The FIRM Express System Cycle 3 TurboCharge - Thoughts

Cycle 3 of the FIRM Express system is TurboCharge. The three workouts in this phase is led by Master Instructor Alison Davis McClain.

This cycle is suppose to "lean out your physique with the best in cardio coupled with muscle toning exercises".

TurboCharge Cardio Sculpt by far is my favorite (so far) of the Cardio Sculpt workouts. This one had great flow between the cardio, the sculpting moves, and the burst.

And yes I am thinking the "hinge move at the waist" is the FIRM's new signature move because it appears again in all three workouts. I will have to see next week if Kelsie includes this move.

The Burst are:

Burst 1: Power Step Touch

Burst 2: High knee side to side

Burst 3: Single leg lunge run

Burst 4: Tire Run


TurboCharge Cardio I am lukewarm on. I am usually a fan of Alison's cardio choreography and I while I think some moves are innovative, much of it I found repetitive. Also she uses a weight to get increase the intensity in some combinations and on some moves. What I really didn't like about the workout is the ab section included. Not that I didn't like the ab moves themselves, just that it is a 20 minute cardio workout

and I felt the workout could have used that "ab time" for cardio.

The Burst are:

Burst 1 - Squat Leg Alternating Kick

Burst 2 - Quick Step Touch Side to Side

Burst 3 - Single Leg Hop Side to Side (Hopping on one leg)

Burst 4 - Reach Touch Down Side to Side

TurboCharge Sculpt has lots of compound multi-joint exercises. I attempted to come up with a spreadsheet of the exercises listed but they are so varied. I still might do a spreadsheet. There is constant layering of the exercises, adding a component and then another component.

This workout is okay, probably not my favorite Sculpt of the series but not bad either.

There is a noticeable Kettlebell influence with some of the exercises within the workout. There are several sets of lower body static isolation holds while you work the upper body. Also, lots of rowing exercises used in this workout as well.

The Burst are:

Burst 1 - Alternating Lunge Plyo

Burst 2 - Plank Jumping Jacks

Burst 3 - One Leg Lunge Power Jumps

Burst 4 - Kettlebell Swing

One of the things I am noticing about the overall system is that at least one of the burst in every workout include some type of single leg high impact move. I am usually modifying these moves because they are killer on my legs. There are at least four rounds in each burst. If they are doing single leg work, they do two rounds on one leg and two on the other. Not a fan.

TurboCharge Cardio Sculpt - my favorite Cardio Sculpt so far - 4 1/2 stars

TurboCharge Cardio - right now I am giving it 3 stars. I may lower or raise this when I do it again. My calorie burn was equivalent to the other cardio workouts in the system. So right now I am incline to give it 3 stars.

TurboCharge Sculpt - Solid, not crazy about the burst. 3 stars.