( 11 reviews )
-
Posted: May 21 2009
Let me start off by saying I love this workout! It is the toughest and highest calorie-burning cardio workout I own. This video is a 60-minute, customizable cardio workout. It was made in the late 90's, so the outfits and music are a bit dated - I find them to be entertaining. The equipment used include a short step (6 inches), a weighted ball (2-3 lbs) and light dumbbells (3-5 lbs). However, the step is used for less than half of the workout and you could perform all the moves without it, of course at a lower intensity. I use a 3-5 lb dumbbell instead of a ball, and it works just fine. The moves are pretty simple, though it may take a few times through the workout to get them all down. A lot of the moves are very jumpy and there are A LOT of plyometric jumps (which I sometimes replace with marching depending on how my knees feel). I don't usually do this workout more than once every week or two because 1) I have a lot of other workouts I like to cycle through and 2) It's tough on your legs. That being said, the workout is customizable. You can choose multiple segments (I think up to eight - I wish you could choose more at a time) and create a shorter workout. This way, you can avoid segments that are too tough or pick just the tough ones :) I find that when I do the workout all the way through (the full 60 minutes), the segments are nicely sequenced so that just when I feel I can't lunge and squat anymore, there's a lighter cardio segment, or after an intense jumping around cardio segment, there's a lighter dumbbell segment. It's also nice to have four different instructors, each with their own style. Allie starts off the workout, followed by Carissa (who does one of my favorite cardio segments), then Dale and lastly Jen. By the time Jen has you doing plyometric jumps, my quads are just about fried. There's some light ab work before the final cooldown, and a couple of the stretches are a little odd (like lying arching your back with your head on the floor - you have to be careful!). After all the jumping around, I recommend adding a couple of good calf stretches to the end. Overall, I definitely recommend this workout for anyone looking for a good intermediate-advanced cardio workout (especially because you can make it what you want with the customizable feature).
-
Posted: Jul 20 2008
In my opinion, all Firm workouts are cheesy. Even though for the most part the actual exercises are not that bad, the instructors are super boring, monotonous and bland, especially in comparison to what else is available on the market. The music is often barely tolerable, but every once in while there is one that despite all of that works you hard and leaves you feeling good afterward. This one, I think is one of those. The variety is very good alternating between cardio without and cardio with weights (I wouldn't call this 'sculpting' though) burning calories at a pretty good rate (according to my heart rate monitor). The part that was definitely bad, was the stretching. In an early 80s kind of way the stretches are just rushed through, I had to ignore it and do my own. I noticed the poor quality of stretching in other Firm workouts also.
-
Posted: Jul 19 2008
A Firm Believer for 17 years, this is my first experence with such an intense Firm cardio workout; Tough Aerobic Mix and Not-So-Tough Aerobics are more weight/cardio balanced and the pace is a bit slower. As I don't particularly care for one of the instructors, I customized the workout and did not include the abs or cooldown (though I did the warmup at the beginning and end) and got quite a cardio kick in the rear! Though I may feel differently after doing the workout all the way through, at this point it's a bit much for me. I will, however, resist the urge to discard it/give it away as my exercise needs/requirements change from time to time and I might be up for this type of workout at some point.
