Hello! I've been doing The Firm for 15 years since my early 20s (mainly Body Sculpting Systems 1 through 4, the Wave, and the pink Firms). Two pregnancies and a health condition that causes exercise intolerance later, and I still kept with it, just at a lighter intensity (did a lot of "Express" versions of pink Firms and didn't get the Fanny Lifter out much).
Then last spring I had a body mass composition test and was told that despite my normal BMI, I was a little too high on fat and a little too low on muscle. That lit a fire under me and I went from doing 20-30 minute videos 2x a week (plus one day on the treadmill) to doing 40-50 minute videos and the treadmill 5x per week. 6 weeks later I had gained over a pound of muscle to the doctor's surprise.
Then I realized that I didn't have enough DVDs that fit my bill -- using a step, longer duration, moderate intensity-- so I went in search of them. I bought almost all the classic Firms and did those for a bit, but they're a bit stiff or wooden to me (Maximum Body Shaping is my favorite of those). Then I discovered Fitness Favorites and stocked up on FitPrime and KickButt. Those are my favorites right now -- From the Ground Up/Push Pull, Crunch Time, Pump, Metaboost, Lean, and Strong Bear (when I'm feeling up to it). I also throw in Total Muscle Shaping and Complete Body Sculpting (BSS3) and Supercharged Sculpting (BSS4) or a pink Firm from time to time. (We have a vacation place in the mountains where I don't have a step so I do those there.)
I love the flexibility of working out at home. I could never follow a rotation schedule because sometimes my health or life doesn't lend itself to a particular kind of workout. Today I was feeling strong so I did Pump Jump N Jab.
Generally I work out 2-4 days in a row and then take a break. I alternate weights-focused workouts with the treadmill or cardio workouts. My pace is slow these days (11 min/mile while running as fast as I can with my HR at max) but I will run 1-2 miles and then walk another mile, which takes me about one show on Netflix.
I've also started doing Rodney Yee yoga on active rest days or following the treadmill.
I can tell a big difference since I upped my game last spring. Honestly I'd really been phoning it in for a long time.
Thanks for having me. I'm happy to be here!
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