FROM THE FIRM WORK OUTS TO CATHE ANYONE

I started out with Firm too but not the cardio and weights tapes, the Firm Parts and I had Charlene Prickett too. I use Cathe exclusively these days because of the variety and the ability to go heavy in the comfort of my own family room. I gave all my Firm tapes to a group of vey young and brand new moms at a MOPS (Mother Of Preschooler) group I used to be mentor for. I hope all those young ladies got the benefits of getting strong and destressing through exercise and not dusting off old Firm tapes! LOL!
Bobbi "Chick's rule!" http://www.handykult.de/plaudersmilies.de/chicken.gif
 
I also started with Firm BSS1 and and older one which was a good workout but after a while I could not get past the outfits and the leg warmers! UGH. I know that should not matter if it is a good workout, but nonetheless, I traded it away. In Fact I traded all my Firm away. There is no comparison as far as weight training and I enjoy the full length step workout for cardio. I also did not like how contrived the FIRM is. Maybe BSS2 is different, but I only tried one of the workouts and did not care for it. I recently switched to Cathe a few months ago and am slowly acquiring many of her workouts as everyone here predicted.
 
I also began with the Firm years ago and found Cathe about 4 years ago. I mostly do Cathe now and have gotten rid of the Firms I never really liked. However, I did keep some for lighter days and a change of pace. This morning, just for the heck of it, I did the first 1/2 of MIC and then Firm Parts Upper Body (which I have not done in years and frankly did not have fond memories of)and truly felt it and enjoyed the variety. A few too many rows, so instead of Janet's row section I added bicep curls and hammer curls. I must say, my arms definately are feeling it. So, I guess for me it is worth it to hang on to some of them for a rainy day. Can't get much for them in a trade or sell anyway.

Just my .02.
 
The Firm can still kick my butt!

When Cathe's videos become too easy (and some do), I switch back to a Firm Classic or one where Anna Benson was still in charge.

They slay me even today -- try the one with Janet Jones using a little heavier weight and you will know the true meaning of hell -- but the corny music and Janet add to the torture factor!

I also revisited "Firm Cardio" and "Firm Strength" "Standing Legs" and "Tough Tape" recently.

I thought I'd DIE and I used to breeze through these!

I think the body adapts and a person has to rotate videos/instructors.
 
Core Cardio 1 is a great cardio workout!

I love it and it still challenges me!

So do the ones with Tamela Hastie and Carissa Foster....Cardio Burn and Maximum Cardio.

And there are Cathe videos I breeze through......HUGE EXCEPTION: HIGH STEP!
 
I completely agree. The Janet Jones one has me aching the next day, as does Variety Heart. And the standing legs tapes kicks Cathe's leg tape to death; it works arms, butt, legs, AND gives you cardio.

My routine is usually to do the two back-to-back, and as I get older, I find myself doing more Firm because Cathe's plyo is starting to affect my knees (though I also work on a very high step, and probably if I went down to 8 or 9 inches it wouldn't be as big a problem). But I LOVE the Firm tapes, and as the previous poster said, the body adapts and it's good to rotate videos, so I would never stop doing them. The combination with Cathe is just perfect.
 
I also switched from the Firm to Cathe workouts a few months ago. But I'm not parting with any of my Firms because I never know when I'll need one.

Because of my knee problem, I'm so happy I haven't parted with my Firm workouts. ( I have 39.) For the past month I've been using Cathe for no step cardio and upper body exercises. But for lower body workouts I've been using my Firm floorwork tapes as well as floorwork sections of Firm tapes.

I've been using my lower intensity Cathe cardio workouts to death lately and I'm just about ready to start using a lower intensity Firm workout as a warmup before a more intense Cathe strength workout.


It's nice to have a wide variety of workouts.

Allyson
 
I just found Cathe too! I have all the Firms and have been using them for about 10 years. Recently in the last couple of years I quit seeing results and was bored. I'm going to for now keep my Firms, but I did call Collage Video and cancelled my pr-order for the new BSS3 system. I'm going to use the money to buy more Cathe DVD's. I used the timesaver and am getting ready to use the Blast and Intensity series. I really feel challenged now.

Susan
 
I have been doing the firm for about 15 years, I have all the workouts and I will keep them. I feel attached to them because they got me on the road to fitness. I have been doing Cathe only about a month and I feel this was exactly what I was missing in my routine. I feel like I've made huge fitness gains already.

Yesterday I did total body shaping mix, it used to be so hard, I went through it without the usual panting and gasping. I was so impressed. I'll used my Firms from time to time because I do miss them, however they won't be my staple anymore.
 
I started with BSS1 last year and discovered Cathe at the beginning of this year. I always worked out at the gym or my nordic track. I LOVE my Cathe workouts and have been doing them exclusively for the last few months. Recently, I pulled out my Firms for variety and they really kicked my butt. I will keep some of my Firms as I find my body needs variety. Bootcamp becomes easier if I do it several times within a small time period. I guess you've got to gauge what your body needs.
However, hands down, you can't go wrong with your Cathe's!:)
 
Hey there!

I have been Firming since Jan. 03 and have about 25 Firms right now. Last month, I discovered Cathe on FitTV, taped some of those workouts and purchased Timesaver! I really love Cathe's workout-I felt after doing the Firm for awhile that I needed a challenge. I don't plan on purchasing any more Firms, except new releases if they are int/advanced. I will keep the Firms I do have just for variety and sentimental value. The Firm got me on the road to fitness and I also believe that variety is best for the body. However, I am really looking forward to Cathe's new series! On days when I don't have alot of energy to give to a workout, I will pull out my Firms and that will do the trick. HTH

:) :)
 
I use to go to a gym. Then I discovered the Firm and loved working out at home. I had a couple of Cathe's weight workouts - PS and MIS. In 2001 I sold all my Firms and never looked back. I LOVE Cathe's workouts. I have all her DVD's and can't wait for the Hardcore series. I didn't think I could do her step because I heard how complex it was. But after a few tries, I have the moves down and I'm having so much fun.
 
>>The Firm got me on the road to fitness and I also believe that variety is best for the body. <<

Exactly. And Cathe's workouts are excellent but after a while you realize that the choreography is pretty constant (which makes them easier to learn as you get used to them, fortunately!). So while your mind is entertained and you don't get bored at all, your body does adjust -- I'm talking about the Step/Cardio tapes here -- and you just don't make the same gains. So even if you do a different Cathe tape every day, you're still doing the same moves, and your body knows it. That's why I think it's important to do other tapes -- Keli Roberts or Saffrell or Firm or whatever -- to keep your body guessing and changing.

Plus some of the Firm tapes are incredible. I'd never give them up.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Our Newsletter

Get awesome content delivered straight to your inbox.

Top