The Firm: Crosstrainers - The Tortoise

Susan Harris, Tracie Long
Year Released: 1995

Categories: Circuit Training (cardio and weights)


Tortoise is the video that finally made me decide that maybe the FIRM wasn't so awful, after all. A friend lent it to me for a couple of months, and I began to see how effective "slow and heavy"-style weight training can be. The tall box leg presses, dips, and lunges are especially effective, and there isn't any of that traditional 80's floorwork that the early videos have. I like the strength work in this video very much, and the instruction of Tracie Long is much better than that of the other 2 FIRM instructors I'd seen previously.

I must say, however, that I really disliked the "ballroom dance aerobics." The ballroom-style music (waltz, charleston, etc.) just didn't seem to fit in at all with the more traditional modern mix used for the strength work. The choreography, although cute, wasn't my style. I like dancy aerobics, but I felt that doing ballroom dance steps on a small aerobic step was too confining and didn't seem logical. The ballroom aerobics are the reason I decided NOT to buy this tape. Tortoise's strength work (along with the recommendation of a few friends) DID convince me to buy the latest FIRM tapes (Strong Heart and Strong Body--no ballroom stuff!), and I like those two very much.

WWWendy

11/30/-0001