FitPrime Fast Cheetah

This is a 55 minute mainly cardio workout led by Tracie Long, who works out alone on a small set that is kindof a "mini Firm mansion set" - lace curtains, art work, oriental rugs. For this w/o you will need a weighted ball (med ball), a set of light dumbbells, a tall box, and ankle weights. The dvd (like all FitPrimes) is chaptered very well so you can easily skip certains moves if you choose to.

I like this dvd but I dont love this dvd. Its not super challenging but it does find an occasional place in my rotation. Its a good alternative to a walking dvd IMO. It will get your heart rate up but its not a super challenging sweat fest. I also like that it includes a LOT of balance work-probably my weakest point fitness wise.

The cardio segments include a ball toss, a mock basketball shooting move, some light 4-limb cardio work, tall box climbs, handstands on the box, floor cardio-one is kickboxing inspired, and the likes thereof.

At the end she does some spinal erector work, ab work, and some floor work with ankle weights. I honestly usually skip the leg work since I use this a cardio workout.

I would rate this workout a low intermediate. The cardio is athletic and straightforward. No tricky choreo, and not super intense. Some of the balance work could be tough for newbies but even I could do it w/out issue. You can easily modify this one up or down if you choose to.

This is the third video I've tried from the old FitPrime series, but it's the first that was a mainly cardio focus. I've found the FitPrime workouts to be quite quirky, but I think that's what I like about them. In particular, I appreciate the variety of unique moves combined with simple choreography and an overall great workout.

The Fast Cheetah DVD is very well-chaptered as listed below. I've added my own brief descriptions of each segment as well as approximate times.

1. Step Climb, 3.5 minutes. This warm-up uses the tall box for slow step-ups/overs, nicely warming up the lower body and beginning to get the heart rate up.

2. Warrior, 2 minutes. This brief stretch incorporates warrior pose from yoga.

3. Ball Toss, 2.5 minutes. Here Tracie uses a medicine ball to "play": she does side steps tossing the ball lightly back and forth plus throws the ball in the air while doing squats. I don't have a medicine ball, so I just used a light (3 lb.) dumbbell; this wasn't a perfect substitute, but it worked fine.

4. Step Chug, 3 minutes. Here Tracie sort of stomps on the box for the "chug" plus does v-steps and small hops.

5. 4-limb Squats, 4 minutes. Using light weights, Tracie incorporates some toning into the cardio by working the delts and biceps. This segment also contains plenty of balance moves.

6. Push-pull, 5 minutes. This section includes knee-ups and jumps from a lunge position.

7. ND Handstand and Hip, 2 minutes. Beginning on the non-dominate side, you perform "handstands" on the tall box--these aren't as scary as they sound, as you basically just put your hands on the box and jump up to raise your hips (ie, you don't actually come all the way up into a true handstand position). This segment also includes squats.

8. Hyper Sweeps, 2 minutes. Here you keep your hands on the box for squats and rear leg extensions.

9. Kickbox, 2 minutes. Tracie incorporates some simple kickboxing moves with knee-ups, side kicks, and punches.

10. D Handstand and Hip, 2 minutes. #7 repeated on the dominant side.

11. Climb and Jump, 2 minutes. More tall box climbs, this time with jumps and rear leg extensions.

12. 4-limb Cross, just under 3 minutes. The light weights are again used for more delt and bicep work with squats and dips.

13. Ball sports, just under 3 minutes. This segment is kind of fun; you again use the medicine ball to simulate sports moves.

14. Ball balance, 2 minutes. Uses the medicine ball for balance and stretch.

15. + AWS Spring Hypers, 1 minute. Not sure what this name means, but it's basically some cool-down work with the ball involving slow squats, balance, and reach. At the end, you add ankle weights for the floor work.

16. ND Bridge Pecs, 3 minutes. With one foot on the box and the ball between your legs, you do bridge work followed by push-ups.

17. D Bridge Pecs, 2.5 minutes. Same thing repeated on other side (the segment is shorter due to less set-up time).

18. Prone Spine, 3 minutes. This is some basic back extension work; ends with a plank.

19. Supine Abs, 4 minutes. Simple crunches for the upper and lower abs plus obliques; also includes some inner thigh work. The ankle weights are removed at the end of this segment.

20. Crunch Stretch, 3.5 minutes. There are just a couple of additional moves for the abs without the weights, then Tracie performs a final stretch mostly on the floor.

The workout comes in right at 55 minutes. Overall I enjoyed it, although I think I'll need to do it a few more times to really get the moves down--sometimes I get confused on the tall box climbs. Overall, I liked this workout and think that it will be a nice alternative cardio option.

Fast Cheetah is a predominantly cardio based workout which is different from most other cardio workouts on the market and is quite fun to do.

I'll talk about most of the exercises in this workout and review this based on safety and effectiveness.

WARM UP: There are some step ups onto the tall box, but Tracie does not extend her hip through the step ups (ie come all the way up) - this means that you miss out on warming up the glutes - an alternative is to do some step ups on a normal step. There are some squats and some "v sit overs" - Tracie's alignment isn't so great in this - she shows an anteriorly rotated (ie tipped forward) pelvis, and in this position she tends to fold forward at the chest a little instead of sitting into her heels (and glutes) - however in her new workouts her alignment is spot on.

CARDIO SEGMENTS: (a) toss - catch with the medicine ball - this is quite a lot of fun (I used a light 2lb ball). It's cued well and requires a lot of core strength/good balance - it helps to squeeze the glutes and visualise squeezing the hips together.

(b) "chug" and easy walks - Tracie's alignment is great -there is a muscular endurance element in this cardio - some may find it repetitive, but it is good for those who like simple choreography.

(c) cardio and anterior delt work - there is a balance challenge and nothing wrong with it - it is hard to focus on squatting correctly whilst performing anterior delt work.

(d) jumps with weights - exercise caution here or go weights free.

(e) cardio "free form" - meaning "no props!" - focuses on balance, jumping and there is a definite glute focus (though we are not told of this).

(f) handstands on the tall box - these are advanced and in my view unnecessary - avoid at all costs if you have wrist or shoulder issues, if you are carrying excess weight. The potential for injury outweighs the perceived benefits of the exercise.

(g) tall box climbs /hip extensions off tall box - again Tracie doesn't extend at the hips (ie come all the way up - note knees should not "lock out".) and the hip extensions are too uncontrolled - a good alternative is to practice these off a regular club step (and safer, too)

(h) kickboxing sequence - fun!

(i) delt sequence -acceptable

(j) basketball sequence lots of fun and good for the glutes!

STRENGTH WORK -

(a) hip bridge on tall step - OK, but watch your shoulders!

(b) bridge with med ball - OK, could be more controlled.

(c) reverse curl with glute stretch - some may not be flexible to do this well and anyone carrying excess poundage will find difficult (best just to do regular reverse curls)

Please note - no sign of an "oblique clam" anywhere!

To sum up - this is one of the better Fitprime releases - the cardio is simple and easy to follow. Most of the workout is safe. However if you are wanting to improve your cardiovascular capacity, you will eventually outgrow this workout. It would be a fun workout to do on a recovery day. There is not enough strength work in the workout to consider it as resistance/strength training. It is one of the better sequenced Fitprimes, in that most of the cardio is grouped together and there aren't too many wild changes happening. Choreographically challenged folks will like this workout, it may not interest those who like complex choreography in their workouts.

Grade B

Although Collage lists this as a strength video, it is most definately a cardio workout. There is a short pushup section and two of the four limb aerobic sections use 3lbs weights but the lower body work uses no weights, except for optional ankle weights on the floor work.

I was on the fence about this one but I'm glad I bought it. Not only is it fun but it is surprisingly easy to do. FitPrime is known for its innovative choreography and unconventional moves. If you can jump, mambo, lunge, kick and grapvine you can do this workout.

Tracy just takes these basic steps and performs them in creative ways.

Tracy is a pro and her cueing is flawless. I always knew which direction to turn and what leg to be on. I hardly ever missed a beat.

Upon previewing the workout, I was concerned that the moves looked very high impact. However, Upon doing the workout, I found the moves easy to complete and not as high impact as I thought.

The workout consists of short aerobic sections, each using a different style. It starts with a warmup involving step ups on the tall box.

Other sections use the medicine ball but the moves are very easy. Most of the time you just toss it side to side or up and down; there is no bouncing. You don't even need the ball and could use a child's ball if you just wanted a prop to hold on to.

There is a brief kickbox section and two four limb aerobic sections that use a 3lb weight.

Ofcourse, this wouldn't be an Anna Benson production without tall box step ups (leg presses ) and there are two sections.

I found the choreography easy to pick up and I am not a fan of dancy workouts. My heart rate was in it's training zone right up to the cool down.

There is a short floor work section with optional leg weights and short but tough ab section.

The concluding stretch is a little short, but I tend to like longer stretchs and often add on other stretches to my workous.

If you enjoy the classic firms and previous fitprime workouts, and look for variety and interesting routines in your workouts, you will love this one.

However, if you prefer more traditional aerobics with more athletic moves you may be dissapointed.