Ministry Of Sound: Pump It Up! The Ultimate Dance Workout

The workout is split into sections so you can choose which ones you do- at the moment I am pretty unfit so I was unable to do the high energy section, but I did the normal aerobic section. The moves are easy to pick up, and the workout is physically demanding whilst still being fun to do. The music is suitably energetic to suit the programme, unlike other dvds I've seen.

I recommend it highly, especially if you like club music, and have found other fitness dvds too slow, boring, complicated or not demanding enough.


The most effective workout video   September 8, 2006
S. Sehmi (Bromley, Kent)
38 out of 39 found this review helpful

I decided to get fit after putting on about a stone when I was out of work. Tried machines, gyms, pilates and nothing kept my interest. This workout is fantastic. It took a few goes to get the hang of the moves but after a few sessions, I could feel my waist and bingo-wings trimming up and a reduction in muffin-tops! It's fab for fat-burning but better still, you learn some basic salsa moves and dance steps. The only down-side is that it is 1.5 hours and although it comes in sections, you only feel like you have worked up a real sweat if you do them all. But overall, the best exercise vid I have ever used.


Super Fitness Video – Exhausting, Fun and Sexy   January 30, 2006
Veronica (England)
54 out of 56 found this review helpful

I bought this video because I liked the ‘Call on Me’ song and video and wanted to find an exercise DVD that had great music and great moves! In many exercise videos there is hideous music that you’ve never heard before playing in the background because the makers can’t afford to get ‘proper’ songs, but on this DVD there are loads of energetic, recognisable, upbeat dance songs that really motivate you.

The instructor, Deanne Berry, has a warm style and a lovely Australian accent. She doesn’t talk you through the moves before you do them but in the long run this is best because when you’re doing the DVD for the twentieth time you don’t have to wait while every single move is explained. All the dancers are dressed in skimpy workout clothes, which is inspiring and fun to watch in a very tongue in cheek TMF / MTV kind of way. The one bloke is very sexy (in a dark and broody kind of way) and wears some funny vibrant green shorts!

The exercises are of very high quality and I’m sure you’ll see results if you practise this regularly. The sections are:

1) 10 min warm-up – very good and pretty standard for this kind of thing
2) 20 min dance section – exhausting and fun, rather like an aerobics class with dance moves thrown in (including salsa!), amazing music, some moves are hard to pick up but each time you do the DVD you get better at it which is really motivating
3) 20 min hi-energy dance section – very fast, looks good, excellent music, but I’m not fit enough to get through it yet straight after the previous section because it is so exhausting
4) 10 mins bums and tums – pretty standard, press-ups and sit-ups are a killer (and I don’t even do half of them!)
5) 15 min cool down – overlong for a cool down, but the music is very good

Overall, the DVD is fun, exhausting and sexy. I really feel good while doing it, despite the fact that I’ve never done any dancing before. This DVD is head and shoulders above the rest in terms of fun because it includes super music (my favourite tracks are Pump it Up and Call on Me) and the dancers all look like they’re having a great time. Yes, some of the moves are hard to pick up if you’re not a natural dancer (like me), but after several tries I’m now much better at it and can do 90% of them. I actually like the fact that I still have more moves to learn because it makes doing the DVD that much more interesting and it keeps me on my toes!

I recommend this DVD to people who are reasonably fit, like commercial dance music, want to really sweat, and are motivated by watching a lot of very slim dancers strut their stuff in tiny outfits (rather than annoyed).


Brilliant workout   September 6, 2006
Dancing Queen (England)
18 out of 18 found this review helpful

I bought this workout dvd a few weeks ago and it was money well spent. Even though the workout is quite challenging (especially the 'Pump it up' part) it is also great fun. The instructor keeps you motivated throughout the workout and the music is good as well. I bought this dvd to lose some weight and tone my body and it really seems to work.


"Pony!"   November 15, 2005
carly_pussycat (UK)
34 out of 35 found this review helpful

I am a massive fan of hard dance (aka hard house, hardcore) so when this DVD came out, although it wasn't *exactly* the music I liked it was close enough and would hopefully tone my body and keep me fit.

You'll no doubt remember the raunchy video for Eric Prydz's 2004 'Call On Me' dance tune, which featured lots of attractive women (and one man) doing a sexually charged aerobic workout. If you liked that, you'll love this, because the DVD was inspired by that video and features most of the dancers who appeared in it (including Juan the man, for the ladies). With this in mind I think this workout would appeal more to a youth audience, with a preference for commercial dance music. Gorgeous Australian dancer Deanne Berry plays the role of instructor (which she does very well, giving loud clear instructions) with six dancers behind her following the routine. I just love the outfits the girls are wearing as they're all different and interesting to look at, and I like the fact that the girls seem more like they're having fun and not taking themselves too seriously.

The workout comprises 5 main sections: a 12 minute WARM UP section, two separate DANCE sections which together come to 41 minutes, an 8 minute BUMS & TUMS toning section, and a 13 minute yoga-esque relaxing 'CHILL'. Most of the moves are really straightforward as long as you've got a bit of co-ordination and about two metres square in which to swing yourself around in. Being an ex-podium/stage dancer I love that it's dance-based (there's even a bit of basic Salsa in there!) because it makes the exercise much more fun. To start with I could barely do any of the second dance section because I was *that* unfit, but this DVD is great because you can build it up by doing different things each time you do the DVD, eventually being able to do the bits you were too out of breath for before!

There are a few extras - a little featurette of the girls preparing to shoot the DVD, and a few music videos. You also have the choice of listening to the whole soundtrack without the workout playing (just has a Pump It Up logo and picture on the screen) or playing the workout without Deanne Berry's instructions with the 'commentary off' option (probably mainly designed for those old men who've bought it to leer at?!)

Doing this DVD between 3 and 5 times a week for about 6-8 weeks definitely toned up my body and got my fitness level up. It's not another one of Ministry Of Sound's cash-ins, so get our your sweatbands, hotpants and vest top because this is a very satisfying workout which will keep your interest for much longer than any other exercise DVD!

Oh, and if you're looking to buy only one of the Pump It Up DVDs I think this one is *slightly* better the Beach Body one, although they're both great.