Firm Express Review: Cycle 2 Accelerate

Firm Express: Cycle 2: Accelerate

Rebekah Sturkie, 2010 

The Accelerate cycle w/o's are led by Rebekah. There are three 20 minute dvds; a cardio,  sculpt,  & cardio + sculpt. The Accelerate workouts feature moderate to high impact and allows for heavier weights. There are 2 backgrounders, one shows beginner modifications. The set is really cute-kind of looks like a basketball court floor w/ nice wood & light colors in the background. You will only need dumbells for the Firm Express series. All Firm Express workouts feature 8 second power bursts w/ a 12 second recovery. 

Accelerate Cardio + Sculpt:  This workout combines cardio, strength, and 8 second bursts. The bursts include: explosive V-hops, speed squat-shuffles, & plyo pliets w/ arm scoops. Other work consists of low & hi impact cardio and combo strength moves:  soccer kicks, low walks, squat -dip- floor touch, V steps & hops, diagonal lunges w/ rows, squats w/ hammer curls, pushups w/ tri kickbacks, standing to kneeling w/ bicep curl & OH press, leaping lunges, static pliet w/ scoops, hinge & row, upright row w/ abduction, pliet w/ French press, volleyball set & bumps, squat w/ low reach and hops, and concludes w/ standing ab work.

Accelerate Sculpt: This is a strength w/o that includes 8 second cardio bursts. The moves in the 8 second bursts are: skaters, a fast plank lunge, weighted power side lunges, and weighted power lunges. The strength work includes 1 legged squats- into lunge w/ row, pliet- curtsy dip combo, static side lunge w/ tricep kickback, deadlifts, bicep curl variations, & concludes w/ static pliets w/ side bends/ side chops.

Accelerate Cardio: This is an all cardio w/o with 8 second power bursts. The bursts include a quick quick run move, power squat /turning power squat, a Mt. Climber type move where you kick your leg out to the other side (kind of a side plank/ Mt Climber combo) fast X jumps, & a high knee w/ punch. Other cardio work includes: hi and lo jacks, X jumps, walk forward w/ a kick, a squat rear kick punch combo, cross country skiing, power lunges, and finishes w/ lunges & core work combos.

While Rebekah is one of my fav instructors- I could have done w/out her continual high pitch "WHOOOW-ing" in these. Also she seemed to only go 6-7 seconds on the power bursts- (theres a timer).  The actual Accelerate w/o's are solid, unique, and I like them even more than the Ignite w/o's. I really enjoyed all three w/o's!!!!!! I love how these (& Ignite) cooldown w/ some quick standing ab work.

Part of the 12 second recovery is used for set up- no wasted time- quick recovery and back to work! These workouts move right along and you will work up a nice sweat in the 20 minutes. Time flys even combining 2. I rate Accelerate  solid-higher intermediates that (like all Firms) are really easy to modify up or down. These contain fun new moves so they are different from other Firms, but still athletic and combine strength & cardio work as Firms always have. The intro is quick and says "I am Gaiam" and moves right into the menu- so combining w/o's is pretty painless! I received these dvds to review.