The Firm: Total Sculpt Plus Abs
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Movie Reviews of The Firm: Total Sculpt Plus Abs
Movie Review: Total Sculpt Plus Abs = Total Body Workout
Summary: 5 Stars
Total Sculpt Plus Abs, led by Jen Carman, will do what it promises. It is a total body workout focused on sculpting and toning your muscles. The equipment used in this video includes the Firm Fannylifter, Sculpting Stick, and a range of dumbbells such as 3, 5, and 8 pounds. If you do not own the Fannylifter, you will need a step or stool of some kind. You can substitute a broomstick and/or dumbbells for the Sculpting Stick, depending on how they are using it in the video.
This is considered to be a sculpting video, but there are three cardio segments included. This is a great addition, helping to break up the workout and raise your heart rate. So even though the focus is on weight training, you will get a cardio workout as well. I much prefer this to Body Sculpt, another Firm sculpting video that Carman leads.
I also like the way the workout is structured. Carman alternates exercises for the upper and lower body. However, you will work your muscles to exhaustion, which is ideal for optimum results. For example, in an upper body segment focused on biceps, you will do sets of bicep and hammer curls with dumbbells as well as two types of biceps curls with the sculpting stick.
I like the use of the Sculpting Stick in the abs section. I found the abs exercises to be good variations on some old stand-bys that were made fresh by the stick.
Movie Review: Great introduction to The FIRM
Summary: 4 Stars
Total Sculpt plus Abs is part of the Body Sculpting System 2 and uses all of the "required" equipment to the fullest. You'll need pairs 3, 5, and 8 pound dumbbells, the Fanny Lifter (or equivalent), and the Sculpting Stick (or equivalent). I acquired this DVD when I purchased the full BSS2 set with the Fanny Lifter and Sculpting Stick, however it also comes with the BSS2 4-pack and with a BSS2 set that includes only the stick. (Confused yet?)
I will admit a certain soft spot for this workout--it was the very first Firm workout I ever did. Jen Carmen got me on the road to a level of fitness I never thought I'd be able to attain. This workout is thorough. If you're a beginner or even just new to this kind of exercise, you're going to feel not only worked out, but worked over. I was seriously sore for a day or so the first few times I did this tape. Equal attention is paid to all the major muscle groups--shoulders, triceps, biceps, back, abs, inner/outer thighs, and glutes all get worked in this video.
The cardio segments are short and fun with moderately challenging choreography. If you're someone who has "two left feet," I highly recommend previewing this one a time or two before you attempt it. The four-limb segment towards the end is probably the most challenging--it's what tripped me up the most the first five or six times I did this workout.
The Sculpting Stick gets put to innovative use during the abs section of this workout. Jen uses it to add resistance to the brief but effective segment of reverse crunches. The shin crunches are fun too. As someone who absolutely loathed any kind of ab work before finding these videos, the ab section in this workout was a pleasant surprise. Having to use the equipment kind of distracted me from my hatred of situps!
As I've become more fit, I keep going back to this video if I want a long sculpting workout that isn't going to leave me reaching for the ibuprofen the following morning. If I want to make it more challenging, I'll add a dumbbell to my other shoulder rather than use the stick for balance and/or heavy up on a few exercises. This workout really can grow with you to an extent, but the short sets and short ab section drop it back to 4 stars for me. This workout is a total winner for high beginner/low intermediate exerciser. If you're an advanced fitness buff that's looking to get your butt kicked, you should probably look elsewhere.
Movie Review: GOOD BEGINNER WORKOUT
Summary: 2 Stars
THIS IS A VERY EASY TAPE TO FOLLOW THAT IS NOT CHALLENGING TO THE BODY. I HAVE HAD THE TAPE FOR OVER A YEAR AND FIND MYSELF VERY BORED WITH IT SIMPLY BECAUSE IT IS NOT CHALLENGING. FROM THE GET GO, I HAVE USED 5-10LBS MORE WEIGHT THAN INSTUCTOR FOR EACH EXERCISE AND STILL DO NOT FEEL LIKE I AM GETTING A WORK OUT. I WOULD RECOMMEND FOR SOMEONE JUST STARTING OUT OR SOMEONE WHO HAS NOT DONE MUCH WEIGHT TRAINING BEFORE.Movie Review: Love It!
Summary: 5 Stars
I use this tape once a week along with my other 2 FIRM: Body Sculpting System 2 Tapes.
I consider myself to be at an intermediate level exerciser. I use the 3 - 5 - 8 pound dumbells recommened with the video. When ever I do this video, I have to take a day off and rest before I can go on to exercising again. This one really challenges my thighs.
If you are at an intermediate level and are looking for a way to get some light weight training in your workout...I highly suggest this video.
Movie Review: Shorter sculpting sets with room to grow
Summary: 4 Stars
I did this workout the day after Maximum Cardio Burn. This workout also has the same "fun factor"- Jennifer Carmen is enthusiastic, cues well, and is very encouraging. The music is very fast-paced, and that motivated me through some of the tougher sets.As I mentioned in my review of MCB, I don't have the Sculpting Stick, and here I also didn't feel like I needed it. I found some of the moves that it was used for ineffective. I was able to sub weights for just about everything, including the pushups on the stick- I just don't understand how that wouldn't compress people's wrists. It certainly wouldn't do any harm on the combination chest press and pullover, but as you progress you're going to need heavier weights anyway. The "lat pulldown" it was used for did nothing for me, even using weights that were heavier than the stick. I don't believe that exercise is useful unless it's attached to a pulley- you don't work your lats here, you work your shoulders. I was disappointed when I emerged at the end of the workout and didn't feel like my back had worked at all. Next time I'll sub some heavy lat rows.
So why the four stars? Because the rest of the workout is great, and as with almost all of the Firm workouts, everything can be made harder with the use of heavier weights. Jenn thoroughly works over the biceps, triceps, thighs (inner and outer), glutes, hamstrings and abs in this workout. Also, I like the variation they're using on the leg presses in this workout. Instead of using two heavy weights, you use one very heavy weight and then hold a dowel in your other hand. I really did feel like I was getting deeper into the targeted muscle groups for the leg presses as well as the squats, lunges and plies.
The aerobic sets are short here, and they're intended to be used more for recovery from your heavy weights than to significantly elevate your heart rate. Pick up Maximum Cardio Burn to cross train with for cardio.