Vintage Fitness Review: Denise Austin Hips, Thighs and Buttocks

 There is not a date or year anywhere associated with this video, judging by the listing on Denise's Wikipedia it would have to be pre-1988, and the musical selections' timing would coincide with this timeframe. 

Business woman intro is back! 

This workout is quite a bit more inspiring due to the increase in production all around: sky-blue tinted studio with multi-colored 80s geometric shapes on the walls, a crew of aerobics buddies for Denise all in cool-colored leotards, Denise in hot pink, an orchestrated soundtrack (heavy on the synthesizer) of upbeat 80s hits, and a multi-camera setup that allows a few different views of the action. Hair and makeup are pure 80s perfection.  

Here are the highlights: 

1. Warm up is easy enough, done to instrumental arrangement of "How Will I Know?" by Whitney Houston. This is the only part of the workout that is not challenging, at least the first time through.

2. First floor segment has several stretches and exercises directly on one or both knees, which was too much pressure for me, so those had to be done carefully and lightly, even on a carpet. If there is a move that needs adapting or certain instructions with it, Denise does come on in a little aside segment to explain it, which is helpful, but anyone with knee soreness or sensitivity will want to skip those, regardless. 

3. The hip/ outer thigh workout is challenging (also on the knees) but better with the hand on the ground for support. These exercises are difficult; by the time the reps are finished you are SORE but you do feel accomplished. This segment is done to an arrangement of "Borderline," by Madonna.

4. Buttocks exercises similar to above; challenging but doable. Song unknown, sounded as if it might be one of Rick Astley's less popular selections, or just a drum machine with some programmed chord progressions. 

5. Outer and inner thigh workout a good challenge; the buttocks and hips you've already exhausted in the previous exercises cry out even more here. The knee-and-toe nearly ruined me, but I stayed with it. "Caribbean Queen," by Billy Ocean was the arrangement during this segment.

6. Butt work on the floor requires a lot less exertion, thank goodness. The movements are small but seem effective for the glutes while the legs and hips finally get a break. "Holiday," by Madonna. 

Cool down actually really pleasant as the stretches do feel good on the muscles used in the workout. 30 minutes from start to finish, so not a huge amount of time to devote to a fun, focused set of exercises. I found that switching this between some of the lower-impact 30 minute television shows was not exactly enough to burn the calories I wanted together with my morning walks, but switching this with one of the dance routine videos or even the higher impact ones would make for a good combination. My legs started feeling looser and stronger after doing it only twice. 

I liked this video. I liked the look of it, the 80s music, and the exercises, which I'd put at an intermediate level of difficulty. Check this one out!