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Remember that your front shoulders work enough with compound exercises such as push-ups, bench presses and overhead presses that going heavy on isolation exercises (front raises) can actually lead to injury over time. This is not a muscle that you want to load up with weight on the front raise...

If you have an extra step platform at home that is 4" high, you might want to set it up and do some of the blasts on it, especially the ones that involve jumping down from the step. I am still having so much trouble with those at 6" and here I am, an instructor with an over abundance of...

Haydee, you are not alone. I had a lazy eye at birth and am still living with it. Back then, physicians did not operate early and my first surgery was at age 7 or 8. It didn't totally correct the problem and I wore glasses until my teens when I refused to wear them due to being teased all the...

Yes, Low Max is brilliant, and I am a true high impact lover - give me tuck jumps and plyo jacks any day and it is a happy one. Everything "works" in Low Max from beginning to end, and it is generating a lot of creative ideas for classes. I like it because it really caters to the folks who...

I love the choreograhpy in Imax 3 but what has been hard getting used to (as an instructor) is the jumping *off* of the step during the interval blasts. In step training, we are taught that propulsion is always onto the step so to jump down feels very unnatural, even though I realize it is...

RE: DVD brands that HAVE NOT had problems with Cathe's ... How does one manually skip over the pause cazd on the Body Blast pre-mixes? Please enlighten me, as that is my only problem with the DVD's. Otherwise, they are fantastic. I have a Panasonic player. Edited to add that when I try to...

I am experiencing the exact same problems. I think Mix and Match is supposed to work like that as you have to manually program the choices in, but I can't seem to figure out why the premixes are not resuming playing after the automatic pause. I can't fast forward past it either. Is it our...

RE: Big Picture Time Wow, Maribeth, that is certainly a lot of useful information and food for thought! It just goes to show that the saying, "You can't believe everything you hear" is right on! I actually had to get up out of my chair and do a split stance lunge. The confusing part is that...

RE: Big Picture Time Thanks for your input Maribeth. The lunge in question is a static lunge - split stance, with neither leg stepping forward or backward; the movement is in place (and the back leg is not elevated). Not sure if this makes a difference, but you are ahead of me in the...

RE: Big Picture Time Remember Maribeth? She was asked to leave the forums because Cathe's cheering squad was threatened by her knowledge in the field, and felt it was being taken away from Cathe. I wish Maribeth was here to participate in this discussion, as she far surpasses me in knowledge...

RE: Big Picture Time Bobbi, the hamstrings cross both the hip and knee joint, and perform hip extension as well as knee flexion. So I would not disagree at all they are not being worked in a straight legged deadlift because in fact they are - to a much greater degree than in a lunge. A...

Bobbi, what are your credentials in the fitness field? The hip flexors FLEX THE HIP. When analyzing movement during strength training, the joint action of the working muscles designates the primary movers in the exercise, and the hip flexors ARE NOT PRIMARY MOVERS in a lunge or a squat on the...

Hi Janice, I don't think there is any censorship of what instructors say in videos. It is Cathe's company, her own production. As for the hip flexor, yes it is on stretch in the back leg, but it is not working as a primary mover. When we talk about strength training, we are referring to...

I read through all the posts and regardless of the rebuttals, I agree with the original poster. Being in the fitness field myself, I don't see the need to lean out to that extreme to make a series of exericse videos. I think it sends the wrong message to the viewers/doers. Obviously...

When you say supine overhead lat pull, are you referring to pull-overs lying on a bench? A-Jock brought up some very valid points. Leading a class in real-time is so much different from a produced DVD or video workout. I teach students that I would consider advanced and can follow anything...

Hi Leslie, Not Cathe... she is probably busily shipping out more DVDs. The dumbbells should be at chest level, elbows in line with the shoulders at the bottom. Keep your shoulders down and relaxed versus shrugged up toward the ears. There is a slight bend in the elbows as you lift and...

RE: I found the source of the pain during my workout If it is the outer thigh/glute area that is tight, you could try gently easing into the following stretch: Lie on the floor on your back, legs straight. Bring the knee of the affected leg toward your chest and holding outside of the knee...

This is just an educated guess but it could be that your pelvis is out of alignment. Pelvic problems can contribute to problems that affect the lower extremities. Of course it is always a good idea to check with your Dr. because stretching through pain is not usually recommended. It sounds...

The first time I did Step Blast I had to keep the DVD remote in my hand! But the second time through, my nervous system and musculoskeletal system was in sync for much of the time, and I made it through without clutching the remote and only a few brain farts. Ironically, I got the peg leg...

There is no such thing as training for "long and lean" muscles. Muscle growth is determined by both genetics and training intensity. The muscle definition one will see if he or she is training with enough intensity is largely based on the percentage of body fat coupled with genetics. Women...