I have a membership to the gym that is in a nearby community center. The gym is state-of-the-art, has all the workout equipment you can imagine, it offers several classes and it has personal trainers should I want to personalize my training. I go to the gym maybe twice a week. To be honest, I would rather workout at home. So, just what is it that lures me to our basement every morning around 6:00 a.m.? It is the ladies from The Firm DVD’s, a complete workout system.
Yes, that is right, I love these workouts. I own six of The Firm workout DVD’s and I am totally addicted. I plan on buying more and not renewing my membership to the gym, much to my husband’s chagrin (he is the director of the community center in which the gym is in). I would love to discuss one of my Firm favorite DVD’s and just why I love it. I will discuss one more in another blog at a later date. Maybe this will motivate others to give them a try!
The Firm Ultimate Calorie Blaster: This cardio workout led by master instructor Stephanie Huckabee is superb. This DVD is the newest in the Firm series. For this workout you will need the Firm’s Transfirmer and light weights. The Transfirmer is basically a two-part step system that can be stacked together. One step is eight inches and one is six inches. When stacked together the Transfirmer is 14 inches high. It can also be used as an elevated step. A picture of the Transfirmer can be found here.
During the 45-minute workout in The Firm Ultimate Calorie Blaster, Stephanie Huckabee leads and four other Firm instructors follow, one doing a low impact version of every move. The workout is phenomenal. It begins with a warm-up that gets your heart going and some basic stretches. It then launches into a step routine using light weights; I use three pounds. After the step routine, Stephanie leads you through another routine that is low-impact, no Transfirmer needed. What is nice about this is that during the routine, Stephanie does offer higher-impact moves. Instead of doing a basic squat, you can do a plyo where you jump into the squat.
Stephanie then begins a heart-pumping cardio routine on the step (she switches step size during different routines, one time she uses the six inch portion, the other time the eight inch). This workout also allows The Firm signature move, raising your fanny by doing steps onto the Transfirmer. Stephanie asks you to stack your Transfirmer to 14 inches and guides you through fanny lifting exercises such as the Tall Box Climb, where you climb on top of the box and do various leg lifts and travel along the box. Another segment has you climbing the box using light weights for an arm workout while you climb the box and tone your legs and bottom.
I will readily admit that I consider myself to be in great shape. I walk away from this workout literally dripping in sweat and breathing heavy. I love it. It has changed my body. My legs are sleeker and my arms have nice definition to them. I can thank The Firm for getting me back to my pre-babies size.