Customer Reviews

The Firm - Cross Trainers: Firm Cardio [VHS]

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a serious work-out for serious results. I rate it as 5 stars because it is effective, well cued, well organized and delivers great results. Whether or not this would be a good workout for you will depend on several factors:

If you hate exercising and are looking for something that would motivate you to get off the couch for 20 minutes this will probably not be the best choice. This is geared towards serious exercisers who do not need/want bright settings, cheery instructors and the cast-having-a-blast atmosphere to keep them going.

For those of you who lack the time be warned, this is an hour long work-out. Also although it is called a cardio work-out this is not all aerobics. You work with weights, but you do so in a manner that keeps your heart rate up and you DO get a good cardio work-out. The FIRM cardio workout was designed to be done alternatively with FIRM Strength workout, where the moves are slower and weights are heavier. Alternating these two gives beautiful results.

If having a room full of equipment bothers you, don't bother picking this tape up. You will need a set of dumbells (3, 5 and 8 lbs recommended) and two step boxes 8-10 inches for cardio, 12-14 inches for sculpting. Ankle weights are optional but recommended.

If you do have the time, the equipment and the commitment then this is a great choice. You will see results a lot faster than with traditional beginners work-out tapes and for maximum results you may want to alternate this with the FIRM Strength tape as recommended. You may also want to try FIRM Tortoise and Hare cross trainers for variety.

This is a fairly advanced work-out, although not as difficult as the original FIRM classics in my opinion. Still, it gives great results and is an excellent choice for anyone who wants a thorough body workout (upper body, lower body, abs, cardio etc) and does not need a "motivator" for an instructor who keeps telling you to keep going and not give up on him/her. Heidi concentrates more on giving exceptional cueing and instruction on proper form. The only non-instructional thing she says is "that was tough". It was!

If you are already in good shape, this tape will help you maintain/get stronger, if you need muscle toning and strengthening, this tape will help you. I did not have much upper body strength before I did this tape and "Firm Strength" on a regular basis, but after about two weeks of alternating the two tapes, I noticed I felt and looked stronger in both my upper and lower body areas. Like all the Firm videos, it is high quality and moves smoothly from one segment to the other. My favorite exercise on this one is the last thing which is the gluteal exercise while wearing ankle weights. It is tough, but it really did firm up my butt and other areas. You can modify it by using no weights at first, (recommended), lighter, than heavier weights as you get stronger. Good teamed with "Firm Strength". See my review of that.

This video is mostly weights. If your looking for a video with more cardio, this is not the one you need. If you want results, I recommend using this tape.

When I first began using this DVD, firm cardio, I found the instructor uninteresting. She wasn't extremely enthusiastic and she was monotone when giving instruction. However, the more I did it, the more I enjoyed it. It does use alot of weights, but it also combines cardio. The firm strength DVD is just as much fun, but somehow, the firm cardio I find to be tougher than the firm strenth, but I love them both!!

This video definitely deviates from the other Firm videos but I still enjoyed it. I liked that they added some dance into the step moves instead of just plain up and down movement like in some of the others. Other new moves shake up the series and keep it interesting. I found it slightly easier than some of the old videos in terms of exertion, so I'd recommend this to beginners and intermediate exercisers and for advanced exercisers/regular Firm users, it's a great light day workout. I have two minor criticisms: the music and the scenery. The music is not ideal for an exercise soundtrack. And as for the backdrop, I like how The Firm always has the room looking like a studio instead of that cheesy in-home look. But like I said, minor criticisms and no reason to pass on this video.