Saundra

This is a 30 minute cardio workout led by Lisa Kay. It uses the FIRM's blue box in the 6 inch and incline position. Light weights (3 to 5lbs) are also used. I found this workout to be easy. The last couple of times I have done this workout it has been easy. This is a far cry from when this workout first came out, I found it challenging. Lisa does do a good job in cuing the workout. The music is above average, but I did find some of the combinations monotonous. I mostly like the work on the incline and the 4-limb combinations. Overall I found the workout to be average. 3 stars out of 5.

Time for today's run was 35:30:82.

Pump, Jump n Jab Well I wanted to do a Kickboxing workout and probably shouldn't have grabbed this. Not that this isn't a good workout but it really isn't a Kickboxing workout. It is really a Cardio Sculpt workout. Kelsie includes two kickboxing sections as the cardio for the workout. The workout is about 41 minutes long and uses medium weights for sculpting throughout. I used 5 and 7 lbs dumbbells . It is kind of hard to go heavy because of the way the exercises are constructed. There is a lot of compound and 4 limb FIRM signature movement. Kelsie is excellent. The music is so-so. What is great about this workout is that it features two FIRM Believer forum members, Nikki and Jen. They do an excellent job as cast members. My favorite sections, of course, were the kickboxing sections. I would have like to see more kickboxing. 3 1/2 out of 5 stars.

Okay. The story behind this workout is..... I pre -order this workout based on the fact that I like Kimberly. I then saw a clip of the workout and was not enthused about it at all. I was contemplating cancelling my pre -order, but because the video was already paid for. I decided to let the pre -order stand. The workout came and I put it in my to do pile. A couple of times I schedule the workout, but then would put something else in its place. So when doing my August rotation, I just decided I was going to do this workout August 31st period. I thought it would be a great transition from my August rotation into my September rotation. Well this whole week of workouts have been off. So I have been grabbing whatever I felt like doing. Last night I was really undecided as to what to do. Did I want to do The FIRM's Jiggle Free? Did I want to do The FIRM's Fat Blasting Cardio ? What about Zumba ? Oh I will do a Kickboxing workout. And that was when Cardio Combat Surge po...

Solid Upper Body Workout. The FIRM Upper Body Sculpt is part of the Body Sculpting System 2 series. It features Janet Brooks as the lead and is a 39 minute upper body and core workout. Janet takes you through some traditional and so not-so- traditional upper body exercise moves. The workout uses the fanny lifter, sculpting stick and various weighted dumbbells . I like this workout because it is all upper body work and you work the entire upper body in under 40 minutes. Lately it seems that most of the upper body workouts that are coming out are only doing split systems - working only 1 to 2 body parts at a time. The FIRM's Upper Body Sculpt is one workout that actually does maximize your time and therefore is efficient. 4 out of 5 stars.

Well as a person who owns over 400 workout DVDs and VHS tapes, many of them I bought from CollageVideo, I am happy to report that they now have a Weekly Sale section on their website. Up until this, I have never seen a exercise workout on sale on their site. I think over the course of the last year, CollageVideo has made huge strives in serving its customer. Some of the things that they have done include creating a new Forum for its regular members, giving free shipping on orders over $25 and accepting Paypal as a form of payment. I think their biggest service continues to be the video clips they provide for over 980 workouts. Bravo! CollageVideo.

A FIRM oldie. The workouts comes from the FIRM Parts series. FIRM Parts are a series of compilation workouts that Anna Benson created from existing workout. This particular workout, Floor Legs, is hosted by Kathy Derry and is a 29 minute workout mostly done on the floor and as the name implies - works the lower body. It takes segments from Body Sculpting Basics (Vol 1), Low Impact Aerobics (Vol 2), Aerobic Interval Training (Vol 3), Abs, Hip, Thigh Workout (Vol 5) and Complete Aerobic Weight Training (Vol 6). You do bridge work, shootouts, inner thigh lift, pulls and swing-outs, outer thigh lifts, table work, and pelvic floor contractions. I personally prefer this workout to Standing Legs. It has been quite some time since I did this workout and I found it to be easier than I remembered it being. Ankle weights, toe weights and dumbbells are added for resistance. 3 stars out of 5.

From The FIRM's Body Sculpting System 3 is Express Cardio , a 30 minute workout led by Stephanie Huckabee. Overall I like this workout; and unlike the majority of the public, I actually like the FIRM's blue box. I like it better than the TransFIRMer because it is easier to maneuver around. What bugged me about this workout is that it is really a Cardio Sculpt workout and not a cardio workout. That's not to say I didn't get my heart rate up, I just felt for a 30 minute workout titled Express Cardio, it had too much sculpting. For instance, not only does the workout include a set of Tall Box Climbs, which the FIRM often includes in their cardio workouts, but it also includes a set of leg presses. My favorite part is the incline cardio box work. I really like doing step on the incline. All the various box positions were used (incline, full 14 inch step height, and 6 inch step height) and there were two floor aerobic combinations. Stephanie does an excellent job with cuin...

Body Sculpt Blaster is a 30 minute sculpting workout from The FIRM. It is led by Nancy Tucker and is part of the Body Sculpting System 1 (BSS1) system of workouts. I actually had another workout schedule but decided I wanted or needed to do a workout I was really familiar with. Plus I didn't get a lot of weight sculpting when I was in Vegas last week. So this workout fit the bill. This workout included the typical FIRM type sculpting moves although I am happy to say Nancy left off the triceps dips. The exercises are done at a steady pace and are mostly done for 8, 12, or 16 reps. You can go quite heavy in this workout and that allows you to control the intensity of the workout. I didn't find any of the exercises to be awkward even when Nancy was combining lower and upper body exercises in the same move. The music was kind of so-so. This is one of my favorite FIRM sculpting workouts. 4 1/2 out of 5 stars.

I didn't run outside this morning because I didn't get up at my normal running time. Instead I ran on the treadmill. I will try to get back outside next week.

Pilates Power Ball Sculpt is a 52 minute workout that uses a sculpting/medicine ball. This is the last of the three workouts that I brought with me to Las Vegas; and this one was probably the most challenging of the lot. Bernadette does most exercises 10 times each. Some exercises use the ball and some do not. At anytime you like, you can release the ball and do the exercise without. I did this for more than a few of the exercises because I found most of the exercises challenging without the ball. What I really like about the workout is that Bernadette actually included about a 5 minute warmup. I do find that in too many Pilates classes. Giving this workout 4 out of 5 stars.

One of the 3 workouts I brought with me on my trip to Las Vegas was Power Body Jules Benson Total Core Pilates . This is a 56 minute workout that sculpts and tones your body using your body. I like this workout. I found it so easy to follow. Jules cuing was dead-on and the modifier (her name is Lisa) did an excellent job modifying and showing less advance variations of the moves. This is a pilates workout where you can really work on form. For the most part Jules alternates the exercise between the left and right side of the body. Most exercises are performed 8 times each. Some moves, Jules will layer the complexity by adding a component and making it a compound move. While I found the workout easy to follow, it still provided a challenge. I had reach failure or was near failure on several of the exercises. This was especially true for the the leg sequence. Only thing that was a little off was that sometimes the camera was on the modifier when it probably should have been o...

Well I am in Las Vegas this week and I brought 3 workouts with me to workout in my hotel room. The first workout I did was Bernadette Giorgi's Pilates Circle Challenge. And it definitely was a challenge keeping the Pilates Circle where it was suppose to be. The circle had a mind of its own because unless I had it in my hands and was holding it, the circle was popping out everywhere. Beside loosing the circle from time to time and time, I enjoyed the workout. The moves were quite challenging. A couple of times I did an exercise without using the circle. Bernadette performed most exercises in reps of 10 each. Her cuing was precise and clear. The music was pretty non- descript , mostly background music. The DVD cover touts 4 lower body sculpting challenges. I did the full workout and really couldn't tell that there were 4 separate sections. Bernadette does use the circle to work the upper body especially the shoulders. The workout clocks in a 46 minutes. Right now I...

Well after spending Saturday traveling down to Kings Dominion,walking through the amusement park and traveling back home, I really did not feel like getting up for my Sunday morning run. It took a lot of self talking to get my butt out of bed especially because I new I was flying out to Las Vegas later that day. But I did get up out of bed and it was a gorgeous day for running. Almost no humidity. However, my time wasn't as good as it was the previous week. I believe I clocked in at 36:37:43. I double check that when I get home.

Fat Blaster This workout used to be a favorite. Not so anymore, although it is still a good solid workout. Fat Blaster features FIRM Master Instructors Allie Strickland Del Rio, Lisa Kay, and Nancy Tucker. Love all three of these women. It is a 45 minute workout that combines different types of cardio. It uses the low step, high step, four-limb with light weights and basic floor aerobics. There are two section were you are using the high step to perform Tall Box climbs and there are three low step combination routines. The music is pretty good and the workout moves at a steady pace. Doing this workout today, the step combinations seem to be mundane and repetitive. The floor combinations were fun, but the tall box climbs were just annoying. I think this was the workout that the FIRM started adding Tall Box Climbs to all their cardio routines. So while I am not in love with the workout anymore, it is still a solid workout and I had a sweat going. 3 out of 5 stars

Cardio Kick Step-Boxing I only did the Step-Boxing portion of this workout. The workout includes some weight work as well, but the Step Boxing is the main portion of the workout; and that is the reason I bought this workout. I liked this workout. I really think Kelly excels with her Step-Boxing workouts. This particular workout include 5 step-kickboxing combos. 3 done in the vertical position and 2 done in the horizontal position. At the end of each combo are 30 seconds drills that allows you to blast away and get the heart rate up even higher. The routines in Cardio Kick Step Boxing were a little more complex that the routines in the original Step Boxing workout. Kelly layers and repeats the combos several time so picking up the routine was not difficult at all. Like the first Step Boxing, this workout moves fast too. The beat of the music moves quickly and the music is good. I think this workout is going to be a favorite. 4 1/2 out of 5 stars

Oh what a classic! And What a favorite! The FIRM's Maximum Body Shaping is a 46 minute workout led by Tracie Long. It is a strength workout that uses weights, the tall box, and the dowel to sculpt your body. The exercises are synchronized to the beat of the music; which is a controlled and steady pace. You can go very heavy with this workout. The cardio is minimum with most of the cardio coming in the form of the "tall box climb". There is a short plyo and kicking section that is also cardio based. What I love about this workout is that it is a super no-nonsense workout that gets in, works the muscle and then gets out. Everything seems to just fit and every exercise has its place. There is not a lot of waiting around. You do the exercise and you move on to what's next. Tracie is of course superb and the music pretty good too. One of Anna Benson's best. 5 out of 5 stars.

Calorie Burner Workotu with Kettlebells I do not do much Kettlebell training or exercise DVDs. In fact this is only my second Kettlebell workout DVD that I have done; although I actually own a total of 5 KB workout DVDs. So for not having much KB experience, I thought this was a nice workout. I thought instructional but not very inspiring. I like Gin and I like the music, but this workout doesn't really make me want to further my KB training. The workout itself has a warm up, 3 workouts KB sections, and a cool down. It is approximately 49 minutes in length. What I thought was really cool was the different views and the split views that Gin used to demonstrate the moves. You were able to see front and back views and front and side views at the same time. While I think there were some nice aspects to the workout, I don't think I will be doing it again. I am really kind of lukewarm on it. I am giving it 2 1/2 out of 5 stars.

Kelly Coffey Meyer's Step Boxing is a 53 minute workout that has a little bit of everything. The workout predominately features StepBoxing which is a combination of step aerobics and kickboxing. The thing to note about this workout is that is moves fast. The moves are choregraph to a super fast beat. Oddly enough, (and this is my first time doing this workout) I didn't have any trouble following Kelly's cuing. The moves are simple enough and Kelly repeats the combos several times through. The actual Step Boxing part is only 34 minutes. The rest of the workout consist of a toning section with weights and an abdominal section. I really enjoy the Step Boxing part of this workout the best. I liked how fast it moved. I thought it was a nice change up from what I am used to. The music was also very good and it went really well with the the workout. 4 out of 5 stars.

My pre-order list keeps growing and growing. I have been trying to get rid of workouts, yet I keep ordering new workouts. Currently on pre-order are: Cathe Shock Cardio - 11 Workout DVD system Coffeyfit 30 Minutes to Fitness - 3 Workout DVDs Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders Power Squad - 3 Workout DVDs 10 Minute Solution - Quick Sculpt Pilates Lisa Rinna Dance Body Beautiful - Hip Hop Ballroom And I am thinking about adding Stephanie Vitorino's Ultimate Body Shaper and Physique 57 - 3 Workout DVD system to the list.

I did this workout for the second time this past Sunday. Below is a cut and paste from my original review: " Okay Today was a pilates day and the pilates workout I chose to do today was Shape Pilates Workout: Firm Up From Head to Toe with Lizbeth Garcia.Overall, this was a tough workout. I thought I was getting better with pilates. This workout showed me I still have a long way to do. The workout was about 30 minutes and all of it was mat work. The thing I did not like but notice this with other pilates workouts is that there really is no warm up to speak of. It is like they just jump into doing the exercises. I didn't care for the music at all in this workout. It was basically background that wasn't really background. I just didn't find it very motivating. Lizbeth did have some different variation on the moves that I had not seen in other workouts. Besides the lack of no warm up and the music, I like the workout very much and it is going in the keep pile." Sec...

One of the great FIRM classic workouts. Better Body & Buns is a 45 minutes workout led by FIRM Master Instructors Jen Peluso, Jen Carmen and Taber Bruner. I was very happy that Anna Benson put this workout on DVD. It is a very good sculpting workout that primarily focuses on the lower body but does include one set of upper body work. Better Body & Buns uses the tall box for leg presses and tall box climbs. Many of the exercises are synchronize to the beat of the music (a signature of the older FIRM workouts). In this workout, you can go as heavy as you are able to because none of the exercises are compound in nature. However, the workout does move from one exercise to the next at a steady pace. The abdominal set is done at the beginning of the workout; and several of the lower body floor moves are pilates inspired moves. The only thing I really didn't care for was the switching in and out that occured between the different instructors but other than that I really like this ...

Forgot to post this.

Okay, I skipped running last week because I was at the Cathe yearly Road Trip. I had a blast by the way. So for this Sunday - my run time was 35:43:87. Two Sunday's ago, my run time was 37:05:12. So I came down quite a bit today but that was because today I was running with someone else and pretty much was trying to keep up with their pace. I am not sure what next Sunday will bring.

This workout is 40 minutes in length and is led by Allie Del Rio. Allie is one of my favorite FIRM instructors and this workout is one of my favorite "pink" FIRM workouts. I am not crazy about the "pink" FIRM workouts but if I had to choose the best among them, then this would be one of them. I thought the workout moved extremely fast. However, the exercises were sequence in a way that you could go heavy on some of the lower body moves. I think my favorite part of the workout was the ab set. It was short but had some of my favorite ab and core moves. This is probably my 5th or 6th time doing this workout. I use this workout on sculpting days when my time is short or when I am trying to throw a little variety in my sculpting routine from the more traditional weight workouts that I prefer to do. Many of the exercises in this workout are compound in nature. I give this workout 3 1/2 stars out of 5 stars.

Okay. I love love love this workout. The music is the best I have heard in a workout in a long time. Carlos is fun and charismatic . As far as Latin style workouts go, I put no others above it. But this is a critique and a review, so let me be objective for a moment. This is a 63 minute workout that includes a core abdominal section. Carlos takes you through various Latin rhythms ( cha cha , salsa, mamba, soca , samba, merengue, rhumba ) and he does it all with an athletic flair; and what he calls stylizing the move. Stylizing is really just adding your own interpretation or "flavor" to the exercise. Carlos' cuing is not very precise. Several times the right side doesn't match up with the left side. Meaning he will do something on one side and not do it on the other side. I didn't mind this so much because I felt it was more like a dance routine even though the workout included squats, lunges and a chest press. Also, he cues several moves by telling y...

The FIRM's Get Chisel'd is a 41 minute compound exercise workout. It is led by FIRM instructor Rebekah Sturkie. The workout is a sculpting workout with power burst moves included throughout the workout. I probably like the power burst moves the best. The sculpting exercises (because of their compound nature and layering the moves) don't really lend themselves to going heavy. The heaviest weight I used throughout the workout was 10lb dumbells; and even with those I had to quickly switch out to a lower weight as Rebekah layered on the exercises (or as she calls it -"adding a component"). The workout does include a brief abs and core sections. I am giving the workout 3 1/2 to 4 out of 5 stars. This is only my second time doing this workout. The first time was December 08. In December 08, this is what I wrote about this workout: I liked this workout. Rebekah queued very well and with the exception of two music tunes, I thought the music was pretty good too, particu...

Cardio Dance Express This workout is previously titled Cardio Dance Fusion. It is a 45 minute aerobic dance workout led by Alison Davis. This workout is one of my all time favorite FIRM workouts. I think Alison did a magnificent job with the choreography and she gives lots of energy throughout the workout. The music is excellent and motivating, and I think the sound quality is good as well. The workout is broken down into four sections. Each section represents a different type of dance and different type of music. The four sections are: (1) Club Dance, (2) Latin Dance, (3) The Jive, and (4) Modern I pretty much liked all four section and Alison does a wonderful job of cueing the steps. I like dance based workouts and I don't find it particulary difficult to pick up choreography. So I had no problem picking up the steps in this workout. If you aren't use to dance choreography, it may take you a few times through to get the moves down. This workout may be difficult to d...

The first pictures is Saundra with Cathe and Crew. Second picutres are the new Cathe gear items coming out in Octoberish 2009 Third pictures is the Table of Pampered Women and Cathe. Fourth picture is Cathe and Saundra Fifth picture is of the goodies we received for being 2009 Cathe Roadtrippers