Help me build my collection!

[angie_mitchell]

Okay, here's what I have:

4DS
Rhythmic Step/Imax/MIC
Imax 2
Low Max
BC/Cardio & Weights
Drill Max
LIC
Body Max 2
Imax 3

This is what I'm thinking about buying:

Power Hour/MIS/Body Max
Step Blast/Step Jump Pump
Butts & Guts
Core Max
Kick Max
Supersets/Push Pull
KPC/Legs & Glutes


I will probably ask family for a few others - most likely the Gym Style/S&H/Pyramid workouts. Do you have a fave amongst these?

SO... my ultimate goal is to be able to start doing Cathe's rotations relatively regularly without having to substitute a lot. I've looked through her last year and it seems like she really uses ALL of them. But, I obviously can't buy them ALL right now. (As much as I would like to...). So, can you please recommend what I should get in addition to the ones mentioned above that will help me be able to do her rotations?

Also, I'm curious about the "premixed" workouts like Hardcore Extreme, Cardio Fusion, and the Terminator. Do you get a lot of use out of these? I love circuit workouts and things with a lot of change so I think I would like them but just don't know if I should work on getting all the "real" workouts first.

OK, any help would be greatly appreciated! Oh, I'm moving to France next month so that's why I'm stocking up. I won't be able to get any more until summer!

angie

 

[beccajanern]

I think, based on what you have, you need to add a total body, a 3 day split, lower body and kickboxing and you should be able to do most of the rotations with appropriate substitutions. I personally prefer KPC over KickMax and L&G is a lot of fun, added bonus there. I love PH, but don't use the other two workouts on that DVD as much. Muscle Max is a good total body and a less expensive DVD. I am iffy on SS/PP. I enjoy it, but they are definitely lighter workouts. SB/SJP is a GREAT disc, but you seem to have cardio and circuit wo's covered in your current collection, so maybe save that one for later. I love the Pyramids and the GS series, so you can't go wrong with either one of those. I am doing S&H this month and it is a wonderful series, but you can't do it for too long. B&G is definitely one of my faves so I highly recommend that as well.

As far as the compilation DVD's, I only have HCE and I don't use it much at all. Also, do not forget about all those premixes you have on 4DS. You can sub those in on Cathe's rotations, too. The Upper Body Premix and the Double Cardio Step Premix are two of my favorites.

I hope that helped a bit. Have fun shopping and have a safe trip to France!

 

[mj476]

Okay, here's what I have:

4DS
Rhythmic Step/Imax/MIC
Imax 2
Low Max
BC/Cardio & Weights
Drill Max
LIC
Body Max 2
Imax 3

This is what I'm thinking about buying:

Power Hour/MIS/Body Max
Step Blast/Step Jump Pump
Butts & Guts
Core Max
Kick Max
Supersets/Push Pull
KPC/Legs & Glutes


I will probably ask family for a few others - most likely the Gym Style/S&H/Pyramid workouts. Do you have a fave amongst these?

SO... my ultimate goal is to be able to start doing Cathe's rotations relatively regularly without having to substitute a lot. I've looked through her last year and it seems like she really uses ALL of them. But, I obviously can't buy them ALL right now. (As much as I would like to...). So, can you please recommend what I should get in addition to the ones mentioned above that will help me be able to do her rotations?

Also, I'm curious about the "premixed" workouts like Hardcore Extreme, Cardio Fusion, and the Terminator. Do you get a lot of use out of these? I love circuit workouts and things with a lot of change so I think I would like them but just don't know if I should work on getting all the "real" workouts first.

OK, any help would be greatly appreciated! Oh, I'm moving to France next month so that's why I'm stocking up. I won't be able to get any more until summer!

angie

Hi Angie!

My favorites from your wish list were:

Step Blast/Step Jump Pump
Butts & Guts
Core Max
Kick Max
Supersets/Push Pull
KPC/Legs & Glutes

I probably use KPC more but the leg conditioning drills on Kick Max are great. If you're considering getting Hardcore Extreme, you could probably skip Kick Max since the drills are already on the third workout and I think the second workout has the blasts. Legs & Glutes is my favorite leg workout. That being said, Butts & Guts is a must have. I actually like the premixes better than the actual workout which is a little long at 78 minutes) and both ab workouts are great (but I like the stability ball one better). KPC has a great ab workout on the ball (plenty of pikes) and again, premixes are great.

Supersets/Push Pull is one of Cathe's sleeper workouts but I love them because they're short, versatile and have great premixes. Again, the premixes are actually better than the original workout and I love the music on these. The only thing is the core work isn't that great on these.

Step Blast/SJP is also great. Step Blast is my second favorite Cathe step workout (next to Rhythmic Step). SJP is a great circuit workout and again, has great premixes and great music and I love the challenge at the end.

Core Max is great and I really like it but if you're getting the Body Blast series and Butts & Guts, you will have plenty of ab workouts.

I'm more of a splits person and a heavy lifter so I never got much use out of Power Hour/MIS/Body Max. But out of the three, I probably like MIS the best although it is too long for me.

I don't do circuits that much but all of the circuit compilations are great. I guess Hardcore Extreme is my favorite, then Terminator and finally Cardio Fusion. Since you already have Drill Max, LIC and Body Max 2, you shouldn't have any problem doing Cardio Fusion. If you like circuit workouts, I'm sure you'll be very happy with these.

Among Gym Styles, S&H and Pyramids, I get the most use out of the Gym Styles (and the best results). S&H is the best for muscle building and the Pyramids are a combination of endurance and heavy (but mostly endurance). Gym Styles and Pyramids have premixes; S&H doesn't. The premixes on Gym Styles are kind of choppy and don't give you too much time to get your weights. They're basically timesaver workouts which are still effective even though they're pretty much one less set of the exercises.

As far as her rotations go, she pretty much includes all of her workouts but uses SJP/SB, KPC/L&G, Pyramids, Gym Styles, B&G and Core Max a lot.

HTH! Happy shopping!

Marcy

 

[angie_mitchell]

Thanks so much for your help! I'm really trying to work through all these and it's consuming far too much of my time. I went through the rotations from the last year and it seems that she uses Cardio Kicks and Leaner Legs a lot. I know these are oldies but I haven't met a Cathe workout that hasn't kicked my rear. I did MIC this morning - holy smokes!!!

Thanks again!
angie

 

[MarieCLS]

Have you considered the Pure Strength series? This is kind of like the predecessor to the Gym Style series but all three workouts are on one DVD. I really enjoy the programs. They're older and maybe a little shorter but very straight-forward strength work. There's also less equipment required.

 

[angie_mitchell]

I think if I don't get gym styles for Christmas, I will consider PS. Eventually, I hope to have them all on my shelf and I'll be close after my splurge but still will need a few more. Thanks again for all the input!

angie

 

[MarieCLS]

I understand. I chose PS first because it is a little less expensive than the GS series. It is very hard to choose which DVDs because they are all very high quality workouts. I tended to stick with the older ones in the beginning because they have multiple programs. For example, I chose Cross Train Xpress because there are five half-hour cardio segments (similar to 4DS's setup) and the weight segments can be used in other ways.