Saundra

Step Max is the third workout on Cathe's Classics Volume 1 series and I have to say that it is my favorite of the three workouts that come with this DVD. The workout is approximately 60 minutes long and features the standard sections - warm up, 3 step combinations, and a cooldown/stretch. Step Max is an easy to follow step workout with some high intensity burst thrown in. I thought the warm up was basic but unique. I liked how Cathe combine the moves. It was different enough to make it refreshing. The first combo was basic step. This combo featured basic moves that were repeated several times. Hops were added to some of the moves to give it intensity. The second combination featured power moves. The moves were still basic but now you were running, hopping and lifting higher. The last combo showcased plyo power moves - which were still basic moves slightly put together more intricately and with more intensity. My biggest complaint about the workout is that it is repeti

Ran in the rain today. Running time was 36:00:69.

30 Minutes To Fitness Muscle Definition . First of all, both workouts (it features two) are longer than 30 minutes. The second of the two workouts does not have a warm up so you really need to do your own warm up ahead of time which makes the workout even longer. I am harping on this because one of the reasons this series interest me and thus why I purchase it is the fact that the workout are advertised as being 30 Minute workouts. If I combine the two workouts I will get a 60 minute workout which is usually the amount of time I have to workout per session. 30MTF Muscle Definition features several premixes. One of the premix is called full body and it is both workouts combine. This is this one I did. I found this workout to be unique. Kelly included traditional exercises with many new and not the "same old same old" exercises in this workout. Many of the moves were compound in nature or had the layering effect where you started with a basic move and then added to it. Most

Cardio Blast is part of Kelly Coffey-Meyer's new workouts from her 30 Minutes To Fitness (30MTF) series. It features two 30 minute cardio workouts. The first workout is an athletic step workout and the second workout is a plyometric workout. Kelly also includes two premixes on this DVD. I did the Cardio Blast Step Plus premix which included all five of the cardio step combinations and several of the plyo moves done two times each. I like this workout. The pace and intensity is not as high as some of the other advance workouts out there but it was enough. Doable is the term I like to use. Kelly used mostly 70 super funk music that for the most part had a nice up beat tempo. The step combos were very easy to follow. Kelly's cuing was superb. I had no trouble at all picking up any of the moves. For the plyo sets, they were even easier to follow because you are only doing one maybe two moves within the plyo set. The only thing about the plyo sets was the rest period in between

Step Heat is the 2nd workout from Cathe's Classics Volume 1 series. It is approximately a 60 minute workout that features a long warm up, a lengthy intro step combo and two additional step combos and an abdominal section. Like Step Jam, I found the moves in Step Heat to be very basic. The choreography was very easy to follow. While Cathe herself was motivating and fun, I didn't really have fun doing this workout. I think mostly because I found the workout to be very repetitive. So it was kind of so-so for me. I did, however enjoy the music. 2 stars out of 5.

Pure Strength consist of 3 strength workouts using moderate to heavy weights and high reps per set. The workouts are broken up as follows: Pure Strength: Chest, Shoulders & Triceps - 37 minutes Pure Strength: Back, Biceps & Abs - 41 minutes Pure Strength: Strong Legs & Abs - 64 minutes Overall, I really like this group of Strength workouts. The workouts moved really fast. As usual, Cathe is always giving you motivational tips throughout the workout as well as offering form pointers on many exercises. This series is one of Cathe's first strength workouts and you can tell that as far as weight selections go. This is my first time doing these particular workouts and I found that I could go heavier than Cathe's "guide weight" whereas in many of her more current series, I am usually below her "guide weight". My favorite exercises were the floor work exercises in Strong Legs. Cathe used the body bar to work the inner and outer thigh. This was a toug

Not sure when Cathe made Step Jam, but you can tell it is one of her older videos. I bought Classics Volume 1 sometime back in May of this year and I am just getting around to doing the workouts that came on this DVD. The first workout I did (and only one so far) was Step Jam. Step Jam is a 60 minute step workout. I am going to be honest when I first started this workout, I thought “Oh no! This is going to be long, boring and repetitive”. The initial moves Cathe started out with were ultra basic and basically there was just a lot of step up and down on the step and “tap switch” moves. I am so happy to say that once it got pass the warm up and initial combination the workout improved. Cathe performed many of the moves with high impact but I found almost all of the moves could be easily modified if one wishes to do so. What I loved about the workout was the music. I thought the tunes and the beat were fun and full of high energy. I don’t know how often I will add this workout int

It was a very cool day. There was a nice chill in the air. However, once I started running it didn't take me long to warm up. Today's running time 35:49:08.

This week I decided to do Cathe 4 Day Split Cardio & Weights series as it was designed. I rarely used this workout in that form mostly because I don't like working out in "parts". However, this workout is design to be a heavy lifting workout and so therefore "parts" is the way to go. Tuesday's Workout - Higher Intensity Step plus heavy weights Back and Chest - 59 Wednesday's Workout - Lower Intensity Step plus heavy weights Shoulders, Calves, & Core - 66 Thursday's Workout - Boot Camp plus heavy weights Biceps & Triceps - 62 Friday's Workout - Kick box plus heavy weights Leg & Core - 71 Each workout is broken up into two parts. The first part is cardio and the second part is weights or sculpting/toning work. I really love the cardio in all 4 videos. The step combinations used in both videos are fun to do. Out of the two step workouts, Higher Intensity Step is my favorite. I think that is because I like the blast portion

Cardio Sculpt From the original Body Sculpting System, Cardio Sculpt is a 55 minute workout that features Allie Del Rio as the lead. It is mostly a sculpting workout with three cardio segments placed throughout. I thought the cardio segments were rather mundane and very very basic. The first cardio set was low impact, the second was step, and the third was 4-limb movement using the step. This workout utilizes the fanny lifter to help shape and sculpt the body. The workout contains two sets of leg presses, plus the regularly used squat and lunge exercises; as well as traditional exercises for the bicep, triceps , back and chest. Cardio Sculpt does include a floor section where you are working your lower body doing shootouts, leg lifts and leg raises. There is an abdominal section also. I felt the abdominal section was a bit weak. Overall this is a solid workout. 3 stars out of 5.

The day was gorgeous for running. The run not so gorgeous. Time was 37:02:11.

This 10 Minute Solution Rapid Results workout is lead by Lara Hudson. I like Lara. I find her cuing easy to follow and her demeanor is very relaxing. The workout features five 10 minute pilates sections: Super Toned Buns and Thighs - 4 Stars Arm and Shoulder Shaper - 5 Stars Waist Slimmer - 4 Stars Total Body Blast - 3 Stars Slim and Sleek Stretch - 3 stars I found this workout to be a bit easier to execute than the original 10 Minute Solution Pilates workouts that also stars Lara Hudson. This workout feature traditional and very basic pilate exercises. There is nice flow to the workout. Lara moves seamlessly from one exercise to the next. The music in this workout can be found in any other workout. It wasn't bad but it didn't standout either. Overall I found this to be a very solid workout. 3 1/2 out of 5 stars.

Oh Cha cha cha cha. Salsa Blast is 45 minutes in length and feature a warm up, the Cha Cha rhythm and the Salsa rhythm. Rumba is the rhythm for the cool down. I love the Core Rhythm workouts. What I like most about the workouts are how all the moves are precisely synchronized to the music. Jaana and Julia continue to do a good job in showing off and explaining the steps. The moves are becoming easier for me to do as well. Although I still have a long way to go. I can hip circle in one direction but I still need lots of work in hip circling in the opposite direction, but I am having fun in trying to get it. The music used in Salsa Blast is music you can really groove too. Jaana always references moves that you can take out to "the club". The moves and music used in this workout, I can see that happening. This workout features intensifiers that Jaana and Julia called sprints. The Cha Cha sprint was particularly a challenge. Jaana has you doing Cha Cha jumping jac

Complete Aerobic & Weight Training is a 55 minute workout led by Emily Welsh. It is part of the Body Sculpting System 2 series of workouts. That particular series features 5 FIRM workouts. I will say as an overall system, BSS2 is probably my favorite of all the FIRM system. I really like this workout. After the warm up this workout starts with a series of challenging squat dip combos using the step. If you use a challenging weight, the first part of this workout is tough. And you can go heavy with this workout. This workout features the fanny lifter and the FIRM sculpting stick. The FIRM sculpting stick is an 8 lb bar. I didn't use it. Depending on the exercise, I either used my 12 lb body bar or 15 lb body bar. The exercises in this workout are synchronized to music. By the end of the workout, you have hit every body part. There are 3 cardio combination placed throughout the workout. I really enjoyed the cardio combos as well. I remember when I first did this workou

The FIRM's Jiggle Free Abs is a 25 minute workout that is part of the TransFIRMer series of workouts. It uses the TranFIRMer as a bench to work the waist in a sitting position. This workout is led by Allie Del Rio. Allie's cuing is superb as she leads you through a series of standing, sitting, and floor ab and core work. Jiggle Free Abs contains dynamic movement that works all aspects of the core, particularly the lower abdominal and obliques. The most challenging of the exercises for me were the sitting double leg crunches. The workout also contain side plank work which was also challenging. Overall, I really like this workout a lot, especially the fluid core movements of the standing section. 4 stars out of 5.

Weight Watcher has several 1 point mini bars that they sell in their center. Two of my favorites (and really the only ones I buy) are Cookies & Cream Mini Bar and Peanut Butter Bliss Mini Bar. Cookies & Cream - 70 Calories, 2.5 fat grams, 45 mg of sodium, 14 Carb grams, 4 fiber grams, 4 sugar grams, and 1 protein. I will say that this bar had to grow on me. I was not overwhelmed by it when I first tried it, but now it is one of my favorite. As the name implies is it both crunchy and creamy. Peanut Butter Bliss - 70 Calories, 2 fat grams, 70 mg of sodium, 13 Carb grams, 3 fiber grams, 6 sugar grams, and 1 protein. If you like peanut butter, I would encourage you to try this because this is one delicious snack. You have a crispy bar surrounded by creamy peanut butter. If you follow Weight Watchers, both of these bars are 1 point each.

I like. I like. I like. 10 Minutes Solution Pilates stars Lara Hudson. The five 10 minutes workouts in this DVD are: Pilates for the Abs - 5 Stars Pilates for the Buns & Thighs - 5 Stars Sculpting Pilates - 4 Stars (Works Upper Body and uses light weight) Pilates Burn - 3 Stars Pilates for Flexibility - 3 Stars This is definitely an above average workouts. I felt the majority of the pilates moves doable with a slight challenge. This is a good workout for the beginner. Lara's instruction is very clear and easy to follow. A couple of times she first ask you to watch and then join her on the next rep. My favorite sections were the Abs and Buns & Thigh sections. I just really like the way these two sections flowed. The other sections were okay and the music was mostly used as background music; really a non-entity. Overally 4 out of 5 stars

Merengue Mani a is a 38 minute workout featuring Jaana Kunitz and Julia Powers. The workout features a warm-up, a Merengue dance section, a Salsa dance section and a Bolero/Rhumba cool down. At the end of both the Merengue and Salsa sections are Sprints. These are energy burst that up the intensity of the workout. In Merengue Mania I found the majority of the moves easy to follow and catch on too. I think my body is starting to become use to this type of movement. The music in the workout is awesome and all the moves are synchronize dead-on to the beat of the music. I give this workout 3 1/2 stars out of 5.