FitPrime Floor Burn

This video was not what I expected, and I mean that in a negative sense. I'm a Jane Fonda workout challenge baby. That's how I started so right off the bat, I did the hardest floorwork (in my opinion) ever! This video barely made me burn, and there was just something about it I didn't like. No rhythm or rhyme, just seemed like a bunch of exercises thrown together, and SO TYPICAL. She does a lot of leg and some stomach but nothing really too exciting. You won't sleep through it, but it's not challenging. I know whether or not i like a workout by the first time I've done it. It's either a keeper or it's not, and this one is not. I wouldn't even use it as an add-on.

I really enjoyed this workout. I didn’t purchase it because I wasn’t too keen on the production values of the Fitprimes I had seen. I obtained this in a trade and was surprised at how much I enjoyed it.

Susan Harris, from Firm volumes 1 and 4 leads the workout. In her introduction she does tell you to work your weaker side first, but I tried it both ways and didn’t find that it made much difference with these types of exercises.

She starts with traditional side leg lifts, but she carries a light dumbbell in the same hand as the leg you’re working. She extends the dumbbell straight up and then out parallel with the body while doing the leg lifts. I don’t know if this really does much for the arms, but it does require more work from the core because of the extra limb working. There are a lot of quick, quick, slow moves. For example, she will do two quick leg lifts and then a forward sweep. Next she’ll do two quick sweeps and then a slow leg lift. She does this on almost all the moves.

She then moves to table work leaning over the tall box. She uses a darker version of the old Firm wooden box. Here is where I saw a weakness in the workout. The hamstrings are a large muscle group and it requires a fair amount of resistance to work them. She does not use ankle weights in the video at all. She says at the beginning of the workout that they are optional, but never pauses long enough to allow you to put them on. She only does a few hamstring lifts anyway, then she bends, and turns out her leg so it’s parallel to the ground and pulses it. She says this is to get at the glute/hamstring tie in. I definitely felt it, but also worried about back or hip strain from holding my leg in this position. Avoid this exercise if you have lower back or hip issues. Just do regular hamstring lifts with some extra resistance

In between these moves there are forward and back jumps leaning your upper body on the tall box, and yoga style moves and stretches.

After the table work she does push ups(on the floor not the box) and a Pilates style ab exercise where she lies on her back, lifts her upper and lower body off the ground, and then rolls onto her side, still keeping them elevated. She repeats this three or four times. This is another move to avoid if you have any lower back issues.

She then moves on to bridge work, where she again moves her arms overhead holding light dumbbells while moving the hips up and down. She briefly lifts one leg, while doing this. I had a hard time keeping my hips elevated when I lifted one of my legs, and really felt it the next day.

She then repeats all the moves on the second side.

After completing both sides, she adds in some additional ab work and a classic Pilates exercise, the side bicycle. In this instance, she does it on both sides, one after the other and does not move the arms at the same time. There is a strong Pilates influence throughout the whole workout. There were not as many specific form pointers as I would have liked, but she did constantly tell you to engage your core, and when to imprint your spine etc.

What I liked about this workout, was the feeling that it had the old Firm flow. She moved quickly from one exercise to the next, with wonderful stretches and great variations on all those floor exercises we’ve seen and done a million times before. She even does a short yoga vinyasa. It doesn’t require a ton of equipment, and it works the core, legs and even the arms a bit.

I give it a B+. The poor production values and the lack of challenging hamstring exercises prevent it from being top notch. If you have the dvd, I think it might be best used as an add on when you want extra core or legwork. The dvd is well chaptered so you can pick and choose the segments you want to do, and avoid those that might cause problems. It’s also good for a light day when you don’t want to go near a squat or lunge.

I got this in a trade. I tried it today and it is just not my cup of tea. She seems like she is in a big hurry. What’s the rush? There is way too much going on with the arms and legs (isn’t this supposed to be a FLOOR workout?). I just couldn’t keep up with all the constant changes. I guess I prefer the old-fashioned, straightforward Margaret Richard style of killing you softly.

FitPrime is trying to be innovative here. But it is more innovation for the sake of innovation. Rather than for the sake of a better workout.

I wondered why there weren't any reviews for Floor Burn. I’m not bothered to do a breakdown. Someone who likes this workout can have that honor!

As a side note, I finally just recently saw FIRM: Volume 1 for the first time ever. From the preview, the floor work in that oldie looks much more “enjoyable“ and effective that in this new wacky “let’s throw in some yoga for fun” one.

I love it! As the name would imply, you really have to like floor work or you won’t like this. Susan includes thighs (inner and outer), glutes, pushups, and abs. Everything is done on the floor, in about 45 minutes. The reason I like it so well is that I adore inner and outer thigh work, and it’s kind of hard to find in most workouts. Grade A.

I got an 8 pack of all the fitprime dvds, and was anxious to try one out the first day I got them but had already done a tough cardio workout earlier that day. I was also due for a lighter weight training session, so I decided to try this one, even though I'm no lover of floor work. Besides, I'm familiar with Susan harris from Firms 1 and 4 and have always thought she was a decent instructor. So, I tried this one and did not like it... not one bit.

The packaging makes it sound like this is a different floor workout, with lots of unique moves. After the warm up, and you hit the floor, the workout begins with a leg lift squence that seems almost identical to the series in firm 1. even the arm patterns are the same as I remembered from vol. 1!

For the most part, this workout has the usual suspects for floor work- donkey kicks, push ups, leg lifts, abs. There are very few new moves. One of those different moves are some kind of jump things done bent over while you hold the step and you jump your feet back and forth. its was really weird and I'm not sure exactly what they were supposed to do, and I felt like an idiot. Many of the leg exercises are paired with upper body moves using light dumbbells, but the reps were so fast, I felt uncomfortable and couldn't get a full range of motion. I definitely didn't like doing both at once, and didn't think that the positions I was in put me in the best position for the upper body exercises. The package also claims that the workout has a cardio effect, which I guess is possible if you've been sedentary. There are a few things I liked. I liked how the step was used for inner thighs, and I liked the donkey kick series. Overall, though, I felt the tempo was too fast, almost frantic. And the music didn't match the workout at all.

Fitprime really has hyped the non- dominant trainer concept without citing any of the research that this will truly make a difference in fitness. I'm not saying there isn't truth to NDT, but it seems more anecdotal than based on any objective research. I have seen other workouts work one side first and then the other, and an exerciser can always choose to work their weaker side first if they like. In other words, the packaging promises a revolutionary workout based on the latest science but delivers an old school floor work session done at a fast pace. I doubt I'll ever do this workout again, and will soon probably stick it in my trade pile.