Firm Checkin for Feb. 27th to March 5

[sm4987]

Good morning all. Yesterday I did a total body weight workout with Cathe.

This morning was Super Cardio sculpt with Nancy using 5 pound weights and the incline box.

Hope everyone has a good day, and look already we are into Month 3 of the year!!!!!!!!!!! :goodvibes

[norma1223]

Good morning all!

Yesterday I did Super Cardio Sculpt. This morning was Upper Body Sculpt.

I've been so busy at work and with ds's basketball that I hardly have any time to check in here. I can't wait for April 15.

[s&k'smom]

Hey gang, got in a few minutes of Allie, it felt so good to move. I'll give it a try again tomorrow!

[toystoryduo]

Today was Cardio Sculpt Blaster and maybe a yet-to-be determined- 2nd workout for the day. Part of my March goals is to do 2 a day workouts twice a week. :banana:

[ZerasPride]

This morning I did a new Cathe work out (thanks again Sheree!). It's called boot camp and it was tough, real tough!!!! Monday I did Super Cardio Sculpt and Sunday I did Super body sculpt.

I made the February challenge of 1000 minutes, even though it was a short month. Woohoo!!!

Tracy - your goal sounds wonderful! I was doing the two work outs twice a week and got too tired. Instead I up the number of minutes I do per day and don't take a rest day. We'll see if that works better for me. Please let us know how it works for you. You go girl!!!!

Hi Sheree, Norma, Melanie, s&k'smom and everyone else that hasn't posted yet.

[s&k'smom]

Well I got in about 15 minutes this am so at least I got a bit of a sweat going. I think I'm gonna try and finish the tape tomorrow and then a Jen Carmen tape. I always feel like I get a good weight workout on her tapes.

[luvmydogs]

Hey FIRMies! :banana:

Before I say anything, I must welcome my sweet, beautiful WISH Sis Lisa to The Century Club!!! :cheer2: OMG!!! LISA!!! 101 POUNDS!!! I am so unbelievably happy for you--thrilled beyond words!!! When are you moving down here to GA, baby, so I can give you a big big big hug!!! You have my my most heartfelt congratulations! :hug: And hey--you're doing BootCamp! Doesn't that workout kick boo-tay?!!! It's definitely one of my fave Cathe's! Have fun!

Ok, here's the latest heath update, and I thank you in advance for putting up with all this from me. I had my first appt. with the oncologist today, and I'm being scheduled for a biopsy of the tumors on my bladder. He doesn't feel that what he sees in my kidneys are neccesarily tumors, but while they're doing the biopsy, he's going to run some dye-tests and Xrays to get a better picture of the problem. They should be calling me with my appt. time by the end of this week. You know that whole "woman's intuition" thing? Well, my intuition is telling me that everything's going to be just fine--I just have a really good vibe going, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it holds true! :)

I'm glad to see you all doing so well with your health and fitness commitments! I'm so proud of you all and think of you guys all the time! As for me, when I'm healthy, I feel great! I'm doing Cathe's new Hardcores--although I must admit, I'm a little disappointed with several aspects of this series. But she does still manage to kick major butt--her hover squats make my boom-boom sore for days! :headache: :teeth:

I LOVE YOU GUYS!!! :love: :grouphug:

[s&k'smom]

Hey Kim I was so glad to see your reply. I so agree with the woman's intuition, my mom has always told me to trust it so I know your gonna be find.

OMG 101lbs! Your rock Lisa!

[sm4987]

Kim, I pray that everything will be o.k. I trust my gut instincts too!!

Lisa, WTG!!! Looks like the changes you've made are just what you needed in order to put you back on track. Keep it up!!!

S&K's mom, every little bit helps

Today was a rest day and probably tomorrow too!!! I don't know if I call installing wood flooring in half my house a rest day though. I've been walking back and forth so much, my legs go the nerve to hurt! Hope everyone had a great day

[norma1223]

This afternoon I did Calorie Killer and Workout 3 of Firm Abs. Tomorrow will be a rest day.

Kim - I hope everything goes well at your appointment. Please keep us posted!

[s&k'smom]

I actually got in almost a half hour today. Though I am a firm believer I have to say I really love Billy Blanks as an instructor. He is very motivational, kinda like the male version of our Allie.

[ZerasPride]

Good morning Firmies,

It's so good to see so much activity on our thread! This morning I am sore, sore and did I mention I was sore? That Cathe boot camp work out kicked my booty!!! My arms are still aching and so is my bum. Wow! I almost didn't make it out of bed this morning but I managed to get through Fat Blasting Cardio with Lisa Kay without falling on my face. It wasn't my best effort but hey a girl has got to rack up her exercise minutes! I hope to do BSS1 ab sculpt this evening since I only did a 30 minute work out this morning.

Kim - I'm so glad to hear you're in a sunny mood. I just know the docs are going to have good news for you. I'll be thinking of you and waiting to hear those results. I think Cathe is my new love. Boy is she a killer instructor. She also looks so young in boot camp. It's funny. I haven't heard of this new Cathe series. Care to share some of the details with us? Take care my WISH-sis and thanks so much for the congrats on reaching the 100 pound club. It's been long in coming and I can hardly believe it! As far as coming to GA, I wish I could move there right now with all this stupid snow and the cold we're experiencing here!

s&k'smom - thanks for the support. I've been wanting this 100 pound clippie for a long time! With the way my weight bounces around, it may be along time before I see the 105 pound clippie so I'm reveling in the one I have! I just love work outs with Jen. She really pushes you. I might do BSS1 body sculpt tomorrow and let her work me! I saw the new Billy Blank infomerical the other night for his new boot camp series. He always cracks me up! I was tempted to buy his new system but I think DH would kill me if I bought any more exercise stuff right now.

Sheree - hey girlie! Enjoy your rest day or two. I know you deserve it. That floor work sounds like fun, are you doing it yourself? Do we have our own DIY diva on the DIS? :) Thanks for all your support, and the effort you put into making those Cathe tapes for me. I'm so sore that I think I'll save boot camp for the weekend. I need a few days to recouperate!

[luvmydogs]

http://www.firmdirect.com/Images/Allie172x341Bio2.jpg

Allie's new bio photo!!! :hyper:

Hi guys! Thank you so much for all the well-wishes! :grouphug: With all you wonderful WISHers behind me, I know that everything's going to be just fine! :cheer2:

Lisa!!! :hug: Does this sound familiar? "Down, out, scissor, scissor, out, in and up!!!" AAAAACCCKKK--Terminator climbers! :scared: Oh, those things kill me every time! I have to modify those a lot, because one part of my body or another usually starts giving out on me fairly quickly! I do love Boot Camp, though--with all the changing around of exercises, it moves so quickly! It's a major calorie burner and shock-your-body workout for me.

Sigh.....Cathe's new Hardcore series. I received these @ a month ago after preordering them last summer when she first announced that she'd be putting a big series together. They're 11 workouts (10 new--the 11th is a three workout compilation dvd, compiled from sections of the other 10 workouts):

LoMax--low impact step w/o
IMAX3--super high intensity interval step w/o
High Step Challenge--Circuit w/o using the high step
KickMax--Kickboxing
Three gym style w/o's done as a three day split
Muscle Max--Total body strength
Core Max--three, 20 minute core w/o's using no equipment, stab. ball and med ball
Stretch Max--three, 20 minute stretching w/o's using no equipment, stab. ball and dynaband
Hardcore Extreme--Three w/o compilation dvd

Now the disappointment. To encapsulate, I thought I was the only one with sound issues until I began reading the complaints on VF and YaYas. The music is so low, that for some workouts I can barely keep my movements on-beat. The music itself sounds buzzy and tinny. Cathe always had incredibly motivating music, but with this series (I'm quoting a VF'er), "it's as though she made up all the choreograpy and then just found songs to play in the backround, instead of the other way around." The choreography just doesn't seem to flow nearly as well. Some of the premixes are horribly edited--she'll have the barbell in her hands and a milisecond later, she'l be holding dumbells already into the next segment. Now, I do like the w/o's and they are HARDCORE, but they just don't seem to live up to her past quality production-wise. Her company's response to the questions re' the music issue is unacceptable--they're saying it's *our* dvd players, go get speakers and set it up in surround sound. They're deleting people's forum accounts who are posting geuinely valid questions (some say that so her newer FitTV fans won't be scared-off by the negativity). They say there is no problem and there will be no returns accepted. For balance, there are people who say they have no sound issues whatsoever, or that the low sound doesn't bother them. But SNM (Cathe's company, therefore Cathe) is really alienating a large selection of it's fan base. Since I preordered, I saved nearly $160, and that preorder $ allows Cathe to take that upfront cash to offset production expenses. But the way SNM is dealing with this makes me wonder if I'll ever preorder again--and I'm not the only one. Aside from the gym styles (which I LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!), I would been quite upset if I'd have to pay retail for this series. Dang.

Eeeek! I guess I have some pent-up hostility on this issue, don't I? :rolleyes:

Have a wonderful Wednesday, FIRMies! You be jammin'! :cool1:

***Edited to add: I just got my biopsy date. Tuesday March 15 at 7am! So in less than 2 weeks I'll know what's up. :goodvibes :goodvibes :goodvibes Goodvibes...goodvibes...goodvibes...

[toystoryduo]

Hi everyone!

Today was Kathy Smith day for me:

* I did Kathy Smith Lift Weights to Lose Weight, Kathy Smith Stretch (In Timesaver Cardio), and Day 1 of FIRM 5 Day Abs this morning.

* This evening I did Kathy Smith Timesaver Cardio for a grand total of 104 minutes of exercise. I'm tired, but it's a good tired.

Kim~ Hey girl! You know that you are in my prayers! I pray that the doctors have super-duper, awesome -wonderful good news for you! :grouphug: Take good care of you! :grouphug:

Lisa~ I am so inspired by you! 100 pounds lost is awesome! I started South Beach on Sunday and went back and read your journal for ideas and inspiration. You are an amazing and wonderful person, Lisa! Keep up the good work! :cheer2:

s&k's mom~ I love Billy Blanks too! TaeBo is a fun way to mix up our workout routines every so often. He is so encouraging! Keep up the good work!

Sheree~ You are doing awesome with your workouts! Keep up the good work and thanks for starting our thread!

Norma~ Keep up the good work! :cheer2:


Have a great Thursday!!! :sunny:

[s&k'smom]

There was a miracle!!!! Not only did Sam sleep all night by himself I got to do a 30 minute Nancy Tucker tape!!!!!!!!! I feel so good having done it, it really sets the mood for a good day.

[sm4987]

Hello everyone. I didn't check in yesterday, but I did use it as a rest. I can't remember the last time I had two day rest back to back.

Lisa, yes we are laying the floors ourselves!! I thought I'd save some money, so DH and I got to work. It is beautiful with only the kitchen left. We did the entry, hallway and family room. After we lay the kitchen we would have layed 1000 sq. feet of flooring!!! Our house is 2800, so I decided to leave the carpet in the rest of the house. With these floors, I can have spills and not worry about them. With 2 children, it's constant worry!!!!!

Everyone is doing so great with their workouts. I have to run again, but when I get home, it's gonna be a double workout for me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[toystoryduo]

Good evening FIRMies!

Today was Super Cardio Sculpt with 5 pound weights (thanks for the inspiration Sheree! :teeth: ) and Day 2 of FIRM 5 Day Abs. Grand total of minutes of exercise for the month: 154. :Pinkbounc

Have a great evening!

[winniedapooh]

Does anyone have any suggestions for me for fitting in exercise? I work, basically sitting for 10 to 12 hours a day. The only time I am up is to walk to waiting room to get a client or to take a walk around building when client does not show. I have a small office all by myself, no tv, but I could do stretches, etc. Can't walk outside right now parking lot is a mess and so much snow and ice on ground and sidewalks not shoveled. I leave early after getting kids on bus and get home late and feel brain dead at that point. Thanks for any advice. :wizard:

[sm4987]

Tracy, you are so welcomed. I really want to help any way the I can. Upping the weights during a workout really can pump it up, especiallyif it's a workout you are used to doing over and over again.

Michelle, welcome. A lot of us here decided that exercising was going to be like paying bills, you have to pay those bills or else, and we just find the time to fit in exercise. I find that exercise stimulates me. It makes me feel more alive, vibrant, and boy what it does for the body!!!! Maybe you could fit in some 15-20 minutes of working out some where. 15-20 it the morning, 15-20 when you come home. I know Lisa wakes up extra early to get her workout in. It all depends on you and where you see that there might be a couple of minutes for just you!!!! You are so important, remember that.

I did a double Cathe workout today. Pyramid lower body and a cardio+sculpt tape. I think I've gone crazy. I have no idea now that I'm sitting here in paind and tired, why I did that. I know I felt like I needed to kick it up after being off for two days, but wow. I never new a stability ball could give such a workout. Tomorrow will be a firm day. Have a good night everyone

[s&k'smom]

Hey Michelle, welcome we are so glad you are hear. I know I wake up at 5am every morning to try and work out, as the others will tell you of my whining the last few weeks DS has had sleep issues so I haven't worked out much but he seems better now and I just work out when opportunity strikes. There are a lot of 30 minute firm tapes for a quick workout.

Today I actually got in a whole hour workout. Body Sculping Basic with Susan Harris a very old Firm tape but holy cow it's excellent. She uses weights for almost every exercise. A certain someone who is doing the Oprah challenge would love this one. (OK I'm really jealous I wish I had the courage to do it)! But I feel absolutely fantastic getting up such a sweat.

[sm4987]

Good morning all!!! I did express cardio this morning.

Hope everyone has a wonderful Friday!!!!

[ZerasPride]

Good afternoon Firmies,

Yesterday was a dreaded rest day for me. I'm trying to learn to enjoy it once a week but it's hard. The upside of a rest day is that I am super ready to work out the next morning so I usually have a really good work out and this morning was no exception. I did my favorite Firm work out - Total Muscle Shaping with Stephanie.

Sheree - you did two Cathe work outs in one day! Wow! I don't know if I could ever do that. You're a work out diva for sure!!!

Michelle - Welcome! You've already gotten some great advice about finding the time to make exercise a priority. I find that getting up even 30 minutes early during the week gave me enough time to make working out a habit. I now get up an extra half hour earlier than I used to (5:00 am) to get in a 40-55 minute work out but I'm used to it at this point. You could focus on doing just a 30 minute routine to get yourself going, the Firm has several that good 30 minute tapes like Cardio Sculpt Blaster, Fat Blasting Cardio and Ab Sculpt (from BSS1).

s&k'smom - that work out sounds tough! I wonder if I could get it off the firmdirect site? I also wonder if DH would refrain from killing me if I added any more work out tapes to my collection. He actually stopped me from working out last night when he knew I said I was supposed to be taking a rest day. Ha! Hey, for the record, it's not too late to join the Oprah Challenge. :)

Tracy - glad to hear you're hanging in there with the work outs! Is it cold enough for you? I'm freezing!! We need spring so bad!

[sm4987]

I was reading this article on the firm website and thought to share with all of you. Janet wrote the article

When I first began working out to The FIRM twenty years ago, I had no knowledge about the exercise physiology behind The FIRM workouts. All I knew was that I saw a difference in my body shape and strength almost immediately, and my results continued as long as I stayed committed to The FIRM.

As a FIRM Instructor, I have learned how to use The FIRM program so that my body gets the highest rate of return in the most efficient time. Now I want to share that knowledge with you.

Heavier Weights = Smaller Body

FIRM workouts are super-effective because The FIRM combines strength training with aerobics. This combination lets you lose significantly more fat than you would from aerobics alone. Additionally, The FIRM's weight training segments include a cardiovascular component, allowing you to burn even more fat while improving your cardiovascular endurance.

The FIRM's strength training makes and keeps our bodies trim and youthful. As we get older, our bodies naturally lose our lean muscle tissue and gain excess fat - that means a little less muscle and a little more fat with each year. FIRM workouts simultaneously reverse both muscle loss and fat gain so that our bodies become and stay healthy, more youthful, and more beautiful. If you properly do your FIRM workouts, you will increase your body's lean muscle tissue. Muscle burns calories, even at rest; thus, you actually raise your metabolic rate when you gain muscle from FIRM workouts.

Using your heaviest weight during FIRM workouts sculpts lean muscle tissue faster, so you get more defined muscles and burn more fat than if you used lighter weights for the same exercise. To understand the reason that heavier weights give faster results, you must first know that each of your muscles consists of bundles of individual muscle fibers. When you exercise, each individual fiber either totally contracts or does not contract at all. Your muscles utilize more individual fibers when you use a heavier weight, so heavier weights equal faster results.

No Longer Feeling the Muscle Burn? Increase Your Weights!
How do you know when it is time to increase the weights that you use during your FIRM workouts? Initially, you must learn to do each FIRM strength training exercise using proper form. If you are a beginner, it's best to start with no weights until you learn how to properly execute the exercise. Listen to The FIRM Instructor's cues and mimic her form.

Once you have mastered proper form, you should be doing each exercise with weights. When strength training with The FIRM, you should fully work the target muscle(s) to the point of exhaustion. That means that you want the last two repetitions of a particular exercise to be difficult for you to complete when using a full range of motion.

Exhausting your muscles stimulates them to grow back just a little stronger during each rest period between workouts. It is muscle exhaustion and the resulting muscle growth from rest that causes you to lose fat, look slimmer, and shape your body.

You must strive to increase your strength for maximum muscle gains. Once you are able to fully complete each repetition of an exercise with ease, you need to increase your weights so that you maximize your FIRM results. Remember, only weight training can dramatically reverse the body composition changes of aging. And only weight training can give you a shapelier body, and make you dramatically slimmer and more beautiful at any age.

A Sampling of My Weights
Here is a breakdown of some of the weights I use during a cardio+sculpt workout. Thankfully The FIRM workout gives me all I need, so I don't ever have to waste time in a gym!


Biceps: a pair of 15-pound dumbbells
French Press: one 30-pound dumbbell
Kickbacks: a pair of 10 or 12 pound dumbbells
Overhead Press: a pair of 15 or 20 pound dumbbells
Lat Row: one 30 pound dumbbell
Bent Row: a pair of 15 pound dumbbells
Bench Press: a pair of 15 pound dumbbells
Pec Flies: a pair of 12 to 15 pound dumbbells
Leg Press, Dips and Lunges: a pair of 15 pound dumbbells
Squats: a pair of 20 pound dumbbells


Tips for Increasing Weight and Achieving Maximum Results


Always complete The FIRM warm up and stretch for each workout.
Do just one set with the heavier weight early in the workout.
Start a set by trying a few repetitions with the heavier weight and then decreasing in the middle of the set.
Always exhale as your muscle contracts and inhale as you release. Never hold your breath.
Focus on the muscle groups you are working as you exercise. Concentrate solely on those muscles and clear your mind from distractions.
Schedule rest days. If you have just used a sculpt or cardio + sculpt workout, give the muscles that you
worked 24 hours to recover.

[ZerasPride]

Sheree - Wow! Thanks for posting this article. She explains how the system works with the weights so well. This probably also explains why I can wear clothes in a small size than I ever thought possible at my current weight. Great info, again thanks for sharing! Now to add some heavier weights to my routines! I'm skeered! :)

[s&k'smom]

That was a really interesting article. It's funny I was doing Firm Cardio this am (part of the two part cross trainer pair) and got in about 40 of the 56 minuts of the tape when DS woke up but I feel like I really got in a good sweat. Anyhow I used 10lbs for the first time then had to lower it the second set. Wow 3 days in a row I tell you it doesn't take much to start losing what you've built up when you can't work out. I've noticed that my attitude is so much better the last few days.

[ZerasPride]

This morning I did Cathe's boot camp (thanks again Sheree). It was a good work out. I did nix the heavy weights though. Tomorrow I'll use heavy weights again. Next week I'm going to focus on mostly cardio and see if that helps with the weight loss. I am down 1/2 pound for this week and for me that's good progress as slow as I loss weight these days.

[s&k'smom]

Got in 41 minutes of Firm Strength so again not the whole thing but wow does Pam use a lot of weights.

I was thinking of this thread this am and really wanted to say this. I have been on a couple of threads that are rather emotional and political and I believe everyone has a right to there opinion but some were getting rather personal and I realized on this thread we have remained very positive and supportive, we don't know anyones religion or race or personal views on some subjects and it doesn't matter. We are just friends and I have to tell you I really, really appreciate it.

[ZerasPride]

Good Sunday evening ladies,

This morning I did Total Muscle Shaping, my fav! I just love this work out. I felt so powerful and strong doing it.

I'm down another 1/2 pound which puts me at 7 pounds lost so far during the three weeks I've been on the Oprah challenge.

s&k'smom - I so agree with you about some of the threads around the boards. I guess that's what happens when you have a diverse group of people drawn together for a common love (of Disney in this case). I'm glad we have this thread to post about our exercise routines and support each other. It's definitely not something to take for granted in this big bad cyber world! :)