Cathe: Why some videos have 1 risers; others 2?

[shell2l]

Hi Cathe,

I know you are very busy editing so I don't want to take up your time. I love all your videos.

While doing your videos, I try and emulate all your moves. I try and copy the step heights that you have.

I noticed that in some videos such as: Imax 3, Rhythmic Step, CTX series, you only have one riser on each side.

I also noticed that in other videos such as LowMax, Interval Max, MIC, etc. you have 2 risers on each side.

Why do you sometimes put 1 riser and sometimes put 2?

Thanks for your response.

Michelle

 

[Sekcy_Gymnast]

Hi Michelle!
No not Cathe but I know Cathe uses 2 risers on each side in Low Max to bring up the intensity and work the legs more. The others, well only Cathe could tell you;-)

Take Care!


Laugh and the world laughs with you. Cry and you cry with your girlfriends.
-Laurie Kuslansky-

~Adri~
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[kathryn]

In earlier workouts, Cathe always used 2 risers. Then after a while, she went to 1 riser, and said that she found she could get as good a workout at a shorter height. Low Max is an exception, as she adds back a riser to get more intensity while keeping it mostly low impact. (you'll notice, though, that Rhonda, who is taller, always uses an 8" step).

 

[shell2l]

Kathryn,

I did notice that the older videos used the 2 risers and I thought that maybe in her older videos, she used 2 risers until her knees started to hurt(LOL).

The thing that threw me for a loop was that she used 2 risers in LowMax and then I didn't know why there was a difference.

Thanks for clearing this up. I think I am going to start doing MIC and IntervalMax with 1 riser since I am very short and maybe I will be able to get through these 2 videos with less breaks.

Michelle;-)

 

[Juliekins]

I am 5'8" and only rarely use two risers--with higher impact stuff, it bothers my (otherwise trouble-free) knees. My sister is 6'1" and prefers to step at 6" as well. Also, sometimes stepping at 8" just makes the workout too darn hard. It took a summer of boot camp style workouts to get me to the point where Low Max at 8" didn't feel like it was going to kill me, cardiovascularly speaking. (My cardio endurance is something I really have to work at--it doesn't come naturally to me.) I know some people step at 4" and still feel like they're getting a great workout.

I'm sure Cathe has spoken to the step height issue before, but I don't have time at the moment to do a search.

 

[fitnessangel]

I am nearly 5'8" and I always use only 1 set of risers. When I increase the amount of risers it always affects my knees. If you are stepping a lot, I would only recommend a 6" height. Also, if you are doing higher impacts stick to the 6", but if your knees say it is fine to step at 8", I would only do it on low-impact videos. Have fun working out

 

[Lusignan]

I asked Cathe a question simular to this a while ago and I remember asking that I wanted to increase the step hight for Step Blast and the Imax serious. She told me that the increase in step hight increase the challenge of the workout. But you do want to go higher than 2 risers because of saftey issues. I have tried Step Blast, RS, and the Imax serious with 2 risers and I am hurting when I am done, it is a good hurt thought and a improved workout, but I can't do it all the time, only when I am feel extra powered for that particular day or it is a day I want to push the challenge. Give it a try, if only for a circuit or two, you can always drop back down to one riser if you don't like it, but 2 risers really increases the challenge not to mention your heart rate.

 

[roscoe415]

I always did my step workouts on an 8" step and sometimes a 10" step (Kathy Smith, Reebok, The Firm) until I met Cathe. Boy did she humble me. I lowered my step height to 6" and it really hurt my pride. I do Lowmax on an 8" step and sometimes I do her other step workouts with an 8" step, but for the most part I do the workouts with a 6" step. It just depends on how I feel that day. When I do the Imax workouts, I alternate between 6" and 8". You guessed it, during the blasts I lower it to 6".