Saundra

Low Impact Challenge is a 50 minute step workout. It is part of Cathe's Low Impact Series of workout. The 50 minutes breaks down as follows: Warm up Step Combo #1 Step Combo #2 Step Combo #3 Step Combo #4 All Combos Cardio Blast Stretch If you are at all familiar with Cathe's step workouts, you should have absolutely no problem in picking up the choreography and routine in this workout. In fact, I was put off by the clip and save this workout to near last because everything in the clip look so old and reused. So I was mildly surprised that I enjoyed all the combos. I think the combos flow well. My only complaint within the combos is that there is a lot of repeaters and sculpt 7s. I was enjoying the workout up until I got to blast. The blast is about 10 minutes long, and it is mostly just lots of repetitions of various leg sculpting moves. Up to this point, this workout was on its way to being a 4 or 4 1/2 star workout. I even liked the music. Next time I do this workout I ...

Another workout in Cathe's Low Impact Series is Cardio Supersets . The main part of this workout is under 42 minutes and then there is a Bonus Step Routine that is just over 21 minutes. When I did this workout. I did the main workout in the morning and did the bonus step premix version in the evening. I really think the Bonus Step Routine is misnamed. It is really not a routine. Cathe should have simply said "Now let's grab your step, and continue with Cardio Supersets format using the step". Knowing that would have help my impression of the sections because when I started the Bonus Step Routine, I was like "this sucks, what kind of routine is this". When I realized that she was simply continuing her format and that it was a true extension of the cardio supersets format, my opinion of that segment change. Other than a couple of the exercise that I thought killed the momentum of the workout, (most notably the puddle jumps) I like this workout. I particula...

Another workout in Cathe's Low Impact Series is Slide & Glide . Slide & Glide features a pair of discs, a band loop and a mat. The main part of the workout is broken up into two parts. Part 1 is a Cardio Segment in which you use your Slide & Glide disk the entire time. This section is about 20 minutes. After awhile, it feels like you are doing the same thing over and over. There is not a lot of variety in this part of the workout. So I started off thinking "this isn't bad" but by the end of the segment I was ready to move on. Part 2 is Muscle Conditioning Segment . In Part two, depending on the exercise, you will use your discs and/or band loop. I really enjoyed part 2. You start off with legs. This is followed by triceps, back, biceps, chest, and then abs. I like the exercises many of which used the discs and it was challenging. The discs are also used in the warm up and the cool down. The DVD contains an Introduction is which Cathe gives...

Clocking in at 56 minutes is Athletic Training . This workout uses the club step, weights, loop, tubing, and the discs in various segments. After the warm up, there is a step cardio section. I did not care for it. It is mostly repetitive drills. That was really the only part of the workout I didn't care for. The rest of it moved along quite nicely. Most of the exercises are multi-joint compound type movement. And, most are working the upper and lower body at the same time. The core section is floor work. A few of the exercises in this section also appears in Turbo Barre. Oh, there is the music - I didn't care for that either. 3 1/2 stars

Afterburn (I like the name of this workout) is a 54 minute interval workout. This workout is part of Cathe's Low Impact Series. And I will go ahead and say this here. Low Impact does not mean No Impact. There is some impact and like any other workout (in my opinion) the impact can be modified to be more or less. So Afterburn is an interval workout that features 10 intervals. Each interval consist of two exercises and after you complete the two exercises you repeat them again before moving on. The DVD chapter points list them a 1A, 1B, 2A, 2B and so forth. On my worksheet I listed them once and gave you a separate column for Interval A and Interval B. Typically one of the exercise in the interval is cardio based and one is weight based. Along with dumbbells, Cathe and crew also used Dixie cups and the Slide & Glide Exercise Discs. I am working out on hardwood floors and I didn't have any problem using the discs on my flooring. Now I did have a problem doing the disc Jac...

Total Body Trisets consist of two workout one DVD. The DVD is part of Cathe's Low Impact Series . There are a total of ten DVDs that are part of this series. Total Body Triset s is broken up into Lower Body Split - 39 minutes in length and Upper Body Split - 56 minutes in length. Both workouts share the same warm up and stretch both of which are just over 4 minutes long. The thing that caught my attention about the warm up was that there was no marching until the last 10 seconds and then you were just transitioning into the next segment. I guess I am so use to marching in a warm up, that I kept trying to add it in there. Both workout follow the same pattern. You are doing three Trisets for each muscle grouping. Within each Triset, you are doing three exercises rotating through for two sets. For the Upper Body Split workout, the first muscle grouping is Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps. The second is Back, Biceps, and Core. For the Lower Body Split workout, you just have one ...

Low Max is not my favorite Cathe Step tape. It is a 70 minute workout that consist of seven cycles alternating a step combo routine with low impact blast. The low impact blast are leg intensifiers and thus really work the legs. Because of all the leg work you get with this workout, I would not recommend doing Low Max on a day that you are also working the lower body. Doing this workout again, reminded me of when I did this workout many years ago and I had trouble picking up some of the step combos. Nowadays Cathe step combos are some of the easiest combos for me to learn. What I disliked most about this workout was all the sculpt 7's and even sculpt 15. Cathe states they "are not filler moves" and that "we are working them to our advantage". I personally felt the move was overused. I am lukewarm on this workout. It is not my first choice of dvds to pull out when deciding to do a Cathe Step workout. I give it 3 stars out of 5.