Once again, Cathe has outdone herself with another enormously fun yet killer step video. I have had PowerMax since it's release, but haven't had a chance to submit a review.

At first I was a little disappointed with some of the moves because Cathe brings some dance into it, such as a pony on the step as well as funkier arm patterns. I can get past this with some more athletic modifications and still get a great workout, although I hope the danciness isn't a trend which will continue into future video releases. This is strictly a personal preference. My body type (short and muscular) doesn't lend itself well to dance-type movemements.

I didn't realize how exhausting this tape was until I did Step Max last week. I convinced myself that Step Max was harder, even though PowerMax literally wipes me out. Lo and behold, I could have done section 3 of Step Max twice after finally doing the video again last week for the first time in months. After thinking about why, I realized that in PowerMax, Cathe spends little time building up the moves so there's less repetition and "teaching", yet her cuing and instruction is still so precise and clear that the combinations are easy to learn without all the extra instruction (which can cause the heart rate to drop a bit as you're learning new steps). This really is a fun tape! Even the warmup is challenging.

Cathe has the uncanny ability to make a killer workout fun and interesting, and this is what I love about her videos. It never feels like torturous exercise. Even though your muscles will be begging for mercy you won't want to stop because you're having such a good time. Sounds corny, and only fellow Cathe fans will be able to relate to this analogy. She is by far the best step instructor on video - probably in the world as far as I'm concerned!

Roberta Kagno