I received this workout in a trade and was able to try it today for the first time. I was able to jump right in without previewing---it is an uncomplicated and straightforward routine.

Unlike other Firm workouts, it does not feature aerobic segments and it works the upper and lower body separately. Each section has its own warm-up, which I found kind of annoying. I would have preferred to just keep going, and I do not think any of the sections were tough enough that I would ever split this up and do only half of it as my sole workout for the day.

The upper body section featured a warm-up of basic upper body stretches (which was nice, as many workouts skimp on upper body stretching in favor of lower body stretching) and some simple reaches and lunges. Then we get about 15 minutes of upper body exercises. The sets are short, but many get pulsing rep add-ons, for example with biceps curls, you do some at normal, then a few pulsing reps of 3, then some more normal. So there was a decent amount of reps. A few exercises get repeated twice, such as push-ups and triceps extensions. I felt the work was fairly evenly balanced between thr different sections of the upper body, which was nice as past Firm workouts have favored shoulder work above all else.

The lower body section was equally plain but efficient and featured leg presses (done twice) and a decent assortment of squats, hover squats, lunges and plies. I did not do the ab section.

I love how they always tell you what weight you should be using (e.g. light, medium or heavy) but I disagree with some of their choices. I would never use a “heavy” weight for shoulder work. I strongly caution beginners to use no weights the first time so they can get to know the exercises.

Stephanie is a pleasant enough instructor. She did not stick out in my mind in either a good or bad way. She did the job :-) I thought the time passed by quickly (probably because of the way it was sectioned) and I enjoyed the workout. I did feel it was a bit easier than many of my Firm tapes. I finished the workout still feeling like I should be doing more. I would probably save this workout in the future for a lighter day when I did not feel like going full tilt.

Joanna