Saundra

Cardio Core Fusion is a 55 minute or so workout. It features FIRM Master Instructor Rebekah Sturkie. It also features one pound sculpting balls The sculpting balls annoy me. Or rather, the straps on the sculpting balls annoy me. I personally think the sculpting balls are too light for any meaningful sculpting but they are great for functional training which this workout has a lot of. This is probably my third or fourth time doing this workout and I like it more and more each time I do it. It does contain burpees. It seems like so many workouts contain burpees nowadays. It is like that is the go to move when you want to crank up the intensity in a workout. Cardio Core Fusion alternates between cardio, sculpting, and ab sets. The majority of the ab sets are standing work. Only at the end is there floor work. Pretty much though, the whole workout works your core hence the name Cardio Core Fusion. 3 1/2 out of 5 stars

10 Minute Solution Quick Sculpt Pilates - this was a tough a workout. The different sections included: -Total Body Toner -Buns & Thigh Sculptor -Strength & Flexibility Pilates -Core Conditioning -Standing Pilates Sculpt This workout uses a ball. I had to blow the ball up but it was quite easy. You just blow through the tube and then insert the stopper. The ball is very light and spongy. You use the ball mostly by holding the ball between your legs, knees, and feet. It is intense work especially if you are not use to pilates work. I enjoyed all 5 segments of the workout. Andrea has a nice personality and she cues well. 5 stars out of 5

The FIRM Super Cardio Mix is a 66 minute cardio workout that is signature FIRM. It contains low box step combos, four limb movement, hi-lo floor aerobics, and plyo sets. This is a good workout with good music. It features FIRM Master Instructors Allie Strickland (Del Rio), Carissa Foster, Dale Brabham and Jen Carmen. Along with using a short box, it also used light dumbbells, and a medicine ball. The length of the workout and the plyo sets is what makes this workout tough. 4 out of 5 stars

I don't want to call Super Sculpting a compilation workout, but it is a splice workout or looks like it from the editing. This workout features Jen Carman, Nancy Tucker, Dale Brabham, and Carissa Foster. Jen and Dale lead you through upper body work and Nancy and Carissa lead you through lower body sets. My intent when selecting this workout was to use it as a heavy sculpt day and surprisingly I found it the tempo and reps to be to quick to go as heavy as I wanted to go. So I back off my weight a little bit. You can still go heavy, just not super heavy. I found the pace between each exercise quick. This is a workout where you will want to have your weight selections already laid out. I was late in starting a few of the exercise because I was gathering my equipment. The thing I probably like the least is the way the workout was splice together. Still a great sculpting workout though. 4 stars out of 5

Total Body Shaping Mix is one of my favorite FIRM compilation workouts. It is a 66 minute mixture of upper body, lower body (floor and standing), cardio and abdominal. The sets are challenging. Each muscle group is hit a minimum of two times, with most muscle groups getting worked three times; and often in a different position. You move quickly from exercise to exercise, but the toning sets do allow for going heavy. The cardio burst are a mixture of low and high impact, and each one is choreograph to great music. The choreographing isn't at all complicated. You do a series of moves that layer and repeat themselves several times. If you want to get a taste of what the FIRM was once all about, this is a good workout to start with. 4 stars out of 5

Advance Step Challenge 2 (ASC2). Let me first start off by saying that the choreography in this workout - is IMO more challenging than the choreography in ASC3. It took me longer to learn ASC2 than ASC3 and when I was doing the workout again today, I was still flailing over some of the moves. I think the last time I did this workout was in May. But, it is still an awesome step workout, and part of the challenge is really picking up the choreography so you can do the moves full out. This workout features 5 step combinations all done with the step in the horizontal position. Amy does have a modifier. I did modify a couple of the moves. Amy does provide a preview section of some of the more challenging choreograph moves. There was one move where I felt I needed to review that section. The other moves I was able to get as the combination moved along. The music is fabulous with my favorite tune being the one used for combo 1. "Here We Go Again!" The music really fit th...

The FIRM Upper Body Split is a 61 minute FIRM compilation workout. Okay this is not my favorite compilation and that is because out of 61 minutes of working out only about half (maybe a little more) works the upper body. The other half of the workout is abs/core, cardio, and yes some lower body. Now, out of all the FIRM workouts there were to choose from, I just find it hard to believe that they couldn't come up with more upper body work. Although I will say that this was one of the last compilations made and it could have been that they didn't want to duplicate what was in other workouts. I was trying to use this workout as a heavy lifting day for upper body; and in most cases I was able too. There were a couple of tunes were the tempo was too fast to lift heavy. Also several of the sets featured compound movement (working upper and lower body together - i.e. plie with upright row). In this case I only did the upper body part of the exercise. The music is very good, ...

Advance Step Challenge 3 (ASC3) is exactly like its name implies - an advance step workout. Amy throws choreography at you and it will take even the most experience stepper a time or two to pick it up. But when you do, this workout is fun, fun, fun! Usually when I get a new Amy Bento workout, I will only try to learn a combo at a time. This eliminates some of the frustration with trying to pick up the routine. ASC3 features 5 combinations. Four combinations are done with the step in the standard horizontal position and 1 combination is done with the step in the vertical position. The majority of the moves are athletic in nature with a few mambos and chasse thrown in. After you learn combos 1 and 2, Amy combines them into a mini routine. Then you learn combos 3 and 4 and then they are combine into a mini routine. After you learn combo 5, you go back and do combos 1 - 5 straight through. This is my favorite part. Amy also includes a section in what she calls "Power ups...

Now I don't do this workout very often and haven't done it in a very long time, but this is a good lower body workout. Lower Body Split is a 69 minute FIRM compilation workout that works all the muscle groups of the lower body except for the calves. There was some calf work in the warm up but that was about it. That didn't bother me because I really don't like working my calves. Although I will say, that indirectly the calves were work during the cardio plyo sections. OK enough about the calves. This workout uses the tall box. I just recently gave my tall box away, so I used the Fanny Lifter and it worked out just fine. I liked the fact that this workout didn't over do the leg presses and tall box climbs. There were two sets of leg presses and one set of tall box climbs and they were a part of the same sequence. I did think that there were a lot of lunge sets and lunge dip combination sets, as well as your squats. This workout did include floor work. The fl...

Group shot with Susan Harris. Susan Harris was the instructor in the first FIRM video ever made. It is called Volume 1 Body Sculpting Basics. Susan's class was fantastic. Lots of things to buy Day 1 Group Shot, Before the fun and hurt begin.

From Wednesday October 14 to Saturday October 17 2009 I was in Lexington South Carolina - getting my behind kicked and having tons of fun to boot. I think this is my 5th FIRM Believer's trip. I like going because it always re-motivates me in my fitness and health quest. The instructors who teach at the FIRM are such a vision of what is possible and attainable. This time around the majority of us stayed at the Wingate by Wyndham hotel. It was about three miles from the FIRM studio. Excellent hotel and I highly recommend staying there if you ever go to Lexington South Carolina. And speaking of us, the ladies who attended this year's Fall FIRM Believer's Trip were fantastic to hang out with. Our schedule was jammed pack with activity. I didn't even make all the classes that were on the schedule, but the classes that I did attend and participate in were intense and fun. Looking forward to going back there next year and being in better shape.

Saturday October 10, 2009 Chip time: 33:08, Clock time: 33:21 I have a lot of work to do for next year.

30 Minutes to Fitness Kickboxing is a fun doable workout. Kelly brings her own brand of energy and kickboxing combinations to this workout. Each combination is done in two minute sets. The majority of the sets contain layering moves which I prefer to the sets where she had us do the same moves for two minutes straight. I just felt the layering sets had more variety and were less repetitive. I would classify the intensity as intermediate. The workout is not real high on cardio. There is more of an emphasis of learning the combinations and working the combinations to their full potential. In this workout, Kelly cues ahead of time. There is a PIP box that shows up to visually show you what is coming next as Kelly is explaining it. I didn't have any problem following Kelly's cuing. I did however get tangle up in a one of the arm combinations. My arms weren't doing was my brain and Kelly were saying. The combination was new for me so the muscle memory wasn't there...

30 Minutes to Fitness Weights is not just one of my favorite KCM workouts, it is one of my favorite weight workouts. I will say this is a workout that I didn't click with the first time I did it, which has been well over a year ago now. When I was doing it this time, I couldn't remember what I didn't like about it. The DVD consist of a warm up, two weight routines and an abdominal section and there is a premix sections. The first weight routine is chest, legs, and back. The second weight routine is biceps, triceps, and shoulders. Both workouts featured three rounds or circuits of exercises done two times through. In many cases the exercises were synchronized to the beat of the music which I loved. Kelly is awesome in her cuing and her motivation. 5 out of 5 stars

Cathe GymStyle workouts. This is a great series of workouts and each DVD is packed with many options that allows you to mix and match chapter points and also each DVD contains two premix workouts that gives you even more options in how you can do the workout. Each of the workouts feature heavy weight work intermixed with band work. The band work was mostly used for that extra burn "the bonus burn". Gymstyle Legs is a 67 minute workout that features a standing leg section and a floor section. The floor section uses the stability ball along with the band for increase intensity. The high step is also used in this workouts. Gymstyle Chest & Triceps is a 48 minute workout, although when I did the workout this time, I used the time saver option which clocks in at a 33 minute workout. This workout first works the chest muscle group and then you work the triceps. You used your club step in both a flat and incline position. Gymstyle Back, Shoulder and Biceps is a 62 minut...

Step Works is another solid step routine that can be found as one of three workouts on the Cardio Hits DVD. It follows the traditional pattern of Cathe step routines. The step combinations in Step Works are easy to master and do if you are familiar with Cathe's choreography. The build up of each step combination is rather long. Cathe spends a lot of time breaking down the moves which is my only real gripe with the workout. The music is jammin and full of energy. The workouts on Cardio Hits far outclass the workouts on Classics Volume 1 and if you have your choice of the two, I would definitely select Cardio Hits. Step Works is a 3 1/2 out of 5 star workout.

Step Fit is the second workout on Cathe's Cardio Hits DVD and it is a fun step workout. This workout follows the traditional pattern that Cathe is known for. The warm up is super long and clocks in at around 12 minutes. Following the warm up you have 3 step sections and then the final stretch. In this workout the beat (or how fast you are stepping) didn't seem to be as quick as in other workouts. Cathe intermixes hi lo (ricochet) step moves with power moves (power scissors) for added intensity and variety. If you are used to Cathe choreography you will have no trouble following this workout at all. Cathe actually breaks down the moves quite a bit. The music fit the workout and was overall very good. 3 stars out of 5

There was a chill in the air today. It was very cool outside. I like running in this type of weather but felt slightly sluggish nonetheless. Running time today 34:15:61

Cathe's Cardio Hits DVD features three step workouts. One of these workouts is Power Max which is one of Cathe's older step workouts. Power Max is a 64 minute hi lo step workout. It contains lots of power moves for increase intensity. After doing the workouts in Classics Volume 1 and overall not caring for them, I didn't have high hopes for the workouts on Cardio Hits. So far I have only done 1 of the workouts but I am glad to report this is the type of step workout that I am used to from Cathe. It had the fun intricate choreography put together to great music. Most of the moves were athletic in nature with a few rhythmic moves thrown in. In fact the cool down is based on Latin moves. I enjoyed this Power Max very much. It was my first time doing this workout but I had no trouble picking up Cathe's cuing as a lot of the moves she used in this workout are found in her later workout videos. 3 1/2 stars out of 5.

By far the best of the 30 Minute To Fitness workouts is the Boot Camp . Seriously, Kelly gives you two awesome workouts that are fast paced and contain a lot of variety. The workouts alternates between cardio burst and strength/functional fitness weight burst. Many of the sets contain unique moves or traditional moves done with a unique twist. My only complaint about the workout is that the sets are done in 2 minute increments and that can mean a lot of reps which sometimes translates into "enough already" or "over-repetitious". I think there were two or three times I felt like this. I think this format works well when you have two sides to work (i.e. left side, then right side) because you doing each side for a minute which kind of breaks it up, but to do the same move (and most of the time you are moving quickly) for two minutes can take on a boredom aspect. With that said, I still loved this workout. The music was fantastic and it had a very fast beat. I also li...

Cathe Slow & Heavy series is a 3 workout set . This series works your muscle by doing a 2 count in the negative and a 6 count in the positive. Moving through the workout so slowly and hopefully with control makes these workouts very challenging. The workouts are: Slow & Heavy Legs & Shoulders - 66 min Slow & Heavy Chest & Back - 59 min Slow & Heavy Triceps & Biceps - 60 min Slow & Heavy Legs & Shoulders was probably my favorite of the three and in particular the Leg workout. Cathe used pre-exhaust sets in between the Slow & Heavy sets. The Slow & Heavy sets included traditional Squats, Static Lunges, & Plie Squats. The pre-exhaust sets included Front Lunges, Reverse Lunges, and Side Lunges. The upper body workouts were pretty standard and all the exercises including push ups in Slow & Heavy Chest & Back and dips in Slow & Heavy Triceps & Biceps included the two-six count breakdown. What I notice about these workouts ...

Not a bad workout. 30 Minute to Fitness Body Training features two workouts - one standing and the other workout - floor based. The standing workout is really a lower body workout. The only muscle group of the upper body that really gets any work is your heart and that is because many of the lower body moves has a cardio base element. There were several of the exercises that I felt my heart rate increase. The floor portion of Body Training does not have its own warm up. You go right into leg extension triceps push ups. In my case, it wasn't a big deal because I did both workouts back to back, but still I find it nice when the 30MTF workouts are self-contain (you don't have to add to it). The floor workout contain a mix of upper and lower body exercises, plus some core work. I actually found the floor workout more challenging than the standing workout. And there are no complaints in the music department with this workout. 3 1/2 out of 5 stars