I was one of the many VF'ers chomping at the bit for Cathe's new videos, and I am not disappointed! MIC essentially contains two workouts - hi/lo and step. I am not usually a hi/lo fan because I find it 1) takes up too much space and 2) too dancy and "spinny", so I end up dizzy and lost. But, Cathe's hi/lo is great! More basic, athletic moves that I can easily do in my living room without smashing into the furniture. The first low impact segment after the warm-up is really easy - I consider it a warm-up extension. The fun comes in the medium and especially the high impact segments! I love the jumprope, boxer and high knees moves, and I think my favorite move in this segment is the plyo heel digs. Even the medium impact stuff is really fun I love the arm combos - they seem to really "go" with what your legs are doing. I have a lot of fun doing this workout, and find myself smiling and laughing at times. Cathe has a way of making me feel like a graceful dancer flying through the air, even though I'm more like a bull in a china shop in reality! It's very tough, and by the end of the high impact segment I am drenched. I really like the music for the hi/lo - all instrumental, and kind of techno-funky. Really cool.

Then it's time to pull out the step! Cathe is the queen of step so it's no suprise that this workout is great. I must admit that I still like PowerMax as my all-time fav step workout, but I enjoyed this one. A couple of moves I didn't like - the sashay's are sort of unnatural for me for some reason, and I really don't like the turning across the benches (I just modify to stay facing the same direction like normal across the benches - I don't think it really matters). This is a tough workout for your legs as well - lots of uneven squats and across the bench's - your quads will be feeling it. Cathe finishes the workout with a short interval blast - three sets of 1) two-legged jumps (really hard to do at this point - I find that letting out a big yell with every jump helps!) 2) jump-rope move on the step 3) power-7's (another propulsion move with big arms). You are seriously pooped at the end of this workout. It also looks like Cathe has worked out hard too - her hair is sort of screwed up by the end. I like to see that the instructors in the videos are working hard with you.

I LOVE the cool-down! Nothing special - grapevines, L-steps... but the music is perfect (Don't cry for me Argentina) - I am singing right along and don't want the workout to end (my neighbors, however, are probably counting the minutes!).

I would highly recommend this video to any advanced exerciser (if you can tolerate high impact of course). It is possible to split up the tape and do hi/lo one day and step the next (you will have to do your own cool down for hi/lo and warm up for step if you did this). Doing the entire tape at once gives you a great, fun cardio workout.

Instructor Comments:
In MIC, Cathe, as usual, is superb. Her cueing is always right on and easy to follow. For those that get annoyed with her "whooping", this tape doesn't have any that I noticed. I found that I really liked Cathe in this tape - she seems super-nice and fun (for some reason more so in this tape than her others). Her comments make me smile throughout the workout, even when I am dying pumping out that last over the top... And, holy smokes - she looks awesome. A great inspiration.

Michelle Spina