DVD Review and Giveaway: Cardio Party by The Firm

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As you'll see in previous posts and in future ones, some of my favorite workout videos are produced by The Firm.  And in recent years, Cardio Party has been a go-to choice for me on many occasions. Effective and fun, this workout is great to do on one of those days when I'm feeling down or unmotivated.

The workout is about 39 minutes, including a short warm-up and cool-down.  There are 5 cast members, and each gets their time to lead the program.  It begins with Alison Davis, using some steps from her other video Cardio Overdrive. She's fun without being too perky, and her segment provides a great warm up and cardio build-up.

The next segment is led by Emily Welsh, a veteran Firm instructor.  Fans of her Complete Aerobics & Weight Training (CAWT) workout from 2003 will notice a few moves that she's gleaned from that routine.  I really love CAWT and was delightfully surprised to see those steps included in.  I literally laughed with delight.  Along with that, Emily's section is also fun and effective.  Her standing abdominal segments are a great alternative to doing crunches on the floor.  And she's serious without being too much so.

After Emily is Rebekah, leading us with some material we've seen from her before.  I find her to be pleasant and her moves attainable. As is the case in other areas of the workout, the small number moves that involve impact can easily be adapted to low-impact versions. In my case, I substitute "heel digs" for the calf pumps that are sometimes too challenging for me. And long-time Firm fans will enjoy the new take on the "Tri-star", which is the "Quad-star" with Rebekah.

Following Rebekah is Annie Lee.  She seems the least comfortable of the instructors.  Her muscle definition and fitness are apparent, but it's clear she hasn't had as much experience leading on camera as the other ladies.  Her short segment isn't too difficult and I'm usually glad when it's over.

Concluding Cardio Party is another Firm veteran, Allie Del Rio Pointer.  She includes steps from her Cardio Dance Slimdown DVD.  While that workout does has its fun moments, I've found it to be less challenging.  This may be of benefit to the user, however.  One of the few quibbles I have with the Cardio Party is that the cool-down/stretch time leaves a bit to be desired.  By doing Allie's segment last, you do get a bit of a cool-down, and she does work on relaxing the shoulders and inner thighs. But we aren't given much time to stretch our hamstrings, glutes, calves, hip flexors or quads-- all of which were used quite a bit in the routine. Of course, we can do this on our own, but it would've been nice to have it on the DVD.

Overall I really enjoy Cardio Party.  It's great to have so many favorite leaders take turns during the program, and with each segment being less than 10 minutes, you never have a chance to get bored.  The enthusiasm of the ladies is infectious without being cheesy.  And while the routine doesn't include the usual Firm weight-training segments, your muscles are getting some work in, especially with the calf pumps, lunges and squats .  Save this workout for a day when you're sore from a previous weight-training session and just need some fun cardio to keep you fit and limber.  It would be also be great to take on the road, as there's no equipment required-- just some floor space in which to move around. And knowing some of the moves from other Firm workouts made this routine easier to pick up the first time. If you enjoyed the other videos in the Firm: TransFirmation series, you'll like this one as well. I look forward to doing it again soon!

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CSN.com

Giveaway Contest Time!

Sponsored by CSN Stores

Does Cardio Party sound like something you'd like to try?  Remember that New Years resolution you made about 6 months ago?  How about a Firm fitness pack to get you motivated?  Thanks to the folks at CSN Stores, we have the following items to give away to one lucky winner.  CSN has everything from lights to sofas to fitness DVDs and much much more.

Here's what our winner will receive:

The Firm: Cardio Party DVD

Ergodyne Chill-Its® Cooling Towel

Black Netpack Carry-On Duffel Bag

Doesn't that look great? A fun workout, a towel to cool you off during and after you exercise, and a duffel in which you can keep all your gear. All of these items with shipping are almost a $40 value! So if you'd like to enter to win, here are the details:

• Leave a comment below; this counts as your entry.
• Entries accepted until 11:59pm on Saturday, June 26th
• Open to U.S. and Canadian addresses only.
• Make sure at least one posted comment includes your email address. If you'd rather not have your email posted here, you may contact me directly to give me that information after you've entered here.
• I will compile the entries and the winner will be chosen by Random.org, so even one entry can make you a winner!
• Should you win, I will contact you on Sunday the 27th for your mailing information.  Please take measures to ensure that my email will make it past your spam filters, lest you miss my message! (CalicoCritic@gmail.com) You'll have 72 hours to respond before I pick another winner.
• After receiving your information, I will pass your email and mailing address on to my contact at CSN Stores.  They will then be responsible for awarding your prize.
• More information on the giveaway policies can be found on the Contact / Policies page.

Bonus Entries

Please make note of all your bonus entries in your comment(s).  You may post separate comments or a single large comment.  Here are your bonus entry options:

• Follow The Calico Critic by clicking on the Google "Follow" button on my sidebar (old or new followers both get the bonus entry, just please let me know that you're following).

• Follow me (@LHartness) on Twitter and tell me your @UserName.

• Tweet about the giveaway on Twitter.com; be sure to use an URL linking back to this blog posting in your tweet. You may do this as frequently as every 8 hours between now and June 26th at 11:59pm EST.  For each tweet, please come back and post the direct URL link to that specific tweet, not just your @Username.

That's it!  Thanks for stopping by, and good luck to all the entrants!