The Firm Bootcamp - Maximum Calorie Burn

It's a lot more difficult following moves in a video than in a live class. A good video addresses this issue by either offering an introductory segment outlining the moves that will be used during the exercise or showing the moves slowly before launching into the exercise. With "The Firm Bootcamp", it would be best to offer a section that goes through the various arm and leg movements in slow motion so we can get those down first rather than try to learn them while keeping our heart rate up...which I find impossible. I am not the most coordinated person in the world, especially when it comes to doing different things with my arms and legs at the same time and I know there are a lot of folks like me out there. It is extremely frustrating when the instructor (Alison Davis) is going through the moves at a lightning pace and just as I get one batch down, she adds more and more. I do not understand why such a large number of combinations need to be used at once when simple power moves would work just as well if not better because the person isn't stumbling trying to figure out what to do next. This is the third The firm video I've tried and I'm quite disgusted. I thought perhaps it was the step in the trans-firmer series that was tripping me up (literally), but I've found I'm stumbling around even without the step. They simply add way too many moves at too quick of a pace for someone new to this type of work-out to learn and follow properly.I find the Tae Bo and Get Ripped videos to be much easier to follow and I get just as good of a workout if not more so. If I put Billy Blanks on mute and turn my own music on, I have no problems because the moves are SIMPLE and straight forward. I've never owned a video that played good music in the background and every instructor's voice gets old to listen to after awhile, so it is nice to be able to mute it and put on my own workout music. I can't do this with The Firm, because the moves change too much and I'm forced to listen to that god awful excuse for electronica in the background. One thing I love about the Ripped and Tae Bo videos is they drop the cliche girly aerobic moves and add some real "punch" to the workout. The Firm chooses to use overly complex boring combinations that I do not find motivating or empowering. Not all females want to be dancers.Also, there is a lot of emphasis on squats and lunges (the lower body), but not enough on the upper body or the abs. The abs section was decent, but I really didn't feel the burn.I gave it 2 stars because it is a decent workout if you are familiar with the moves and can follow along.

"The Firm Bootcamp: Maximum Calorie Burn" is a challenging, total body workout that pretty much hits the ground running and doesn't let up until it's over! From warmup to cooldown, it is about 50 minutes.The long-ish warmup (I think it is about 9 minutes) wastes no time in heating you up quickly using squats, bob-and-weaves, push-ups and some active stretching.The program itself is a rotation of Plyometrics (short, strong jumping alternated with fast-paced weight toning) followed by straight, undiluted Cardio. This is repeated 3 times. (The only thing about the Plyo sections is that there is a lot of picking up and putting down the weights. This is one of the reasons that I actually prefer The Firm's "Ultimate Fat Burning Workout" lead by the same insructor, Alison Davis. Much less picking up and putting down!) Each segment is about 5 minutes (i.e. Plyometrics for 5 min., followed by Cardio for 5 min., etc.).The Cardio sections are not dance-y at all; very athletic-drill/bootcamp oriented (if you're not panting and dripping sweat after the first rotation, you're either an American Gladiator or an alien!). You will do tire drills, punches, front kicks, side kicks, lunges and squats with fun variations and jumping of all kinds. (That dip-press-dip-hop in the 2nd Plymetric section is STILL a killer after 3 months of using this workout...though my legs are on fire at the END now as opposed to the beginning!)In true Firm fashion, even the 10 minute cooldown is active, so even though your heartrate is slowly coming down, you are still working muscles and still burning fat all the way to the end. This particular cooldown provides an excellent waist/upper abs/lower abs workout.The insructor, Alison Davis, is calm and encouraging with a slight southern twang. (I believe that The Firm is based out of South Carolina, so a lot of their instructors have this.) This is a highly recommended workout that will leave you with a sculpted, sexy body quickly!Also, if you want a preview of this and other workout DVDs, check out collagevideo dot com!

This workout is fun to do. It is a mixture of cardio, plyometrics, and sculpting. It moves quickly and hits most of the major muscle groups. The workout is targeted for intermediates. Sue Mi shows beginner modifications but there really is not enough instruction given for a beginner to execute the exercises properly.The only equipment that is required is hand weights (light, medium, and heavy).The cardio was relatively easy to pick up and follow. This is not a dance style cardio workout and the moves are not very complex. That said, the routines do raise the heart rate. The plyometrics was pretty disappointing. The instructor slowly builds up to the full move. This is really unecessary because, really, how difficult is it to learn mountain climbers? That time spent building up to the real move is time that could have been spent burning more calories. Once I did the routine once, I just did the full move from the beginning.A major problem with this video is that the camera work is pretty terrible. The instructor will explain a new leg exercise but the camera will remain focused on the upper body. Or the instructor will explain a beginners or advanced modification and the camera will not be focused on the appropriate person. This happens many many times during the video.Another problem I had with this video is a lack of instruction on proper form or sufficient camera angling to show the move from different sides. In my opinion, this renders this video inappropriate for beginners.I really wish I could give this video a higher rating because it is a lot of fun to do but unfortunately, there are too many major short comings.

THE EXERCISES: Watched this through first time and was initially disappointed as the moves looked very easy, HOWEVER...actually doing the DVD completely changed my mind. The reasons? Well, it starts off with a few minutes warm up that is not overly strenous but does get you warm. It then consists of segments - Cardio 1, plyometric 1, going up to 3 of each, folowed by a cool down. For those who don't know what plyometric is, think Davina's DVD's and the interval training...basically short physical exertion moving on to a short weights section. Each segment is around 8 mins long, so this means the time flies. The 'cool down' is the Abs sesction and is deceptively effective...and TOUGH! Don't be fooled by the title! The instructor is excellent at telling you what to do in advance and the camera work is good so you can clearly see all of the moves. There is also a beginner's modification. I personally did not like the Cardio 3 section as I found it a little too "two-left feet" for my taste, but I just repeated the Cardio 2 section as a replacement.EQUIPMENT NEEDED: You will need weights, they define these as light to medium, and medium to heavy. I've been doing these with 1kg weights (or use filled water bottles)as I put on muscle easily and being only 5 foot, am paranoid about this. However, I am purchasing 2 kg weights to add a little more difficulty to the moves.RESULTS: The DVD's claim to show visible results after 10 sessions, so the real issue is, does it? Well, for me, I have muscly thighs and after 6 sessions, I have lost 3 quarters of an inch from each, so the instructor's claim that it will give you lean thighs IS correct. (The alternating squat lunges with a hop to each is an ABSOLUTE killer!) I have also seen that where my back used to bulge around my bra, this is also disappearing. I am personally highly impressed with the cool down abs section as especially around my sides, I can feel the firmness that wasn't there previously.OVERALL: This is my first Firm DVD and I am impressed. I previously really liked the Billy Blanks Tae-Bo workouts (and still do!), however, I am now a fan and have purchased the Firm's Core workout DVD on the basis that Alison Davies is the instructor (will post a review on that once tried). However, as I am only really interested in results with the minimum amount of effort required (yes, I am essentially lazy)I have to say that this blows Davina's DVD's out of the water on the basis I find it motivating, and actually works. I am not a fitness freak and struggle to a. exercise at all (especially being an unfit smoker, and b. I get very demotivated if I cannot see any results quickly. For the superadvanced fitness junkie, this is probably not the right DVD but for the average joe, regardless of fitness level or actual size, my view is that this is a very good way to kick start the weight loss for summer. I imagine that combining this with pilates sessions would probably be the perfect way to really lose weight and streamline the body. Seriously, I've tried a LOT of exercise DVD's and I really do recommend this. If you have a multi-region DVD player, just buy it. You won't look that attractive sweating away while doing it ~(and yes, I DO sweat every d*mn time)but just buy it. Enjoy!

I honestly can't see how anyone can give this DVD less than a 5 star review. This DVD transformed me from a couch potato to a workout fanatic person within 8 months. The first time I tried to do this work out- obviously due to my unfit state- I was panting heavily like I was running the marathon through the warm up section and could only push myself to complete less than 20 minutes of the exercise.However, determined to make use of my purchase, I was at it the next day doing the beginner's modification and not using weights. By the fourth attempt, I was able to finish the whole exercise with the instructor without pausing for rest or following the beginner's modification. So, yes, it does get better and easier to do with time. But that does not mean that the work out is easy or unchallenging. Far from it, it raises your heart rate up, down and up again. This way, you boost your metabolic rate faster and burn more calories.The DVD is split into sections of a 10 minute effective warm up, three sections of plyometric, three sections of cardio and a cool down section. Each plyometric section is about 5 minutes long and the instructor uses light to medium dumbbell for a more effective workout. Half way through each plyometric section, just when your heart rate is slowing down because you are doing muscle toning and no cardio, there is a break and a challenging plyometric move is introduced. This break is done twice within the same section.After each plyometric section there is a 5 minute cardio section. The cardio sections are really great at working your entire body and making you sweat. There aren't any difficult moves to learn or muster. The moves include lunging and punching, a series of kick boxing moves, squatting down and jumping right back up several times, hamstring curls, jumping jacks and calf pumps. They are however fast paced, and for the first few times you might need to pause the moves and replay again. But before you know it, you will be doing the moves like a real pro!The cool down segment is excellent. It starts off with a series of abdominal workouts-standing abs and abdominal work on the floor- and finishes with excellent stretches to all the muscles you worked out. You feel like a million dollar gal by the end of this.All I want to say is this DVD really works. I went down from a size 12 to a size 6 in 4 months! I was not aiming to go down that much and was a bit surprised to discover that my new size 8 trousers were too loose for me. I have never been a size 6 in my life. Moreover, I have struggled with weight issues for so long and was really unable to lose the weight and keep it off. But 8 months from when I started with my Firm workout, I am still thin and very healthy and fit. I fell in love with the firm which made go on frenzy and buy many of their other DVDs. They are all great! My favourite instructor remains Alison, from this work out DVD. She is really good and explains the moves well, and cues in at the right time.All in all, I swear by this DVD. Go ahead and buy it. Be persistent and you will see the change!

If you only buy one excercise dvd, get this one. It is absolutley fantastic, and will get you into shape. You will need a pair of handweights and off you go to the warm up. Then it is on to 3 alternating plyo and cardio routines and the final section before the stretching is an ab workout done standing and on the floor. The moves are very basic, no dancer's coordination needed. But the moves are hard, lunges combined with leg lifts and hand weights, jumpin jacks and so on. Lots and lots of jumping and your heart rate will rocket up there and you will be sweating. There is however a lady who does some modifications if you can't keep up the high intensity for the entire workout. This workout includes cardio, strength training and stretching for your entire body, so you do everything in one go. And best of all it is only 52 minutes.The instructor is fabulous and cues really well. I particularly like her southern accent. Buy this one. You won't regret it.

This dvd is great!!!I recently started a new job that is a lot less active than my previous job and I noticed that I was putting on a bit of weight, you know jeans getting tighter etc etc. I enjoy keeping fit and having a healthy and toned body but as a parent I dont have the time to attend the gym as regularly as i would like.This is a great alternative if you are committed. The is a one off payment (under £10!!), no ongoing gym fees and you can do it anytime in the comfort of your home while the kids are sleeping just before you go to bed or first thing in the morning.There are reviews that state that this is for beginners, or that they didnt feel like it was advanced enough- my opinion is that they are not following the instructions properly. I am quite fit and I have done this workout about 10 times and I have sweated buckets every single time.I noticed results after about 3 workouts and my body is still improving, both friends and my partner have commented of how pert my bottom is looking!!!I would highly recommend this dvd as an alternative to a cardio/weight session at the gym- You can do the sessions in sections but unlike the 10 minute solutions I dont think you would benefit fully. The time does fly by and just as I am thinking ENOUGH!!! The 'cool down' section comes!!Its great, stay committed and you will see results. Good Luck!

It's a really great work out. However in the beginning stages of learning the routine I found the camera man really irritating. As lovely as Sue Mi is (one of the supporting team members) he keeps zooming in on her face when Alison introduces a new move, so until you have learnt the routine a bit you suddenly have no idea what you are meant to be doing and either flail around like you are drowning mid air or come to an stand still like a one man game of musical statues.