I'll admit it. I've never, ever had a very long attention span when it comes to strength training. To top it off, this is the busiest fall season I've had since the one six years ago planning my October wedding. If I can find a routine that'll get the job done in 45 minutes as opposed to an hour, guess what I'm going to do:) That's why I'm so glad the FIRM came out with some shorter tapes to complement the longer volumes from the Classic series and the Cross-Trainers. (And I do hope that the Bensons will come out with some longer tapes in the next series to please my Amazonian friends here at VF!)

This tape is even more fun than FIRM 4. Everyone else has done such a great job describing it that I'll just add my personal opinions. The cast sometimes seems to be reacting to cue cards--they're serious just like I am when doing the weight work. Then all of a sudden during the little aerobic breaks, it's like someone held up a sign that said, "insert ecstatic smiles here." And I'm thinking to myself, "come on, gang. This isn't the Donna Richardson/Jennifer Mills Party Hour." Tracie is such a joy to watch and emulate. Her title of Master Instructor is well-merited:) She does crack me up with her deadpan delivery of that "here comes the happy couple" line when it's time to combine the dowel lunge with the dowel dip. Speaking of which--I love those moves--though I use my handy-dandy whisk broom instead--and find that I can lunge deeper and really hit that hard-to-get-at spot at the top of my leg. The tall box presses leave me begging for mercy, even though I'm only 5'1" and do them with my Reebok step at 10 inches. The aerobics are very different from those in previous volumes--not as dance-inspired. Instead, the FIRM's jumped on the martial arts bandwagon, and you punch and kick your way to fitness here:) They're kind of fun, but then again, when I think of yucking it up, I don't think of the FIRM's aerobics. They're more function than fun. And that's truly OK in a strength workout.

Like other VFers, I've found that my heart rate stays up there, particularly if I go as heavy on the weights as possible without losing proper form. The working pace here seems a bit slower than in the classic FIRMS, so I think it'll be relatively safe to increase weight sizes significantly and still use this tape.

And one last thing. . .given that I still want to do the Temptation Walk from Donna-Mite every time I hear one of the soundtrack songs on the radio. . .I'm selling my ticket to the Nutcracker this fall. They'd throw me out of the theater for sure :)

Grade: A+ and 10 extra points

Instructor Comments:
Warm, friendly, strong, and--yes--beautiful. Need I say more???

Melissa Cooper