NOTE: I have the DVD version of this workout, which is title Super Cardio MIX.

I am a bit of a latecomer to this older Firm video. Even though the dated look of the mansion-style Firms tends to put me off, I decided to trade for this DVD because 1) it was supposed to be intermediate-to-advanced, and 2) it was billed as offering 50 full minutes cardio, something that is surprisingly hard to find in a video.

A previous VFer, Kim Sleeth, provided a nice breakdown of this workout, but some of the times I recorded are a little off from hers, so I’ll share my info along with some additional details. For the most part, the transitions between the different segments/instructors flow smoothly, with the exception of a few instances as noted below.

4m, Allie: 3m w/u includes toe taps & full form squats, etc.; ends w/45 seconds of stretching
3m, Allie: short box work with weights includes straddles w/biceps & squats w/overhead presses
3m, Allie: ball aerobics is high impact with jogs and power jogs (i.e., high knees)
2.5m, Allie: plyometrics; includes little jumps out in & bunny hops
Abrupt transition!
2.5m, Carissa: floor aerobics with squats, lunges, kick-ball-changes
2m, Carissa: short box work includes climbs, repeater glutes, & jacks
2.5m, Carissa: “impact aerobics”—little hops on toes with various punching movements
2.5m, Dale: 4-limb work includes side-back-side, front-back lunges, kicks
2.5m, Dale: floor aerobics w/sambas, pivots, kicks, & hi/lo jacks
2.5m, Dale: “low impact” aerobics w/hop steps, v-steps, & skips
2m, Dale: 4-limb work includes marches w/triple steps & power jumps
2m, Jennifer: sports drills with balls includes shuffles, running, plyos
4.5m, Jennifer: low impact aerobics w/hamstring curls, v-steps, & plyos (a lot of TIFTTing!)
2.5m, Jennifer: short box work with turn shuffles, press steps, glute lifts, & mambos
3.5m, Jennifer: 4-limb work includes toe taps w/upright rows & hamstring curls with biceps
3.5m, Jennifer: high impact aerobics includes jogs, knee ups, &kicks (felt like cheerleading)
3m, Jennifer: 4-limb work w/sambas, side-step-side, squat & overhead press
2.5m, Jennifer: short box work with knee repeaters & heel digs
Abrupt transition!
1.5m, Jennifer: quick stretch using step
2.5m, Jennifer: abs work on floor, including obliques and brief plank work
3.5m, Carissa: final stretch, including yoga-like moves (e.g., bow pose)

Overall, my impressions of this workout were mixed. Here’s what I liked/didn’t like:

THE GOOD
*As mentioned above, I liked having a long cardio workout of decent intensity.
*I enjoyed the varied, short segments, as you are constantly changing things up, so you never really get bored (or, if you do, like I did with Jen’s long TIFFT segment, you’ll soon be moving on).
*I liked the different equipment changes; again, this variety helped keep the workout fun and interesting to me. I do have the Firm Fanny Lifter, so I was able to use the low portion of this for the step work, but you could substitute any type of low step or even modify the step work to do on the floor. I also really enjoy incorporating my medicine ball, but again, you could substitute a small dumbbell or skip the ball altogether if desired.
*Although some other reviewers complained that the warm-up was too short, I actually liked this; I find that some Firm warm-ups drag on. I prefer to warm-up quickly and move right into the workout!
*I like that for the most part, the cardio is athletic in style.
*I enjoy doing the plyometrics. I think that the instructors did a nice job with these, as they aren't too overwhelming—i.e., there are usually little breaks between each plyo set, allowing you to catch your breath.
*Finally, the programmable option. The DVD allows users to choose from amongst the 17 different chapters to customize their own workout.

THE BAD
*Although the total workout time is reported on the DVD case as 63 minutes, with 49 minutes of cardio, my actual recorded times were 58 total minutes, with only 46.5 minutes of cardio—a good workout, but not quite the 55-60 minutes that I was hoping for.
*As mentioned, the cardio portion of this workout was shorter than I had expected. I would have preferred to leave out the abs segment entirely--after all, the title of the DVD is "Super Cardio Mix." Give us more cardio!
*An ongoing issue that I have with The Firm is their overly choreographed arms movements--this was especially evident in Jen's one high impact segment, which made me feel like I should be on the sidelines of a football field. :(
*Although I liked the plyos, I didn't like all of the other high impact work, especially the high jogs, etc.; combined with the cheesy outfits and the overdone set, these moves made the workout feel even more dated to me (the actual release date for this workout is 1999, although the segments are taken from previously-released videos). However, experienced exercisers like myself should find it fairly easy to modify the workout to suit their own tastes as I did.
*For the most part, the music really was not very good; the best I can say is that it sounded like upbeat elevator music. One of Carissa's segments, which included some vocals, was a bit better.
*Finally, although this DVD is programmable, it is otherwise not very user-friendly. The Main Menu does appear immediately when you start the DVD, but if you select “Play Workout,” you are forced to watch outdated Firm advertising that you can’t skip or fast-forward through.

In summary, this workout was a bit of a disappointment, mainly because the cardio wasn't quite as long as I was hoping for. However, I am keeping this video for now, as I did enjoy the variety of the different segments, and I think with the programmable feature, I can find a way to make this DVD work for me.

Instructor Comments:
My feelings about the instructors were mixed. I liked Allie the best; I thought she cued well. I had no problems following Carissa's cuing either, although I've always thought she was a bit understated, especially for a Firm instructor. Dale comes across as very stiff to me, and I did not think she lead her sections well at all--in fact, during her first segment, which was somewhat dancey, the camera focused mainly on the background exercisers, particularly Carissa, whose form was MUCH better than Dale's! Finally, I know people really love Jen, but I actually found her cuing the most difficult to follow; she often seemed to cue late to me. Also, as a background exerciser, she just seemed WAY too over-the-top.

Beth C (aka toaster)