Question for ErinF

K

kimstarr

Active Member
Hi Erin, I read your post on a different thread, and you mentioned the FIRM and Cathe have different philosophies. I have never done any FIRM tapes and I wondered what you meant, and if you feel you've seen better results mixing the FIRM with Cathe tapes. I was just curious, thank you if you have time answer.

Kim
 
Not Erin F. but...

I like mixing in some Firms with Cathe as well. One thing that is very different is that the Firm doesn't group the body parts into sections - for example, Cathe will do a total body tape and it will be legs, chest, back, shoulders, biceps, triceps. With Firm tapes, you will do something like leg presses then go right into overhead shoulder presses, then back to leg presses and then bicep curls - great for muscle confusion!! Also, the Firm moves very quickly from one set to the next. The two styles definitely complement one another.
Hope this helps until Erin answers!!
Erica
 
RE: Not Erin F. but...

Thank you Erica, that was helpful. Do you (or anyone) feel the FIRM tapes are as hard as Cathe tapes strength tapes. I almost always hear the FIRM tapes are easier or good for days when you don't have a lot of energy. Thanks!

Kim
 
RE: Not Erin F. but...

I think Cathe is probably more intense because you can use heavier weights at her slower speed, and she seems to fatigue my muscles more; however, the Firm tapes, in my opinion, are as challenging as you make them. If you use lighter weights, you will get less intensity in the workout, but the heavier you go, the harder the workout is. My heart rate definitely gets higher with Firm tapes because of the constant movement without a rest. They are both so different, but they are great in their individual ways.

You kind of have to get used to their style, too. When I first watched a Firm tape, I thought, "What in the world is this?" But, when I actually started doing them, I began to like them. Some of their better ones, in my opinion include Firm Cardio, Firm Strength, Super Sculpting, Total Body Shaping Mix, and the Bootcamp 3-in-1 Mix. I have an extra copy of Firm Cardio if you are interested. E-mail me at [email protected].

I hope this helps some :)

Emily
 
RE: Not Erin F. but...

Hi Kim,
I agree with Emily that Cathe's tapes are more intense, but I still think throwing in a Firm here and there is great to shake things up. My absolute favorites are their Bootcamp tape (total body) and Lower Body Split (legs/abs). I wouldn't call either of these easy at all - I find them very challenging!!
Erica
 
Firm tapes, Cathe, or both

I think the first Firm tape by Susan Harris is really tough--especially the legs floor work. Last year I did a lot of the SuperSculpt and SuperCardio and thought they were excellent, and the two tapes that came out together by Heidi Tanner and Pam Cauthen were great, too. I have to admit that lately all I have been doing is Cathe, Cathe, Cathe, and I don't know if it's my level of commitment (which is greater right now) or the tapes (I suspect it's the tapes) or the combination of both, but I feel like I am having a breakthrough in terms of strength gains and increased endurance by focusing on Cathe's tapes exclusively. She sneaks in intervals everywhere in CTX, not just in IMAX, and I think this has pushed me to a new level on her other tapes--IMAX, MIC, BodyMax. And the new S and H is really impressive. I've been buying all kinds of heavier stuff to push myself, and she makes me want to do that.
 
Hi, Kim!

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON Aug-08-01 AT 02:57PM (Est)[/font][p]Hi, Kim! Sorry it took me so long to answer. My server has been down all day up until this moment. All day I've been calling and they said it would be "just another 15 - 30 minutes." Jeesh! They need new stop watches! :)

Others have given you a good idea of what the Firm workouts are like. They not only mix up the body parts so you aren't doing all of the leg work, then all of the back work, etc., they also do a lot more compound moves. You may do some plies with biceps curls and things like that. I find that since I may go from leg work to upper body work without time to change to a lighter weight, I'm challenged to at least TRY the upper body exercise with the heavier weight. I may not succeed, but that is how I discovered I could do shoulder presses with 35 lbs on my bar ( not many, but I got through Nancy Tucker's set of 8! :) ) and that I could do 15 lb dumbells on some biceps exercises, for example. Many of their tapes also throw in aerobics between weights work, making them true circuit training. The aerobics sections aren't necessarily killer, depending on your current fitness level, but they are still a great way to hit both cardio and weights on 1 day. A warning though: Firm aerobics tend to be quite high impact.

As I see it, the 2 styles are: working 1 body part until it's ready to drop off my body ( ala' Cathe ) but then I'm DONE with that part, switching around constantly so muscle groups are actually getting some rest so I can perhaps push myself to go a bit heavier ( ala' the Firm ). Even if I don't actually lift any heavier with the Firm days, somehow the 2 styles are very complimentary in my workout goals. I've definitely seen better results since I combined them than I ever did with either one separately.

I hope this answers your question! Have a great day!

Erin
 
RE: Hi, Kim!

Hi Erin, thank you for the response! I just ordered Cathe's 5 new videos, so I can't buy more for a while, but I will look into some of the tapes you and everyone has mentioned. I am always looking for ways to the best results possible. I do like your idea of working the muscles differently sometimes.

Thank you Erin, and everyone.

Kim
 
RE: Can't find these tapes

Are the tapes that you mentioned titled Super sculpt and Super cardio? I couldn't find them on the Firm website. Thanks
Jackie
 
RE: SuperSculpt and SuperCardio

Jackie,

Yes they are called SuperSculpt and SuperCardio. They sent me a brochure for ordering them. Each of them has four instructors, and the SuperCardio is 65 minutes long and the SuperSculpt is about 50 minutes long. They're about 2 years old I believe. I'll check their site and see if I spot them.
 
RE: Can't find these tapes

I just checked the site, Jackie. Look under Videos by Category. They are both there,one under the video type Cardio, the other under video type Sculpt and intermediate/advanced for both. Just look for the tapes listing four instructors at the bottom of each column. Super Cardio and Super Sculpting are the correct titles. Hope that helps. I really liked them.
 
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