Firm Hips, Thighs and Abs uses the BSS3 incline box and sculpting stick to work your entire lower body. On my DVD (with the original white cover), the workout is chaptered into Floorwork and Abs. I like using it as an add-on to other workouts. There are brief warm-ups for each segment which I usually fast-forward through.

I don’t have an incline box or sculpting stick, so I use a club step (on 3 pairs of risers for outer thigh work and on an incline for abs), ankle weights, dumbbell, and padded barbell.

I actually feel a little silly doing this workout WITH shoes, since everyone in the workout is barefoot. I did use my padded barbell for the inner and outer thigh work, and it was uncomfortable without shoes, but other than it was fine.

Sandra gave a good breakdown of this workout. I agree with her that you could easily do this without a step or sculpting stick. It took me a while to figure out exactly what to use, but adding ankle weights really made the workout challenging. You don’t do a whole lot of reps, but you do hit every area with a few different moves.

I find the ab work to be pretty challenging. The leg walks and lower ab crunches on an incline really are harder than on a flat plane, as Pam says. I don’t use weights at all during the ab work, though they hold the sculpting stick with their legs while lying on the floor and hold the twigs in their hands.

I hope the Firm comes out with another floorwork video. I tried Lower Body Sculpt 2 and just couldn’t make it worthwhile, even if I added ankle weights. Hips, Thighs, and Abs is a little more unique. It good well with the other BSS3 workouts, or even some of the Firm cardio-oriented workouts, since there isn’t floorwork in most of the newer Firms.

Instructor Comments:
I really like Pam. I’m sure it’s partially nostalgia for the old Firm. She seems different to me than some of the other instructors—more authentic, less scripted? She does make some comments about how well the sculpting stick or incline box work for certain moves, but the comments really didn’t bother me. She’s cheerful and encouraging throughout the workout.

Pratima