which Firm tape?

[Maude4Disney]

I was looking at new exercise tapes today. I thought I had made up my mind to buy a Firm tape... but OMG there are sooo many. Which one or ones do you recommend?

 

[ZerasPride]

My favorite is the 55 minute cardio sculpt. It's not too hard if you are just getting started with weights and cardio but it will give you a nice work out. If you do 30 minutes, you will really feel it. Allie is the instructor and she is just great. It's an older version though - I think there's a Body Sculpting System 2 (BSS2) and even 3 is out or coming out soon. I hope I don't sound confusing. A girlfriend let me borrow her BSS2 DVDS and I quickly gave them back to her. They are a little more advanced than I can handle right now but once I hit onederland, I'll definitely be adding them to my collection.

I hope this helps you out!

 

[MelanieC]

Hopefully I won't totally overwhelm you! There are a ton of FIRM video's.
Here is a link that shows all the FIRM videos that have been made starting with the ones back in the 80's!
FIRM

My first ? to you is, do you need DVD or VHS? I know I just found a good deal for the original BSS (Body Shaping System). At Modells for 9.99 for VHS. Other than that, I have been looking for the original BSS system and I went to buy it at Walmart for $35 and there was one on the shelf last Friday. This Tuesday when I went in it was

You may want to check Target, I think they have the BSS2 system (near the workout stuff) with either the sculpting stick or the fanny lifter (I think its the sculpting stick) for $39.99.

Honestly, I would look into getting the Fanny Lifter and Sculpting stick. The BSS uses the fanny lifter and the BSS2 uses the fanny lifter and scuplting stick. Another possibility is to order the BSS3 off www.firmdirect.com that includes the new FIRM box with a stick and 5 videos. These are all the new ones. The only thing is , it could take 4-6 weeks to get it shipped. They are apparently slow and this system just came out. If you go this route, then go and look for either the BSS1 or BSS2 and buy one of these sets to use now. It's better to have several to rotate your workout so your muscles don't get used to what you are doing.

I have seen the BSS2 in seperate DVD's and video's, but only do this if you don't plan on buying it in a system to get the fanny lifter and sculpting stick.

Again, I hope I didn't confuse you. There are so many ways to buy it out there, and I hate to see you spend money and then decide you to buy the other equipment. You really need the step and scupting step.

Please let me know if you have any questions!

 

[Maude4Disney]

Thank you. I'll be checking these out.

 

[vfb2girls]

Is the sculpting stick necessary to use with the firm tapes? I already have a fanny lifter from the old series of firm tapes and I really do not want to purchase a stick so was wondering if free weights can be substituted. I am looking to buy a new firm tape but do not want to buy all of the extras. Also for those of you who are familiar with the new firm tapes which ones use the least amount of fitness equipment? This is one of the reasons I sold all of my old firm tapes, to much equipment to drag out and store. Thanks for any help.

 

[MelanieC]

The Sculpting stick is 8 pounds total (2 - 2 pound twigs and the 6 pound longer stick in the middle). I have heard of people using exercise dowels instead. For most exercises dumbells would work fine. It is not used in the BSS1, but it used in the BSS2 and will be used in the add on tapes to the BSS3 (not the 3 tapes that come with the system).

It is great for balance, and getting a better range of motion plus resistance. I really love that about it. There are several moves in Maximum Cardio burn where you use it to add weight to your leg when doing some standing leg work. You could do it without it, but it really adds extra intensity. The deluxe deal on the FIRM DIrect website is decent right now. It includes the sculpting stick, the new step and 5 video's for $39.95 for 3 payments.

I think you could easily adjust without it though.

 

[sueg]

I own many FIRM tapes. I started with a four VHS box which I still use: Tough Tape II, Standing Legs, Upper Body & 5 day Ab. It was a great starter set & because it is "older" I think I paid less than $20 for all 4 tapes at Best Buy. Later I treated myself to a 3 tape box w/ a fanny lifter, for which I pd. full price, from the FIRM website. It is now available for alot less $$. It is Cardio Sculpt w/ Jen, Body Sculpt w/ Ally & Ab Sculpt w/ Lisa Kay. I use the Jen & Lisa tapes frequently, but the longer Ally tape doesn't always fit my schedule. The Cardio Sculpt tape divides into 2 segments: Upper & Lower Body which allows great time-flexibility because you can do either one or both of the segments.
I love my fanny lifter (DS calls it my A** Master), but I don't own a sculpting stick & probably won't buy one. I use free weights: 3, 5, 6, 7 & 10 lbs.
My newest tape, bought through Amazon, is Cardio Sculpt Blaster w/ Lisa Kay. It is a totally different FIRM tape. It is much more aerobics & uses only 3 & 5 lb. weights. I like it because it is an intense 30 minute workout, but it involves so many different steps, that it makes me feel (&look!) clumsy and is going to take a while to perfect. But I think it was a good addition to my FIRM collection.
I love to discuss the FIRM, so feel free to ask questions. As you can see I am a little time-pressed, but my personal goal of working out at least 6 of 7 days forces me to trade frequency for length of work-out.

 

[vfb2girls]

Thanks to all for the info, I may just get back into "firming" again. I was totally sold on them way back when they were costing almost 50.00 a tape! But through the years I just plain hated to drag all the weights out and fanny lifter box so I sold most of my tapes at a garage sale. But I am thinking that I will go out and purchase a few new ones just to shake up my workout routine. I usually do a lot of taebo, and power90 so this might be the thing I need to shake things up, once again thanks for the help.

 

[bicker]

Another vote for CardioSculpt (with Allie). BodySculpt (with Jennifer) is also extremely good to start with.

 

[Cinderelli]

I, too, use the BSS1 tapes. I think that's what they are anyway. It's the Cardio Sculpt, Body Sculpt & Ab Sculpt tapes. I bought mine at Target over a year ago. I'm considering getting the next series (BSS2?) which would include the stick, so I, too, am appreciating this feedback. I love the Firm. I try to do a minimum of 4 times a week and really notice nice results. After having only these 3 tapes for the past year, tho, I think I need a new set to encourage me to get up "early" on days when I'm pressed for time and get these workouts in. Thanks for the info everyone!

Lissa

 

[vfb2girls]

Is the "fanny liffter" only available on line or can it be purchased in a department store? I know I can find the cardio set with the box at collage video but was wondering if it can be found anywhere else. Thanks for all the help on these videos, I am looking forward to starting using the firm again.

 

[toystoryduo]

I bought my fanny lifter at Target. It came with the videos which I already owned so I sold those on eBay. The Firm is wonderful! I have been doing the rotation calendar for the past 6 weeks and love how strong I feel! Now.. if only my scale would cooperate!

 

[sueg]

Bicker, Thanks for correcting my Jen/Allie tape confusion. You think w/ the amount of time that I spend w/ these tapes, I could keep them straight. But I did that post from work (shame on me) and the tapes were home. As I'm writing this I'm debating Allie vs. Jen for this morning! SGG

 

[Blueeyes101817]

I was wondering with the fanny lifter and things, can you buy that separtely from the tapes? I found that at target the tapes that are 35 dolalrs at sporting good stores, i got them for 15...
also i bought the maxium cardio plus abs..what should i get for my next dvd??thanks

 

[bicker]

I found that the fanny lifter and work-outs are less expensive when bundled together. The only reason I had for buying a fanny lifter alone was that I needed a second one for my wife, and the additional work-out tapes weren't going to be of any value to us.