FIRM CLASSICS TO DVD

Amy Steppe

Amy Steppe

Cathlete
Did anybody order the Firm Clasics (Vol 2, 3, and 6) on DVD?

I bought all three since I love the Firm Classics.

Vol. 3 with Sandahl Bergman is one of my favorite workouts ever.

I do not understand why all the Classics are not available on DVD.

They were great and ahead of their time.

The Tortoise and Hare are also available, but I can't stand that stupid ballroom dance junk.

I can't stand the Firm videos past 1992.

In fact, it was how bad the Firm began to suck that made me a huge Cathe fan. The Firm went to all to hell and Cathe just got better.

One funny thing - I commented on how great the Firm Classics were and dissed the Tortoise and Hare.

True to Anna Benson Form, my comments were removed and I am blocked from making any comments.

She left the positive comments I made.

That woman just can't take criticism.

I apologize in advance to anybody who likes the Firm's later releases.

I am just speaking for myself.
 
I hear this all the time but I love the later stuff. In fact, I've gone back to doing their circuit routines because they're a bit slower paced than Cathe which really helps me to focus on my form and make sure I'm doing the moves properly. I was almost done with Lower Body I (with Lisa Kay) today when i suddenly got a mess of pixilation issues and my dvd player refused to play it again. I'm sore as all-get-out and my heart was beating all over. But the breaks come a lot more often than Cathe and the workouts feel more like HIIT than go-go-go-faster-faster-faster. I will say it's a nightmare ordering directly from The Firm website because their customer service is THE WORST. In fact, if you go there and ask for what you want it will be a miracle if anyone responds. Yea, I lost a lot of weight doing the workouts you (and so many others) hate... that's why I'm going back (not exclusively, of course). And I'm really loving them.
 
I hear it too but also liked their later stuff, mainly because I didn't discover the firm until BSS #2 was their newest Firm infomercial. I went from things like BB Great Body Guaranteed and Leslie Sansone WATP to the Firm BSS #2 and it really helped me begin the process of losing weight and living a healthier lifestyle...PERMANENTLY.

Since finding Cathe, Tony as well as others...I've sold all of my Firm vids. Sometimes I regret it but not often enough to repurchase them. I have no interest in any of the new stuff they've put out since I stop doing their work outs...
 
You owe to yourself to do the Classics. After 20 years plus, I still love the Classics.

I did Vol 2 last night and I used the weighted vest during the non impact sections.

It was major fun.

I find the leotards, gold chains, and the 80s music very quaint.

It is sad that the Firm studios closed and Anna nearly bankrupted them when a magazine (Shape I think) said Vol 3 was not an aerobic workout.

Vol. 3 is a fantastic workout.

She had a knack for making workouts that literally were choreographed to move flawlessly from one move to the next.
 
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The original Firm with Anna, closed. However, Emily Walsh has re-opened The Firm in Lexington (near Columbia).

I have both the Anna Benson era Firms and post Anna Benson era Firms. I enjoy them both. I also had the opportunity to workout at The Firm when it was at the Factory, participating in the Firm Cardio Challenge. This has been one of the greatest highlights of my life. I also had the opportunity to workout with Anna Benson at her Fitprime Studio.

Matter of fact, The State Newspaper, did an article on me. I listed the 3 F's---Firm, Fitprime and (Cathe) Friedrich as basics, among with others, in our vidiot collection.

Amy I am also a memeber of Anna's Forum. While I didn't read the post, I know Anna and her assistant are trying to clean up the Forum from spanners.

I always admire any one's work, whether or not, just for the mere fact, that person is helping me or helped me get to my fitness goals. Thus I would not critize per se someone else's workout.

Anna Benson will always be a person I admire along with others, thus constructive criticism is one thing but completing dissing someone, is something else. It is NOT because Anna doesn't take criticism, it is because she has been through so much.

I am sorry you feel that way toward Tortoise and Hare, because I also love Ballroom Aerobics, Tough Tape, and Sculpted Abs, Legs and Thighs.

V2, after receiving my dvd, I realized that V2 is mostly high rep, low weights, with the exception of a few compound exercises. I would alternate between heavy upper body work and lower body work. Then it finally clicked.

V3, the Firm box was introduced. Sandahl's leg presses get me everytime.
 
The Firm Classics and Tortoise and Hare

Yes, sadly the original Firms in Charleston and Columbia closed.

I was lucky enough to see the Mansion Set. It was so much fun!

I pre-ordered every single Classic could for a whopping price of $49.95. I rented Vol 1 with Susan Harris from Blockbuster and loved it so much I purchased it. The Classics changed my life and I lost all my baby weight. I was smaller than I was in High School.

Then I got hooked on sodas and huge portions of food BIG TIME and gained a lot of weight.

I began taking social dance and ballet, still doing the Firm Classics and I maintained a great body (for me). To make my workouts even better, I discovered Cathe Friedrich.

I love Cathe and she is my number one favorite video instructor, and the Firm Classics are fantastic compliments to her workouts!

But back to the subject of the T&H:

I had such high expectations for the Tortoise and Hare and they did not appeal to me.

Because of your kind words, I am going to try them. I still own the VHS copies. If I love them I will order the DVD versions. I already purchased Classic 2, 3, and 6. I wish that One and Five were on DVD!

As for Anna Benson, the woman is a genius, no doubt. She and Mark Henrickson were major pioneers in the fitness world. The documentary "20 Questions about Fitness" has universal and still valid information.

On my first roadtrip to see Anna and the instructors, the first questions out of her mouth were, "Are there any Spies (sic) present?"

On another trip, she was obviously not present. Mark Henrickson and Cynthia Benson were the hosts.

On the next trip, a new and very polite Anna was present with Mark.

I am not a member of her Forums; I was banned from comments about the T&H at You Tube.

As You Tube, I've never been marked as Spam before, although some of my videos have had very vulgar spammers and I have had to block their spam. They were people trying to promite their wretched webites via my videos.

Oh, and the horrible weight did not return. I do my best to eat and live well.

I apologize in advance for this rambling post.

Cheers!

Amy

p.s. I am not a nut job as one Firm Ya Ya claims. Well perhaps I am a nut job, but I am a fit nut job@
 
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Never Seen a Firm Infomercial

This is the honest truth. I do not watch television for anything but watching DVDs.

I will always love the Firm Classics.

The other Firms I love are:

Standing Legs
Tough Tape
Super Sculpting
Core Cardio 1

And there is one Nancy Tucker all cardio I like to do on light days when I am just too tired to do a really hard workout.
 
I'm another who wistfully wishes that the new FIRMS were more like the old FIRMS. However, even though I haven't purchased any new FIRMS in years, they will always hold a special place in my heart. The FIRM is what hooked me on video exercise, and from there I moved to Cathe. I learned about Cathe on the FIRM forums, and so I am indebted to the FIRM and its followers for that!

I still can't bear to part with my FIRMS, even though I seldom use them. I do pull them out occasionally and am glad to see the Classics move to DVD. For a long time, Volume 2 was the ONLY thing I owned--I did it over and over and over . . . . So much for a rotation. Ha!

I also think that the FIRM is good to recommend to friends who want serious exercise but aren't quite ready for Cathe. (Along with Cathe's handful of beginner videos, of course!) :)
 
I never did the old Firm workouts- they came out before I was into working out. But I have a few of the newer ones and like them for a good intermediate workout on days that I just can't handle Cathe. :) Maybe I should get a few classics just for something fun to do and keep things interesting...
 
I think the Firm Classics can be great for beginners as well as advanced exercisers.

I think Vol 2 and 3 are major workouts.
 
If you can get past the retro music and exercise wear, you can get one huge workout - Vol 2 and 3 are really difficult.

Vol. 6 can be very, very difficult depending the size of the step box and the weight used.

I think they are harder than some Cathe videos like Low Max or Cardio and Weights.

I have gone back to a Firm Classic and Jari Love Rotation.

I think my body had grown accustomed to Cathe's workouts.

I can't wait for STS!
 
I haven't done the Firm Classics in years, and am afraid they will be too easy and a waste of time now that I am a Cathe/Amy regular....

What do you think?
 
I think the first 3 volumes will still be a challenge, even with years of Cathe DVDs under your belt.

I'm in the Classic Fan category. Any workout that motivates is okay in my book, but for me personally, the older workouts were much, much tougher.

The volumes with LaReine Chabut and Jayne Poteet were pretty tough too, I believe. I seem to remember Jayne's volume being the last one I really liked.

Having said that, I gave all of my FIRM stuff away. Cathe's "personal trainer" feel now appeals to me more than the FIRM.
 
I totally agree...love the classics but hate the newer one. I wish they were all on DVD because I no longer have VCR
Tracy
 
Conni said:
I haven't done the Firm Classics in years, and am afraid they will be too easy and a waste of time now that I am a Cathe/Amy regular....

What do you think?
Click to expand...

Do Volume One using 12 lb weights for your heavy poundage, wear ankle weights and use a 10 lb dumbbell for resistance on the leg work, and then decide what you think! :eek:
 
I mix my workouts, for example, last night I did Bryan's Yoga Sculpting, Cathe's Push/Pull and Firm Cardio Step Mix. I don't think Cathe/Firm is either or, but both.

JeanneMarie, I haven't pulled out Volume 1 in ages! I let Katie's high school gym teacher borrow my Firms and she forgot to return Volume 1. So I purchased another one. If you go heavy on Firms, yep, buddy, you can feel the burn and DOMS!

The only thing about Tortoise and Hare, I wish I had a 4in step, instead of the Fanny Lifter because my "yachts" get hooked under the Fanny Lifter doing the more intricate footwork.
 
I love the older firms too. I am also a fan of the tortise and the hare, and strong heart and strong body. I always thought that the 4 in box wasn't high enough to get the heart rate up, so when I did the ballroom aerobics I used a 6 or 8 inch box. I find that if you used heavy enough weight you got a good cardio and weight workout all in one. I just purchased 1,2,3,4,6 and tortise/hare on DVD. I haven't seen volume 5 yet. I still won't part with the original videos. I also did the preorder ofvolume's 2 through 6 when they originally came out. They hold a special place for me too. I did volume 1 and 2 within the past couple of weeks. The floor leg work on volume 1 gets me everytime!!
chrissy
 
I love The Firm Classics. Vol. 1 is my most favorite and Sandra Bergman (hope I spelled her name correctly). I have all the Vols. and many more. You can use them with a weighted vest and make them extraordinary. This way they are just as good/intense as Cathe.

Janie
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FIRM Foundation to Grow!

As so many others have, I began exercising consistently for the first time in my life with The FIRM. Those videos were life changing. The classics made me fall in love with working out and doing something great, just for me. The music and choreography were so perfectly sequenced in the classics that the transitions were amazingly smooth and the time just flew by. I still have, and will NEVER part with, all of the classics, Tortoise and Hare, FIRM Strength and FIRM Cardio, Sculpted Buns Hips and Thighs, and others from the FIRM Parts series. Tracie Long was my favorite instructor so that's part of the reason I thoroughly enjoyed the Tortoise and Hare Crosstrainers as well as SBHT. For many, many years, I gave up on the FIRM when things changed. I learned about Cathe through the FIRMies, switched over, and didn't give all the new FIRM gimmicks, equipment, and management a chance.

I LOVE CATHE! I used her videos exclusively for about eight years. While not so big on step, I love the intensity of her weight training videos. By the way, that's another thing about the FIRM, if you aren't too keen on cardio (like me), the FIRM fools your body into getting a cardio workout by the speed of the weight training and compound movements.

Which brings me to where I am now (my goodness, I didn't realize I had so much to say :p)! I love Cathe's Gym Styles, PUB/PLB, and the Pure Strength series. I use these in conjunction with either the FIRM BSS2 or the Transfirmer series. I was so turned off by all the equipment for so long but I finally gave in to temptation and gave the FIRM a chance again with the Transfirmer. I LOVE these videos! They are SO fun! I can just feel how much stronger my legs are and how beautifully they are worked with these videos and the angle of the Transfirmer. Again, for me, this is a great way for me to get cardio in while still feeling like I'm muscle building. I love Allie and Emily and actually have really gotten into the newer instructors.

So, in the end, Cathe and the FIRM are the perfect combination for me, for life! And now, this post is complete and I'm left to decide what in the world I'm going to do tomorrow! I think, for old time's sake, I'll pull out one of the classics but, Lord knows, it WON'T be Volume 1! That woman (sorry Susan) kicked my @** every time!:D Okay, maybe that's my new challenge, I'll do the other classics first and finish off with Ms. Harris. Yipes!

Kat
 
The Firm revisited

Kat, your post sounds exactly like me! I have the same history with the Firms, switched to Cathe but now I am revisiting the Firm Classics after not doing them for 7 years. I am so glad I did not get rid of them! I love the change in pace. I have all of the Firms up to 2002. I tried the new ones, I think it was back in 2002, but thought they were way too easy so I haven't really looked at the Firm again. You mentioned the Firm BSS2, is this the only set you recommend or are there others? I need some new videos to spice things up! I am ready for something new to come out such as Chalean Extreme, STS or Jari's new video(s?), or even the Firm Wave videos, can you give me some suggestions! Thanks!
 
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