This "Chat with Cathe Friedrich" was in the Collage Monthly Newsletter this afternoon:
Cathe Friedrich has been creating workout videos for 15 years. In fact, she did one of the first-ever step programs. We asked how that came about. "After I graduated college, I worked in NYC at Carnegie Hall as a fitness instructor. The classes were called 'creative movement' or 'movement arts.' You went into each class with no planned program and created a routine 'on the fly' for every class. The only thing you could use were the props in the room. One of those props was a 6-foot wooden bench (about 14-16 inches high). I'd have students line up along side of these benches and do push ups, leg presses, traveling drills, etc. Then one day I saw 'The Step' workout promoted in my IDEA magazine. I saw some previews and thought 'gee, this looks similar to what I do now with my long bench'. But of course, with me using a very tall 14 to 16-inch bench, my approach was quite different. So, with my creative awareness in peak condition from teaching the movement art classes, I decided to create my own version of a step workout. That led to 'Step n' Motion,' my first video in 1990."
From that basic beginning, you added lots of true "choreography." Coming from the floor aerobics world, what was it like to have this new tool to work with? "Since I already had experience on a tall bench, I had plenty of ideas for the conditioning portion of a workout. But as far as designing actual step choreography, that required more planning. It was a lot of fun though, because the music speed was slower than floor aerobics; that allowed me to introduce true dance moves (without the music being pitched up to speeds where the singers sounded more like 'Alvin and the Chipmunks'). This new, heavy-based sound, naturally inspired more dance moves to be worked into the choreography ( I love dance and took many types of dance classes in college). When it was first launched, the moves were pretty basic. But as everyone got familiar with the new vertical training concept, the choreography naturally became more complex."
And, in your case, the workouts became very physically challenging. How did you decide to concentrate on advanced-level programs? "I've always been passionate about delivering a hard and effective workout. Most people, by nature, will not push themselves. It's hard work and -- lets face it -- not always fun. But the only way to get in shape is to push yourself and do the work. So each and every class that I teach, or workout that I create, I make it my mission to keep people motivated while they push hard (and yes, even have some fun doing it)."
Finally, a couple more personal questions. What's your family life like? "My sons are 3 and 5 years old -- my oldest will start kindergarten this September. They love to play with me (and hubby too) all the time. No matter what it is, as long as we do it together. We swim, read, make crafts, play ball, ride bikes, go for walks, color....etc."
And we just have to ask in closing, what's the deal with the very unusual spelling of your name -- Cathe? "Good question. Because the name Cathy or Kathy is so common, I wanted to spell my name differently to help me stand out in the fitness industry (since, at that time, there were already some other well known 'Kathys' in the business)."
Cathe Friedrich has been creating workout videos for 15 years. In fact, she did one of the first-ever step programs. We asked how that came about. "After I graduated college, I worked in NYC at Carnegie Hall as a fitness instructor. The classes were called 'creative movement' or 'movement arts.' You went into each class with no planned program and created a routine 'on the fly' for every class. The only thing you could use were the props in the room. One of those props was a 6-foot wooden bench (about 14-16 inches high). I'd have students line up along side of these benches and do push ups, leg presses, traveling drills, etc. Then one day I saw 'The Step' workout promoted in my IDEA magazine. I saw some previews and thought 'gee, this looks similar to what I do now with my long bench'. But of course, with me using a very tall 14 to 16-inch bench, my approach was quite different. So, with my creative awareness in peak condition from teaching the movement art classes, I decided to create my own version of a step workout. That led to 'Step n' Motion,' my first video in 1990."
From that basic beginning, you added lots of true "choreography." Coming from the floor aerobics world, what was it like to have this new tool to work with? "Since I already had experience on a tall bench, I had plenty of ideas for the conditioning portion of a workout. But as far as designing actual step choreography, that required more planning. It was a lot of fun though, because the music speed was slower than floor aerobics; that allowed me to introduce true dance moves (without the music being pitched up to speeds where the singers sounded more like 'Alvin and the Chipmunks'). This new, heavy-based sound, naturally inspired more dance moves to be worked into the choreography ( I love dance and took many types of dance classes in college). When it was first launched, the moves were pretty basic. But as everyone got familiar with the new vertical training concept, the choreography naturally became more complex."
And, in your case, the workouts became very physically challenging. How did you decide to concentrate on advanced-level programs? "I've always been passionate about delivering a hard and effective workout. Most people, by nature, will not push themselves. It's hard work and -- lets face it -- not always fun. But the only way to get in shape is to push yourself and do the work. So each and every class that I teach, or workout that I create, I make it my mission to keep people motivated while they push hard (and yes, even have some fun doing it)."
Finally, a couple more personal questions. What's your family life like? "My sons are 3 and 5 years old -- my oldest will start kindergarten this September. They love to play with me (and hubby too) all the time. No matter what it is, as long as we do it together. We swim, read, make crafts, play ball, ride bikes, go for walks, color....etc."
And we just have to ask in closing, what's the deal with the very unusual spelling of your name -- Cathe? "Good question. Because the name Cathy or Kathy is so common, I wanted to spell my name differently to help me stand out in the fitness industry (since, at that time, there were already some other well known 'Kathys' in the business)."