The FIRM Cardio Sculpting Balls Review
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Let me preface this review by saying that, in general, I like most of The Firm's workouts, and I especially enjoy the ones led by Rebekah Sturkie and Kelsie Daniels. Ever since starting to use The Firm workouts (both new and older ones), I have lost some serious inches, when I didn't think that I had any more inches to lose (this was after losing 90 pounds using other workouts, like those by Jillian Michaels, Michelle Dozois, and Jessica Smith). So, I was excited to pick this workout up, especially since it was being led by Rebekah. Usually, I find her cueing to be spot-on, the moves in her workouts not that complicated to pick up and do, and overall I get good results from her workouts. While I do like this workout for many reasons, there are some issues seen in this workout that I found surprising, since I don't usually see them in her other workouts. Here's the breakdown:
THE GOOD:
1) This workout does focus on the core, and does work the core. I have done this workout twice, and both times my entire core felt worked the next day--so it does what it says it's supposed to do. If you keep your core tight the entire time like Rebekah reminds you to, you'll feel the effects.
2) I liked the scultping balls that came with the workout. I like the fact that they're USED during the workout (sometimes you get workouts that come with a gadget, but then it's never used during the workout!), and they are used about 99% of the time. Even though they are only 2 pounds, I felt the difference in my shoulders both times after doing this workout. You could use a heavier set of balls or a kettlebell for some moves, though, if you want to boost your burn; however, I find I use this workout on the days where I don't want to do any heavy resistance training.
3) The amount of variety in this workout is amazing. You won't be bored doing this, and some of the moves to work the core I've never seen before. I also liked the fact that she rotates between cardio, sculpting, and focused core work.
4) The DVD says there are 3 workouts on the DVD, but really Cardio Core Fusion is the full 50-minute workout; the other two workouts are simply shorter versions of this longer workout. That's fine with me; on days when I don't have a lot of time, I like having the option to do shorter versions of this workout--and there's two different shorter versions! One that focuses on the abs, and one that focuses on the sculpting & cardio.
5) Rebekah keeps this workout moving right along; there's not a lot of down-time between the segments.
NEEDS IMPROVEMENT:
1) I found some of the moves in the cardio sections to be overly complicated, and she doesn't repeat them enough to really nail them down. It's hard to get your heart rate up when you're trying to master complicated combos, and this will probably be frustrating to someone new to The Firm moves.
2) Like other reviewers have stated, some of the moves are not timed to the music. This makes the cardio moves that are complicated even HARDER to do, because the timing is off! That got annoying.
3) Rebekah's cueing was seriously lacking this time around. She wasn't specific with yelling out what was occurring, especially when she switched between moves. For example, during the move where she does side-to-side lunges and you're picking up and putting down the balls, I all of a sudden looked up, and she was placing them in different spots (behind the legs, outside of the toes, inside of the toes, etc.). While she was yelling stuff like, "behind! outside!" I didn't know what was going on exactly. That happened in other moves as well, where she would change them up without any advanced warning. And I know it wasn't just me, because the background exercisers kept screwing up, too, when she wasn't cueing correctly.
4) Along with Rebekah's spotty cueing, the camera angles left a lot to be desired. Rebekah would often add on to a move, but the camera wasn't anywhere near her.
5) A lot of times Rebekah has one of the balls placed on the floor in front of her. I have a very small workout space, and that wasn't possible for me to do; this resulted in me missing some moves because I always had to go get the other ball.
6) Make sure you have the straps on the balls adjusted BEFORE the workout; you'll waste a lot of time adjusting them for some of the moves if you don't.
Overall, I do like the workout--it does what it's supposed to do. However, there are some production problems that make the overall experience frustrating; and it's all the more frustrating because these issues AREN'T on other Firm videos. Will I do this workout again? Absolutely. Do I have others that I will do more often? Absolutely. However, on the days inbetween my heavy weight/resistance training days, this is a nice workout to do if you can get past those production problems and want some good core work.
The FIRM Cardio Sculpting Balls Feature
- Will sculpt and tone your body with astonishing results
- Provides high energy, high intensity, and high-fat burn
The FIRM Cardio Sculpting Balls Overview
The Firm Cardio Sculpting Balls will sculpt and tone your body with astonishing results in half the time. High energy, high intensity, and high-fat burn---it's all there. Includes the balls and a workout DVD containing three workouts: CARDIO CORE FUSION, CARDIO ABSESSION, and BURN SHAPE & TONE.
The FIRM Cardio Sculpting Balls Specifications
*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Aug 25, 2010 19:34:08
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