Title: Zuzka ZCut ZRopes (Watch it Now Entertainment)
What’s the goal: For the exerciser, the goal is to quickly improve cardiovascular fitness while furiously burning calories alongside online fitness celebrity Zuzka Light. For Light, it’s at least partly to promote her line of branded jump ropes unveiled earlier this year.
Who’s it for: Light’s “warriorZ,” or the exercisers who avidly follow her workout regimens posted to YouTube and her website. Also, intermediate exercisers who want an intense workout, who don’t mind gratuitous “z’s” tacked onto words and who like their jump-rope workouts to consist of a substantial portion of other exercises.
Light offers a workout labeled for beginners and encourages viewers to keep practicing their rope-skipping and other moves until they’re down pat, but beginning exercisers might struggle with this workout’s pace.
Format: The 98-minute DVD comes with an instructional segment followed by six workouts: the first labeled “beginner,” the next numbered 1 through 4, and a final blast titled “Extreme.” The tutorial covers jump-rope basics, form and some footwork variations; how long the rope should be; and how to obtain Light’s jump ropes via her website.
The workouts alternate periods of jumping rope (usually one to two minutes at a time, varying in intensity and footwork) with mountain climbers, burpees, dumbbell thrusters, commando pushups, weighted chair stepups,weighted situps and long jumps, among other exercises.
What’s to like: Light performs each segment in real time without editing out rope-jumping flubs or pauses to catch her breath, and it’s refreshing that exercisers don’t have to feel they’re struggling alone through the workouts.
She keeps the segments quick - about 15 minutes - and intense, producing sweat and a feeling of achievement. Light offers encouraging commentary after each workout. “If you stumble while you’re jump-roping, don’t worry about it, don’t get frustrated,” she says in one of many pep talks.
And, in a nice touch for those who have already become frustrated, a timer in the lower left corner counts down the seconds remaining in each exercise set.
What’s not to like: Since Light is busy exerting herself during the routines, she doesn’t offer many form cues, save in the initial tutorial, or much other commentary until after the workouts. In the “Extreme” workout, she introduces challenging moves, such as pistol squats, without instruction. And, though she mentions that exercisers should bracket their workouts with warmups and cool-downs, including stretches, she doesn’t demonstrate any.
Distractions: Light’s midriff-baring outfits change with each DVD chapter, and when she wears shorts, she tugs the legs back down after virtually every exercise set.
Occasionally the director can be heard speaking off-camera.
When Light gets winded from working out, her Czech-accented words become somewhat difficult to understand.
How’s the scenery: The futuristic-looking workout room resembles a leftover science-fiction movie set, but it’s probably intentionally bland to direct more attention to Light’s abs.
Workout necessities: Jump rope, dumbbells, a sturdy chair and about 6-by-6 feet of floor space.
Can I do it barefoot? No.
Who demonstrates: Zuzka Light touts herself as “America’s favorite online fitness personality,” having gained popularity through her workouts on YouTube and her website, ZuzkaLight.com. As for credentials, she’s a self-taught fitness fiend, not a certified personal trainer.
Price: $9.95
ActiveStyle, Pages 27 on 12/02/2013