FitPrime G-Force

This is the final chapter of Anna Benson's original Fitprime workouts, filmed in the small living room set and with lesser production values. I was highly anticipating this one, because I finally got around to acquiring a rebounder, and I love Fitprime and Tracie Long! And the DVD did not disappoint! The 53 minute workout is well chaptered (down to each tune) so if you don't like any segments, they are easily skipped. The workout is predominantly rebounding (which is awesome) and I'd say about 35 of the 53 minutes is spent on the rebounder. There are brief strength intervals sprinkled throughout. At the very end is an instructional how-to on folding/unfolding the rebounder for those that have that brand. Of course any brand of rebounder will do (I have an Urban Rebounder). The music was sincerely awesome - it was like a "best of" the Fitprime tunes, I recognized a lot of tunes from Push Pull / From the Ground Up and some other tunes from older Firms (one tune from Better Body and Buns) and from Lean, Strong Bear, and Pump as well. It was great!

Tracie begins with a warm up that starts with marches on the floor and some quick yoga poses, and quickly moves onto the rebounder. Tracie likens this to stepping onto an escalator, just to remind you to watch what you're doing so you don't trip. The basic bounce is a "health bounce" with hands down at side and with small jumping on both feet. This becomes the basic step for in between harder moves and transitioning between tunes. Tracie uses 1# weighted gloves throughout, which I also used.

There were three rebounding sections of about three tunes each (so roughly a 10 minute segment) followed by a very short (no longer than 4-5 minute) strength set. The rebounding sections moved quickly, at about 3 minutes each, and included a selection of jogging, kicking, high knees, football running, jumping jacks, hopscotching, tuck jumps - basically any jump you can conceive of that can be adapted on a rebounder. She included some arm movements but nothing that would distract you from the jumping. Towards the end, she used the rebounder as something of a step, in that she had you stepping on and off of it, and squatting off of the end in two different tunes. I wasn't sold on this idea, so for the squatting tune I used the Bosu instead, which worked adequately well. She moved slow enough on the on/off the rebounder tune that I was able to follow along safely.

The first strength interval was arm focused and included biceps curls and one arm rows. She used the rebounder as a step here as well (one foot on the rim of the rebounder for the one arm rows) but I just used my Fanny Lifter that was nearby - I prefer the 14" height for rows. The second strength interval was a long set of leg presses with one foot in the middle of the rebounder. I wasn't sold on this idea either so I did regular leg presses on the FL with heavy weights, and it was intense at two sets of 16 per leg. The final strength interval included triceps kickbacks and pushups with hands on the rebounder (again I used the Bosu) and by that time I was so exhausted that I barely got through the pushups. There was a nice long ab and core set at the end laying on the rebounder (which was quite comfortable) and included inner thigh raises to work the transverse abdominals, then pilates-inspired rolling like a ball with bounces while in sitting position (fun!) and finally some pilates-inspired leg raises, touching each foot to the floor, to work the lower abs. She follows this with a brief side leg series, with leg raises in an arch position on each side. The final stretch was very brief and was mostly just side stretches while sitting on the rebounder. I don't know why they didn't save the yoga moves that they put into the warm up here at the end, where they would have been very welcomed! The final stretches weren't adequate for me so I just added my own.

Having only acquired my rebounder couple of months ago, and mostly just using it freestyle or as a sub for floor aerobic intervals (I really like using it with Biggest Loser Last Chance Workout for instance), with G-Force being the first actual rebounding workout that I tried, it was a REAL challenge for me. The strength intervals, while still challenging, provided a break from all of the jumping. And Tracie chose the strength exercises carefully in that they briefly worked every muscle group in the body. However like Lindsey said, this a primarily cardio rebounding workout and can easily be shortened to just the rebounding. I am hoping, as I become more skillful and increase my endurance, I can use it often as a cardio rebounding workout. As it is, it's a super cardio-focused total body workout! Like all original Fitprime workouts, I'd place this as a lower intensity than a BBH Firm but much higher than the newer Fitprimes/Kickbutts or Pink Firms. Therefore, I'd rate this as a high intermediate workout. Like Lindsey said, this is really a must-have workout for rebounding folks because there's just not that many out there (and it's just a super workout anyway). Overall grade A+!

FitPrime G-Force – Tracie Long, 2004

This is a 53 minute rebounding + weights + yoga dvd. Tracie is working out alone on a small set that has a mirror and some art in the background-very Firm mansion set. Tracie is, as always, an excellent lead. Cueing is spot on and her form is always impeccable. She has great rebounding form tips throughout as well. The dvd is chartered very well so you can skip all the strength or cardio segments (if you want) by pushing "next" on your remote. You will need a rebounder, a pair of weighted gloves, and various dumbbells for this workout.

This dvd alternates cardio & strenght work -you do a cardio rebounding circuit and then step off the trampoline and do a set of strength work. After 3 cardio sets, and 3 strength sets you do some yoga-esque ab work on the rebounder and then move into a cooldown stretch.

I usually skip the strength work in this dvd and just do the cardio because there really isn't enough strength work to count for much IMO. The work includes: lat row, bicep curls, lunges w/ one foot on the rebounder, ab work, push ups, tri dips, etc. A little of a lot of things really.

The rebounding is pretty straight forward: health bounce, jogging, some tuck jumps, high knees, shuffles, a unique hop scotch move (actually took me a few times through to get this one but I am choreo challenged), jumping jacks, and the likes.

The at-home-workout-world is really lacking rebounding w/o's IMO so I consider this a must have for rebounders! I would rate this a high intermediate workout with the caveat that you can make it as easy or as hard as you want depending on how you bounce. Rebounding can really be a great challenging cardio w/o or it can be an easy playtime-you decide :) Adding bigger arm movements, wearing weighted gloves, and always giving it my all (adding more tuck jumps, etc) I was DRIPPING with sweat this morning after doing it!

The cardio only parts are about 35 minutes. I repeated the last hop scotch/tuck jump combo to get in 40 min of cardio.

This is a 53 minute rebounding circuit workout.

The set is a corner of a studio with mirrors and drapes. Small and bright. Tracie leads on her own.

Equipment needed: rebounder and two sets of dummbbells.

There are three cardio segments which vary in tempo and rebounding moves. Tracie always shows ways to modify between higher and lower intensity rebounding moves. Between the cardio segments there are three sections of weight exercises to train the back, chest, triceps, biceps, shoulders and legs. The floorwork is done on the rebounder and includes leg abduction and core training. The stretches are standing and yoga style.

This is a good high intensity rebounding workout. I would not depend on this workout as my sole source of weight training. Tracie makes the time go by with all of the variety of moves. She does stress to be careful getting off and on the rebounder when doing the strength exercises. As some people might get a little light headed when getting off and standing still for weight work.

I did this w/o on my UR rebounder, which I think has a harder bounce than the reboundair. I really enjoy this w/o. The music is from other previous FP w/os, which was funny b/c I would expect to see a different move based on the music! I like alternating the cardio w/ weight work - it just makes the w/o different. Compared to UR w/os, the pace of this rebounder w/o is slower - I think there are fewer beats to the minute. Although the w/o didn't feel too tough while I did it, the next day, my butt was suprisingly sore! :) I have this on DVD, which gives you the option of just doing the cardio, but frankly, I don't mind the breaks at all. The picture and sound quality on the DVD is excellent too. It's only too bad that this was the only rebounder w/o FP produced.

I bought this dvd from Reboundair.com, as they are the only ones I knew of who still had copies for sale of the dvd (it is unfortunately out of print). I had so much fun with this workout. Tracie was more relaxed than her "FIRM" workouts. I was surprised by the variety of moves done on the rebounder- they are different than alot of the moves in the Urban rebounder workouts. The music was really good. My heart rate got all the way up to 165 and I burned 480 calories, which is alot for me. I was impressed! I was having so much fun, I didn't notice how hard I was working.

My only complaint is that I don't like Tracie's outfit. She wears layered white and brown tops with black shorts that have a vertical stripe on the side. It is a very unfashionable outfit, in my opinion.

Once again, I am in the minority about a popular workout. What can I say? I just didn't like it. I'm surprised I didn't like it! I got it in a trade so there's at least one other person who didn't like it either. For the record I consider myself an intermediate exerciser. This is my first FitPrime workout.

The Good:

Tracie is a wonderful instructor. Calm, cheerful, professional - I've always liked her. The music is pretty good. They did try to be creative with the moves.

The Bad:

It seemed really EASY to me. I had hardly broken a sweat after a half hour. I didn't use the hand weights. But I don't use hand weights with the UR workouts and I sweat like crazy and get beet red in the face. Maybe it seemed easy because I just came off of eight weeks of Slim Series. But I would never refer to this as advanced.

The weight work was superflous and seemed like pointless interruption of the rebounding. I'm not coordinated enough to step on and off my rebounder so quickly. The step-ups felt really awkward. And there's no way I'm jumping on and off my rebounder. I've worked too hard to get my knees back into working order. That stuff looked dangerous to me. In fact, the evening after I did this workut my left knee was sore. Not a good sign.

I can't comment on the ab work, yoga, etc. because I had to stop. Life is too short to waste time on a workout I'm not enjoying.

The Ugly:

What's with that set? Tracie is wedged into a corner. The set decor is "trailer park with pretensions". And my biggest (and most petty) gripe: What's with Tracie's outfit? It looks like something I wore in high school gym class in the 70's! Tracie is a beautiful woman with an amazing figure. Dress her like the gorgeous creature that she is!!!

I just did FitPrime's G-Force this morning and WOW!!!!!!! What a totally awesome rebounder workout! It is beyond anything I could have hoped for. I had owned a couple rebounder videos in the past (I can't even remember which ones) and promptly got rid of them because they were so boring and monotonous. So for the past 2 years or so, I have been rebouding without a video - just jumping away to my favorite music. And that was fine. But G-FORCE has changed all that. This workout is not only fun, it's challenging, innovative, has lots of variety, great music, awesome instruction (Tracie is at her best in this video) and includes STRENGTH and core work! What else could you ask for?

I own (or have owned) all of FitPrime's videos and this one is the cream of the crop! Worth buying a rebounder for!

What a fun workout! The music rocks and is very motivational, and the workout is effective (judging by how sore my glutes are the day after).

This is a circuit workout, alternating between cardio on the rebounder and resistance work with weights. Tracie wears 1# weighted gloves throughout, and they add intensity to the cardio moves.

Cardio steps include jogs, jacks, a "rocking-horse" type move with one foot forward and one foot back, and a "hopscotch" move where you jump on one foot for three reps, then two feet, then one, then two, then one, then two. During one segment, the music slows down, and we do a series of kicks: front knee lift followed by a kick, then to the side, then to the back. A "sports drills" segment includes high knee ups followed by a football shuffle move, with a grounded knee-up with opposite arm up for a rest. We also do some tuck jumps.

Weight work is divided into 3 segments. The first segment is one set of lat rows (with one foot on the frame of the rebounder) followed by one set of bicep curls. The second segment is leg work that uses the rebounder in some interesting ways. Step-ups are done with the front leg on the mat of the rebounder, which adds a bit of a balance challenge and seems to challenge the stabilizer muscles around the knee. Then we do two sets of lunges with the forward foot on the mat. One set starts at the top of the move, while the second starts at the bottom.

Weight work for the legs is followed by some plyometric work with the rebounder. We start on the rebounder, then do squats to the side (one foot on the rebounder, the other on the floor). These turn plyometric when we do two plyo jumps into the squat position, then jump up on the mat for 4 plyos, then step off the other side and repeat. When I previewed this, I thought the move might put too much stress on the floor knee, but it doesn't. The mat absorbs a lot of the impact, and the floor leg lands more lightly than the one on the mat.

The final weight segment is chest (push-ups with hands on the frame of the rebounder---I subbed bench presses, as push-ups are often stressful on my wrists and shoulder) and tricep dips holding onto the frame (I substituted overhead tricep presses for these, as they REALLY bother my wrists--first started having problems with carpal tunnel after a bout of these--and shoulders). All major muscle groups are covered by the weight work, EXCEPT shoulders. I added in a set of dumbbell overhead presses to compensate. As we only do one set of each resistance exercise for each body part, except legs, it’s hard to classify this workout. It combines cardio and weights, so one really shouldn't do a weight workout either the day before or the day after, but the weight work for the upper body is so minimal that it doesn't really seem to count. The lower body work, which includes some cool uses of the rebounder, does seem like a sufficient lower body workout, however.

Final "floor work" is done seated or lying on the mat. Some crunch variations, and some cool pilates-like curl ups. There are also some adductor moves, but so few reps and with no added resistance that I don't think they do much.

I LOVE this workout! The best rebounder workout I've seen and I hope it’s just the first in a series of rebounder workouts from Fitprime! But I REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY (to the 10th power) wish it were on DVD! I'd like to sometimes repeat some of the cardio, and need time to "rewind" while I do my shoulders and get my weights for the tricep work.

One thing I noticed that is different from other rebounder workouts is that Tracie cues to push through our heels, while in Urban Rebounding, we are told to push into the balls of the foot. The "heel" jump seems to work the backs of the legs a bit better.

FitPrime’s G-Force with Tracie Long

Breakdown

~ Tracie wears the 1 lb weighted gloves throughout most of the video (I did NOT wear them for this workout).

Warm-up

~ Marches

~ Health bounce

~ Side-to-side

~ Stretches - downward-facing dog, runner’s lunge, shoulder stretches

Cardio Segment 1

~ Easy run/jog with biceps, curl then push overhead, with triceps

~ Health bounce with criss-cross arms

~ Forward and back foot pattern (Fun and tests your coordination and balance) with punches/double hits

~ Jumping jack with delts

~ Twists

~ Double strides (scissors)

Strength Segment 1 - Upper Body

~ Lat rows in lunge position with one foot on the rebounder

~ Biceps on the floor

Cardio Segment 2

~ Jog pattern - single, single, double (2 hits) (again, great for balance, very fun! Be careful!)

~ Jumping jacks with arms overhead with variations

~ Front kicks (double hits - slow)

~ Side kicks

~ Back kicks - these kicks were the hardest part of the workout for me - lots of balance needed. But I was able to do them pretty well by the last run through

~ Strength jumps or health bounce

~ High knee lifts/knee ups (really work the legs)

~ Shuffles (rocky, football shuffle)

~ Step knee lifts (recovery - slow)

Strength Segment 2 - Lower Body

~ Lunges - Weak leg in center of rebounder, push up and touch back for balance/ do same on strong leg, then repeat pushing down - lots of reps

Cardio Segment 3

~ Pattern steps off the rebounder = squats stepping off and on with marches in between

~ Increase intensity by adding “air” and jumps in between, adding two jumps etc. (one leg is on the floor, one on the rebounder during the squats), increase speed; many variations are shown

~ Step up on the rebounder from the side, bounce until Tracie says “freeze” (really have to tighten the core when she tells you to freeze - very fun!), repeat on other side

~ high knee jogs

~ Hopskotch (takes lots of coordination, but it is SUPER fun - similar to move in Crunch Time) with jogs

~ Tuck jumps (this is my favorite move of the tape - you really bring your knees up when you jump and push down hard when you land).

Strength Segment 3: All using or lying on the rebounder

~ Push -ups on the rebounder - 1st half on knees, second half on the toes

~ Tricep dips off the rebounder

~ Tricep dips with feet out and in, then repeat traditional tricep dips

~ Legs out and in working the core and inner thigh - lying supine on rebounder

~ Roll-ups (sort of rolling like a ball) on the rebounder with extremely fun bounces and arm pumps

~ Crunches with knees

~ Holding on to rebounder with arms behind your head, touich one toe and then the other to the floor at different tempos - more core work

~ Holding on to rebounder at your sides, oblique twists side-to-side with the legs

~ Roll-ups, reach through, roll back, lift one leg up, etc., again for the core

~ Lying-side leg lifts - arc front and back

~ Lean forward and lift the leg, working the glute more

Stretches

~ Soothing yoga stretches

~ Included at the end is Tracie’s demonstration of how to open and close the ¼ fold rebounder.

Set:

Same revamped set that’s featured in Crunch Time.

Music:

A best of FitPrime collection using mostly songs from videos that featured Tracie, but I recognize at least one song from Steamin"Cardio.

Comments and Impressions:

~ Tracie really smiles during this workout - you can tell she’s having fun, and so was I!

~ Tracie gives incredible form pointers throughout. I learned a lot from her in Charleston about form during rebounding, and she repeats those same form pointers during the workout.

~ The workout was great! I had high expectations after doing this workout in Charleston, and it meeted and surpassed every single one. All the corework was quite a nice surprise, and you can really feel the core even more while laying on the rebounder to do the work. I can see myself doing this workout at least once a week (and that’s says a lot for me because I am the queen of variety); I just love it that much. Now to start pestering FP about making MORE rebounder workouts.