My thoughts on Anna Benson, Fitprime and some questions

[isa]

I think Tracie did the choreography for all the fitprime workouts, not only FC § Strong Bear. But maybe I´m wrong...

[Liz N]

Originally Posted by Kathryn

Aren't "Fast Cheetah" and "Stong Bear" both lead by Tracie? (Lazy me could walk two feet over to my workout shelf and look...but they're in the back row!) I wonder to what extent they are better than the others because of her input? I've always thought that Tracie brought a lot to the Firm: the first Firm workouts that showed any well-choreographed and not "odd" cardio moves where the Tortoise and Hare workouts, both lead by Tracie.

These were the only Fitprimes I liked - even then, I think if Tracie were to remake them (with the knowledge she has acquired with her NASM course), they would be really fantastic.

I think they are better than the others due to the sequencing and the cueing - it is not a confusing "mish mash" like FTGU.

Tracie's alignment in the TLPs is fantastic - it isn't as good in these two and I am wondering if she hadn't done her course at that time. Even her physique in the TLPs is better - flatter stomach and really well developed glutes (which I would like for myself she has the best glute medius I have ever seen!)

[SharonH]

Originally Posted by Liz N

Tracie's alignment in the TLPs is fantastic - it isn't as good in these two and I am wondering if she hadn't done her course at that time. Even her physique in the TLPs is better - flatter stomach and really well developed glutes (which I would like for myself she has the best glute medius I have ever seen!)

Liz, Tracie mentioned she had a swayback. People with swaybacks tend to have overdeveloped glute muscles, so her glute medius may not have anything to do with her workout regimen.

[Liz N]

I have a sway back too and my glutes are underdeveloped if anything. This is because my pelvis has a tendency to rotate forward - the hip flexors shorten and the glutes become less functional (ie they don't fire as well). Returning the pelvis to neutral makes it easier to fire (activate) the glutes. I really noticed how short Tracie's hip flexors were in Strong Bear and mentioned that (I haven't posted the review yet, but will shortly).
I noticed in the TLPs that Tracie has gone a long way to correcting her alignment and the glute medius (which wraps around the hipbone) seemed more pronounced.

My physical therapist and I have had a lot of discussions about this and if you like, I could re check with her (she has her masters in sacroiliac joint dysfunction) - that is becoming outside of the scope of my knowledge.

I just want Tracie's glutes

[SharonH]

Liz, I wish we could trade glutes. It was my ballet teacher who mentioned that people with swaybacks tend to have overdeveloped glutes, which I noticed in myself and another ballet student. Well, maybe there's still hope that Tracie's workouts, when I get them eventually, will help my body alignment (I'm waiting on the regular DVDs). Thanks for your reply.

Liz, forgive my ignorance, but how do you notice if someone has short hip flexors and what problems would that cause? My stability ball teacher noted that I have strong hip flexors, but I wonder if they're short, too.

[Debbie S.]

Maybe you're having a hard time understanding the concept behind the Firm and FitPrime workouts. I know I did, and it took me quite a while to finally figure it out.

I agree with, Isa: I appreciate your reviews and opinions, and the time you take to review these workouts. But I have to say I only see them as such: opinions/ a point of view of one person.

[Liz N]

Originally Posted by SharonH

Liz, forgive my ignorance, but how do you notice if someone has short hip flexors and what problems would that cause? My stability ball teacher noted that I have strong hip flexors, but I wonder if they're short, too.

You are not one bit ignorant - until I started suffering from pelvis problems I didn't have much knowledge in this area either!

If you stand and look in the mirror, have a look at your hip bones - do they seem to rotate forward - if so, you may also have a poochy belly or some protrusion in the lower abs. This is called an anterior rotation - if you look at your lower back area, you may find the arch is quite exaggerated, giving a swayed back appearance.

If I rotate my pelvis forward (anteriorly) enough, I can make myself look pregnant (not what I want!). Rotating the pelvis forward shortens the hip flexors - if you have shortened hip flexors, you will have a lot of tightness when you try to stretch them as well and have problems keeping them square when you do a lunge.

[pipsqueak3211]

Originally Posted by Debbie S.

Maybe you're having a hard time understanding the concept behind the Firm and FitPrime workouts. I know I did, and it took me quite a while to finally figure it out.

Perhaps you can help me understand the Firms better as I'm still scratching my head over them. The biggest thing I don't understand is their exercise sequence. For example, they always do chest last simply because you're lying on the floor. Even in the newest firms, for example Total Muscle Shaping from BSS3, they do this. Any idea of the logic behind this??

[Liz N]

Originally Posted by Debbie S.

Maybe you're having a hard time understanding the concept behind the Firm and FitPrime workouts. I know I did, and it took me quite a while to finally figure it out.

.

Deb, can you tell me then? I am just calling as I see it (and have very good reasons for my explanations of things, which in my opinion is being objective).

I think it depends on what one wants to achieve. If one wanted to improve their core strength somewhat or their muscular endurance in a unique way then I have no problem recommending Strong Bear or Fast Cheetah. In fact they could be used in a recovery/base building style of rotation. I am under no illusions that some of these moves are tough (especially in Strong Bear). In fact I really like Anna Bensons cardio a lot - it's different, it gets your heart rate up and it's a great change from more "traditional" forms of cardio. I prefer for many reasons that cardio and strength training be grouped together (or in bigger chunks) as is the case in these two workouts. Then techniques such as preexhaustion come into play and there is a greater effect on both cardiorespiratory endurance and muscular endurance.

I believe that there are better workouts out there (yes, this is my personal opinion) and that they could be really improved on to become something quite unique, effective and special! This would on Anna's part to become more au fait with core training and balance work. Then she wouldn't have to try and convince people with her (imho)untoward marketing - the workouts would speak for themselves.

[Liz N]

Originally Posted by pipsqueak3211

Perhaps you can help me understand the Firms better as I'm still scratching my head over them. The biggest thing I don't understand is their exercise sequence. For example, they always do chest last simply because you're lying on the floor. Even in the newest firms, for example Total Muscle Shaping from BSS3, they do this. Any idea of the logic behind this??

The only thing I can think of is that when you're getting up and down off the floor, there can be quite large changes in blood pressure - in some individuals this can result in a feeling of faintness when one gets up quickly off the floor. This could be a risk if you were exercising alone and had a pre existing condition that you didn't know about. Maybe the nurses on the board could chip in here. I know that on some Cathe workouts (I'm thinking of Cardio and Weights) the same thing happens. I think that is why chest work comes last in some workouts.