Looking for workout similar to The FIRM

M

melzy

Member
I have been using The FIRM for several years & am considering purchasing my first Cathe workout. Since I love the FIRM, but am tired of purchasing their new equipment each year, I am looking for a workout that is similar to theirs.

The characteristics I like in a workout are:

1. A TOTAL BODY workout that uses heavy weights
2. Is not too long (I prefer to keep my workouts about 45 minutes, or less, but I notice that the Cathe workouts are mostly 60 minutes or more)
3. Uses the tall step box (the “fanny lifter”).
4. Does not contain too much aerobic

I’m a little confused with the Intensity Series, the Body Blast Series, and the Timesaver DVD’s they offer. Please advise me on the workouts they offer that fulfill these qualities.

Thank you for your assistance and recommendations.
 
High Step Circuit / Beginner DVD Is a good place to start because it uses dumbbells, toning band, fanny lifter and has little cardio about 1 minute per cycle and there are about 7 cycles. But one that I love is Cardio and Weights. It consists of step aerobics and weights in between 4 step combos. But truthfully if this is your first Cathe workout you might consider starting with the Basic Step and Body Fusion. It contains add ons for upper, lower and abs with stability ball. Here you will also learn the moves that Cathe uses. Cathe is awesome. I was a firm user also but I hated BSS3 with the dark overtone and new fanny lifter so I didn't even bother when they came out with BSS4. I have no regrets because I have discovered Cathe. Her crew is so cool and inspiring. Cathe is down to earth and so friendly and encouraging. You will LOVE her workouts, I PROMISE!!! Happy Shopping!!

Yolanda
 
Hey Mel and welcome,

I have used The Firm for two years now. I found Cathe about a year ago. I really prefer Cathe to the Firm but still use them both. I just received the TimeSaver DVD from the Body Blast Series, these five workout run about 45 minutes or less each. I haven't done them yet so can't comment. Most of her DVD's though have chaptering so you can pick and chose and create your own workout and workout length. I have and love some of the Hardcore series. Hardcore Extreme is my favorite of those followed by KickMax. Her resistance workouts are awesome. I just purchased the Pyramid DVD and like the lower body segment on it that I did tonight. I have the purple/blue section FannyLifter and the Firm Box. I use the FannyLifter as a sub. for the high step but am wanting the high step for its stability. I haul out my FirmBox when doing resistance workouts, pop it out to the 14 inch and use it as a weight bench. Go under DVD's on Cathe's website to get a description of each workout. She is very thorough about describing her workouts.

Even though I am not new to Cathe, I am new to the forum and since joining have encountered a wealth of information from these people. They are very friendly, encouraging, and knowledgeable. I'm sure someone else will post that will help you further.

Again, welcome.
 
I second High step Circuit, I believe it says Beginner /Intermediate on it like the Firm though you can up your weights and step height for intensity. It would be a good start. There is only a small amount of cardio between the weight segments. It is 48 minutes. If you were short on time you could cut out the ab segment that does use a stability ball and is around 10 minutes long. Also it does use some tubing in parts you can use dumbells. Timesaver is good as well, not to long. The cardios run from 16-25 minutes for the different workouts. They are not done in a circuit fashion. Just cardio and then weights for a body part or two. Then there is CTX all under an hour. Cardio and the weights for a body part The longest cardio segment being 28 minutes on Power Circuit which focuses on lower and then back & abs.
Diane Sue
http://wd.1ww.us
 
Thanks so much for your input. I'm anxious to get your opinion on the TimeSaver DVD. When you've had the chance to do it I would appreciate it if you would please let me know what you think. I'm surprised that I actually learned about these Cathe videos from reviews I read about the Firm.
Thanks again,
Mel
 
The high step workout from the Hardcore Series is very Firm Like.

I remember thinking that to myself when I was doing it.

It also has some great pre-mixes to make the workout shourter.
 
Is that one called the "High Step Challenge"? Does it have a lot of cardio? What do you think of the Body Blast Series? What do you mean by premixes? Are they complete workouts? I'm finding that even though Cathe workouts can be personalized they are a bit confusing to someone new to them like myself who is used to putting in a DVD & just doing the workout & skipping over the parts I don't want to do (usually the jumping/cardio parts). Thank you for your recommendation.
Mel
 
Mel-
Cathe puts what she calls a "premix" on all of her DVDs. This explains part of why they are relatively expensive.

The DVDs are all broken up into chapters, like maybe a DVD would have a chapter of warmup, a chapter of an interval, a chapter for bicep weights, a chapter for abs, etc.

The premix is just an already-programmed workout that is on the DVD itself, so you just push "play premix X/Y/Z" rather than jumping from chapter to chapter yourself. Since her workouts are usually long (60-70 minutes), the premixes are generally full workouts themselves, just leaving out a chapter or two to make them shorter or allow you to "rest" one body part or something to accommodate a rotation. Sometimes the premixes are explained on the DVD or on the website. I have Low Max, for example, and it lists under "premixes" different premixes using warmup, intervals 1-4, cooldown and stretch.

Since I discovered them, I don't see the point of getting a VHS as it's only one workout, whereas her DVDs allow for several workouts using one DVD (although it's all the same footage).

Hope that helps, and happy shopping!!
 
You were a great help! Thanks for taking the time to provide me with the details. I have a feeling that once I finally decide which workout to start with my collection will grow. Cathe certainly gets great reviews from her customers. Something tells me my FIRM workouts won't be used very much . . . Have you ever used the FIRM? So far, I'm hooked on them, but they now sell those "systems". They come with 3-4 workouts, but I find I only do about 2 of them so the rest is just a waste of money. One more question for you, where did you buy the Dynaband that is used for a lot of the Cathe workouts?

Thanks again for your input!!
 
I have about 28 Firm workouts! I used to love them, but I was really disappointed in the BSS3 workouts- the one with the incline box. They were hard for about a week then became indistinguishable from all the other Firms I have! And, it occurred to me that I had been staring at the same 8 women 6 days a week for 3 years and maybe I needed a change! I went to Firm discussion boards and saw that people who loved the Firm really loved Cathe, and the rest is very recent history!
I just got High Step Training Advanced, and I've done it once. It was Firm-like, and if you don't want cardio, there is a premix on the DVD that has the circuits without it. The cardio segments are only about a minute long, so it isn't that much. (There is a cardio-only premix that is only 12 minutes.)
As for the Dynaband, I don't know how long you need. I think her Hardcore series uses a 6' band that people have trouble finding. I know they sell the bands in a six-yard segment, so I was going to get that and then cut it myself into the lengths I need. Cathe has a page on her website "buyers guide" that has links to various sellers. I know power systems has them, and fitness wholesale does too. The 6 yard segment is about $10 for a medium resistance. You can get the smaller 4-5 foot segments for about $4-5.
I also have Pyramid Upper Body (PUB) and Pyramid Lower Body (PLB). I just got those and have only done PLB, yesterday. I'm about to go try PUB. I guess I didn't use enough weight- I'm not sore at all! But it was still tough, especially the stability ball parts. Gives me something to work on!
Take care.
 
i was a firmie for about two years when i discovered cathe, i still love the firm workouts and rotate them in as "easy" days--like i usually follow a really high impact cardio day, like IMAX3 or "the viper" from "terminator" with a firm cardio workout the next day, AMAZING to me they used to seem hard.

the music in cathe's workouts is 1000 times better too

good luck and enjoy
 
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