Dancing With the Stars Cardio Dance for Weight Loss

This DVD, featuring three high-energy dances -- salsa, samba and swing -- is one of the best in the franchise (and I've done just about all of them).

That's partly because professional dancers Kym Johnson and Mark Ballas are great instructors with equally fun personalities.

The box says the DVD is "great for beginners," but I wouldn't say it's great for those just getting off the couch to start a workout routine or those with joint problems. The three dances are fast-moving, require lots of hip and leg movements, and keep you sweating from the first routine, a samba.

After a seven-minute instructional warm-up, each of the dance genres gets its own 15-minute workout. My basic problem with all the DWTS workout DVDs has been that their main focus is on learning choreography. For those who don't pick up steps quickly, the workouts will be frustrating because they move so quickly. I'm no dancer, but I'm good at learning dance steps, and I found myself zoning out, feeling overloaded with instruction by the middle of the second 15-minute portion, the salsa.

They would do better to cut the number of dance steps taught in half and to focus more on incorporating those into fun routines with high-energy music (after all, that's one of the reasons people love Zumba classes so much).

The swing portion of the workout comes closest to doing this, with all its triple-steps and kicks. One other small note: The stars perform these routines on a ballroom dance floor, and they're wearing dance or jazz shoes; the majority of home exercisers are going to be on carpet, wearing workout shoes. If you're one of these, as I was, you're not going to be able to do all the sliding and twisting that they do on the DVD. Perform these moves at your own risk if you have knee problems (and as someone who has lived through a torn ACL, I say that from experience).

With all that said, though, if you're inspired by the show to pick up dancing for weight loss, this DVD, if done several times a week, would be an effective way to do so.