I Love This Workout
This is a great workout.It is a Firm Cross Trainer classic.The Hare is meant to be alternated with the Tortoise workout.The Hare workout uses lighter weights with faster moves.The Tortoise uses heavier weights in the workout.I have so much fun doing this video I forget I am working out.Tracie Long leads both the Tortoise and the Hare workouts.On the Hare workout she goes through fun floor aerobics using light dumbells.The ballroom step aerobics are really fun.They were a little tricky to learn at first,but once you`ve mastered the moves,they are so much fun.She goes trough a lot of different dance steps,the Swing,the Tango,The Cha Cha,etc.Tracie Long goes through steps very well.I learned them fast.She also goes through effective floor work using ankle weights.The abdominal sections are very effective as well.This is a great total body workout.Any person who loves to workout need to try this workout.

My Favorite Set of The Firm Videos
The Hare and The Tortoise are my 2 favorite videos by The Firm. Actually, they are my favorite of all of my tapes. Get them, you will love the workout and results!

Fabulous and Fun
I love this tape. I recently tried a non-Firm tape that advertised easy to follow ballroom dance steps - and I was totally lost. This didn't happen with The Hare. The steps are indeed easy to follow - the combinations aren't difficult at all - and I always feel like I've gotten a thorough workout without the total exhaustion I get from some of the other videos. Highly recommended!

The Hare Cross Trainer
Great workout for a person like me who gets bored easily. Trainer explains what to do as you work out and it flows nicely with different types of steps.. You work out each side of your body evenly with the repetitions.

Excellent work-out with ballroom music.
For those of you new to the FIRM workouts I start out by saying it is hard to go wrong with a FIRM tape. These tapes are for serious exercisers and deliver the results they promise.

This particular work-out is one of the later work-outs in the FIRM series. It is part of a cross-trainer set and is best used in conjunction with the TORTOISE workout. These are meant to complement each other - the Hare emphasises fast moves with light weights and the Tortoise emphasises slow moves with heavy weights (Women - don't worry, you WON'T bulk up doing any of these, you will just gain beautiful muscle definition and a toned look). The Tortoise and Hare are designed to be done on alternate days to give your body maximal cardio and strength benefits. But they are excellent work-outs on their own as well.

The Hare, being one of the later tapes has great cueing from Tracy long and very safe moves. The work-out is about an hour long and is done to an unusual choice of ball-room music in the background. You will exercise to a tango, cha cha and others. This is NOT a tape for learning these dances. The music is just for different variety from the usual jazzy music found on work-out tapes. If you do not like classic ballroom music, this tape may not be the best for you - although it is still a great work-out. You may want to try the FIRM Cardio and Strength cross trainers instead.

You will need some equipement for this work-out. A set of dumbells (it is good to have at least 2 sets - 3 and 5 pounds for beginning women) and two step boxes (or one with an adjustable height). The heights that work best for the step boxes are 4 inches for the short one and 10-14 inches for the tall box. Once you have the necessary equipment you are ready to go.

Tracy is a great instructor and the moves are not hard to follow. After the first couple of times you will be able to do them effortlessly and have lots of fun. You will work your entire body in the hour and also maintain a good heart rate for cardio.

This work-out can be quite tough and is good enough for intermediate to advanced exercisers. It is however also a GREAT work-out for beginners who want to get more serious about their fitness level and want to advance. Beginners can do this workout without weights and pausing and resting as needed. They will quickly advance to the next level, and the results will be much better than those you will see from typical "beginners" work-outs. This tape is easier to do than the classic FIRMS (volume 1 through 6) and is therefore a better choice for beginners who want to advance to "serious FIRMS".

All in all, I would rate this work-out a perfect ten. Very well researched, brilliantly executed - a classic. But note that you may not like it if you hate ballroom music, if you dislike "serious" instructors who are not enthusiastic balls of energy but rather calm and professional, or if you simply faint at the idea of exercising for a full hour.

For serious results though, this is an excellent choice.