HSM Total Body Sculpt

[txhsmom]

If I were to buy just one of their DVDs, which would y'all recommend?

Carol

[Breezy Trousers]

Originally Posted by txhsmom

If I were to buy just one of their DVDs, which would y'all recommend?

Carol

Carol, I have three HSM DVDs. All look like nice, solid workouts, but I think the latest release, HSM's Total Body Workout, is a good one to start with if you don't mind going from standing to the floor and back again. I previewed the original Total Body Sculpt & Band workouts last night and it's clear that HSM is getting better with each new release. The very first release, Total Body Sculpt, is HSM's least polished production. The sound isn't that great in spots. It has more standing and less up-and-down work than Total Body Workout, though, and, unlike the other HSM DVDs, it comes with an inflatable pilates ball (Lord knows I didn't need another one of those ....). I didn't get to preview much of the band workout, but the production values are better there, similar to Total Body Workout.

I agree with bjammin13's comparison of HSM to the early Firms. HSM is clearly a barre workout, not AWT, but something about HSM strikes me as faintly Firm'ish in a very comforting way -- maybe it's the fact that both workout systems feature compound movements & Southern women with perfect makeup & every hair in place, etc.? Ha! I don't know .... can't put my finger on it ....

[txhsmom]

Originally Posted by Breezy Trousers

Carol, I have three HSM DVDs. All look like nice, solid workouts, but I think the latest release, HSM's Total Body Workout, is a good one to start with if you don't mind going from standing to the floor and back again. I previewed the original Total Body Sculpt & Band workouts last night and it's clear that HSM is getting better with each new release. The very first release, Total Body Sculpt, is HSM's least polished production. The sound isn't that great in spots. It has more standing and less up-and-down work than Total Body Workout, though, and, unlike the other HSM DVDs, it comes with an inflatable pilates ball (Lord knows I didn't need another one of those ....). I didn't get to preview much of the band workout, but the production values are better there, similar to Total Body Workout.

I agree with bjammin13's comparison of HSM to the early Firms. HSM is clearly a barre workout, not AWT, but something about HSM strikes me as faintly Firm'ish in a very comforting way -- maybe it's the fact that both workout systems feature compound movements & Southern women with perfect makeup & every hair in place, etc.? Ha! I don't know .... can't put my finger on it ....

Thanks! The Firm comment gives me warm fuzzy feelings - I can remember looking at ads for Volume I in Shape magazine in 1989 while I was pregnant. I saved up my $$ and bought Volume I as soon as the doctor released me to regular activity after my bedrest pregnancy.

Does the latest (Total Body Workout) incorporate the pilates ball? That type of core work doesn't hurt my back like some barre corework does.

Carol

[Breezy Trousers]

Originally Posted by txhsmom

Thanks! The Firm comment gives me warm fuzzy feelings - I can remember looking at ads for Volume I in Shape magazine in 1989 while I was pregnant. I saved up my $$ and bought Volume I as soon as the doctor released me to regular activity after my bedrest pregnancy.

Does the latest (Total Body Workout) incorporate the pilates ball? That type of core work doesn't hurt my back like some barre corework does.

Carol

Then you are an early Firmie who probably paid $50 for that first volume? That was a lot of money back then. Considering how many of us still use those early Firm workouts 25-30 years later, the workout probably paid for itself over time.

I only used a mat, 8 & 5 lb. weights and my Barre3 ball for Total Body Workout. Pilates ab work can bother my neck/shoulders, but TBW's ab work felt reasonably challenging yet comfortable. I hope this helps!

[Usia]

Are these dvds $40 and $50 each, or am I missing something? Maybe that's why it reminds some of you of the early Firms. The price! I'm one of those people who paid $50 back then for Firm VHS tapes - sight unseen, but now, I hesitate to pay that much for 60 min of content. On the other hand, I also paid $24.95 each for 30 minutes of P57 Cardio Blast and Cardio Sculpt DVDs, so I guess it comes up to the same price. Any more reviews of these?

[txhsmom]

Originally Posted by Breezy Trousers

Then you are an early Firmie who probably paid $50 for that first volume? That was a lot of money back then. Considering how many of us still use those early Firm workouts 25-30 years later, the workout probably paid for itself over time.

I only used a mat, 8 & 5 lb. weights and my Barre3 ball for Total Body Workout. Pilates ab work can bother my neck/shoulders, but TBW's ab work felt reasonably challenging yet comfortable. I hope this helps!

Yes - that first Firm tape I bought was $49.95, purchased pretty much sight unseen, except for that ad. I was in on the pre-order for Volume 4, which became my most used workout during my son's toddler-hood.

Thanks for the mini-review; I think I'm off to purchase this.

Carol

[txhsmom]

By the way, I noticed on Liz's Twitter feed from March 10th that they are working on a 30 minute DVD.

Carol

[mjs2052]

I have been doing these workouts for the past week and I am in love. I really look forward to doing them and my body is starting to respond nicely. These are definite hits for me!

[mjs2052]

Originally Posted by txhsmom

By the way, I noticed on Liz's Twitter feed from March 10th that they are working on a 30 minute DVD.

Carol

I'm so happy to hear this! I want more workouts from them.

[Breezy Trousers]

Originally Posted by txhsmom

By the way, I noticed on Liz's Twitter feed from March 10th that they are working on a 30 minute DVD.

Carol

I agree with mjs2052 - this is great news! I've tried & liked a lot of barre schools/methods this year but feel I've finally found my barre "home" in HSM.

I did HSM's first workout, Total Body Sculpt, today and thought of you, Carol, because it again uses the ball during the ab work. The pilates ball makes ab work so much more comfortable! The ab work was very interesting, which is probably the nicest thing I can ever say about ab work. I usually skip abs, but Liz incorporates 3 lb. weights with the ab work, which reeled me in and kept me hooked. I love HSM's compound movements!

There were differences but also similarities between Total Body Sculpt and Total Body Workout. The upper body segments in both workouts are tough. I had a hard time keeping up with Liz & her 8 lb. weights in Total Body Sculpt. As with TBW, she torches the upper body in TBS and then pushes the bar further with what also appears to be HSM's "signature" work, plank variations & push ups. The leg and seat work was, as with HSM Total Body Workout, fun and challenging but not so crazy intense that I avoid reaching for the workout in the future (a fine line).... Much of the workout is standing, which I also liked ..... The production values are noticeably less glossy than HSM's later offerings, so the high price point for Total Body Sculpt in particular is likely to push some VF'ers straight over the edge .... Liz and Clary seem to have pat expressions -- e.g., exclamations about "the burn!!!" and building "coconuts" while doing arm workouts -- which show up in both workouts, but that's more an observation than a complaint. Maybe I'll feel differently by the 10th time I do the workouts ....There's a stretch at the end, but I wish there had been a little more stretching at the end of each body part segment. If I did the workout by selected chapters, it wouldn't be a big deal because I could just do my own stretches, but I prefer to just hit "play" and do the entire workout from start to finish (well, usually skipping abs at the end, but with HSM, I've been eating my vegetables)..... These are small issues. This workout will get lots of play.

I ordered my final HSM, the preggers workout, and will get it late next week. I'm hoping it's not easier, just shorter. The clip looks good.