Boss Bands Difficulty Level? Like/unlike other band workouts?

Hi, there. What is the difficulty level on these DVDs? I found the Fit Tower DVDs pretty beginner-like and nothing one couldn't get (and get more thoroughly) from other Cathe videos, so I'm hesitant to invest in a bunch of new equipment if it's not going to be tough enough. In case it helps re: my tastes, regarding strengthening (as opposed to cardio) nothing beats X-Train's strengthening workouts, but I do also love Great Glues, Turbo Barre, and Strong & Sweaty's Ramped Up Upper Body. I like the Perfect 30 Pumps, Lite's Stacked Sets (upper and lower) are good for light days, and S&S's Total Body Giant Sets is fine. Only loved To the Mat: Legs and Glutes from ICE and no strengthening in Ripped with Hiit. I do use the two bands workouts (Travel Fit and Lite's Body Weight & Bands) but only if I'm sick or super tired--I don't find either challenging enough to use routinely. Is Boss Bands going to be like the previous two bands workouts or significantly different?
 
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Good question.

Watching the video clips, I'm assuming that it's going to be like the other band workouts, but I'm OK with that. I pretty much use Travel Fit and Slide n Glide only when I travel. I'm getting these to have options for my travel routine. I think they will be great for travel, but not regular workouts.
 
The FAQ page says these are advanced level. I don't think anything from the ICE or LITE should be compared to this set since those are supposed to be intermediate. I'm expecting this set to be different and more difficult than travel fit since there's varying intensity of bands used.

Your question is a good one!
 
Hey CanadianCathelete I have an idea for you: up your weights and something like LITE's Strong Body Stacked Sets won't be only for light days. I do that with other workouts in the LITE series and ICE series. If I had my notebook with me I could give you an idea of what I do. At any rate I find I can adjust my level easily with her workouts, modify when I need to, do timesavers etc. I love the versatility her workouts offer.
 
Hi CanaianCathlete, we classify both Boss Bands & Boss Loops as advanced, but as long as a person is not totally new to fitness these workouts are doable for most exercisers and yet can challenge almost everybody.

The Boss Band workouts have a mix of low impact cardio and strength exercises. We've already addressed how these workouts are different from some of Cathe's other band-centric workouts in another post, so I won't repeat myself here. But just like in any weight workout where you increase the intensity by selecting a heavier weight, you can increase or decrease the intensity of the Boss Band workouts by the tension of the band you select. You can also use two or three bands at the same time for an even greater challenge. And, you will also be able to select an easier or harder workout challenge with the premix's we will offer.

Cathe's band workouts will challenge you in different ways than weights do. Boss Bands bands offer unique benefits you don’t get when you use our workouts that offer dumbbells exclusively. With dumbbells, you’re dependent upon gravity to create resistance and the motions you do with the weights are in a vertical plane. With resistance bands, the tubing provides resistance that’s independent of gravity. This means you can use them to generate tension in various planes to target muscles in different ways. This enhances your functional fitness too since you’re working your body in a variety of planes other than just vertical.

Resistance bands also expose your muscles to constant tension through the full range of the exercise. With dumbbells, gravity reduces some of the workload during the eccentric portion of the move since the downward pull of gravity makes it easier to lower the weight. Resistance bands also make it impossible to use momentum. When using dumbbells, it’s easy to cheat by using momentum to propel the weight up initially, reducing the amount of work your muscles have to do. With elastic bands, you have to stretch the bands for movement to occur. There’s no way to cheat like you can with weights.

Resistance bands are ideal for isolating smaller muscle groups and correcting muscle imbalances. With dumbbells, it’s all too easy to recruit other muscles to help you lift so you don’t isolate the muscle you’re targeting as well. With bands, you can more easily target those small muscle groups that may need additional focus


Lastly, Cathe keeps you moving with little rest between exercises in both of the new workouts. This blend of constant movement mixed with strength & toning exercises is what makes a Cathe workout special. As I mentioned before, band workouts are different than weight workouts, but we have always promoted balanced training and we feel everyone should have a variety of different workouts in their toolbox to avoid plateaus and to obtain the best possible results.
 
We've already addressed how these workouts are different from some of Cathe's other band-centric workouts in another post, so I won't repeat myself here.
Great! Would you mind directing me to said post?

Thanks for the helpful response, btw. I adore Cathe and workout 'with' her every single day for a reason: her work is unparalleled. I was asking because it is an investment for me to get all the new stuff and I wanted to be sure it was a good expenditure (since I haven't found the other band workouts have made their way into my rotations very often).
 
As I said, I'm a fan of the band, but even more so of the extended fabric bands, I didn't see that type before now, and, if it was not mentioned, the progressive rate & intensity they deliver throughout a workout. Even as far back as Muscle Max, I could see that. Perfect name, "Boss"
 

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