What I liked about the workout:
- I liked using the towel for neck support during ab work. This is really a comfortable alternative to traditional crunches.
- The warm-up was fun. I think both the Prime Power tapes have great warm-ups. In my opinion, they are the best warmups the FIRM has done to date.
- I liked the triple-count squats w/ rear and lateral leg lifts. You do these exercises with the dowel. The music during this segment was nice.
What I DID NOT like about the workout: (here we go...)
- Too many dips. You do dips, then more dips and then dips again. Dips on the right, dips on the left, dips with a kick, dips with a curl, etc. etc. etc. I was bored out of my mind from doing sooo many dips. There are plenty of other exercises that work the hips, buttocks and thighs. A little variety would have been nice.
- I did not like the "range of motion" exercises. You sit on the stool, touch your toe with the opposite hand, then reach back. I don't really know what range of motion these exercises are beneficial for, but they felt kind of useless to me.
- I thought there were too many exercises that work the quadriceps. Personally, I have a tendency to overbuild my quadriceps, and I typically try to avoid doing exercises that emphasize working the quads. Quadricep exercises in this workout consist of standard squats and dips, plus these seated and standing "kick lifts".
- I thought the aerobics segments were too repetitive. They were pretty boring, with the same combinations time after time.
Just, FYI, this Prime Power workout runs about 42 minutes. Another thing I noticed with both of the Prime Power tapes is that the cast is more varied. The exercisers don't look as lean as typical FIRM people. In fact, one or two of the cast members in the Lower Body Sculpting tape looked like the average woman off the street. Also, men are included in this workout series.
Personally, I was quite disappointed with this tape. For lower body sculpting, I think I'll mostly stick with Tough Tape. I think the Prime Power companion, Fat Burning, is a real winner... but LBS comes up somewhat short.

Instructor Comments:
Kim Bartlett looks like the an updated, aerobically-conditioned version of Betty Crocker. I don't know if it's her hairdo, or her "glazed over" eyes, or the way she smiles... but she looks like she stepped right off a box of cake mix. That aside, she is in great shape, but I really thought her instruction and cueing left a lot to be desired. Especially during the dips with the dowel rod, I was left wondering, "what hand should I hold this dowel, what hand does the weight go in, and what leg am I dipping with now?" Basically, I did not think too highly of this instructor.

Christine Letsky