My thoughts on Anna Benson, Fitprime and some questions

Liz N · 01-30-05, 04:46 PM

As many of you know, I posted my thoughts awhile back about my personal reservations with Keli Roberts working with Anna Benson. I have had the opportunity now to see four Fitprime workouts, two which I thought were quite acceptable, one which was mediocre and one which was a real stinker (boy, I love reviewing these ones). When I say this, I am talking from an exercise physiology perspective - I am looking at the effectiveness of the moves, the sequencing/logic of the workout, the safety perspective, the cueing, the teaching and explanation of the workout etc etc. Does it work and can it be modified up and down?

Quite frankly I'm scratching my head that the same person can design workouts that vary so much in quality!

My question was what qualifications/certifications does Anna hold? My impressions from the workouts (even the better ones) is that her knowledge of core training isn't all that great, otherwise there would be more posture cues etc etc. The difference between Tracie Long's alignment and physique in the Fitprimes and the TLP's is marked - I can tell she has gone and done some homework on core training and it really shows.

My impressions of Anna's workouts, well the ones I thought were OK - Fast Cheetah and Strong Bear, is that with more education on her part, they could be made to be even better workouts.

What I like about Anna is her "get up and go" - she writes persuasively, which make her workouts sound appealing.

What I don't like is her making false claims - "Weights+Cardio+Yoga blend gives results three times faster than any other training method" (this is not true, I wish she had said "blends cardio, weights and yoga for an all over workout" (to me, this is acceptable, describes the workout nicely and doesn't make any false claims).

On Fast Cheetah, there is no oblique work that I can remember and no evidence of "oblique clams" or any other crustacean.

What bugs me the most is: "Floor Burn is a "Cellulite Buster" because periodic floor-cardio phases are utilized to increase fat burning and lymphatic circulation. That is an outright lie!

I think that Anna's marketing and claims are the reasons that I thought that Keli Roberts may have been making a mistake working with Anna (as I have never seen Keli make any of these type of claims).

I would love to hear your perspectives on this, especially on the qualifications side of things.

PS - is her ex Medical Mark? I had a few interesting debates with him in his short time on VF

mbt · 01-30-05, 05:00 PM

hi, liz! your thoughts are interesting, and now i'm wondering which fitprime you thought was the real stinker. as for anna's background, i've never heard of her having any certifications or official training, and i agree that that could point to some weaknesses in her workouts. in fact, the firm always relied on their own training for their instructors, so it doesn't seem like anybody at the firm, and maybe not whfn, was exposed to a lot of outside science. i didn't hear her claims about cellulite reduction with floorburn, but i know that she really hyped the lymphatic system support in selling g-force and the rebounders at fitprime.

medical mark, aka mark hendrikson, is anna's ex and was responsible for set and music issues and i believe all the scientific reports available from the firm and now whfn.

have you viewed the clips at www.whfn.com for anna's new workouts? i'd be interested to hear what you think, especially of the ones with keli roberts.

Marianne G · 01-30-05, 05:01 PM

Medical Mark is Anna's ex.

Marianne

isa · 01-30-05, 05:05 PM

I appreciate your reviews and opinions, and the time you take to review these workouts. But I have to say I only see them as such: opinions/ a point of view of one person. Things aren´t black or white, even among experts or scientists there is considerable disagreement and discussion. For example: some experts say that certain yoga asanas are not safe (e.g. plow), some experts say you should press the lower back into the floor when engaging the core, others say we should engage the core while keeping the spine in it´s neutral position. These opinions also change over time. So I sincerely hope that people who enjoy Fitprime workouts, don´t quit doing them because they think they are bad.

I agree with you about some of the marketing being incorrect!

Femke

isa · 01-30-05, 05:06 PM

And I don´t see what Medical Mark has to do with this, he wasn´t involved in the production of the Fitprime workouts.

horsemom2 · 01-30-05, 05:10 PM

I saw some of the clips and really had the impression that Keli Roberts was having a tough time cueing while doing the workout? lots of gasping for air, etc. It just didn't click for me.
Also personally, I like the one-on-one feel of the original FitPrimes more than the old Firmlike class settings with the surrealistic background distractions.

Barb S
who emphasizes that these were my own personal impressions

Liz N · 01-30-05, 05:12 PM

Yes, you're right, methodology does change over time. I am reviewing from the perpective of what is happening right now and am very happy to explain the reasoning behind my thoughts/recommendations.

As I mentioned in my first post, not all of the Fitprime workouts are stinkers (in my opinion

) and if other VFers like doing them, it's perfectly fine.

If there are better options (depending of course on what you want), then I think that's also worth mentioning. I believe there are better options for effective core work around, but that is not to say there is not a place for Fitprime in the market.

It's the way she markets her work that bothers me the most.

Kathryn · 01-30-05, 05:15 PM

Aren't "Fast Cheetah" and "Stong Bear" both lead by Tracie? (Lazy me could walk two feet over to my workout shelf and look...but they're in the back row!) I wonder to what extent they are better than the others because of her input? I've always thought that Tracie brought a lot to the Firm: the first Firm workouts that showed any well-choreographed and not "odd" cardio moves where the Tortoise and Hare workouts, both lead by Tracie.

Liz N · 01-30-05, 05:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by isa

And I don´t see what Medical Mark has to do with this, he wasn´t involved in the production of the Fitprime workouts.

He is on the Fitprime forum though, isn't he? I was simply interested as to where he fits in to the Anna equation!

SharonH · 01-30-05, 05:18 PM

Liz, I'm curious, too, which you thought was the stinker and which one was okay. Strong Bear is my favorite of the bunch, although two movements made me wince (the standing kicks with leg weights and the jumping on the toes). I never had Fast Cheetah because I was worried that it would be similar to Steamin Cardio, which I really disliked, although I thought the instructor was very engaging.

Barb, Keli seems to have stamina problems in a lot of her cardio/weight workouts, but I still love her.

By the way, thanks for the thread on the Kukuwa workouts. I was going to pre-order the WHFN workouts, but I may just spend the money on Kukuwa instead.

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01-30-05, 04:46 PM
Liz N VF Supporter Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: QLD, Australia	My thoughts on Anna Benson, Fitprime and some questions As many of you know, I posted my thoughts awhile back about my personal reservations with Keli Roberts working with Anna Benson. I have had the opportunity now to see four Fitprime workouts, two which I thought were quite acceptable, one which was mediocre and one which was a real stinker (boy, I love reviewing these ones). When I say this, I am talking from an exercise physiology perspective - I am looking at the effectiveness of the moves, the sequencing/logic of the workout, the safety perspective, the cueing, the teaching and explanation of the workout etc etc. Does it work and can it be modified up and down? Quite frankly I'm scratching my head that the same person can design workouts that vary so much in quality! My question was what qualifications/certifications does Anna hold? My impressions from the workouts (even the better ones) is that her knowledge of core training isn't all that great, otherwise there would be more posture cues etc etc. The difference between Tracie Long's alignment and physique in the Fitprimes and the TLP's is marked - I can tell she has gone and done some homework on core training and it really shows. My impressions of Anna's workouts, well the ones I thought were OK - Fast Cheetah and Strong Bear, is that with more education on her part, they could be made to be even better workouts. What I like about Anna is her "get up and go" - she writes persuasively, which make her workouts sound appealing. What I don't like is her making false claims - "Weights+Cardio+Yoga blend gives results three times faster than any other training method" (this is not true, I wish she had said "blends cardio, weights and yoga for an all over workout" (to me, this is acceptable, describes the workout nicely and doesn't make any false claims). On Fast Cheetah, there is no oblique work that I can remember and no evidence of "oblique clams" or any other crustacean. What bugs me the most is: "Floor Burn is a "Cellulite Buster" because periodic floor-cardio phases are utilized to increase fat burning and lymphatic circulation. That is an outright lie! I think that Anna's marketing and claims are the reasons that I thought that Keli Roberts may have been making a mistake working with Anna (as I have never seen Keli make any of these type of claims). I would love to hear your perspectives on this, especially on the qualifications side of things. PS - is her ex Medical Mark? I had a few interesting debates with him in his short time on VF __________________ Liz N "I believe your most attractive features are your heart and soul" Savage Garden Looking for some fitness inspiration? Visit my blog - see profile

01-30-05, 05:00 PM
mbt Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Oklahoma City, OK :(	hi, liz! your thoughts are interesting, and now i'm wondering which fitprime you thought was the real stinker. as for anna's background, i've never heard of her having any certifications or official training, and i agree that that could point to some weaknesses in her workouts. in fact, the firm always relied on their own training for their instructors, so it doesn't seem like anybody at the firm, and maybe not whfn, was exposed to a lot of outside science. i didn't hear her claims about cellulite reduction with floorburn, but i know that she really hyped the lymphatic system support in selling g-force and the rebounders at fitprime. medical mark, aka mark hendrikson, is anna's ex and was responsible for set and music issues and i believe all the scientific reports available from the firm and now whfn. have you viewed the clips at www.whfn.com for anna's new workouts? i'd be interested to hear what you think, especially of the ones with keli roberts.

01-30-05, 05:01 PM
Marianne G VF Supporter Join Date: Nov 2001	Medical Mark is Anna's ex. Marianne

01-30-05, 05:05 PM
isa Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Netherlands	I appreciate your reviews and opinions, and the time you take to review these workouts. But I have to say I only see them as such: opinions/ a point of view of one person. Things aren´t black or white, even among experts or scientists there is considerable disagreement and discussion. For example: some experts say that certain yoga asanas are not safe (e.g. plow), some experts say you should press the lower back into the floor when engaging the core, others say we should engage the core while keeping the spine in it´s neutral position. These opinions also change over time. So I sincerely hope that people who enjoy Fitprime workouts, don´t quit doing them because they think they are bad. I agree with you about some of the marketing being incorrect! Femke

01-30-05, 05:06 PM
isa Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Netherlands	And I don´t see what Medical Mark has to do with this, he wasn´t involved in the production of the Fitprime workouts.

01-30-05, 05:10 PM
horsemom2 Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: NJ	new clip impressions I saw some of the clips and really had the impression that Keli Roberts was having a tough time cueing while doing the workout? lots of gasping for air, etc. It just didn't click for me. Also personally, I like the one-on-one feel of the original FitPrimes more than the old Firmlike class settings with the surrealistic background distractions. Barb S who emphasizes that these were my own personal impressions __________________ Barb S Visit my blog for info about various video sites including tips for downloading or streaming video files: neverendingplateau.blogspot.com

01-30-05, 05:12 PM
Liz N VF Supporter Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: QLD, Australia	isa Yes, you're right, methodology does change over time. I am reviewing from the perpective of what is happening right now and am very happy to explain the reasoning behind my thoughts/recommendations. As I mentioned in my first post, not all of the Fitprime workouts are stinkers (in my opinion ) and if other VFers like doing them, it's perfectly fine. If there are better options (depending of course on what you want), then I think that's also worth mentioning. I believe there are better options for effective core work around, but that is not to say there is not a place for Fitprime in the market. It's the way she markets her work that bothers me the most. __________________ Liz N "I believe your most attractive features are your heart and soul" Savage Garden Looking for some fitness inspiration? Visit my blog - see profile

01-30-05, 05:15 PM
Kathryn VF Supporter Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Illinois	Aren't "Fast Cheetah" and "Stong Bear" both lead by Tracie? (Lazy me could walk two feet over to my workout shelf and look...but they're in the back row!) I wonder to what extent they are better than the others because of her input? I've always thought that Tracie brought a lot to the Firm: the first Firm workouts that showed any well-choreographed and not "odd" cardio moves where the Tortoise and Hare workouts, both lead by Tracie. __________________ Kathryn ^. .^ > ^ < 2010 season speed-walking 5K PR: 35:47 2011 season race-walking 5K PR: 34:42

01-30-05, 05:18 PM
SharonH VF Supporter Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Illinois	Liz, I'm curious, too, which you thought was the stinker and which one was okay. Strong Bear is my favorite of the bunch, although two movements made me wince (the standing kicks with leg weights and the jumping on the toes). I never had Fast Cheetah because I was worried that it would be similar to Steamin Cardio, which I really disliked, although I thought the instructor was very engaging. Barb, Keli seems to have stamina problems in a lot of her cardio/weight workouts, but I still love her. By the way, thanks for the thread on the Kukuwa workouts. I was going to pre-order the WHFN workouts, but I may just spend the money on Kukuwa instead.