Beginner/Intermediate Series

L

leeanng12

Member
I would really like to see a beginner/intermediate series. I would appreciate a program that incorporates Cathe's principles used in your more advanced workouts only geared down to a beginner/intermediate intensity. I have been doing Cathe workouts since the 90's and have everyone of your videos and/or DVD's that you produced. But now being older, it is difficult to do the higher intensity and I'm getting tired of having to modify. I love your workouts and I'm certain there are other Cathe fans that have worked out with you over the years and now need a serious workout series, but at a gentler intensity. I have your Low Impact series but it's quite advanced and I still have to modify parts. It's a little disheartening. I'll continue to do your workouts and modify what I once could do but can't anymore, but I would love to see you come out with a series that represents your older customers.
 
Yes I agree! There are so many people I know that would love to get in there with Cathe and start, but all too often they feel they wouldn't be able to keep up and get discouraged. If there was a series for people who are beginning or intermediate Cathe could/would (dare I say should LOL) reach so many more people with her outstanding DVD's.

People need stepping stones from beginners to intermediate to Advance and beyond.

When I was injured I needed something like this desperately to fall back on. I know people here have gotten injured and want to start off again with something less aggressive. So, there is yet another reason to have such a series.

I'm not saying I got injured because of Cathe's wonderful work, but because she is so charismatic which in turn made me so motivated I took it to the extreme and my body wasn't ready yet. She is that good. I certainly learned my lesson to take it slow and easy.

Janie
 
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I am looking for this exact DVD for those who still love a good weight workout but need one more specifically geared to the older lifter. I don't have any issues (thank you Jesus) but realize I just can't continue to lift heavier and heavier to obtain those defined muscles I want. Please give us a cardio program too! I'm not really ready for the Senior workout but......HELP please!!

:confused:
 
I would love to see this as well. Especially the intermediate part. It would be nice to see a couple of DVD's in a set to get ready for advanced. There is a big jump now from the beginner series to the advanced. It would also be nice to see a rotation for intermediate. I have all the DVD'S except for the last 8.
 
Hum I'd like an intermediate too, or four weeks of intermediate and four weeks upper intermediate then four weeks advanced for 12 weeks.
And focus on losing fat
 
This would be such a great idea Cathe!! It would be so nice to have a series w/ 3 sections:

Beginner
Intermediate
Low-Advanced

Or something like that. Something that we could use when we are beginners, or when we are coming back from a long-term exercise layoff due to injury, health, or just personal/life. Or, for recovery or "light" days. It would be REALLY nice to see a series like this!! Please make one!!

And like Renee said, still a focus on FAT loss would be GREAT!!! I'm thinking lots of cardio, some very "beginner" HiiT (for the "Level 3" low-advanced) and metabolic training!!!
 
Beginner/Intermediate DVDs

Well, I have to throw in "me too!" for that. I'm doing Cathe's beginner rotation with the older DVDs which is just fine and they're working quite well. Thanks to all the great daily deals, I've managed to buy all of the intermediate rotation DVDs except one that I'm waiting for a daily deal on. Again, they are all older DVDs but I'm sure they will get the same results.

It seems that everything else is geared for the advanced athlete, which is fine but I don't know if I will ever be as advanced as they are though I have tried some of the HIIT DVDs but I'm not quite ready for prime time!

Maybe we could have some HIIT geared for intermediates that are not quite so hardcore that would help us work into it with some beginner rotations that would work up to intermediate HIIT. HIIT is great for conditioning and weight loss and I really like it but just wasn't quite ready for it in the legs.

Anyway, I love Cathe's workouts and I went back to the beginning to get conditioned and used to her workouts, which I'm really loving! I don't think I will need the entire 3 months' rotation but I'm taking it day by day. It is well thought out and I'm seeing results already.:)
 
yes, please Cathe!!!

I totally agree.

I first started working out with you when I was MUCH younger but it's getting tougher. I'm now in my mid 50's and though I'm still in good shape, I do notice my body has changed.

So I agree - both cardio and weights for older bones and muscles who don't recover from tough workouts like we did in the past :cool:

Lauren
 
I would also like to see a beginner/intermediate series. With an added on premix for learning the step moves where the foot work is broken down and repeated several times and then you put them all together as part of the workout similar to basic steps but as you move on to the intermediate side adding in the more complex foot work but again broken down and repeated. I would also like to see more low impact and metabolic workouts
 
I would buy it :)

I've got knee & feet issues so higher intensity is out of the question. And I do get tired of modifying. I do Cathes beginner workouts more than her more intense ones...and there's not a lot of them :confused:
 
I too am getting older and I have back, neck and knee issues. Not only would I like to see some lower intensity workouts as already being suggested, but I also cannot work out 5 and 6 days per week, so I'd like to see more total body workouts that include both cardio and weights, and more lower body toning.
 
I totally agree! I'd also like to see a beginner/intro workout for the barbell. And a DVD workout just like the live class Cathe had for her Senior clients! As I am perimenopausal, I could use a workout like this on really rough days.
 
leeanng12 said:
I would really like to see a beginner/intermediate series. I would appreciate a program that incorporates Cathe's principles used in your more advanced workouts only geared down to a beginner/intermediate intensity. I have been doing Cathe workouts since the 90's and have everyone of your videos and/or DVD's that you produced. But now being older, it is difficult to do the higher intensity and I'm getting tired of having to modify. I love your workouts and I'm certain there are other Cathe fans that have worked out with you over the years and now need a serious workout series, but at a gentler intensity. I have your Low Impact series but it's quite advanced and I still have to modify parts. It's a little disheartening. I'll continue to do your workouts and modify what I once could do but can't anymore, but I would love to see you come out with a series that represents your older customers.
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I completely agree that a beginner and/or intermediate-with-modifications-shown series is a wonderful idea! Cathe would have a lot of new customers if she created and marketed that, I believe. Showing people that weight-training is good for them and improves their quality of life is a never-ending task. (Thank you so much, Tracy Anderson...grrrrr.) Cathe is a treasure, and the general public is more aware of her workouts since Fit TV aired her on there, but there's still a huge number of exercise newbies to get onboard. After doing The FIRM 6 days a week for 9 months and feeling like I was quite advanced at those workouts, Cathe made me feel like a complete beginner again with Basic Step! I was amazed that 30 minutes could be so challenging to the brain, LOL. Slightly OT, I think the step workouts by Jenny Ford are a great Cathe step aerobics prep, IMHO. I wish I'd spent some time doing those before trying Cathe, because Jenny goes a little slower, cues well before doing moves, and chooses some fun music. (However, she is far less intricate or advanced than Cathe.) I didn't do step when it was big years ago, and I missed out on learning the lingo and moves that form the backbone of Cathe's step routines.

I do think that doing The FIRM 5 or 6 days a week for a few months - their pre-year 2000 workouts only! - is an excellent transition from the sedentary lifestyle to Cathe's more intense routines. Before Basic Step, I'd begun mixing Core Max and some of her weights-based routines into my FIRM routine, but Cathe's cardio routines KICKED MY TUSH. Not in terms of me being out-of-breath or having to do the routine on step lower than 6 inches, but in terms of learning the step choreography! I knew some of it, but not all, and Cathe can move quickly and without cuing prior to doing her routine. If one has knee, back, or foot problems, all those twists and turns on a step can really create issues. Actually, a lot of turning and spinning can start to make me feel a bit dizzy, as I had a head injury four years ago in a car accident, so sometimes I have to modify Cathe's step routine to accommodate that. (My left eye has seen double in my peripheral vision ever since.) My right Achilles tendon can also get grumpy if I do too much step or high-impact work, so I can definitely relate to everyone here wanting lower-impact routines that will still allow for higher intensity as one progresses. I remember reading a book by The FIRM's creator, Anna Benson, and she advised doing step aerobics for an hour at a time day in and day out can create overuse injuries. Circuit cardio routines do help minimize this, but they can lack intensity at times...Anyway, I'd love to see a pure floor aerobics routine from Cathe, with someone showing modifications for beginners and intermediates throughout the whole workout. One thing I liked about The FIRM so much was the schoolhouse principle, everyone in the class modifying their workout by choosing heavier weights and/or higher step heights. However, The FIRM had weaknesses that Cathe addressed...Ultimately, I still use, love, and need both systems.

I'd also love to see some "classic aerobics" from Cathe. Workouts that can be used by high beginner up through low advanced, I guess. Not the stuff she did years ago on reissue (wonderful as those are), but new workouts based on good old-fashioned floor aerobics and floorwork. I love hour-long workouts: a 5-minute warm-up, 30 minutes or so of floor or step aerobics + 20 minutes of floorwork and a 5-minute stretch make me a happy girl! :) I suppose because that's the style of workout I started with twenty years ago. I find those types of workouts are better for those prone to knee or back injuries- there's not a ton of moving equipment around or getting up and down off the floor repeatedly. I want to get on the floor once and stay down there until I'm done my floor-based routines and ready to do my final stretch, if at all possible. But I could just be lazy that way. :D
 
I enjoy Cathe's advanced workouts and have most of her DVDs.
I also own her Basic Step & Body Fusion and Low Impact Step & Total Body Sculpting DVDs.
I find myself using these two most often! They are great for a doubles workout or when I'm low energy or sick.
I'm planning to buy her High Step Circuit and any new beginner - intermediate level workout she produces in future.
Cathe has put out such a brilliant, huge and varied DVD collection. A few more advanced beginner to intermediate level workouts will complete it to perfection! :)
 
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I would love a new beginner/intermediate workout selection. Having had problems with my back that go up and down, I would love a new series that I could stick to and be more consistent without so many modifications. I believe someday I will be back to something more, but for now at least would love another option.
 
~Elsie said:
+ Me.
And please incorporate medicine ball. Blends real nice with lowish impact core and hip stability.
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Absolutely! A lighter medicine ball used as a part of a Pilates routine can be really fun, for example. I could see Cathe coming up with an awesome, athletic medicine ball series!
 
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