Cathe Friedrich
Workout Length 68 minutes
Level: Advanced
Equipment: High step or fanny lifter, various dumbbells (heavy), barbell, resistance band. Mat optional
Date Released: 2005
Availability: Cathe.com , Collage Video
The first time I did High Step Challenge I really didn’t like it. It felt very rushed to me. Cathe moves very quickly from one exercise to the next and sometimes she left my head spinning! The cardio segments are very intense and I wasn’t prepared for that either. The second time I tried it I didn’t even make it through the first strength segment (more on that latter).
By this point I was ready to put this one on my trade list but some folks on the forum convinced me to give it another chance. I’m glad I did! This time I had a printout of the list of exercises from Fitness Video Fanatics to guide my way. This helped a lot. Once I knew what exercises to expect I could prepare ahead of time and have the equipment I needed ready. This time I actually almost enjoyed it!
The format of this workout is cardio cycles alternating with weight work. The whole body is worked in the weight sections, with a nice balance between upper and lower body. I do find that the upper body segments are sort of oddly arranged. Each segment doesn’t concentrate on one part of the upper body – it’s mixed up, but not evenly. So in the first segment you do mostly triceps but a little shoulders. I think it would have been better to split up the upper body segments evenly like she did in Muscle Max and Cardio & Weights.
There are exercises in this workout that I really like and some that I really dislike. Most of it is traditional leg press, squats, bicep curls etc. but she mixes it up with some different twists. All of the leg presses are done with the band, which I don’t really like so I use dumbbells instead. The second set she does with light weights, adding an overhead press at the top. She says this is to work on cardio endurance. I don’t really see the point of it. I also have a hard time because my ceiling isn’t high enough to do an overhead press when I’m on top of my high step. So I just do regular leg press with heavy weights.
One exercise I particularly like in this workout is decline push-ups with your feet on the short step. After a set of push-ups she has you go into a core exercise where you step your toes off the side of the step and back on again, alternating sides. I can really feel that one along the spine and in the core.
The cardio sections here are very intense and mostly high impact. Lots of Cathe’s usual jumping up and down :). They are quite similar to what you might see in an IMAX blast or in the KickMax blast section. So be prepared to modify if you need to.
After five cycles of cardio & weights you go down to the floor for abs (which Cathe is now calling “core” :) ). One thing that really annoys me about most of the Hardcore workouts is that they filmed the ab & stretch segments separately but didn’t leave you enough time to move your equipment and put a mat down. So you’ll need to pause the DVD here and clear all your equipment out of the way.
The actual abs section is quite short, not particularly interesting, but effective enough. The stretch is pretty good though. I’m impressed with the stretch segments in all of the Hardcore workouts. They are much longer and more thorough than what she’s done in the past. Instead of trying to choreograph moves together she just goes right into the stretches.
Overall I’d give this workout a B+. It’s a nice, challenging, total body workout in typical Cathe style. It’s deficiencies can be overcome if you plan ahead :)
Instructor comments:
Megan
fitness@meganjack.com
April 2, 2005
This workout really went by fast. Cathe describes it as a stamina building workout, and I would have to agree. The circuits move very quickly, so it is a good idea to have all your equipment handy when you start to avoid have to pause the workout before each new exercise. I really enjoyed the cardio bursts, as well as the way the exercises were split up. Doing multiple exercises for the same body part over different circuits worked well for me, as it gave me a chance to rest a particular muscle before using it again. The workout really did just fly by, and did not feel as though it was actually 68 minutes. I would almost say I was having fun if I hadn't been working so hard. By the time I finished, I was drenched with sweat, but I had a big smile on my face. I would give this video an A, and have to say I enjoyed it as much as Bootcamp (another favorite of mine!).
Instructor comments:
Cathe always has superb form with weights, and provides plenty of form pointers. I also appreciate her motivating chatter (even a little whooping now and then) here and there, although I know that this can and does annoy some vfers.
Hilarie Dansie
April 13, 2005
About me: I'm an advanced exerciser
who can handle high impact. I like
most of what Cathe puts out.
Breakdown:
Length: 68 minutes
Level: Intermediate/Advanced
Impact: Mixed, jumping jacks, plyo
jacks
Music: Vocal, at times difficult to hear,
in general good beat and interesting.
Some chant like music at the end.
This is a circuit workout that alternates
cardio with weight training. The cardio
segments are much shorter than the
weight segments.
Warm up
Cycle 1:
Cardio (low impact, on high step, very
easy)
Leg Press with band (really gets into
the glute)
Tricep Push ups on high step (made
me sick to go from high heart rate with
the leg press to face down pushups)
Leg press with shoulder press (not
possible if you don't have a high celing
and shoulder exercise with 3 lb
weights did not feel effective)
Dips using high step
Side push ups (Cedie shows
modification and uses terrible form)
Cycle 2
Cardio (high impact, jacks, jacks and
more jacks)
Squats, Deadlifts
Barbell rows
Rows with band for back
Push ups
Cycle 3
Cardio (fun with crescent kicks and
other kickboxing moves but very easy)
Leg Press
Hammer punch lunges (this would
have been better as a cardio move)
Barbell curls
Overhead press with band
Cycle 4
Cardio (more jacks, fast feet shuffles)
Plie Squats (same as in Muscle Max
and Gym Style Legs)
Lateral Raise
L-Fly type move with band but
standing
T-Back squeeze with band (same as in
Gym Style Back, Shoulders, Biceps)
Isolation flys (difficult to go from on the
floor doing flies straight to cardio)
Cycle 5
Cardio (Zig zag shuffles, not possible
for those with impact or feet issues)
Calf raises (yowch after those shuffles)
Decline push ups
Upright rows
Rear delt fly with band
Hover squats
Abs (very similar to Muscle Max, not
very interesting)
Stretch
I'm trading this workout because it
feels too random to me. I like workouts
that are very well organized (like
Cardio and Weights where you work
one body part at a time.) I also felt like
this workout didn't shine in any area. It
was an okay overall workout but
nothing jumps out. It's just a bland
workout with lots of recylced moves. I
can't see this workout being a plateau
buster like Bootcamp because it isn't
tough enough. I can't see it building
muscle because there isn't a focus on
weight work. It was enjoyable but
because I can't see it advancing me
fitness wise, it doesn't have a place for
me.
The overabundance of jumping jacks
in this series is also annoying. The
cardio is also very unbalanced. A
couple of segments like 1 and 3 are
very easy while others like 5 are much
tougher. The weight work is also so
long that your heart rate drops way
down. Some of the more interesting
moves like the band work is repeated
in all the other Hardcore workouts so I
don't feel I need I them again in this
workout. A little variety would have
been nice. All in all, I think Cathe has
done better circuit workouts.
Instructor comments:
Cathe is ripped to shreds in this
workout. Her cueing is late and
inadequate especially in the cardio
sections. Her form is impeccable. She
is encouraging without being overly
perky or annoying.
Elisabeth (pipsqueak3211)
5/8/05
