10.5.10: "The Firm" Birthday Cake

Zebra Girly Cake: I made this for my friend Tammy, who I met at the Firm infomercial. Shes a big fan of pink, and the Firm so it was appropriate. Though maybe not- a fitness company logo on a fat laden cake?....Its actually hot pink w/ lime green but this was taken on my phone so the colors arent that great. Its a strawberry cake w/ white chocolate mousse filling. Yum yum.  ( Custom cakes by Lindsey Lu. Phoenix custom cakes. Specialty Cakes Phoenix. Arizona custom specialty cakes. Specialty cupcakes phoenix. Custom cupcakes  Phoenix wedding cakes. )

Today's Tip: Foods That May Only Sound Healthy #4: Energy Bars
Energy bars are the perfect pre-workout snack, right? Not always. Many energy bars are filled with high fructose corn syrup, added sugar, and artery-clogging saturated fat. Plus, some bars (particularly meal replacement varieties) contain more than 350 calories each―a bit more than "snack size" for most people. It is a good idea to fuel up with a mix of high quality carbs and protein before an extended workout or hike. More on Cooking Light here.

Monday's Workout:
-The Firm Ultimate Fat Burning Workout
-Jeanette Jenkins Blast the Belly Fat
*total w/o time 60 min

I have only 1 more segment to do from Jeanettes w/o and then I will post the review. I like it!

Today's Review: The Firm Ultimate Fat Burning Workout
Alison Davis, 2006 ***** (4.5 of 5 stars)

This dvd is just over 40 minutes long. Alison leads with 4 background exercisers, there is no modifier, but Im not sure one is really needed in this workout. The workout consists of floor cardio and light 4 limb aerobic segments. She utilizes one set of light dumbbells and thats it. There is also some standing and a bit of floor ab work. None of the moves are too dancy or hard to follow, more athletic and straight forward.

She leads you through a nice cardio warmup then onto the first set of light 4 limb work. I used 5-8 lbs (she recommends 3-5). Then you do another cardio set followed by another 4 limb set. The final cardio set is a fun high energy kickboxing segment. I absolutely loved this segment and worked up a nice sweat throughout. After this final cardio segment you do a quick cooldown, followed by some standing weighted ab work. Alison then moves you onto some stretches and some pushups and planks.

I would rate this an intermediate cardio workout. Like any Firm it can easily be modified up or down. You could really heavy up in the 4 limb work and get more of a strength training workout, but I like it as a cardio w/o w/ light weigths. Alison is an excellent lead, great cueing, good personality.

Today's LOLz: