Archives – July 4, 2007
I got my gym membership at the very end of May and I think I went 4 times that first month. Doh! Of course one excuse I have is that I did get sick and thought I should take it easy, but excuses, excuses.
One reason why I decided to keep the membership was because they offered Turbo Kick classes. Turbo Kick is the gym version of Turbo Jam. Now, I love Turbo Jam and I’ve been wanting to take a Turbo Kick class for a long time because I heard that those classes are more intense than the videos.
I decided to take the plunge on Monday. I met up with an video fitness friend to exchange some videos before class. We chatted a bit and that calmed my nerves a little, but not a lot. I got a decaf iced coffee before class, but I really wonder if it was decaf or not because my heart rate really started soaring before class. Then again, it could just have been my nerves.
I was supposed to meet another friend to take the class with me, but I don’t know what happened since I didn’t see him. Oh well. I am glad I got there early though because the class was packed! I got a pretty good spot in the corner away from the windows though.
OMG! The class was so much fun! It was almost just like the videos! LOL! The warm up was pretty much the same except for some extra knee strikes. I am pretty proud of myself though since I made it through the whole darn thing! Several people walked out during class, but I did it! Go Me! Of course I modified the hell out of the workout, but I was still sweating like a mofo during the whole thing.
I did wear my heart rate monitor but I forgot to turn it on to record. Doh! I could see my heart rate, but I have no idea how many calories I burned, but I am thinking that it was A LOT! LOL! My heart rate was ridiculously high during most of the workout and I mean ridiculously high – like it might have been something like 80% or higher of my max. But, it’s weird because I mean I knew I was getting a good workout and was pushing myself harder than I do at home, but I didn’t feel like I was working out as hard as my heart rate monitor led me to believe. That’s why I wonder if the coffee I got before hand was actually decaf or not.
The class certainly was more intense than a video but I wonder if it just seemed more intense because there weren’t as many breaks between segments like in the videos.
The instructor was also kind of crazy. There are these things called “Turbos” in every Turbo Jam or Turbo Kick workout. A Turbo is a high intensity drill where you are supposed to bring your heart rate up very high for 90 seconds. The instructor had us do the Turbo 3 times in a row! Ach!
I was pretty sore on Tuesday, but in a good way. I went swimming again Tuesday as I was hoping that the circulation might help with the soreness. Like I mentioned before, I should be going snorkeling on Wednesday and I am going to try to hit another Turbo Kick class on Thursday, if I am up for it! “It’s time to partee!!!”
July 4, 2007
The new “TransFirmation” system was released a couple of weeks ago and I’ve seen quite a few reviews about the wokrouts on the various boards I frequent.
The verdict? Don’t buy it – at least for now. Why is that Alisha? Do the workouts suck that much?
Well, it’s not so much that the workouts suck, but that there are a ton of problems with the DVD’s that have gone out. I don’t know what gives but basically a lot of the discs will just not play in most DVD players. Random polling from the various boards I go to suggest that at least half of the people who ordered have problems playing some of the discs. Okay, I don’t really know if half of the discs are defective, but a lot of them are. People have contacted the Firm, gotten replacement discs and those have been faulty too. I do believe that they are working on the problem now, but who knows how long it will be before they get discs that actually work.
Others have also reported problems with the weights that come with the system. A lot of the weights that have gone out seem to be stuck together and some even have rust spots on them! Doh!
The workouts themselves have been getting mixed reviews. Some people are annoyed that the Cardio Party DVD basically contains a couple of segments from previous Firm videos – like a cardio segment with Emily is just her redoing a cardio segment from Complete Aerobics and Weight Training. Allie’s segment is her doing the Latin part of her Cardio Dance Slim Down.
Alison’s Cardio Overdrive has gotten positive reviews but her ab workout was considered to be so so.
There are quite a few of these DVD’s that I am interested in, but it is ridiculously expensive with the weights. (The complete set with the deluxe add on and shipping comes out to something like $120!) Oh yea, one thing that I really hate about the Firm’s website is that they never tell you how much shipping is before you order something. There is also no mention of shipping rates in their FAQ.
In case you were wondering, the shipping on the basic kit alone is $29.95. If you get the deluxe add on, there is an additional shipping charge of $9.95.
If you are new to the Firm and were thinking about joining the Firm Believer’s Web Club – DON’T! It’s basically a rip off. They charge you $10 a month for access to their message boards and “chats” with the instructors. They like to say that it is worth it because you get a 10% discount on all purchases in the Firm store, but you can still find their workouts cheaper at other retailers – even with the 10% discount.
Now, I don’t mean to sound like I hate the Firm, I don’t. They have produced a lot of really good workouts over the years, but their customer service sucks.
In other Firm news, they released some more workouts today. The new workouts released are add on’s to the TransFirmation system. The 5 workouts are about $60 and I’ve heard that the shipping on these is $9.95. They are promoting this as a buy 4 workouts get the fifth one free deal. I am really interested in these, but I think I can wait until they go retail. I am sure that Amazon will have them cheaper than the price they are being advertised at right now. Oh yea, and it looks like the new set will be released to regular retail in September. I can wait until then.
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Burn & Shape, a workout created by The FIRM Master Instructor Emily Welsh will help you transform your physique. Quick changes from cardio to sculpting and back again boost your energy level and melt fat away fast with this innovative method for losing weight. |
| Approximately 40 minutes. Cardio+Sculpt. |
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Total Body Time Crunch is The FIRM’s secret weapon against unwanted flab. This workout, led by The FIRM Master Instructor Rebekah Sturkie, combines high energy cardio moves with targeted body shaping exercises in heart-pumping intensity bursts that increase your motivation as well as your results! |
| Approximately 45 minutes, with a 25-minute Express option. Cardio+Sculpt. |
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Total Body Toner, a sculpting workout, will increase your fat-free body mass and rev up your metabolism. Pump some iron with The FIRM Master Instructor Allie Del Rio Pointer in this innovative series of muscle conditioning moves that will give you the shapely, toned body you’ve been seeking. |
| Approximately 40 minutes. Sculpt. |
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Cardio Sculpt Fusion — a low impact, low intenstiy workout applying the principles of cross-training — was created by The FIRM Master Instructor Emily Welsh. Add this hybrid of light cardio, flowing body sculpting, and dynamic yoga and pilates to your existing program and both beginners and veterans alike will get better results from all your workouts! |
| Approximately 45 minutes, with a 25-minute Express option. Cardio+Sculpt. |
| FREE Bonus Workout! |
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Cardio Inferno turns up the heat on your weight loss. Designed by The FIRM Master Instructor Sue Mi Powell, this blend of highly effective cardio and light sculpting moves deliver a super charged workout experience. Melt away calories with this hot new cardio workout. |
| Approximately 30 minutes. Cardio. |
July 4, 2007
I haven’t been posting much lately, (DUH!!!!). Why you ask? Well, let me go over that. Cool your jets!
It’s partly because I haven’t been working out for the last couple of weeks. I got a really, really annoying head cold/sinus infection so I figured it would be better if I took things easy – which sucked!
What sucked was that I got sick right before my birthday. I was quite worried that the nose thing was going to hamper my birthday snorkeling adventure. Ha!
Snorkeling was a bust. I mean a BUST! I neglected to check the ocean reports before I went and it was just crazy. There was some kooky southern swell that just wreaked havoc on the southern shores that day. There was surf in Hanauma Bay! You can see the beach and the bay when you walk down the hill. I noticed that there were people surfing in the bay which pissed me off since it seemed really inconsiderate of the surfers. I mean who wants to have to watch out for a board hitting your head when you’re snorkeling?
Of course I understood why there were surfers in the bay when I actually got down to the beach. They weren’t surfers – they were the lifeguards patrolling the reef for people caught in the waves. DOH!
I mean the surf was so bad you couldn’t even sit on the shore to put your fins on because there would be 1 to 2 foot waves breaking on the shore. We didn’t really stay that long because you just couldn’t see anything.
The ocean on my birthday.
This is what the place normally looks like.
A wave that wiped me out while I was trying to put my fins on.
After Hanauma Bay we decided to head over to the Blow Hole. I figured that the surf there would be pretty nifty since the ocean was so rough.
I haven’t been up to much, except I have basically been going to the beach every other day for the last 3 weeks. I really wish I would have started this sooner! It’s so nice to go the beach in the afternoon when it’s so hot here. Of course the really neat thing is that there have also been random turtle sightings at the beach too!
It’s just weird. I’ll be swimming along and then all of a sudden this turtle head would pop out and I would just freak out! (okay, that is unintentionally funny) I think I’ve seen a turtle 3 times in the last 2 weeks. Of course I don’t have any pictures of it though since I don’t bring my camera when I’m swimming for exercise.
Oh yea, another reason why I haven’t been posting is because of Blizzard. The bastards. I used to play World of Warcraft, a lot, when it first came out. I actually got my ex Tom obsessed with the game too for awhile. I got a free trial offer to play right before my birthday. It was a promo disc to play for 10 days and the disc included a copy of their new Burning Crusade expansion.
I got hooked again. It’s like visiting with an old friend. It’s fun and it’s comfortable. Gosh, I got started on these MMORPG’s with Everquest back in 2001. That game was both mesmerizing and annoying at the same time. It’s like Blizzard took the best elements of Everquest and made an almost perfect game. I say almost perfect because I think it would be better if the monthly subscription was cheaper. Heck, they have something like 8 million subscribers, I would think that they could afford to lower the rate a little.
I still have my level 60 hunter but I am just not feeling the love with her right now. I rolled a new warlock and a shaman to see how they were. Oh my, the warlock rocks! Talk about a powerful being! I love it! I think I am going to play for a little while more since I am having a lot of fun, so that means my updates might not be as frequent as before. Doh!
It’s the 4th of July in the morning for me and if all goes well, I should be heading back to Hanauma Bay for some snorkeling again! Woot! Then after that, my cousins’ downstairs invited us for some BBQ! Mmm, Mmm Good! My cousin started cooking this afternoon and he’s still going at it and it’s almost 1am here. It’s cool, but it also freaks me out that he started his grill at midnight and he grills so close to the house. I should go to bed soon but I have a feeling that I am going to be up for another hour or so to make sure the house doesn’t catch on fire.
July 4, 2007
