like that this DVD is essentially a total body workout, as you have the two separate workouts for upper and lower body. I also like that you get two benefits for the price of one, muscle toning and strengthening AND cardiovascular. I recommend that if you do these workouts, that you do them one of two ways, either do arms and abs one day and hips buns and thighs the next, or if you have about an hour, do the whole thing in one session. Each segment is approximately 30 minutes (one is 33 minutes and the other is 31 minutes) starting from the FBI warning and go see your doctor warning to the end credits which has the solo bellydance performance. These two workouts were originally separate VHS tapes and then they were put together on a DVD. I have all of their Bellydance Fitness for Beginners workouts (which means 3 DVDs), Basic Moves/Fat Burning, and Slim Down. If you are looking to learn Bellydance as a dance, then I recommend their Discover Bellydance series which has three programs, Basic Dance, Beyond Basic Dance, and Mystic Dance. These three were also sold as Sensual Art of Bellydance. These workouts are an effective, sensual and feminine way to exercise. They promote cardiovascular benefits as well as toning, and flexibility. I highly recommend all of their Bellydance Fitness For Beginners. This series is a nice alternative to mainstream aerobics. If you live in a flat you don't have to worry about annoying your neighbours because unlike traditional aerobics, you do these programs in your bare feet or sock feet. So you won't be stomping about or jumping around making a lot of noise. The best part is that you don't need any equipment. This is a no excuses workout that gives a lot of energy - much better than drinking coffee!

Great exercices and fun to watch the twins since I am a twin, which makes this super special to me.

I love this DVD. The girls make the moves easy to understand and even though I am not that skilled at the dance moves, I felt good in myself that I had managed to achieve some of them. I will keep using the DVD as it is fun exercise to do when you have a spare 30 minutes. Pleased with my purchase. Thank you

This is exactly what I wanted, and am very satisfied with the product and also with the time frame that the transaction was concluded.

I found this dvd helpful. I found it very difficult but very rewarding. Even if you are not getting it right all the time it doesnt matter as its all good fun and you still feel the results. This dvd is good for beginners to bellydancing and fitness