I am going to start weight training again and was wondering if I should do different methods based on my goal. I was told to do The Firm (AWT) if I want to lean out and not get bigger and that traditional weight training will make me add size and give me a different look. I am an hourglass and the last thing I want is to build up my thighs and butt. I would love any opinions or experiences with the Firm tapes or otherwise. I was going to start rotating the "standing legs" video with upper body. Standing Legs is extremely challenging and is 35 minutes of non-stop lunges, squats, step ups, etc. Will this slim down my lower half with of course a reduction in calorie intake? Thanks again for any help! I was reading about wt training at videofitness and a lot of the women on there claimed that weights and even AWT made them bigger. However, diets are not discussed, so who knows.

Ariel

Weight training won't bulk you up unless you do it for many years and have the right hormones (which most women don't have). It takes a lot of work to build up muscle even if you do have the right hormones. Also, if a woman said weight training made them bigger, it probably wasn't muscle but rather fat.

As far as what The Firm does is it gives you a cardiovascular workout using weights rather than the use of high impact aerobics. The weights and methods used by The Firm won't really give you the benefits of weight training though such as higher metabolism (due to increased muscle) and muscle definition. Since The Firm does use weights though, if you decide to do The Firm and weight training, I wouldn't recommend working the same group two days in a row. Like if you did The Firm leg workout one day, I wouldn't do a weight training leg workout the next.

I'm sorry but I have to disagree with Nellie. The Firm DOES give you the benefits of weight training. There are videos that entirely weight training including traditional moves like squats, lunges, chest press, and rows. Then there are videos that are intervals so you do traditional weight training mixed with cardio intervals. Finally pure cardio videos where some of the segments use light weights. If you want the benefits of weight training and plan on doing cardio elsewhere, get the videos that are marked "sculpting." From there it's up to you because you can use whatever weights you want.

From personal experience: I've been going to the gym to weight train since October. I recently started the firm and I can tell you it's a workout. My muscles have been sore after every video. You get out what you put in. My .02.

The Firm might've changed since I've used it (which has been a few years). It did offer limited weight training benefits (which usually was for someone who hadn't done weights ever but after a few months would get used to). Last time I used The Firm, the largest weight recommended was around 10 lbs? It was also really tailored to get your heart pumping rather than building muscle.