Thank you, Karla
I feel much better and will do some light cardio and start on Sat. with weights again.

Thank you, Pam. This cold was the worst and strangest ever and over my 67 yrs I have experienced all kinds of colds, flu and even covid.

Karla - thanks for the review of Basics Abs, Buns and Thighs.

I'm considering embarking on a Basics rotation and doing each one once a week and then mixing in some Ellen B. and cardio in on the other days.

I'm still dealing w/ a cranky hip and lower back. It was improving but I seem to have done something to make it upset again...not as bad as before - I think it is a two steps forward, one step back.

gladgirl and Pam61 - I have had colds where my eyes just watered and teared up - was it like that or actual pain? I guess your sinuses are all up and around the area. Once during allergy season I was convinced I had a tooth issue, but it was really just my sinuses being swollen and pressing on nerves.

Donna

Karla- I had to look up the Basics Abs, Buns, and Thighs clip on YT because I wasn't sure what the workout was. I thought it was a workout with the jungle background, but I was mistaken (that's Prime Powers- ugh- so many workouts to keep straight!) Thanks for the review.

Today I did Jiggle Free Buns. I like that this workout has some unique moves mixed in with the usual tall box climbs. The squats with the heel lift and knee lift makes you really feel the working leg! And towards the end when she holds the plie squat for what seems like forever my legs were screaming! I'm getting better at the "hot cross buns" move on the transfirmer, but it has taken me many tries to finally get it down. Someone here on VF called this workout "Standing Legs lite" and I have to agree. Still tough but not quite as tough as Standing Legs.

Today I did Lower Body Shaping, with Kim Bartlett, which I've never done before; I just got the DVD from Fitness Favorites. This was one of the "jungle set" Prime Power workouts, and I really liked it.

I'm sure this info is available, but what was the deal with the jungle set series and why are they so hard to find? Like the Crosstrainers with Heidi and Pam being originally put out under the "Variety" name instead of the FIRM, were they trying to diversify with different brands? This was clearly filmed in the usual set but was redressed with a beach background and jungle motifs.

I have to also say, on a superficial level, that the music in this is AMAZING and feels very retro-contemporary. I really dug it.

On the workout itself, I enjoyed that it was a little lower intensity with the cardio and had a really serious lower-body focus. I have the feeling this was considered a "boomer" workout or something when it was released?

You're both welcome!

Today was another Firm Basics: 12 Minute Time Crunch with Weights. It has 4 (approximately) 12 minute workouts. It's also a beginner level, but I like it because of the variety of instructors. I did the full workout and the time flew by. I followed it with Jason Crandell's Restful Sleep yoga practice.

Here's the link: 12 Minute Time Crunch Weights

Friday's workout:

The Firm: TransFirm Your Trouble Zones with Kelsie Daniels + Bonus 8 min core
Yoga with Adriene: Yoga for Text Neck 28 min
10 Day Gentle Reset Challenge - Day 1: Calling in Calm 38 min

I don't have a 5 lb. kettlebell, so I just used a 5 lb. weight for the Firm workout. Only a couple of moves were a little awkward. It's definitely more cardio than strength.


Wendy, I hadn't seen Jiggle Free Buns referred to as "Standing Legs lite". It's good to know. I haven't done either regularly, but I'll do Jiggle Free Buns first and work up to Standing Legs.

I did this one two nights ago. :)

My most used is Vol. 4.

This one was my go-to workout when I was pregnant with my first child. I really do like it still.

I think, and I’m not positive, once Gaiam acquired the Firm they had the rights to the workouts and rereleased some under the other names causing lots of confusion among those who already knew the workouts under their original names. For whatever reason, they decided not to put the PrimePowers on dvd at that time. I believe FitnessFavorites was able to work out a deal where they can stream them and put out dvds. Again, not sure if my memory is correct on this.

Checking in with Aerobic Body Shaping yesterday.

That makes sense. I know they used to also sell a DVD version of the other PrimePowers workout but it's been out of stock for ages. It would be nice if they'd put it out one last time before (what I suspect is going on) they go fully digital-only.

This morning was BSS Express Total Body Shaping with Pam Cauthen-Meriwether as lead instructor. Here's the preview link: BSS Express I've had this workout for well over 10 years, and haven't done it in at least that many years. I did it once (possibly twice) and felt it was too easy.

However; on today's revisit, I developed a new appreciation for it :heart: I liked the setting and music. It's different from other FIRMs that I've done since it only uses a sculpting stick. There's a lot to like in this sweet little 30 minute workout. I have three other dust bunny, sculpting stick workouts that I'm looking forward to doing now. It's almost like having 3 new workouts :sun:

I followed Pam's workout with a short Classical Stretch barre workout. Tonight I might do some yoga. Probably Erich Schiffmann's Backyard Series Beginning Yoga. I've tightened up a bit in the hips/hamstrings with all the pressure washing (and other chores) that I'm doing.

Today I did the Firm Fat Burning Cardio Toning with the resistance band. I have always liked this workout but wish it were a little bit longer!
I added on Calorie Burning Cardio (20 minutes) from Time Crunch Cardio and feel the 2 workouts together were a good combo.

I've gotten behind with posting my workouts this past week. Just super busy, even for a few of the twenty minute PowerFits, lol! ;)

From the Harmony set, I recently did (Sculpt) Strong Pull and Strong Push and liked them both. It surprised me the amount of legwork in the push workout. I also did the Sculpt Upper Body Blast and didn't quite feel like it was enough work for me, so added from Weight Watchers Stephanie's Upper Body segment and used dumbbells for this, which work well.

Also, got in a couple more Leslie walks, outdoor walk and some yard work, too!

These early nights and getting dark before 5pm, I'm not used to. Still not getting enough sleep. :asleep: Glad to have Stephanie's workouts to turn to, in this case. No dread whatsoever!

Today I did FIRM Parts Upper Body, which I used to have VHS, got rid of because I thought it was too hard (this was years ago), and only just recently found on DVD. It's neither as bad as I remembered nor as good as I hoped. ;) But it does make for a challenging, very low- to no-cardio workout that focuses mostly on shoulders. All excerpted from the original classics.

Yesterday was Pam's Supercharged Sculpting; I haven't done it in ages and it is a good workout! Now I'm interested in the zip trainer after reading the other thread!

Today I did all five segments of Five-Day Stretch, as I needed something to help me recover from the Upper Body workout yesterday. Very relaxing! :love:

The Firm- Fast & Firm Series Upper Body Sculpt

I found this on daily motion and had never done this firm workout before from the BSS2 set. I have never done a Firm workout from this instructor either. This might be the only one she leads. There are pros and cons to this workout, but I think the pros outweigh the cons. This workout uses the fanny lifter in new ways for tricep dips and pushups (so your hands are on different levels), which I found effective. It's a solid upper body workout (other than the unweighted "chest press" with your arms in a genie position. As with other Firm workouts with the stick, the stick is used unsuccessfully for the sake of using the stick. I couldn't feel much stretching with the stick so I just did my usual stretches without it. Luckily the stick isn't used too much in this workout and mostly uses dumbbells.

Lol. You've gotten me interested in Supercharged Sculpting after reading your post :-) VF'ers are so gifted at enabling each other. :) Pam is one of my favorite instructors. I don't have the Transfirmer box though.

This morning was Classical Stretch for the spine. Tonight was The Tortoise. I love the lower ab workout & the Charleston on this one.

:sun: As I get older I realize the importance of stretching and recovery. It makes a huge difference. :sun:

I tried this one with Allie as lead instructor, for the first time today! I had mixed feelings about it, also. It's a very choreographed routine that moves quickly and you're prompted to use light, medium and heavy weights throughout where changeups come up very frequently. I agree that once I know the workout (or can plan ahead for what's coming up next) I might like it more. The variety and number of exercises is great and Allie is adorable. Like most workouts of hers I've tried, she tends to be too fast for me, but upon repeated workouts I could eventually get it. The question is whether I can stay consistent with the Firm workouts long enough to get the benefits of mastering the workouts without seeming to be a step behind. ;)

Monday's workout was:

The Firm: Pump, Jump, 'n Jab with Kelsie Daniels + 5 min bonus
Yoga with Adriene: Morning Yoga - Energizing Morning Sequence 24 min
10 Day Gentle Reset: Day 4 Trust is a Must 38 min

I tried several Firm workouts with Kelsie last week and I think I like this one the most out of the ones I tried. I thought it was fun and I liked the pace. Some of the others felt a little frantic in spots.

Today I did Stephanie's PowerFit Harmony Sculpt Lower Body Blast along with her Weight Watchers Lower Body workout. Then I added a finisher to the end with Barry's Bootcamp Legs and Butt warmup and lunge segments. First time with this DVD, and the warmup is stepping on/off a step (I used Fanny Lifter) alternating to the right/left side quickly for three minutes. I plan to do that again before all lower body work now! Good stuff, though I didn't care for the instructor/trainer in this particular DVD.

I remember buying The Tortoise and The Hare during their pre-sale debut. It was a big investment for me at the time :heart: But the Firm was one of my best investments. Lots of good memories with TheFIRM videos.

Today was the first time in years that I've done the Cross Trainers on consecutive days. It felt great to do The Hare tonight :sun: Love the aerobic finale and the ab work on this one.

Did V1but only the standing section. Still a good workout. May do the floor work with my cardio tomorrow.

So far this month I've done all the strength workouts from both PowerFit sets (original and Harmony.) There hasn't been one that I didn't like, and I would do these again when I want to do band work.

Today, I wanted to focus on Upper Body, so grabbed Janet Brooks workout from Body Sculpting System 2. This system uses the Fanny Lifter as well as the sculpting stick. I dug my sculpting stick out of the closet, as it's been years since it's seen the light of day! ;) I liked Janet very much and the workout was great at just under 40 minutes. I have to remember to remove the "twigs" before doing the warmup first, though. Enjoyed doing pushups and triceps dips with the FL, and it was interesting that she separated the two colors side by side for dips, so triceps were worked differently.

Plan to see what the other BSS2 workouts have in store! Excited for the next workout!

Wednesday's workout:

The Firm: Total Body Time-Crunch with Rebekah Sturkie
Yoga with Adriene: Yoga for Suffering 20 min
10 Day Gentle Reset: Day 6 Nourished Body, Centered Mind 34 min

Rebekah is one of my favorite Firm instructors and Total Body Time-Crunch is one of my favorite pink Firms (along with Get Chisel'd, which I plan to do later this week). It's been a while since I've done this workout, so I went with lighter weights. I like that the weight and cardio portions seem distinct, unlike other aero/tone Firm workouts where the weight portion feels like cardio with weights.

I noticed many of the pink Firms have an express version, but I do the full workout when I reach for them. I should probably try some of the express versions; I tend to forget them as an option when I want a shorter workout.

Today I did two workouts from the Firm Fast & Firm. First the Hips, Thighs and Abs with Pam which was challenging using Sculpting Stick balanced on legs during leg lifts. The other was with Lisa Kay's Lower Body Sculpt 1, and everything was great. Lots of tall box climbs (I only used the blue FL section here) and some simple cardio interspersed with the leg work. Of the two, I can see myself using Lisa's workout much more frequently. Pam's (on the other hand) was more challenging, but awkward. It was mainly the switching up of equipment between exercises, so lots of pausing the remote with this one.

I remember when these first came out and all anyone could talk about was Pam's appearance, at that time. It kinda put me off from doing the workout.

I think I've been enabled again! I like the idea of a shorter workout :) I'm enjoying trying these different Firm workouts.

Today was BSS2 Total Sculpt with Abs Jen Carmen was the lead. I have mixed feelings about this one. I liked the weight work -especially the one legged squats from the FL. They reminded me of a Jari Love workout, but not as intense.

I had a hard time following Jen on the cardio sections, so I mostly did my own thing and followed along when I could.

What do you think of the Eoin Finn program so far? I signed up for them, but have been really busy.

V4 today.
Wow still a great little workout. Wished Kai had been asked to do more.

While I still enjoy the Classics, I am feeling pulled to shorter workouts, like others.
Will have to try the Total Body Time Crunch with Rebekah Sturkie. That sounds good.
Not sure how I passed/missed the PowerFit. Will need to check those that are strength focused ones. What type of cardio does she do? High impact?

Karla, I'm loving the program :love: I had expected the videos to be shorter, but most of them include a lengthy relaxation at the end. I enjoy the longer relaxation, but you could probably end the practice sooner if you're pressed for time. The program feels pretty gentle overall but, so far, Eoin's videos seem a bit more gentle and Insiya's are a little more active. I hope you get a chance to try a practice before the challenge is over :)

The Firm- Total Body Time Crunch

Really like Rebekah & this workout. Not quite as tough as Get Chisel'd, but still a great pink Firm.

I got my booster shot & a flu shot today. I wasn't sure if I would be up for working out, but I still feel fine. We'll see how I feel tomorrow as I know it can take some time for the effects to kick in.

Thank you for the encouragement :) I was very tired today, but your post made me realize I might completely miss out on a good thing. I planned to only do a part a workout, but the time went by so quickly. I feel much more energized and relaxed.

I did Day 5: Yoga for a Polarized World. It was great! He gives some good tips. I was able to go much deeper into the wide angle pose because of his guidance on bending the knees, focusing mostly on the forward tilt and then straightening the legs. I liked the balance poses too :heart:

Today's Firm Parts workout, with Tracie Long, was Sculpted Buns, Hips & Thighs. It's an all floor workout -nice for those days when you don't have the energy for cardio or much else :sun:

:sun: I hope you feel good tomorrow!:sun:

I think I did the cardio workout from PowerFit recently, and it was low impact and the choreography was simple, straightforward stuff (marches, side steps, toe taps, grapevines.) Also using the band on the floor to do some step choreography, but you can use a step, too! She also holds the band in front or overhead during some of the movement. The warmup has a little cardio effect to get the muscles warm, and she uses the band to stretch with at the end of the workouts.

There are only two cardio workouts from PowerFit Harmony called "Move It" and "Speed Burn." I haven't done the Speed Burn one this time around, but I would imagine it's drills.

And then the cardio from PowerFit Plus has cardio kick-it, so boxing type stuff...punching, kicks, etc.

My Friday included:

The Firm: Get Chisel'd with Rebekah Sturkie
Yoga with Adriene: Yoga Kiss 40 min
10 Day Gentle Reset Challenge: Day 8 Flow Into Bliss

It had been so long since I did Get Chisel'd, I forgot there was plyo! There is a modifier, though. Rebekah combines weights for some of the moves (I think she uses 5 and 3 lb. weights which is what I used, too). I didn't have my 8 lb. weights ready or near; that would have been more comfortable so I'll try to remember next time I do the workout.

Oh, good! I'm glad you enjoyed the yoga and felt better afterward :heart:

Today was the FIRM power yoga.
I do yoga for scoliosis; other than that, never found my yoga niche.
But I do like this workout, the moves, the time and how it makes me feel.
I feel like I got a pretty darn good no equipment workout and stretch.
Had this one for a long time, but hadn’t done it in a while. Keeping it out so I can grab for it more often.

Today was BSS3 Total Muscle Shaping with Stephanie Huckabee. I haven't done this one in years, and had to apply a little WD-40 to loosen the legs up. It's an energetic and fun workout :sun: