Hardcore: Low Max

Cathe Friedrich
Year Released: 2005

Categories: Step Aerobics


About me: I consider myself a “barely-advanced” exerciser. For instance, I can make it through workouts like Cathe’s HIITs or Cardio Core Circuit, but I pretty much feel like I’m going to keel over when I do them. I have been exercising with home videos for about 7 or 8 years, but only started doing advanced workouts about 2 years ago. I prefer complex step choreography because it keeps my mind occupied (Seasun Zieger and Amy Bento are favorites), but will do a step workout where the choreography is only moderately complex as long as it is athletic enough to be a reasonable cardio challenge. Cathe Friedrich is my favorite instructor, but I am catholic in my tastes as long as the instructor has good form, reasonable cueing, and uses decent music. Oh – and because I am a bad, bad person, I almost always skip the cool-down/stretch at the end of a workout.

Who would probably not like this workout?
1) Anyone who gets frustrated by moderately complex choreography
2) Anyone who needs crystal-clear cueing. Cathe’s cueing isn’t terrible, but she’s definitely guilty of occasionally giving the cue right as she is beginning the move.
3) Anyone who dislikes workouts that don’t fall cleanly into a given category (i.e. you want something that is pure cardio, or pure lower-body toning, but not a netherworld combination of the two)
4) Anyone who requires absolute faithfulness to the “low impact” billing – the workout has a few moves, such as pendulums on the step, which do require tiny hops

Music: BK Howe Productions. I recognized a cover of Madonna’s “Holiday;” a song that sounded like it was using the hook from M.A.R.S.’ “Pump Up the Volume;” and an upbeat version of the Rolling Stones’ “Get Off of My Cloud.”

Where this workout fits in my exercise world: This is actually the only workout I’ve tried that I would put in the same category as the original Tonique. That may sound odd, given that it is a step-based workout, but here are my reasons:

1) They are both low-ish impact (Tonique has jogging and jumping jacks, and Low Max has pendulums and a few other dubious moves, but compared to most of my cardio workouts, they are definitely much easier on the joints)
2) Both are very good calorie burners. I use a Polar HRM for all of my workouts and, while I realize that the “calories burned” figure is really just a rough guideline, it is a useful tool for comparing how my own body responds to different workouts. With Tonique Premier, my calorie burn has ranged from 8.2 to 9.5 cal/min, with an overall average of 8.6.* For Low Max, my calorie burn has ranged from 6.6 to 8.7 cal/min, with an overall average of 7.5. However, because Low Max is longer, the total number of calories I burn with these two workouts is pretty similar. I should note that I always use an 8” step for Low Max (I’m a little over 5’ 5”) – with a 6” step, I would probably have trouble getting my heart rate above 130 bpm.
3) Both workouts, when done right, are solid lower body workouts. The key with Low Max is to use an 8” step and to make a conscious effort to keep your weight back on your heels during the “toning” moves.

* I typically skip the mat work in Tonique, and instead do the drills (2 times), the lunges, and the squats. Total workout time = about 52 minutes.

So, for me, this is a great workout to do on days when I want a solid cardio workout and calorie burn, don’t want a lot of impact, and don’t want to use my arms much (as when they are sore from an upper-body workout the day before). Oh – and because the moves are varied, Low Max does not have the “dread” factor that Tonique eventually developed for me.

A final note about how I use this workout: Because I have trouble getting my heart rate up at the beginning of a workout (unless I am doing something like HIIT), I always skip the warm-up for Low Max and start right in at Combo #1. Then, at the end of the workout, I do the warm-up instead of the official cool-down/stretch. I find this gets my heart rate up in a reasonable amount of time. The workout clocks in at about 62 minutes when done this way.

rickets

03/12/2011