Compiled from five of the FIRM Classic workouts, this well-balanced, fast-moving workout demonstrates excellent form but with minimal instruction, so it's not for beginners. It's not for intermediates either; thirty-eight sets of upper body exercises in thirty minutes call for an advanced weight trainer. So, if you know how to use weights, get ready for a tough workout. DePrise Brescia, your host trainer, sets you in each starting position and suggests weights for the upcoming exercises. This short breather between sets lets you change weights and get into position without stopping the tape. The first toning routine uses light dumbbells as a warm-up for heavier weights to follow. From this point, the FIRM instructors, the exercises and the weights are always changing.

Unlike a standard gym-style strength training format, this choreographed (and well-edited) workout rarely works the same muscles back-to-back, so they get plenty of recovery time. With such a variety of exercises you don't get bored. Body positions and weights change often, and lower body movements are added to some sets. The front and medial delts get nine sets. Nine sets for the chest are balanced with eight sets for the upper and mid back. There's a slight imbalance in the arm exercises: only four sets for biceps, while the triceps get eight. (However, if you're a FIRM Believer, you work the biceps so often in other FIRM workouts that they deserve a rest here.) Great editing propels this workout along. If you do this workout regularly with the weights recommended you should notice upper body muscle definition and strength gains in a short time.

On DVD along with The Firm's Standing Legs

In "body pump" style, Gilad works the back and chest with a variety of exercises and back-to-back sets without a break. However, instead of pumping a barbell he uses dumbbells which allows him to make small changes in hand positions or to add wrist rotation to certain lifts. Lifting tempos change frequently during the long 16 to 30 rep sets, so if you want to keep up with Gilad you'll probably have to stick to lighter weights, especially when wrist rotation is involved. As is the case in all four workouts in this QuickFit series, the warm-up and final stretch are pretty skimpy. Do this workout before Shoulders & Arms for a complete upper body workout.

The first 6 minutes are devoted to three variations of lat rows. First you row with both arms, palms facing each other, next with palms facing up. Last you do one-arm rows, holding both weights or one heavier weight. After a quick stretch, Gilad moves to the floor to work the chest for 5.5 minutes. He starts with standard chest presses (elbows wide to the side, palms facing the feet) at three different tempos. He then adds a rotation to the press, so that your palms turn to face your head at the top of the lift. Next he does an unusual chest fly variation where you hold your arms out wide and rotate your hands inward just a few inches while squeezing your chest muscles. He then rolls over for a quick set of push-ups.

The workout ends with two kneeling exercises, first Gilad targets the upper back again with a long set of straight arm lifts to the rear. One final set for the chest uses an unusual chest fly where Gilad holds the dumbbells below waist level and slightly to the side and brings them a few inches closer together by squeezing the chest muscles. He stands up for a couple of stretches and your workout on the beach is done.

Add this to the other Quick Fit Workouts for total body toning: Shoulders & Arms, Hips, Thighs & Buns, Abs. Note: Of the four workouts, this one has the poorest picture quality. While the Hips, Thighs & Buns and the Shoulders & Arms show gorgeous blue sky and water behind Gilad and his crew, the Chest & Back and the Abs videos often have a washed out look. At times all you can see are Gilad and his crew surrounded by white glare. The sun is different in each video too, sometimes causing unflattering shadows. To me, it looks like the four videos were taped on the same day. As the day progressed clouds rolled in, causing the intense blue sky and water background to turn white.

All deltoid muscles, as well as biceps and triceps, get the "body pump" treatment from Gilad this time. Once again he uses dumbbells rather than a barbell to allow for a larger variety of exercises. He also changes lifting tempos frequently during the long 12-16 rep sets and uses many long-lever lifts, so again you'll probably want to use lighter weights. Again the warm-up and final stretch are pretty skimpy. Do this workout after Chest & Back for a complete upper body workout.

Eight minutes of shoulder exercises start with shoulder rolls. Gilad then attacks the shoulder from all angles with a rotator cuff exercise, alternating front raises, rear shoulder lifts, lateral raises, front raises with both arms, an Arnold press (overhead press while rotating the weights), and rear shoulder flies. Luckily Gilad does a short set of shoulder rolls in between each exercise during this long super set. Although he recommends staying with your light weights for only the first three exercises, you may find you need to use them for the whole segment.

The biceps segment can be a "burner." For the 3.5 minutes that you're curling you're also changing tempo, adding forearm rotations, changing the angle that you're holding your arms, or doing half reps. Sometimes you use both arms, sometimes you alternate, but by the end you're happy to stretch out your biceps and forearms. Now, it's down to the floor for 4.5 minutes of triceps. First lying face-up for double-arm triceps extensions and narrow-grip chest presses. Next you kneel for overhead triceps extensions and finally do a set of triceps dips on the floor.

Add this to the other Quick Fit Workouts for total body toning: Chest & Back, Hips, Thighs & Buns, Abs.

Kathy leads a small class through a complete upper body sculpting workout followed by ab and lower back exercises. This is a great introduction to upper body weight training because a few reps of each exercise are performed in a close-up, with Kathy's voice-over instruction, before the class starts the set. Excellent form is demonstrated and the sets use a slow steady lifting tempo, allowing you to advance to heavier weights and grow with the tape. Despite these positives, there are a few drawbacks to the workout format for a beginner. Performing multiple sets non-stop for one muscle group is an advanced technique called super setting. In this workout four sets each are performed back-to-back for the chest, back and triceps. The shoulders get six sets and the biceps get two. Doing so many sets without a break is too much for a beginner.

The upper body workout is followed by five sets of basic ab exercises and one set for the lower back. Poor video editing is another weakness of this tape. Many sets begin too abruptly because the return from the demo reps often catches Kathy halfway through the first rep of the set. (To fix this, do the demo rep and catch up with Kathy on the second rep.) Occasionally, there's not enough time between sets to get fully set in a the new starting position or to change weights, so keep your remote control handy. Also, while the number of reps is flashed on the screen at the start of each set, Kathy doesn't count these reps aloud or cue the lifting tempo, and the background music doesn't have a firm beat to follow. Unless you constantly watch the screen, you get out of sync with the class. This can be particularly frustrating when you should keep looking down at the floor to stay in proper position. Despite these negatives, this is a good instructional video. So beginners, start with just one set of each exercise and very light dumbbells and adjust as needed.

On Kathy's Super Slimdown Circuit DVD along with Secrets to a Great Lower Body and Peak Fat Burning (a cardio interval workout).

Not for men only! Many women will like this one-on-one strength training workout. It's a concentrated upper body workout with basic exercises, some unusual variations and plenty of intensity. Gilad is an excellent, motivating instructor. He gets down to business and is encouraging in a subdued, sincere way. The warm-up focuses on the upper body with minimal footwork (an aspect that the choreographically challenged will appreciate). For most exercises Gilad varies the tempo of lifting three times within each set, but he cues well and counts aloud, never missing a beat, making these variations very easy to follow. He also tells you what weight he's using, and suggests when to go heavier or lighter based on the exercise.

The chest, shoulders, triceps, biceps, forearms and back are worked separately in super sets of various lengths. Then five arm and shoulder exercises are combined into one routine and repeated many times (similar to the upper body blitz in Gilad's Step and Sculpt). Three sets of push-ups end the workout. More than half the toning time is spent on the biceps and triceps. The upper back gets shorted with just one set (advanced could make some adjustments to the standing chest presses to balance this out). The workout moves along at a good pace. You have plenty of time to change weights when Gilad does, but there's no downtime. It's a good change of pace for experienced strength trainers of both sexes.

Three 16-minute stand-alone workouts focus on the triceps, biceps, shoulders and abs for "quick toning." Each workout has a different three-minute warm-up. Workout 1 has the longest upper body routine with five different standing exercises, mostly in sets of 12 reps. It also has the shortest ab routine: five sets of 8 reps each. In Workout 2, three seated exercises for biceps, triceps and shoulders are done one arm at a time, 12 reps to a set. Four sets are done for the abs. In Workout 3 the upper body exercises are done standing again. Biceps and triceps get two sets each, shoulders get three. This time sets are eight reps. Although Tamilee talks a lot during this workout, she never loses track of the rep count. Her one-on-one instruction is entertaining and motivating. She instructs thoroughly, naming each exercise and the working muscles, cuing correct body position and demonstrating good form. With short sets and a slow pace, it's possible to work on building strength along with muscle tone with this workout. However, these workouts don't tone the entire upper body-- the back gets only one exercise and the chest none. Another drawback is that some of the combo exercises can be hard on the shoulder joints, so light weights are advisable.

(Note: This workout is much better than Tamilee's first Arms and Abs of Steel in both video production and exercise selection. The early "Steel" tapes have been renamed "Classics." Remember: read the small print on flashy new covers when you shop for "new" video workouts. You may discover an old copyright date or the original title!)

If you want to put extra emphasis on your arms and shoulders for sleeveless tops or to build upper body strength for a trapeze class or rock climbing, Tamilee has designed two workouts that will add some strength and build muscle endurance. The circuit training format lets beginners start with Program1 and gradually add more sets as they gain strength and then move on to harder exercises in Program 2 as they gain experience. The circuit training format also allows some muscles to rest while others are working, so intermediates and advanced can do both Programs back to back if they're feeling particularly strong, have extra time or are training for a special event. The only drawback is the lack of exercises for the chest and back, so if you're looking for a total upper body workout, you're going to need to supplement both of these with strength exercises like rows and push-ups.

In Program 1 Tamilee introduces seven standard strength training exercises that are appropriate for all levels, although beginners may need to work up to doing all three rounds (20 sets) straight through. After alternating shoulders (lateral raises, upright rows) with biceps (slow curls and alternating curls) for four sets Tamilee then hits the triceps hard with three back-to-back exercises (one-arm kickbacks, overhead French press and a unusual elbow squeeze). These seven exercises get 12 reps each in the first and second rounds and 8 reps in the third round. Except for a few sets of slow-paced biceps curls, the lifting pace is up-to-tempo (1-up, 1-down) so lighter weights work best unless you want to slow down and go at your own pace.

In Program 2 Tamilee introduces seven new exercises that offer more of a challenge. You'll sit on a chair to work shoulders with overhead presses and rear flies, biceps with "wide" curls and "concentration" curls, and both together with a reverse biceps curl/overhead press combo. Body weight is used to challenge the triceps during dips (off the edge of your chair) and one-armed pushups (while lying on your side on the floor). You'll do two rounds of 12-rep sets this time.

This workout is on Tamilee's I Want That Body DVD, along with exercises from I Want those Abs and I Want Those Buns. Read about the entire I Want those... set.