The Firm: Fat Burning Sculpting Ball Workout

This is a great 30 minute workout; I classify it as a hare. The workout moves quickly and flows well. It uses little space and only requires the ball. It is a lot of fun; I usually don't like extra "props" but this one is unique in that they came up with several fun ways to use the weighted ball that were not awkward. I tend to use this when I want a quick workout that makes me feel like I did a little bit of toning with mostly cardio.

This is a 30 minute AWT workout led by Tina with 4 background exercisers, Alison shows the beginner modifications. This dvd was originally released with a 4, 6, or 8 lb soft weighted ball; that is the only prop you will need for this workout

After a nice warmup using the ball you move right into the first sculpting set. I use an 8 lb ball for this workout and while I can feel my lower body getting worked using my body weight + the 8 lb ball, you cant really work the upper body too well. After the strength segment you move into a good little cardio segment. I enjoyed the cardio in this one and it did get my heartrate up. There are plyos and you can modify up the lower impact moves if you want to kick it up a notch. After some standing ab work you finish with a floor strength segment that includes ab/core work and some bridge work.

Tina uses the ball alot in this workout and finds fun ways to incorporate it into the workout making this a fun and unique workout. Its great for a day when you are maybe a little sore from your last workout but want to get some strength work in with your cardio. I was thinking of adding it to an UB w/o to get full body strength and cardio in 60 minutes. I would rate this a solid intermediate w/o that you can easily modify up or down to suit your needs.

There is a warmup - first with and then without the ball, one “sculpting” segment, one “cardio”, and then a final “sculpting”. All segments are obviously using low weights so this feels like an AWT video with lots of 4 limb. My heartrate gets considerably higher during the cardio segment, about what it is when I run. There is one move that seems a little fast to me but it can be modified (you raise and lower ball while you plie, I usually end up feeling like I’m swinging it if I go all the way).

There is plenty of impact - skater jumps and plyos. Alison is the low impact modifier and she is generally visible. I think the workout would be fun without the impact but less intense.

The ab section is great IMO. She does some standing ab work (knee repeaters with the ball, etc.) and then some stuff on the floor. Make sure you have a towel - at one point the ball will be between your legs and mine are usually too sweaty to grip it okay.

The total time is about 30 minutes. I had a lot of soreness in my obliques when I first did this. Admittedly I hate to work my abs but - I got a workout there.