The Firm: Express (DVD, 2011, 13-Disc Set, As Seen on TV; With Fitness Guide and 4-Day Kick Start Plan)

What a great set! There are four cycles each taught by a different instructor with a set of 3 DVDs per cycle - Cardio, Cardio&Sculpt and Sculpt. All workouts are interval style and even the Sculpt DVDs have cardio segments. Each workout also has four 8-second intensity bursts alternated with 12-second active rests. Because of this you get a lot done in 20 minutes which is approx. the length of each workout and it includes a short warmup and cool down. Even though the cycles are presented to get progressively harder, all four are pretty challenging for the intermediate to advanced exerciser. Heavier weights than you normally see in newer Firm workouts are used and they did a good job toning down the over-rehearsed monotone cueing that used to be typical for The Firm. This program has a huge variety of exercises and each DVD gets right to the menu which is great if you want to do 2 or 3 back to back. The bonus DVD consists of a 10 minute cardio interval workout and 10 minute ab/core routine, also ideal to add on to other workouts. All instructors are very skilled and easy to follow. Alison and Kelsey are my personal favorites. Rebekah does too much whooping but the workouts are good. The diet advice is not up to healthy standards in my opinion, showing recipes with ketchup, mayo, seasoned bread crumbs, artificial sweetener and non-stick cookware. I highly recommend this set though but think the original price was too high. If you can find a cheaper set on Ebay it's well worth the money.

Great series. I love that these are short and a great workout. Dripping in sweat in only 20 minutes. Moves aren't too hard and can be followed easily in my opinion, good music and fun energetic instructors. Works great for a busy mom like myself, this is all I have time for, and it's all I need. Feels so great, I do these daily.

I am 43 and have been doing Firm workouts for years and I love these workouts. They are intense and I definitely am going very slow until I master the moves! They recommend doing these every other day and taking weekends off but I think once I get the moves down I will do 2 per day everyday. I like a longer workout, but the intensity is there if you like the shorter time frame! Don't get discouraged by the fast pace either, it will be nice not to have "instruction" before every workout once you learn these moves!

The workouts are a little challenging to get used to as they are so fast-paced, but I really love it. I haven't been through all three workouts but the first one makes me sore. There is alot of jumping so if you have knee problems, you can do the 'modified' version.