XTrain - Tabatacise

First I'll say that I loved this workout and will use it a ton. It's exactly the type of workout I'm into ... challenging cardio drills. My most used workout lately has been Crossfire which gives me an endorphin smile all day long. In Tabatacise I like the way she combines floor drills of varying speeds and intensity with a little bit of step work as a recovery. I also like that there isn't a ton of down time and that there is variety of moves within each tabata (not doing the same move for 8 rounds). I wish she had added a pull together of each of the drills at the end like Amy Dixon does in Breathless Body 2 but I did add on the 7 minute step only premix. I'd say this one is as intense as you make it, easy to modify up or down as you like. Cathe is her usual motivating and pleasant self. I really thought the music was perfect for this one (the same pop/top 40 she's been using lately with the words changed). I always get a kick out of the word changes. I often make up my own words in my head (hey, what ever it takes to keep the mind occupied).

But, I also have to say that there is really not very much creativity in this one. I don't expect a lot of creativity in a drill workout, but is it really that hard to come up with some new hiit cardio drill moves? We've seen all of these before. It's time for Cathe to retire the squat jumps (seriously, what is it with her and squat jumps?) and limit her use of air jacks and repeat 15's on the step to just one DVD a year. (I love you Cathe, and I hope you can take this as some constructive criticism)

So, if you like hiit drill workouts, you will most likely love this one. But if you've got enough of Hiit in your collection, you can skip this one, or wait for it in a trade.

Sancho

Cathe leads this 45 min Tabata drill routine in a brick gym with 4 backgrounders. You will need only need a step for this workout. The dvd is fully chaptered, contains bonus routines, and premixes. Choose from one to five tabata drills to truly customize your workout!

Each tabata drill contains ~ 4 exercises, repeated 2 X each and in between each drill is a quick recovery blast step routine (dont be fooled- these are not easy!). Each exercise is performed for 20 seconds w/ a 10 second rest.

Tabata 1: heel click jacks, frog hop jumps, jacks & tuck jumps. Tabata 2: squat dips, air jacks, floor touch jump ups. Tabata 3: under wire tuck jumps, power lunges, jumps, lateral hops. Tabata 4: ice breakers, scissor -plyo- tuck jumps, power 180 lunges, jump & turn. Tabata 5: pop squats, apple picker jumps, hi knees, pliet heel clicks.

This dvd contains 2 10 min core routines, a 13 min back routine, a 100 rep tricep challenge, and a 100 rep bi curl challenge.

I rate this a true advanced routine that will get your heart pumping and burn those calories! Easy to modify the impact and tons of variety make this athletic routine fun & I def see myself reaching for this time and time again. As always, Cathe's instruction is superb and the routines are unique. No tricky cardio in this one- get in and get out routine with no dread factor- make this a huge winner in my book. I received this dvd to review.

lindseylu

This is probably my all-time favorite Tabata-style workout. Big cudos to Cathe for her adaptation of Tabata because I cannot tolerate true Tabata, as in do a move 8 times in a row?? Really? I love that she never has you do a move twice in a row but instead does 4 different moves two times through, and I think incorporating the step between rounds of Tabata is very creative. I agree with another reviewer about a bit of repetition though; the workout includes 2 sets of plie jacks, although the second set is called by another name. And Cathe follows air jacks with tuck jumps...ugh..I do them both, but I wish she had put something a wee bit easier between those 2 moves. Also, I love the music and find it very motivating, not something I usually say about Cathe's music. In short, this is tough but doable and fun, and Cathe is the master as always.

Janalee

Love this DVD. Just the right length and difficulty to really get my heart pounding and feel like I’ve had a good workout. The format is great as you can choose how many tabata rounds you feel like doing that day or just add one or two to the end of a weights session for a bit of cardio. The music is good - best of any Cathe workouts I think.

Only criticism would be the repeat 15s on the step. I have a number of Cathe DVDs and these keep coming up again and again so I’m heartily sick of them. But that’s a minor point. This is a favourite workout on high repeat for me.

Nickym