Frustration with Choreography

S

SweetK

Member
Hi all, I am relatively new to Cathe's DVD workouts but not a novice in fitness. I recently purchased IMAX 2, Core Max, Kick Max, Low Max, and High Step Challenge from this website...

After attempting "Low Max" this morning, I became frustrated. There are too many transitions that are pivots and turns and it's overly confusing. There is absolutely no workout benefit from a workout that you have to stop and learn to complete. My expectation is to put a DVD in and be able to complete the workout, if I can't complete it, I don't want it to be because it's too dancy, I want it to be because my heart and my lungs can't take it. With Cathe's tapes (with the exception of Kick Max), I cannot get there. I end up taking Cathe's tapes out and putting in Gin Miller who is a master at good cueing and building movements without rushing right into them.

I've heard many good things about Cathe's workouts but I don't feel I have the time to "study" and practice to even complete a workout. If anything, the workouts should feature one of Cathe's assistants doing a non-dancy variation of the workout.

I cannot be alone here, right now Cathe's tapes will collect dust along with the New Firm Workouts that are also too dancy.

Anyone else have choreography frustration?
 
Hi SweetK,

Welcome to the forum! I feel your frustration but I have to advise you to be PATIENT with Cathe's choreography. Perhaps you may have figured out by now that the longer you've "been" with Cathe, the easier it is to pick up on her choreography when initially viewing a new workout.

Now take, for example, LowMax. After having this DVD for over a year, I am now able to do 6 of the 7 routines on a 8" step but still have to lower to 6" for interval # 7. So my point is, that these are advanced workouts that you work up to mastering. (We all know the frustartion of buying a new workout and finding out it doesn't even challenge us).

Back to LowMax. How I approached LowMax (and many of Cathe's routines)was to...seriously...watch it a couple of times at night. Just watch. It always got me pumped. Then I would master the warm up, then start chapter 1 and actually pause and rewind to make myself learn the moves. This way it does come together quickly. Don't be afraid to pause and rewind. You still will get a workout! Now I burn close to 700 calories with LowMax.

The time you put into learning Cathe's moves will pay dividends in the end when you can finally accomplish the workout in a smooth fashion. You are not alone!

By the way, you have chosen some great workouts. You will love them!

X
 
Thanks for the encouragement.

The problem I have is that I have to study the workouts...Kick Max is the only one that is not overly complicated. Coming from my point of view... I don't see how a dancy move and countless pivot turns add a cardio benefit to the workout. I'd rather be doing power moves than worry about doing mastering a turn... I read another user suggested faking it in the Low Max thread...I've considered as much. I guess I'm so used to Gin Miller who is awesome at cueing and kicks my butt everytime without too many directional changes that cause one to get frustrated.
 
Hi SweetK-
I am 3 months w/ Cathe and must say I am still in awe of people that actually are able to follow 100%.... I am burning around 500-700 cal an hour with her DVDs... For what its worth heres what I do.
I start the w/o and get as many movements down as possible making mental note of area of focus (IE: Is it a lunge movement or an adductor movement)... When I "get lost" I just KEEP GOING with the tape and use a move I learned that still focuses on the same body part. What I find is that some of the fancier moves are really to keep heart rate up and boredom down. My greatest challenge is actually keeping my heart rate in training zone (it goes WAY UP) anyway so this allows me to get it back down to burn fat. Each time I do a w/o I "get" more and more of the Cathe moves.
Hope that helps!
Traci;-)
 
Someone once remarked to me that choosing running as your only source of cardio is cheating yourself out of a great opportunity for improvement because running basically continuously works your muscle in the same plane. There's only one demension, so to speak.

My point is that I believe that one of the main purposes for Cathe's workouts is to continuously work your body in a multidemensional way, working through many planes, ie. all kinds of "turns", "pivots", "repeaters", "arm movements", "jumps", "pauses",etc..

As Teddy points out, it is Cathe's goal to continuously challenge and shock the body with new movments and challenges.

So that perhaps your personal style is a format that is far more uni-demensional and familiar. It all depends upon what your goals are. But try and make it work with Cathe.
 
I can help on this one! I only started working out to Cathe in January so I also am relatively new. The only step aerobic I ever did was Denise Austin after finding Cathe Denise was way too EASY. Point is I knew nothing about step aerobics I think I may have tried tamilee webb once and I was disgusted that I could not pick up one move so I stuck with denise because i could do it. After New Years I knew I needed more I had an extremely difficult time with Cathe not to mention I have to modify a bit, otherwise, I would be having to do pivots and mambos over my couch. I would and still do watch the dvd and attempt one secton on an off workout day. So, do your Gin Miller and after that workout try doing 1 section of Cathes, next time do another section and so on and so forth then before you know it you will put Cathe's in and do the whole thing. So you have gotten your workout and learned cathe's moves. Do you have some of her older workouts? She breaks them down a bit more and once you do them over and over you can get the hang of it. How high do you use your step? Maybe you could adjust the height while your learning. Good Luck and be patient.

beth6395
 
Dear X,

I saw you reply to SweetK, how do you know that you are burning close to 700 calories with Lowmax? Do you use a heartrate monitor or something? I have often wondered how many calories I am burning while doing the Imax's. Any input, suggestions, or device would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Coakieanos
 
Of the ones you mentioned, Low Max probably has some of the trickiest moves (and is sometimes not well cued, IMO).

I think those of us who have been using Cathe's workout for a long time have gradually picked up moves as we go on, so each new workout is not as difficult to pick up as it might be for someone just jumping in.

Earlier wokrouts (like those on the Classics and Cardio Hits DVDs) break down moves a bit more (sometimes too much for those who like to move quickly from one move to another). They also contain many of the moves that Cathe uses.

Do you preview workouts? I always watch workouts at least once through before I do them. I've had enough experience with step to be able to recognize when a move might be hard to get, and I make sure that when I come across one,, I make "little Kathryn" (my imaginary me in my head) go through the moves. Even a simple move like "triple step around the step" makes more sense to me when I cue it (to myself!) as "step-step-triple-triple"--since there are two steps involved before starting the triples.

It often helps to find a way to break down the move that makes sense to you. All moves can be broken down into 8 counts. Count them out so you know what foot goes where on what count.
 
Yes, Coakie, I use a heart rate monitor that has a "chrono" mode which times the workout, average heart rate and calories burned. I usually am watching my heart rate during the work out and I can almost tell to the number-my heart rate.

I bought a very simple Polar knock off...maybe $70. I find at the beginning of weight loss or specific training program it helps you to evaluate your results and progress in conjunction with tracking calories in.

X
 
I agree with Kathryn, and Cathe suggests it as well. Preview the workout at least once before doing it. I often will do some of what appears tricky without a step while previewing it. The first time I do the workout, I use a lower step then normal. I love complex step. The harder it is to learn, the more interesting I find it. Then there is the thrill of accomplishment when it is finally learned.
 
I agree with Kathyrn's suggestions and also wanted to suggest breaking Cathe's workouts into segments and doing a segment as a warm-up or cooldown to other workouts you do. This way you are learning the choreography yet don't feel that you missed out on the workout. Also, Cardio Hits is awesome (as long as you don't mind a bit of a dated set and workout clothes) and breaks down the moves that are used in some of the later workouts at a much more granular level.

Honestly, I really prefer Cathe's choreo because the workouts never get boring. I find workouts that I can do all the way through the first time out lose my interest very quickly. What's the challenge in that?

Good luck. I hope you don't let your early frustration keep you from doing some really effective and fun workouts.

Marie
 
I also wanted welcome you to Cathe and to encourage you to stick with it, b/c as Cathe often says, "Once you learn it, it's a lot of fun." :D Also, the videos that you've purchased, all happen to be ones the either intentionally don't break down choreography (Imaxes, High Step Challenge) b/c the cardio is simple (once you learn it) and the of them is to keep your heart rate up OR pretty tricky (Lomax was a tough one for devoted Catheites to learn rigth off the bat). I would suggest starting with one or two of Cathe's step workouts like Step Blast or something off of Cardio Hits where she breaks down the choreography much more, then once you are more familiar with her moves and style it will be easier to pick up the moves in the other videos.
Keep at it!
Mattea
 
Thanks X,

I'm on my way to find a similar heart rate monitor. This way I'll have a better idea of how much harder I need to work!!

Coakieanos
 
Good Morning Sweet K,

I'm in agreement with X. You have some great videos, and it would be a shame not to use them. Cathe even suggests that you watch her videos a couple of times to get the moves down first. I did Low Max for the first time last night, and I burned 735 cal(per my HRM). I had a couple of blunders, but I still got a great workout. Once you get more familiar with Cathe and her moves, you'll start to notice that her moves are pretty similar in most of her videos.

Don't give UP!!;-)
 
I always do my "real workout" first - so I get that in for the day. Then, when I have time, I grab the new one and DO NOT let the DVD or VCR remote out of my hand. I watch, try, re-wind, slow motion, re-wind, slow-motion, re-wind, move on to the next move, etc. After I've done this once, I schedule another time where I say I'm going to blow through it and if it ain't pretty it's ok - just keep going. But since I've done all the moves in slow-motion - they do fall into place. It's just a learning curve - and you will learn it. And I agree with everyone else - don't deprive yourself due to initial frustration. There's too much fun to be had.

Lorrie
 
If you start with Low Impact Step, you pick up some of Cathe's basic choreography. While it's a transitional workout for advanced exericers in that it isn't as challenging as the others, it's a good place to start for choreography. Then, maybe the classics.
 
Hi

Have you tried following Cathe without a step? That's how I started, and I think that's why I could follow Cathe's chore. Also, if you don't want to do all the pivots and turns, don't do them. I've been doing Cathe's step aerobic for a while now, and I still don't get some of the pivots and turns. But I don't care! Ha;) As long as I get most of the choreography, the workout gets my heart rate up, and I am having fun, I could really care less about all the little details.

Hope it helps~
 
Don't give up on LoMaX or any Cathe step workout. Several great suggestions have been made, i.e., watching several times, working on getting step segments AFTER you workout with something you're familiar with; and just omit the pivots - pretty much any move where Cathe incorporates a pivot can be done without pivoting. I rarely do pivots on the floor (on the step, yes) because I do cardio on a carpeted floor and don't want my foot to "stick" and twist my knee.

Good luck.:)
 
Hi:
I just did lomax for maybe the 5th or 6th time this morning. I was happy that I actually "got" the reverse mambo for the first time.
I watched it through once before I ever did it. The first time I tried to do it I was rather frustrated. I just put it in after that and tried to do something, anything close to what Cathe was doing in the segments i couldn't get.
Now I am pretty good an all the segments except the last one. I have been doing the step only premix so I can get those down. Also, using only one riser. I will add the blasts and the risers as I can. It's a process with Cathe. Also, like some of the others stated, if it were really easy I would be bored.
Good Luck to you.
Paula
 
Thank you for all of your replies...

I don't think I'm going to give up...

What I did this AM was put in one Gin Miller Power Step workouts..I did it first and then I did intervals 1&2 on the Low Max tape with some frustration.

After reading Melodie's suggestion about omitting some of the pivots due to carpeting, I think I'm going to do it...I have a bumm knee that I don't want to injure again...

Again, the problem is having to go to "Cathe University" before I'm proficient at her workouts...when I've been used to getting things the first time all my life... I guess it's humbling.

Anyone want to buy and Firm System 2 and 3 DVD's...LOL, I hate those workouts...(with the exception of the originals with Janet Jones etc...)

Thanks again everyone!
Kristen

http://spaces.msn.com/sweetdiscord/
 
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