The Firm: Burn and Shape

Not my favorite, but it's growing on me
Overall this can be a terrific workout, and I think given more time as I learn all of the steps for all of the segments I'll be fine.

However....Emily's cueing in the first two cardio segments is not the standard I expect from her or the FIRM. I'm never certain which foot I'm supposed to be stepping on first, I'm never certain which direction I'm supposed to be moving, basically I'm just confused through those parts.

My first two times with this workout were terribly frustrating. It's been better the last two times, but it's a shame that the cueing issue wasn't monitored more carefully for beginners or those of us who are a little awkward with dance.

Pretty satisfied
I got this and Cardio Fusion together.
I was pretty excited to see some new stuff come out, and not have to buy new equipment. And really kind of glad I didn't have to climb on anything.

Overall I'm happy with it, and will be happier yet when I get the steps down, I agree with a previous review that the cueing wasn't quite there as it should have been and that does make it frustrating, but generally I find with Emily's that the choreography transitions smoothly enough I usually can catch up quickly. There is quite a bit of arm-leg movement, so be aware that it may take a few times and repetition to make it all work. I'm with you there, I'm not overly coordinated. I'm still learning this one, but so far I like it and will like it even more once I know where to put myself.

Marred by Poor Cueing
This had all the makings of a Firm routine that I expected to like - approx. 44 minutes and my knees were delighted there was no use of the ever present Fanny Lifter - so I was a little surprised when I found I didn't.

I found the warm-up and initial warm-up to be complicated, especially given their apparent fixation with moving to the side. That would have provided a little more of a learning curve and may have even prevented boredom if the cueing hadn't been so dreadful. Unfortunately, Emily wouldn't tell you what steps were going to be done until you were supposed to be doing them.

Examples of the poor cueing would be that if you're doing lunges, you'd have no idea whether to alternate legs or which leg would lead. You would be told to do an arm lift, but you'd have to watch to see that they were doing it in two parts - lift halfway up and then the rest of the way up. Many times you'd be told how to angle an arm lift, that you should do two quick movements...

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