Frustrated with Amy Bento's ASC II!

N

NathL

Cathlete
Hi,
I got Amy Bento's ASC II and even though I knew the choreography was complex I got SO frustrated when I tried it (And I had previewed it first!). She does explain some moves but there's a whole bunch of other ones that she just goes into, without any breakdown and does not repeat them often enough to give us the time to learn them (I'm guessing that is because they come from ASC I?). Beside rewinding 1,000 times (!) does anybody have any ideas on how to learn those moves? ASC II seems a favorite of a lot of you and I want to love it too!!!
Nathalie
 
Yeah, Amy's poor cues or lack there off in some cases is the main reason I don't do her cardio. Try Pam Cosmi if you can. She does pretty complex stuff working on and off the 8 count, BUT she cues great so it is pretty easy to pick up.
 
I got ASCII and got rid of it for the same reason. I was hoping that Amy would give me a new instructor to branch out with new step videos. But what cuing she does give is awful - and mostly it is nonexistent. For complex choreography, I think that is inexcusable. I don't know why she doesn't work on that - she could sure have a lot more customers.
 
Nathalie,

I am often frustrated by Amy's advanced step workouts (all three of them!). However, I have found that EVENTUALLY I do get it. My suggestion is to just do one combo at a time until you get it. I put the dvd in and my workout will consist of doing combo one the whole hour:eek:. I have also tacked on one combo after another workout just to practice. Good luck and stick with it. Amy's workouts have very complex choreography but are a lot of fun.

Carrie
 
Oh my gosh...Amy's step is the best on the market in my opinion. It didn't take me but once or twice through to learn ASC3 (a couple of parts would trip me up for a while) but it did take me longer to learn ASC2. I think I'm just familiar with her style now. One of the reasons I enjoy Amy's step routines is because of her spot on cueing and the fact that every new move isn't broken down. Once I learn a workout, I get so bored having to go through layer upon layer that's broken down and explained. Amy's cueing is perfect, in my opnion and gives me the same feel when I worked out to my favorite classes in the gym when I would learn the instructor's style and take the classes regularly so I learned how they cued. Her advanced step workouts are advanced in every way and totally worth the learning curve. Learn one combo at a time and watch the preview chapter. Her step workouts are so much fun!!!
 
I thought ASC2 was horrible to learn and I almost gave up on her because of it. I usually get step the first time through but the problem I had with ASC2 was the sound. I simply could not hear her. So I turned of the sound and learn two combos at a time. Once I learned the combos, I realized her cuing isn't that bad, it is just that I could not hear her. Also, she does lots of things in odd rythms, or off the normal beat, kind of synchopated. That makes it hard to wrap the mind around. ASC2 is actually a favorite now, and ASC3 did not have the sound issues so was easier to learn. Plus it has a combo named after me!
 
The first (and only) step workout of Amy's I've attempted is ASC3. I previewed, fumbled a few times, but I got it. There's still one place where she pivots and I don't, but we end up the same place regardless. I was expecting the worst, but it wasn't all that bad (to learn).

It led me to think maybe I'd like ASC2, but after reading the reviews when it first came out, they weren't that favorable. There were sound issues that really made it difficult is what I read. It made me notice the reviews of ASC3 a bit more. Most people didn't have a great deal of trouble with it (gee, and here I thought I was a step-goddess for conquering it!). That makes me wonder if those who purchased ASC3 were already familiar with Amy's style, or if ASC3 is really easier to learn. I'm kind of thinking the latter.

Sorry for the rambling. Just don't be completely dissuaded from ever trying Amy again for step. I think ASC3 is a lot of fun - but I'm not tempted, anymore, by ASC2.

Diane
 
carres1973 said:
Nathalie,

I am often frustrated by Amy's advanced step workouts (all three of them!). However, I have found that EVENTUALLY I do get it. My suggestion is to just do one combo at a time until you get it. I put the dvd in and my workout will consist of doing combo one the whole hour:eek:. I have also tacked on one combo after another workout just to practice. Good luck and stick with it. Amy's workouts have very complex choreography but are a lot of fun.

Carrie
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I did this as well. Just practiced it on off days or as an add on til I got it. I also used the music off option so I could hear Amy clearly, and even used slo mo to learn some of the tougher parts. It is the hardest of the three advanced step workouts to learn, at least for me. But once I learned it, it became my favorite.
 
ddj said:
I did this as well. Just practiced it on off days or as an add on til I got it. I also used the music off option so I could hear Amy clearly, and even used slo mo to learn some of the tougher parts. It is the hardest of the three advanced step workouts to learn, at least for me. But once I learned it, it became my favorite.
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Just my luck that the first Amy's workout that I got was the hardest to learn!!! I'll do what you and Carrie suggested and learn the combos one at the time, until one day I get it!!!!!
Nathalie
 
Practice, practice, practice! I learned it combo by combo, and found that I had to do a different workout to get my cardio until I became proficient enough at the moves to really get my heartrate up in ASCII (other than the increased anxiety that I was going to trip over the step and break something!) I like Dorothy's suggestion about turning off the music. That hadn't occurred to me but it sounds like a good way to learn some of the more difficult moves. I love Amy's music, though, and it may have been hard for me to do it at all without it. :D

I have been doing step since the beginning of time (well, the beginning of step anyway!!) and I've been able to learn what has been considered the most complex steps with a little bit of practice and proper cuing and have been able to adapt to many different styles of cuing--from Patrick to Seasun to Christi. That said, Amy's cuing is pretty atrocious in ASCII IMO. Cuing means at least a little bit of setup for the moves which does not mean endless breakdown---it means a solid headsup as to what is coming---and there is slim to none in this workout. I almost gave up on it as well but now that I've learned it I really do enjoy it. I don't see any reason to gush and defend less than stellar cuing. I believe she has learned from feedback and improved greatly for ASCIII. If she didn't see a need to improve she wouldn't have adapted her style for the newer workouts, ASCIII in particular. There's ALWAYS room for improvement without completely changing one's style and she's done that with every DVD series, IMHO. Amy's workouts are fun, fun, fun, and well worth the effort!
 
cataddict said:
Practice, practice, practice! I learned it combo by combo, and found that I had to do a different workout to get my cardio until I became proficient enough at the moves to really get my heartrate up in ASCII (other than the increased anxiety that I was going to trip over the step and break something!) I like Dorothy's suggestion about turning off the music. That hadn't occurred to me but it sounds like a good way to learn some of the more difficult moves. I love Amy's music, though, and it may have been hard for me to do it at all without it. :D

I have been doing step since the beginning of time (well, the beginning of step anyway!!) and I've been able to learn what has been considered the most complex steps with a little bit of practice and proper cuing and have been able to adapt to many different styles of cuing--from Patrick to Seasun to Christi. That said, Amy's cuing is pretty atrocious in ASCII IMO. Cuing means at least a little bit of setup for the moves which does not mean endless breakdown---it means a solid headsup as to what is coming---and there is slim to none in this workout. I almost gave up on it as well but now that I've learned it I really do enjoy it. I don't see any reason to gush and defend less than stellar cuing. I believe she has learned from feedback and improved greatly for ASCIII. If she didn't see a need to improve she wouldn't have adapted her style for the newer workouts, ASCIII in particular. There's ALWAYS room for improvement without completely changing one's style and she's done that with every DVD series, IMHO. Amy's workouts are fun, fun, fun, and well worth the effort!
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"I don't see any reason to gush and defend less than stellar cuing" - didn't see any of that...just don't have a problem with her spot on cueing in ASC2 or ASC3 and I love the loud music in ASC2. I guess there is no reason to gush and defend that either even though it's my honest opinion.
 
I have both Advanced Step Challenge 1 and 2. I have not yet been able to do them (only bits and pieces), but I intend someday to master them (just one of those things I'm determined to do!). I'm so used to Cathe's step workouts (that's about all I do), so it's hard when I try a different instructor. I haven't gotten rid of the workouts yet (although I have thought about it), but I'm going to keep trying until I get it. I think this suggestion was posted already, but I think I will try and learn each segment one at a time (not going to the next until I've mastered the one before!). I haven't done that yet, but hopefully that will work. I remember a long time ago I received Cathe's Rhythmic Step and for some reason, I couldn't get it (although I had never had trouble with her step workouts before). For some reason, I just couldn't get it -- too complex. I put it aside for almost a year. And then after everyone kept raving about it on the website, I pulled it out again and finally learned it. It is one of the BEST step tapes I have and use it frequently. Now that I know how to do it, it is so much fun. I'm hoping that will eventually be the same for Amy's step workouts.

Good luck!

Julie
 
gogigi said:
"I don't see any reason to gush and defend less than stellar cuing" - didn't see any of that...just don't have a problem with her spot on cueing in ASC2 or ASC3 and I love the loud music in ASC2. I guess there is no reason to gush and defend that either even though it's my honest opinion.
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Her cuing is not spot on in ASC2. Never the less,it is a fun work-out once you know it. If I let it lie, and then pick it up again, I have trouble because of cuing. At the same time, I got the newest from Cathe, and her cuing was not the greatest either on the step. I remember thinking, dang are any of these instructors going to cue well anymore. Amy is much better in ASC3. I got the entire thing the first time except for the stomp double stomp in the 4th one, and I did not use the preview chapters.
 
Carolyn B said:
I got ASCII and got rid of it for the same reason. I was hoping that Amy would give me a new instructor to branch out with new step videos. But what cuing she does give is awful - and mostly it is nonexistent. For complex choreography, I think that is inexcusable. I don't know why she doesn't work on that - she could sure have a lot more customers.
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Same here.
I liked the way ASCII looked a lot. It LOOKED like so much fun, and I liked the music. But I couldn't even attempt it myself.

I know some people love the challenge of learning complex choreo, and feel that the time spent on it is worth it, but I'm not one of them. I like to 'get' at least 80-85% of a cardio workout after one preview and a run through. Then I can focus on intensity, ROM,etc.

The more complex the choreo is, the better the cuing MUST be, and AMY's cuing doesn't jibe with her choreo complexity. She often just throws a string of cues at you before the move, and/or cues right on the move, and/or doesn't present the move verbally in a way that's easier to understand (I was goiing to say 'break down' the moves, but some people misinterpret that as showing one little part of the move, then adding on a bit more, and so on, and that's NOT what I mean.)
 
I pick up on choreography very easily and this one still has me stumped. I set it aside now for a long time. I was lost in the 2nd half of the workout. I think I will try it again though and see if I can finally master this once and for all.

Tina
 
My other thought is that I work out at home to save time - no travel to the gym. So why would I want to spend tons of time standing there looking at some incomprehensible step workout when I could be exercising? I think instructors - especially Amy- should take into account that most people have limited time for going over and over a workout in hopes of finally getting it - and having nothing to show for it because we didn't get a workout that day!
 
I agree!

kathryn said:
The more complex the choreo is, the better the cuing MUST be, and AMY's cuing doesn't jibe with her choreo complexity. She often just throws a string of cues at you before the move, and/or cues right on the move, and/or doesn't present the move verbally in a way that's easier to understand
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Kathryn, you've summed up exactly Amy's problem regarding cuing!!!

By the way, I tried ASC2 yesterday with the sound off and just combos 1 and 2. It wasn't that bad! But I think it's going to take me a while to master it. And I'm not sure that after that I will want to try another one of Amy's workouts! Like Carolyn and Kathryn, I like to "get" a workout quickly. Not stand there trying to understand which way I should go! By the way, I do agree with Dorothyrd that the newest Cathe step workout was not the easiest to learn. I took me a while. I think that part of the difficulty was the fact that she used a lot of new moves with less breakdown than usual and also new names for older moves. But it's Cathe, so I stuck with it and at the end, I learned it and now, I get a good workout!!! :D

Nathalie
 
I have ASC2 and 3 and found 3 much easier to learn. I've only done it twice but have almost got it all now. I think the first two sections are less intense than anything on ASC2! I still have trouble with some of ASC3 though, especially when I haven't done it for a while. I find that I have more success if I start learning Amy's step on a 4" bench & not put risers on until I pretty much have it down. Also, for the first few times, I do the preview section every time I do the workout, to remind me of the difficult moves.

Emma
 
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