fresh blood here

witneys7

witneys7

Active Member
Hello!
I didn't see a thread for new people to say hi, so I started this one. Sorry if I just missed an already existing one. Anyway, I am brand new to Cathe. I had borrowed Body Max 2 and thought it the most fun, and now I am dying to get serious with it. I was just wondering which videos should I buy first? I really like how the new 4 day split is, well, split :) I like how she alternates her weight training with different aerobic routines. But to be honest the choreography is completely intimidating :) Do all of you who have been Catheites for awhile follow her choreagraphy pretty easily? I am new to step aerobics but fit, well, okay, compared to a lot of you here I look like a regular couch potato. (Seriously, so many of you have like a dream body, I'm so impressed!):) But I have been faithfully working out for the past 18 months doing cardio (mainly my Turbo Jam videos) and working out on my bowflex. Though, honestly some time during the summer I kind of got bored with the bowflex. Anyway, I digress. My question is, should I just jump right in and buy the FDS and know that I will eventually get the steps,or is there another one you all would recommend first? Thank you in advance for any and all advice!
 
Hi, and welcome! You did exactly right by jumping in to say hi. That's how we've all done it.

As for which Cathe routines to buy... well, she does have some beginner workouts if you want to try those. When I started, I just bought the ones that sounded fun and jumped right in, and then practiced until I finally figured it out.

It is easier to learn her new routines once you've been a "Catheite" for a while. But everyone here started out as a "newbie" at one time or another. So I'd say, just jump right in and have fun. Don't be intimidated - just take it one step at a time and make frequent use of the rewind button. :7
 
Hi, and welcome to the forums! This is the place to say hi. I haven't had a problem catching on to Cathe's choreography but I'm a complex choreo junkie so hers isn't too difficult for me. You might want to try out her earlier step workouts like the ones on Cardio Hits. She actually demonstrates a couple of the moves that will be in the workouts and even though she adds new moves into newer workouts, she always includes the old ones as well, sometimes with a different twist to them. I would say just jump into the 4DS. Since it's only a half hour of cardio, it shouldn't be as bad. If doing the whole workout is too much, try and learn one combo at a time. She does the moves quite a few times in the workout so I'm sure it won't be long before you get the moves down pat.

Marcy
 
Welcome!!

I haven't been here all that long myself, so as far as what Cathe vids to start with, I'm sure some of the regulars can help you alot more than I can.

I do feel confident in saying that if you stick around awhile, you will love it here, a great bunch of people, with the extra added bonus of the ask Cathe forum, where Cathe herself answers the majority of the posts there.

Jerry
 
Hi there! Great job with jumping in and saying hi! That's the way it's usually done around here.

Isn't Body Max 2 a blast?! I love, love, love that one. There are so many different Cathe workouts to try--I've recently started straying from her cardio and focusing on her awesome weight workouts. I'm a step aerobics fanatic so I love her step--dancy but athletic at the same time.

I would not recommend starting with Rhythmic Step, Low Max, or Step Blast just yet. Those tend to be a little dancier. Others you might like are Low Impact Circuit, Drill Max, Bootcamp (comes with Muscle Endurance--both awesome!), if you like kickboxing, Kick Punch and Crunch (with Legs and Glutes) is great, and Imax 1 (comes with Rhythmic Step and Maximum Intensity Cardio) and Imax 2 (comes with Cardio and Weights) are two of my faves--very athletic, not dancy. Her new 4DS Bootcamp and Kickboxing are great too. The two step workouts in the new series are, in my opinion, her most complicated, dancy moves to date. Very hard. By the third time I did HIS I had it down pat and I actually had LIS down on the first try. (But like I said, I am a step freak).

If you check out her website, the dvds are described very well and will kind of give you a hint to their complexity. Welcome and have fun!

Allison
 
>I really like how the new 4 day split is, well,
>split :) I like how she alternates her weight training with
>different aerobic routines. But to be honest the choreography
>is completely intimidating :) Do all of you who have been
>Catheites for awhile follow her choreagraphy pretty easily?

I have been working out with Cathe since around 1993, and having picked up new moves as she introduced them over the years, and being used to her style of cuing, I usually can pick up her step choreography pretty easily (after a preview, I usually get about 80%-90% of the moves--depending on the complexity of the particular workout--and the rest while doing the workout, after those moves have been repeated a couple of times), but the choreo in the step workouts on the 4-day split is more complex (and in need of some extra cuing, IMO), and is giving me more trouble (I *almost* got the notorious 3rd combo in HIS, but I needed for it to be repeated at least once if not twice more for that to happen) so it's not representative of Cathe's typical choreography. Before 4DS, the most complex step workouts are Rhythmic Step (which I didn't have any trouble with) and Step Blast (is that what it's called? On the DVD with "Step, Jump and Pump"?).

There are a few ways to enter into Cathe step land:
1)start with her beginner/intermediate offerings (there are about 2 DVD's that fit that criteria);

2) pick up her Classics and/or Cardio Hits DVD(s), which have earlier workouts that break down moves a bit more. The down side is that they are more repetitive, and the look is a bit dated (if that bothers you). They ARE solid, steady-state cardio workouts. Another workout that is more linear and easier to pick up is Interval Max (which is by no means an 'easy' workout in terms of intensity). The down side with that is that it comes on DVD with two other workouts (which are excellent workouts, IMO, but if you only want Interal Max, you still have to pay for all three...until the new "Workout Blender" downloads become available, that is!)

3) learn some of the basic step moves from another instructor (ie: Kathy Smith's Step Workout is a good basic workout that presents some basic step moves and gradually increases in intensity). The downside here is that different instructors cue differently (ie: many of them cue earlier than Cathe does), and/or use different names for moves (ie: what pretty much everyone else calls a "turn step," Cathe calls a 'horseshoe,' which can be confused with a 'rocking horse' in cuing if you're new to step/Cathe).

4)Just pick something that looks interesting to you on preview, and jump in! This works best for someone who has some background in choreographed aerobic routines (rather than just working out on equipment) and has the motivation to learn the moves.

HTH!
 
Just wanted to say welcome to the wonderful world of Cathe. The first 6 months to a year is very hard.....on the WALLET!!:p You've got some good suggestions on what workouts to explore. Finding Cathe takes working out at home to whole new level. Enjoy and Congrats on your commtiment to fitness!:)

Take Care
Laurie
 
http://www.dentalfearcentral.org/yabbfiles/Smilies/welcome.gif

I started with Cathe for weight training and kickbox and just recently ventured into step territory. I'm a little choreography challenged when it comes to the step, but I'm learning! If that's where you are, I'd recommend Basic Step and Body Fusion as a great place to start. However, I'd probably still order the 4DS already b/c the weight work, boot camp, and k'box workouts are phenomenal (time-efficient yet intense!) and you can always work up to the step routines and learn gradually.

[font face="heather" font color=brick red size=+2]~Cathy [/font face] http://www.millan.net/minimations/smileys/wavesmile.gif
"Out on the roads there is fitness and self-discovery and the persons we were destined to be." -George Sheehan
 
Just wanted to chime in with a WELCOME! You already rec'd some good recommendations. I'll just say that if you did BM2 without much trouble, I think you'll be able to catch onto most all Cathe's workouts without much problem also. The trickiest step choreography, IMO, are HIS on the FDS, Rhythmic Step, & Step Blast, but they are a lot of fun once you get the moves down. Have fun! Deb:)
 
Oh my goodness, I really appreciate all of the feed back! Thank you all! I think I will go ahead and order the basic just for maybe a 'down' day. And I say that lightly because, even though I haven't seen it, I am sure even though it's basic it's not slow :) And I will go ahead and order 4DS just to go ahead and jump in:) Plus, I really do like working out with weights and I am excited about some of the moves I saw in the clips. I am just excited about it all, the DVDs can't get here soon enough :) I didn't get Body Max 2 down quickly at all but I really had fun trying to:) I felt like those cheerleaders you saw in high school that would practice there routine in a 'quiet' way while they held a conversation with you at lunch. I would practice the routine while I was hanging out with my kids. I'm sure I looked silly, but it really did help. Did I mention that I am such a nerd? lol Anyway, thanks again!
 
Welcome to the forums! Everybody is different, you just need to find what you like and what would work for your fitness goals and start with that. If you're on a budget then you should make a list and get the workouts you know you'll use often first. For cardio, I love Cathe's kickboxing and low impact step workouts; they're pretty easy to learn. I recommend watching the routines a couple of times before doing them. When I get new cardio workouts I watch them at least 2-3 times before attempting them and then I do them on a weekly basis so I can learn the choreography. It usually works for me. There are many choices for weight training workouts (some of them are splits and others are total body) and so far I love pretty much all of them, but the one I use more often is the Gym Style series, which is pretty intense, but you can always use lighter weights with it. When it comes to weight training workouts you can always adjust the weight amount (making it lighter or heavier to fit your fitness level) so I always consider those a great investment. And then there are the circuit workouts...you'll have plenty to choose from that category (Body Max 2 is just one of many), they're perfect when you don't have a lot of time to workout and you want to do your cardio and weight training with just one DVD. There are also two ab workouts and one stretching workout, which I own and love, but don't use as often as I would like. I think a good Cathe starter kit should include a circuit (which you already have with Body Max 2), a cardio-only workout, and a weight training series like GS (or a total body weight training workout like Muscle Max). With all the premixes you'll have plenty to do for awhile.
 
Hi and welcome! I am pretty new as well. Everyone is great here.
Since you have already done BM2 and liked it, I really would suggest Drill Max. It is a great circuit workout blended with cardio-power drills and low to med weights. It is so much fun - but challenging. Honestly, I could recommend 15 videos at least to you, but DM is probably my favorite. Have fun - Clarissa
 
http://bestsmileys.com/welcome/16.gif[/img] If you like weights, you will love the 4DS workouts. BM2 is a fun one but some tricky choreography. Eventually you will get it down like some of the other tricky ones...:)
 
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