Customer Reviews

The Firm - Body Sculpt

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Jennifer Carmen takes you through a total workout that is 55 minutes long and you feel it the next day. But the results are visible with continuous use in less than 10 days. Get the Fanny Lifter, it is worth the money. You can get it on ebay without the tapes/DVD's. I say this because doing the leg press you feel and see the results, versus not having the lifter. She keeps you motivated, on point with each exercise. Another one I recommend is the Super Body Sculpt with Stephanie Corley. The Firm did it again!!!!

This is the hardest Firm strength video I own. It is divided into 2 parts, lower and upper body, there are no abs in it though which is fine with me as I am usually wiped out by the end. You will need the Fanny Lifter or a step or stool and assorted dumbells, such as 3,5 & 8 pounders.

The lower body portion is first, nice to get it out of the way. It consists of a couple set of squats one of which is hover squats, 2 sets of leg presses for each leg (16 reps), a long set of lunges and dips with count variation such as pulses and 4 count, plie squats, some side lunges which aren't seen often in videos, and a killer set of squats/leg abductions which don't sound hard but they are. I think they are the hardest part of the lower body section. Then it's time for a well deserved cool down/stretch. The upper body section is next, not quite as hard as the lower body but it is still thorough in hitting all the muscle groups. You will work the biceps with traditional and hammer curls, triceps with french presses and kickbacks, chest with bench press, pec flies and pushups. 2 sets of double arm rows for the back, and some tough shoulder work, front and side raises plus military presses and rear delt work.

This workout is led by Jen Carmen, you can always count on her for a tough workout. She is joined by 4 fellow Firm Master Instructors including Libby who shows beginner modifications. Jen does a good job leading and you can tell they are all working hard along with you. If you are up for a challenge this workout is for you.

This is a great exercise video. Jen takes you through a challenging workout that slims and scuplts all the right parts of the lower and upper body. It can be intnese but she does recommend that if weights are too heavy for any portion to lighten them or use none at all and follow the modiifed versions with Libby. I love the leg press and the stretches in this video. They have slimmed my legs and have helped me to drop 4 dress sizes in one month and a half. The Firm gaurantees visible results in 10 workouts and i have it.

I have three of The Firm's DVDs, and use the fanny lifter and sculpting stick. It's a great workout, but if you have any problems with your knees, stay away from The Firm. The exercises rely heavily on bending the knees and putting a lot of weight and stress on the knee joints. I've been OK with it but have had a little soreness.

The upper body exercises of course do not involve the knees and are great. But probably two-thirds of the exercises involve a fair amount of stress on the knee joints.

I'd been doing the Firm Ab Sculpt workout for a short period of time and the results have been outstanding, so I decided to purchase the full Firm Sculpt Workout Program, including the Fanny lifter. The whole program provides an unbelievable workout with outstanding, visible, results. You work every single muscle in your body. Body Sculpt is definitely a great workout. The program is split into two parts, upper and lower. In each workout, you feel the burn and know exactly which muscles are being worked. If you are a beginner, don't over do it. Work yourself into it. There, as with all of the workouts in the program, is a modified version for beginners. If you are looking for a workout program that guarantee visible results, be sure to add this one to your list. It is definitely worth it's weight in gold.

Body Sculpt is from The Firm's Body Sculpting System 1 and is led by Jen Carmen; there are four background exercisers, one of whom shows beginner modifications. The 48-minute workout uses the Firm Fanny Lifter, which is a tall box that can be set at three different heights, and three sets of dumbbells.

The workout begins with a 6-minute warm-up which includes standard Firm moves such as squats, body waves, grapevines, knee ups, and moving stretches. Next comes the 15-minute lower body section. Jen uses heavy weights throughout this segment (I used 10#), and it is tough! She completely exhausts one side of the body before moving to the other. You do squats, lunges on one side, plie squats, lunges on the other leg, dips off the Fanny Lifter, hover squats (adding a 3-count hold), leg press on the Fanny Lifter (same leg), side squat onto the low step, repeat Fanny Lifter work on other leg, squat with abduction, side squat on the other side. One thing that I didn't like here is that you are doing a lot of disassembling/reassembling of the Fanny Lifter throughout the sequence.

Following the lower body work, there is a 5.5 minute segment which includes stretches for the lower body and warm-ups for the upper body, including both stretches and two sets of push-ups on the short step. Next comes 15 minutes of upper body work. Here Jen uses two sets of weights, medium and light. Beginning seated on the Fanny Lifter, she does a row, a bicep curl, and a row with a twist. She then does push-ups with hands on the Fanny Lifter, clean & press, and single French press. Returning to a seated position, she does several shoulder moves and a double French press. Next, Jen has you lie with your torso over the Fanny Lifter (I found this uncomfortable) for tricep kickbacks and additional shoulder work, and finally, she moves to the floor for chest press and pectoral flies. The workout finishes with a 5-minute stretch for all major muscles groups, coming in right at 47.5 minutes.

Overall, this is a solid full-body workout. For the lower body in particular, Jen accomplishes a lot in a short amount of time, but I felt that the intensity of the upper body work did not match that of the lower body. When working the arms, Jen frequently alternated sides; this would've been fine if she was using heavy weights, but since she wasn't, I made the upper body exercises harder by working both of my arms at the same time. Furthermore, although the upper and lower body portions are quick and efficient, there seems to be a lot of wasted time in this workout. Not only did the warm-up feel a bit too long to me, but also the stretch sequence between the lower and upper body workouts felt completely unnecessary. One example of wasting time is that you do a basic triceps stretch at FOUR separate times during this workout: during the warm-up, during the middle stretch, during the upper body portion, and during the cool-down. For a workout that does not include abdominals, this just seemed too long; I would've preferred 40-45 minutes. Finally, fans of The Firm's aerobic weight training style may be disappointed that there are no cardio segments in this workout (although my heart rate did stay in my target zone for about 20 minutes, mostly during the lower body portion).

This is definitely a decent strength training video that's probably best-suited for advanced beginners-to-intermediates. If you like The Firm's strength workouts and enjoy Jen's style, then I would recommend the workout and give it about 3 1/2 stars.

This is an extremely challenging workout in terms of lower body work. Format: Warmup, Lower Body Work, Cooldown for Lower/Warm up for Upper, Upper Body Work, Cooldown. The DVD allows you to select lower, upper, or both. Equipment called for: The Fanny Lifter, dumbbells. You could also use The FIRM Box or the TransFirmer. If you have a regular step, you can use it with a little creativity, no problem.

As others have noted, you need some kind of step for basically ALL The FIRM workouts, plus your dumbbells. Some FIRM workouts also require a Sculpting Stick. There is truly no need to expect to participate fully in The FIRM workouts without your box (or step or whatever you have).

Here's some helpful hints: All body sculpting systems (BSS) from The FIRM require dumbbells. BSS1 requires The Fanny Lifter. BSS2 requires The Fanny Lifter and Sculpting Stick. BSS3 requires The FIRM Box. BSS4 requires The TransFirmer.

Some of The FIRM workouts will work just fine with a regular Step, others won't. Just be aware that you may not be able to fully participate without the proper equipment. I will say this about The FIRM: Even though they require you to purchase their equipment, you can use the equipment for years to come. Plus, the packages are not that expensive, they usually come with 3 or more workouts, and the old stuff is on sale on their website. And, they usually let you pay with two payments instead of one. Not bad.

I love The FIRM. I've lost over 50 pounds of my pregnancy weight with these no-nonsense, effecient workouts. These workouts are challenging guys. They get results, so I'm willing to spend a few extra bucks on their equipment because these workouts WORK. I've noticed a definite change in my muscle tone, energy level, and stamina. Like everything else in life, this works if you work it. Good luck, everyone

The Firm is just simply one of the best workouts for the money, and when you consider the price of joining a health club, it's downright cheap. Add to that visible results in 10 workouts (which I have seen) and it's worth twice the price. My only problem is, at 5 feet tall, the steps (when stacked) are hard, but I pull through. Over a month or two, you'll be glad you persevered. I hate cardio, so this one DVD has given me the results I desire without having to jump around. I break up my workout into three days so I stay motivated and don't give up - lower body one day, upper body the next, and then abs. By the time I've done one full three-day rotation, my entire body feels stronger. I've gone from a size 10 to a loose size 8, and my goal is to hit size 4 by summer. Starting so early in the year, it's gonna happen. If you've never tried any other Firm videos, this a good one to start with, hard enough (with additional weights) for a more fit trainer, and just simple enough to get a coach potato into the zone. And if you've got the courage, do what I did. Take out your digital camera (and a tripod, if you have one), take a picture of yourself from all sides (not sucking in the stomach), do The Firm, then take another photo in about 3 weeks. When you start to see the definition in your stomach, butt and thighs, that will keep you motivated more than any of these quotes! I stick my new "after" photos on my refrigerator once a month; I'm so proud!

Body Sculpt, led by Firm instructor Jen Carman, is a challenging total body sculpting workout. The video is formatted so you could split up what areas of the body you work on different days. The workout is divided into several segments beginning with a 6 minute warm-up. That is followed by a TOUGH lower-body workout. It seems like the leg presses on the fanny lifter are endless, but in a good way! They are difficult, but you know you will see results. There is a five minute stretching transition before a 15 minute upper-body workout. The video concludes with a final stretch and cool-down.

You do need the FannyLifter or a step stool and three sets of weights (such as 3,5, and 8 pounds). Jen is a motivational instructor - which you need for such a tough workout! Definitely a worthwhile addition to your fitness collection, especially if you love the Firm's videos, as I do!

I love The Firm tapes. They're challenging and a great workout with minimal high impact. (The older tapes have much more high impact-80's kind of moves.) One of the things you really need is a step. The Firm sells the Fanny Lifter which is a two-part step - one is 6 inches and the other is 8 inches - that go together to make 14 inches. When I first started the Firm tapes, I wasn't ready (physically or financially) to get the fanny lifter, so I got a 10 inch step stool at the local hardware store. It worked great! When I was ready (about 6 months later) I purchased the Fanny Lifter with the BBS2 system. This included the other Firm item that is used in more recent workouts - the scuplting stick. It is a 4 foot tall weighted bar with ends that come off to make 2 hand weights that weigh 2 pounds each. All together it weighs 8 pounds. This video doesn't use the sculpting stick, but I thought I'd clue you in on that as well. Any of the tapes/DVD's made after 2003ish may require the sculpting stick as well as the fanny lifter.

Also you'll need a set of weights. If you're new to weight lifting, probably 3, 5, and 8 pounds. But if you're REALLY new to it - just do the workout without weights first. You'll know when to add weights as you get used to the Firm workouts.

All in all, this is not my favorite tape, but it's a good workout. I find the break in the middle between lower and upper body workouts difficult and prefer more of a mix throughout the whole workout. I also prefer a bit more cardio thoughout the workout (like in Cardio Scuplt, another of the tapes in this, the BBS, series). But, that's just my opinion. If you want a total body sculpting workout this is a good choice.