shoe and DVD recommendations

[jrichards111]

Hi,
I'm new to Cathe's workouts. I plan to start at the end of the month. I have done Turbo Jam, Jari Love and P90X. My goals are to shed fat, get toned and accomplish that "cut" look. Can anyone provide some suggestions as to where I should start? I noticed that Cathe has tons of DVDs out there and it's a bit overwhelming to find the right ones. Plus, many of her DVDs require gym equipments. Right now I have dumbbells and a yoga mat. I can get a step as well. I enjoy weight lifting a lot more than cardio.
I am looking forward to starting a new program. I've watched some of Cathe's video clips and I think she's great. I'm excited to get started. Just need to find the right DVD set to start off. Oh, I also need a good pair of shoes. Any suggestions? Again, too many to choose from. Not sure what would be the best for Cathe's workouts.

Thanks! Any feedback will be appreciated.

JR

[jdimascio]

First of all, congrats for picking the right trainer to help you with your fitness goals. Secondly, Cathe has so many DVDS and all of them are amazing. However, it's a bit hard to really give a specific recommendation based on your post. P90X is a 3 day split mainly strength workout program, Turbo Jam is dancing boxing moves (right?) and Jari Love, from what I have heard it typically puts out a high rep/cardio workout (right?). Anyway, what I am trying to say is that Cathe has a ton of workouts that would work for based on your based DVD experience...hers are just better.

For example, if you like the P90X format, STS is a 3.5 month strength workout program. But she also has other strength workouts if you are not ready to spend the month on this 40 DVD package. She has Pure Strength, Slow & Heavy Series, Gymstyle.....to name a few.

TurboJam is cardio based....Cathe has a ton of kickboxing workouts, my favorites are Kick Punch Crunch, and Kickmax. If you like Step than you can't go wrong with a Cathe Step workout. She steady state cardio ones like Rhythmic Step, Step Moves, and then she has Interval Cardio (hi/li on step) like IMAX, Imax2, Imax3. Tons to choose from.

Jari workouts (cardio and weights, I believe)...not really familiar with her stuff....but Cathe has Boot Camp, Circuit Blast, High Reps (all weights but there is a cardio feel), Cardio and Weights, Low Impact Circuit, High Step Challenge, High Step Training...

These are just a few.....depends on what you really want to focus on and start with. Are you intermediate or advanced??? How much are you looking to spend?

I hope I didn't confuse you more...it's just hard to select a few workouts without more specifics!!! Good Luck...please feel free to ask more questions!!!

[mrsyancy]

jennifer that is pretty good how u broke all of that down.....but jennifer is right, if u can give more specifics we can help u a little better b/c cathe has a ton of awesome workouts....i actually have all of the workouts that u have stated above (p90x, turbofire and jari love) and if u want to try cathe then she has plenty that is similar to these or plenty that is quite different if u want to try something slightly different.....her new LIS is awesome and kick butt....it's low impact but high intensity....and she also has lots of older dvds that are also awesome...so just let us know a little more and i think we can point u in the right direction....lots of people here to help who are pretty veteran cathletes.....lol

[jrichards111]

Thanks for your reply!
I am a bit bored with P90X and Jari Love. I haven't done Turbo Jam in years. I'm looking for something a bit different and tougher. I think Cathe's DVDs will definitely be challenging. I think I'm at the intermediate level.
It will be difficult to buy the pricing DVD set and the gym equipment.
I also do not enjoy cardio much; though I like kickboxing. I watched one of Cathe's video clips with the heavy bag. It looks like a lot of fun. Again, I would have to buy the equipment. Not sure if that will be affordable. I love weight training. I guess my main goal is to be buff and strong.

[mini-natty]

just bumping so you get more responses. I won't post mine again, you got my recommendation's on the other forum


Good luck!

Natasha

[jrichards111]

Thanks Natasha! Hope all is well.
Just watched some of the Hardcore DVDs video clips last night. I'm considering this set for my first Cathe workout.
What do you think of this selection?

JR

[mini-natty]

Originally Posted by jrichards111

Thanks Natasha! Hope all is well.
Just watched some of the Hardcore DVDs video clips last night. I'm considering this set for my first Cathe workout.
What do you think of this selection?

JR

JR,
This set would be terrific! Here is the rotation if you want to try it:
March Rotation/Hardcore Series Celebration

A few things to keep in mind:

There is lots of step workouts in this series for cardio. Are you familiar with step? If not, you may get lost and frustrated with some of the complex choreo. I was a total step novice about 1 year ago, and was never able to jump into a workout like Imax3 or LowMax. You may need some training first. Basic Step/Body Fusion can help you. Don't get discouraged though, step is awesome once you get into the groove IMO. And it burns serious calories.

You are going to LOVE the weight training w/o's!! Some of the exercises use a barbell, but I think you can modify it with dumbbell's.

Some Cathlete's may also suggest you start with this series:
Cathe Friedrich - Intensity Series

It is highly regarded as Cathe's best. Lots of weight training w/o's in that series and the cardio step is a bit more basic, in terms of choreo. You will love the Boot Camp/Muscle Endurance DVD!!! Talk about tough stuff!!!

I can't find the rotation for that series

If you have any more questions, feel free to ask.

Good luck!

Natascia

[TRSTACIE]

I was actually thinking that you might like Kick Punch Crunch. It's a lot of fun and a great kickboxing workout. No equipment required although some people use weighted gloves. There is a separate leg workout included as well as some really good premixes.

[jrichards111]

Hi,
I think the step should be fine. Well, I hope. The last time I did a step work out was in college. That was a LONG time ago. I will have to practice for sure. A challenge can be fun, so I'm looking forward to it. I'm a fan of kickboxing too. I might just buy a kickboxing DVD seprately. I get bored easily so I should have a variety to choose from. I will watch the Intensity series too. To be honest all of Cathe's videos look great. Too bad I can't just buy them all!


JR

[jdimascio]

Originally Posted by jrichards111

Hi,
I think the step should be fine. Well, I hope. The last time I did a step work out was in college. That was a LONG time ago. I will have to practice for sure. A challenge can be fun, so I'm looking forward to it. I'm a fan of kickboxing too. I might just buy a kickboxing DVD seprately. I get bored easily so I should have a variety to choose from. I will watch the Intensity series too. To be honest all of Cathe's videos look great. Too bad I can't just buy them all!


JR

Good Luck, JR. In all honestly, every series is amazing. Hardcore is great, one of my favorites actually. It is more advanced, and if that is what you are looking for...go for it. The Intensity series is just as good...both have cardio and weight workouts, so they are complete packages with a lot of variety. The Hardcore Series does comes with KickMax which is my favorite Cathe kickboxing workout. Have fun!!