December 06, 2008.

Great workout overall, but wanted a bit more cardio.

Rating: 4
I really like Kelsie Daniels and this workout. She alternates between sets of strength training and cardio intervals. However, I felt that the cardio intervals could have been a bit longer with more emphasis on kickboxing. She is not annoying or overly peppy and I have added this workout to my regular rotation of workout videos.

December 11, 2008.

Great Workout!!!.

Rating: 5
This is a great cardio kick workout. It's definitely in my top 10 from this brand

December 04, 2008.

great lower body workout.

Rating: 4
This is a great workout! The only reason I am not giving it 5 stars is that I really think it needs more upper body work. The cardio is non stop and the warmup is better than a lot of workouts on other videos. Beginners will probably want to start slow.

December 03, 2008.

It's OK.

Rating: 3
I really wanted to like this workout, but it fell a little short. First, it isn't 45 minutes. Including the warm-up, it's under 40. They must be adding on this strange 5 minute workout 'bonus' that is on the DVD.

They have a new set...it's really bad. It looks like a 70s sitcom.

I found myself looking for a bit more direction. The cueing was a bit off. There were a few new moves which was good because I think The Firm is getting stale.

All in all, it's a shorter workout that will rev you up for a bit. Maybe for a day when you want to take it easy.

December 02, 2008.

Fun, non-stop cardio workout!.

Rating: 5
This new workout from The Firm is designed to be a fat-burning routine which blends kickboxing and sculpting intervals. It is led by Kelsie Daniels, an instructor who has been a favorite of mine since back when she worked with Firm founder Anna Benson on the original FitPrime series. The only equipment you need for the workout is a set of dumbbells; Kelsie cues you to use "medium to heavy" weights, but I found that sticking with 5-pound dumbbells throughout was challenging yet allowed me to focus mainly on the cardio benefits of the moves. The workout is filmed on a nice, bright set, with big windows in the background overlooking what appears to be a building courtyard. Kelsie is joined by four background exercisers, one of whom shows lower-impact modifications.

Kelsie gets you moving right away with an fast-paced warm-up that includes punches and active stretches; the warm-up lasts just under 5 minutes, and you are moving the entire time. The first weighted series follows. This segment begins with a squat/hammer curl combo, eventually adding a kick and then moving into a lunge with back kick. The squat series is repeated on the other side and then the section finishes with some push-ups which include punches. Next is the first kickboxing segment. Kelsie builds up a fun combo in an add-on style; eventually, you'll do a jab-cross-hook-upper-knee-front kick-back kick-front kick, with the combination itself automatically moving you from one side to the other. A second series using the weights follows, starting with dips and shoulder press, adding in a glute lift. The next move is a crescent knee with opposite knee raise and side twist, and finally, there is a 1-legged squat with tricep kickback. Then it's on to another fun kickboxing segment, starting with a side-to-side shuffle and three punches on each side. After this, there's a dip with a knee lift that turns into an optional jump kick, and finally, a series of side kicks. The final weights work follows, this time starting out with side lunges and triceps, eventually adding a roundhouse kick and then ending with a 1-armed row. The segment concludes with another compound move, curtsy dips with side laterals, and a final balance move, side laterals while balancing on one leg.

At this point, the workout moves to the floor for push-ups and abs work. I question the decision of The Firm to include this segment in a shorter workout like this one; I think it would've made much more sense to use the time for an additional kickboxing segment. This section begins with a very short plank work series and then moves on to crunches, some of which were new an different, such as doing punches during bicycles. Overall, however, this entire segment was less than 5 minutes long, so it didn't seem all that worthwhile. The 5-minute cool-down is performed entirely on the floor, and it included some very nice stretches for the hamstrings, quads, and hips, all of which were definitely needed after the lower body emphasis of this workout. The total time for the workout was about 42 minutes. The workout also includes a bonus segment called "Every Muscle in 5 Minutes!" It's actually just under 6 minutes long, and it features Kelsie working out alone. She opens with a fast-moving lunge from side-to-side, adding on several sets of push-ups. Next comes a back dip with an overhead press and then a front lunge with a row; this is repeated to the other side. Finally, she finishes off with a slow side-to-side lunge to stretch. As might be expected, this short segment felt kind of rushed, and I'm not sure that it really added anything to the overall workout.

Despite my ambivalence towards the floorwork and bonus workout, I really enjoyed the main body of this workout! Kelsie keeps you moving non-stop, so even the weighted segments felt more like cardio work to me. I found the music to be much more fun and upbeat than in other Firm offerings, and I was also impressed that this DVD is actually chaptered, something you almost NEVER see from the FIRM! Although there are a few things that I think could have been done better, overall, I'm very happy with this workout and know that I will use it often; my final rating would be 4 1/2 stars.