I’m reviewing this workout after doing the first and third segments at least half a dozen times in the year and a half I’ve had it.

General workout breakdown: There are three different flexibility segments, made up primarily of athletic stretches. The poses are held for a decent amount of time. You don’t move in and out of them too quickly, but if you’re looking for long holds, this isn’t the video for you.
*Stretch Workout #1 (about 21 min.) doesn’t require any equipment. I found that this one had a yoga-like feel to it and touched upon the lower body quite a bit, with a lot for the hamstrings. The segment begins standing, with side bends, upper back and shoulder stretches, and neck rolls. Next come lots of forward bends with various leg and torso positions, then lunges, downward dog, and more forward bends. In a seated position come side bends, a shoulder stretch, triceps stretch, and more hamstring and oblique stretches (flowing between forward bend with one leg out into a ballet-type stretch with one leg out, one bent underneath you, and one arm reaching overhead). Cat and cow are done on all fours before lowering into child’s pose, and then it’s back up into down dog. After a brief rest on the back (first flat, and then with knees to chest) come reclined hamstring stretches and twists, and then it’s up into pigeon with variations and finally a seated twist.
*Stretch Workout #2 (19 min.) requires a stability ball. (I haven’t used this one because I didn’t have a stability ball when I was using this DVD with some regularity.) The segment begins seated on the ball with shoulder rolls, side bends, lunges with arm variations, and shoulder stretches, and then moves from a bridge into a glutes stretch. Stretches done with the back and then the side on the ball follow. While seated on the floor the ball is rolled around to stretch the arms. Moving to a reclined position come more hamstring and glutes stretches plus a little for the inner thighs and a twist. After a straddle position, lying prone on the ball becomes upward dog and then a quadriceps stretch. After lunges and a forward bend comes around the world, holding the ball while standing.
*Stretch Workout #3 (just over 17 min.) uses a resistance band of minimal resistance. (I’ve also tried this with a yoga strap and even without anything, and it worked fine. You could easily substitute in an old tie, long belt, or even a towel.) This felt to me more like a total body stretch workout, with a good amount for the upper body, making it a good choice for after a total body or upper body weights workout. The segment begins on the back with a variety of stretches for the hamstrings and outer thighs and then a quadriceps stretch (this felt awkward to me, no matter what I did); this is followed by a twist into a C-stretch sequence. While seated come upper body stretches, including side bends, shoulder stretches, variations on cow face arms (i.e. triceps and shoulder stretches), forearm stretches, and chest openers; these are followed by seated hamstring stretches. Moving up to standing, you do more for the lower and upper body, including some side and back bends.

Level: I’d recommend this to a beginner with a little stretching experience through an intermediate. Cathe doesn’t include a lot of form instruction and pointers, although she does tend to include more with the exercises using the ball and band. There aren’t a lot of modifications for those with very limited flexibility; those with somewhat limited flexibility (like myself) will probably find it easy to improvise by just not going down as far.

Class: Jai, Brenda, Rhonda, Lorraine, and Cedie join Cathe.

Music: soft instrumental. Sometimes it’s nice flute-based music, sometimes it’s jazzy, and sometimes it’s more elevator-type stuff. (I usually find the music good or at least nice during the stretch portions of the Cathe videos I have, but overall the music here seems just OK to me.)

Set: the HardCore set: a sort of courtyard with gray columns and steps, potted ferns, casts of Classical / Renaissance sculpture (e.g. Diskobolos), and doors off to the one side, with a blue background behind.

Production: clear picture and sound. Neither is as crisp as on Cathe’s Intensity or BodyBlast series, but both are still high quality. The camera angles are helpful, and I didn’t find them distracting.

Equipment: mat (or equivalent, depending upon your floor), stability ball for segment #2, resistance band (or equivalent) for #3.

Space Requirements: You should be able to move your arms and legs around freely while standing, seated, and lying down.

DVD Notes: The main menu allows you to select Intro to the Workout, each of the stretch workouts, and Credits. You are returned to the main menu at the end of the stretch segment. There are no chapter points within the segments.

Conclusion: This isn’t a bad video. I’m still in search of the perfect stretch video, but this one does a decent job. The 20-minute length allows for more stretches than in Tamilee Webb’s Total Body Stretch, but the holds are probably about the same length. These segments seem to be intended as add-ons after strength or cardio workouts (like Tamilee’s video) rather than flexibility workouts meant for relaxation (such as Madeleine Lewis’ PM Stretch or Tamilee’s Beginner’s Stretch for Flexibility). I also like the resistance band workout better than the no equipment one because it’s one of the few stretch segments on my videos that includes a good variety of stretches for the upper body.

Instructor Comments:
Cathe isn’t her usual chipper self here; she’s quiet, which is appropriate for this type of workout. She’s professional but perhaps a little stiff in terms of her persona. She focuses almost exclusively on getting you into the stretch, indicating what to do with the ball or resistance band in those segments.

KathAL79