After renting Volumes 1-5 and hating them all, this is the first FIRM I liked enough to buy. The moves on 6 are slower and controlled rather than fast and jerky, and that alone makes this a 100% improvement. I like the music better, and there's none of the sexy panting or gratuitous crotch and butt close-ups that make the early volumes resemble Playboy videos. Even though Vol. 6 is aimed at "all ages", and some FIRM believers think this is for beginners, the use of the barbell rather than a body bar means you can add on weight at any level. Just try doing those hover squats/overhead presses with a 40 lb barbell, and then tell me this is a beginner's workout! Negatives: The warmup is a joke - some silly grinding and shimmying - so I either do a cardio tape first or substitute a good warmup like the one on Strong & Smooth Moves. The pulse checks are nonsense, just numbers flashing while you're scrambling for your weights. There should be more arm work; I usually rewind and do a second set of the tricep kickbacks. And those "internal contractions" crack me up, especially when Jayne says "Flutter!" OOOh baby, I'm fluttering!! I'm not exactly "evangelical" about the FIRM, but this is a pretty solid workout that should appeal to many persons used to gym-style weight lifting. Grade: A-

Instructor Comments:
I once commented on misc.fitness.aerobic that Jayne Poteet seems to have walked out of a Duracell commercial. She's robotic even by FIRM standards, and wears more makeup than RuPaul, but at least she cues adequately and offers some form pointers. Her monotone voice has kind of a hypnotizing effect after awhile, almost like you're exercising in some sci-fi movie.

Sue B