Step Fit

Cathe Friedrich
Year Released: 1997

Categories: Step Aerobics


StepFit is the latest in a long line of step aerobics videos Cathe Friedrich has written. Like her most recent tapes, this workout is NOT for a beginner, it's for an advanced stepper. Cathe wastes very little time or energy on StepFit.

It's produced by Greg Twombly, of CIA fame, uses the CIA studio, has very upbeat music, some drawn from her previous videos (but it seems livelier and a bit quicker), and she uses some people you'll recognize from previous CF videos and at least one or two new people.

Cathe looks as fit as ever, and her magnetic personality is undiminished. I find her enthusiasm to be motivational.

The warmup is very energetic, more so than any of her previous workouts. It's a mini-step workout in its own right, and it gets you into the spirit of a high-energy step aerobics with brief repetitive stretches. I find the design of the warmup to be perfect, and I am hard to please!

The main portions of her workout incorporates some new power moves, like power scissors, which will test the strength of your quads, a rotating grape vine, which appears over and over, as you tour around the step

CF flows through her moves quicker and smoother than ever before, and she is very talented at it. I find her cuing skills to mesh very well with her preparatory talents. StepFit moves along better than any stepping tape I have ever seen. It is a masterpiece!

The cooldown incorporates the macarena into it, which may be weakest part of the tape. I think the macarena has been overused and should be allowed to fade away; however, Cathe doesn't dwell on it and her cooldown is still quite good. I was surprised I could do a cooldown using the macarena, as one of its moves without becoming bored, but I wasn't.

The stretching section, at the end of the tape, is also very good.

So, I rate this tape as outstanding. If you like complex intense stepping, this tape is for you. It will work you hard and it's fun to do.

I think this is CF's best effort to date.

Joe Rosenfeld

03/16/1997