Core Cardio 1 is the most advanced level cardio tape the FIRM has ever put out! Personally, I found CC1 to be much more challenging than its companion, Core Cardio 2. It was a solid 38 minutes of heart-thumpin' cardio. The first couple times I did it, I was nervous about learning the choreography and my heartrate skyrocketed into my anaerobic (interval) training zone. The last two times I've done the workout, my heartrate has stayed at 65%-75% of my max. This workout is somewhat of a departure from classic FIRM-style choreography. It is definitely taking me some time to learn the moves. After four times through, I still haven't mastered all the segments.

CC1 starts off with a 3-minute warmup and then goes directly into ab work. Unlike other reviewers, I found the warm-up/stretch to be adequate. I've never been a fan of long warm-ups. I really didn't care for the ab work in this video at all. It feels awkward to me. I usually fast-forward through it, and tack on ab work from another tape at the end. I would have preferred that they skipped the ab section and just added another cardio segment.

The aerobic segments in the workout are pretty evenly split up between hi-lo,step, and plyometrics. Some of the moves are extremely high impact (like the "hopscotch", "ski-move" and of course... all those plyo jumps!) If you're weak in the knees, I can see how this video may cause you substantial pain. Some, but not all, parts can be modified to lower the impact. The step (short box) segments were my favorites! They were so much fun! I also like Dale's segment with the shuffles, V-steps, etc.

There are also a few segments that use light weights or the OOOF ball. I decided to forego the extra weight. I found that I was much more comfortable and focused without weights. Also, I think holding weights (even very light ones) during plyometrics is quite risky. During one segment, you could see Tamela Hastie's knees buckling during weighted plyo jumps. OUCH!

CC1 was a lot of fun! The music is really catchy. Lots of the music is reminiscent of pop music I've heard on the radio. It's not a real song, but it sounds sort of like something you've heard. Hard to explain. But, it's very creative for aerobic music. I like it much better than the kind of stuff used in Cathe and CIA. Also, the 45 minute workout length is great!!! The FIRM has definitely delivered a real advanced-level cardio workout! Overall, I give Core Cardio 1 a B. (yes... that is a higher grade than my preliminary grade -- I guess the workout has grown on me!)

Instructor Comments:
I liked all three instructors just fine. Tamela Hastie was by far my favorite. She seems so friendly, natural, and down-to-earth. Carissa Foster was a very typical FIRM instructor -- very polished, straight forward and professional. Dale is the most muscular of the three instructors. She was O.K., but wasn't my favorite. Something about her demeanor made her seem very abrupt. Although, I do like her better now than I did when I first got the Blast tapes.

Christine L.