Customer Reviews

FitPrime Volume 5: From the Ground Up with Heidi Tanner [VHS]

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This 48 minute workout delivers fun and weight training in one neat package, Heidi is back to lead us in this exciting new workout. A tall step is used to effectively shape the lower body. This step has been seen many times before but the exercises Heidi is doing is giving an entirely new twist to the routine. Never before have leg presses been so fun and challenging.

Heidi also encorporates some kick boxing in the the routine to add some variety and its NOT the basic Aerobic Weight Training moves we are all used to seeing.

This workout is great to use as a cross trainer, it emphasizes the weight training side and should not be used on dayys adjacent to other heavy weight workouts unless you substitute the weights with lighter weights.

I have been doing old The Firm workout series for months now and was looking for something different that would challenge me in the same way as those old videos do. FitPrime is perfect. It is produced and taught by the same people who did the orginal Firm tapes. I bought this one in particular because I found it interesting that the wookout was done with bare feet. I found this to be a great way to keep my balance and work my muscles correctly. Shoes seem to get in my way most of the time, but I always thought it was dangerous to work without proper footwear. This workout is geared to the bare foot. Great energy and fun cardio. The tape includes some pilates, yoga, kickboxing and weight training. You can't do any better than that!

I think this is FitPrime's best video yet...the music is catchy and really keeps you going. It is a true AWT (aerobic weight training) workout which I have found to be both the most challenging and the most effective workout method. Anna Benson & co. continue to produce tough, effective, fun workouts and I will be a FitPrime customer for life.

This is an intermediate/advanced workout which works your entire body with a wide variety of moves. Although the main focus of the workout is on strength training, 2-minute aerobic intervals are woven throughout for a total of about 10 minutes of aerobic activity. The 4-minute warm-up quickly gets your heart rate up with mambos, shuffles, curtsie lunges, squats, and balance work. You then move right into weighted squats and extensions before going into the first cardio section, a kickboxing workout. Next comes more heavy weight work with plies, dips, and lunges; you'll also do some upper body work by performing bicep curls and rows. The second cardio section is also kickboxing, but this time focusing mainly on punches and arm work.

You then need a tall box for some extremely challenging leg presses; your thighs will be screaming by the end of this segment! You'll also do hover squats and seated weight work for the arms, mainly working the triceps. The next cardio segment consists of v-steps, more mambos, and a jump squat. You'll move on to more upper body work with push-ups as well as begin adding some yoga stretches such as child's pose. The final cardio segment works the shoulders with tall box climbs and stomps; I had to drop to lower weights during this section. You then put on ankle weights--stretching the hips as you do so--and move to the floor for about 10 minutes of abs work which includes yoga stretches such as bridge and table poses. The workout finishes with a brief stretch for a total of 50 tough, sweaty minutes.

Instructor Heidi Tanner is a classic FitPrime/Firm instructor: with a soft Southern accent, she cues well and makes sympathetic comments (eg, "This is hard!") while encouraging you to push yourself. She works out in front of a wall mirror on a set that looks like a basement studio, and the music compliments the workout well. The title of the video refers to the fact that the workout is performed barefoot to work on increased stability from the foot upward; I found this challenging for some moves such as the squats and press ups. Overall, I felt that this was an excellent, unique, thorough full-body workout (with a lower body emphasis) which left me feeling strong.

The FitPrime we were waiting for! Heidi leads you through this workout with amazing personality and she just shines! New twists on tall box moves keep the contraction on the muscle to really work you! The aerobic segments are low impact but high intensity. You will feel worked. Very nice editing!
Only drawback, the workout is only about 48-50 min long.

I am a longtime veteran of The Firm workouts, but this is my new favorite. I'm in great shape from The Firm, but the tall box work in this video left my glutes and quads really sore the first time. The difference is that, instead of doing multiple reps, FitPrime engages all your leg muscles over a sustained period of time. Although working out in bare feet may seem gimmicky at first, it really does help to work your balance and your foot and ankle strength. The combination of kickboxing, pilates, weights, and yoga is both fun and really effective. At one point during the abdominals sequence, you are using ankle weights and dumbbells in a way that both stretches and strengthens your inner thighs while simultaneously working your abs and arms. This is working smarter, not harder (although it is plenty hard!), for maximum effectiveness in a short time.
This is a fairly low-budget production, without a fancy set or large cast, but with everything you really need -- great instruction and a great workout. It looks like FitPrime is scheduled to release two new series of workouts in February and March of 2005 -- FitPrime (for those over 35) and KickButt. Judging solely by the titles and covers, some of the KickButt videos may be re-shoots of the original FitPrime workouts with the traditional Firm set and workout casts. This "From the Ground Up" video may now be called "Floor Burn," but I don't know this for sure. It appears that Heidi Tanner features prominently in the KickButt videos. She's been my favorite Firm instructor since the Cross-Trainers Firm Cardio workout (which is also a great workout), and here again delivers great instruction on form with just enough encouragement and no saccharine.

What a fun workout! Done totally barefoot with new moves that work the whole body! Pilates, weights, and ball are used to do thw rokout and Heidi does an amazing job with cuing. I highly recommend it!