Help me with Choreography!

C

Calee

Cathlete
Ok, I'm trying to be patient with myself, but I'm getting so frustrated that I might never be able to get the steps down. I bought Lowmax and Imax 2, but I hate to do them because I can't follow or end up on the wrong side of my step or tripping over my own self; so I end up going back to BC or ME. My problem is that I need to add more cardio, but the stuff on the basic step DVD is not intense enough for me. Does anyone have suggestions? Any tricks to mastering the moves?
Thanks in advance for the advice!
Calee
 
Hi Calee

My first Cathe step workout was All Step, basically I slid off the step and gave up, so frustrated. Low Max and Imax 2 do not have a lot of cueing on them as once you learn her moves, you'd get bored doing a teaching workout. What helped me (now I do nothing but Cathe) was to do her old workouts - Step Works, Power Max, Step Jam, Step Max, etc. as she layers on the moves here and teaches you. Therefore, after doing these - when you hear "over-face in - over" or "pendulum" or "repeater" , etc. you will know what to do.

It really helped. Stick with it and try these older ones. Low Max and especially Imax 2, are terrific workouts that you will love once you are used to the steps.

Keep us posted! Don't give up, get some old ones for learning (also, GREAT cardio workouts - see rankings on this forum)
 
Calee,

Hi...I remember feeling very frustrated with Low Max also. I did the premixes to help me with learning the moves. I did intervals 1-4 first. I just repeated this premix until I felt I had the moves down. Then I did the premix for intervals 4-7. And I did the same thing. Once I felt I had it down, I then did the entire workout on a 6" step. I did that 2x then I moved up to 8". Interval 7 is still tough for me, but I'm no longer feeling frustrated. Now I'm at the point where I am not watching the TV as much and just paying attention to Cathe's cueing.

I just got IMax 2 this week and haven't tried it yet. (I want to learn Step Blast first before I do IMax 2.) I am planning to learn it the same way though. Just doing the premixes first. To me, having the premixes really help...especially with lowering my frustration!! HTH.

Hang in there...soon you'll be doing both workouts.

Shonda
 
The biggest thing for me is to COUNT YOUR STEPS! Watch her and see, she will do a 4 or 8 count step. So while your doing her routine and you don't count up to 4 or 8 your missing a step. Thats when you rewind to watch it again more carefully. You'll catch on!
Hope this helps!
Sheryl
 
Calee,
Maybe try Step Fit or Step Heat or even Step & Intervals for something different. Keep us posted!

~Adri;-)
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Calee,

Honestly, I just kept tripping over my own feet, turning the wrong way, and kicking the step in disgust until I one day I was doing it.

You've been given better suggestions above.:) Don't give up, both have some tricky steps but the workouts are sooooo worth mastering.

Good luck.
 
Tygra-
Where do I find the ranking you are talking about? And what does it rank? Is it based on intensity? and if so, does it include strength workouts as well as cardio?
I would love to see a breakdown like that.
Calee
 
Hi Calee,

I had the same problem with "Rhythmic Step" and "Step Blast" --

I just kept doing them over and over and one day it all came together.

I also recall I had trouble with the 360 move in "Power Max" -- which is from a different perspective than the one in "Step Blast"

I was so ready to give up, but I would not let myself.

Oh, and for the cardio on the 6th part of "Low Max" -- again, I almost gave up.

Then suddenly, I understood.

So I say do not give up, practice like crazy and go with what you know. Then suddenly one day you will say, "Wow" that was pretty fun!
 
>>>Where do I find the ranking you are talking about?<<<

It is tacked to the top of this page, "Ultimate Guide to Cathe's Workouts"

Lori
 
Hey everyone,
Thank you everyone for your advice, I guess for the most part I need to just buck up and keep trying. I think I might see if I can find some old step workouts as suggested and break down some of the moves. It also helps to hear that I'm not the only one that's ever struggled with choregoraphy:p
thanks again,
Calee
 
I also struggled with the choreography on Cathe (still do sometimes :D ). The first workout I ever bought was Interval Max and the first thing she says as you start the main section is "The choreography is basic, you'll get it" - and I was all over the place and so disheartened - yet it is relatively basic compared to her other stuff once you get to know it. I agree with the others it is worth doing some of the older workouts which break down the moves. Also it is really worth mastering a couple of workouts because you will see variations on those moves and hear those terms often again in other workouts and then it will be a lot easier to learn. Some of it is just getting to know the names and being able to remember what that means quick enough to do it. Do keep trying - it's so satisfying when you get the hang of it.
 
Hello:

I, too, have trouble with the choreography. I hadn't done any kind of aerobics for around 10 years. I've been doing my cardio on machines at the gym. (I still do cardio at the gym on the machines but I also do Cathe at home because it is so much FUN!)

I agree with starting with her older workouts and go through them in the order that they are made. I started with her Basic step workout for beginners and then, went to her Low Impact one that said it is for beginners/intermediate.

Here is something else that helped me. I got the Low Max workout (which I love) and the IMAX 2 DVD (which I'm in the process of learning now.) My main problem isn't the cardio aspect of the DVD's, it is learning the moves. When I first started learning Low Max, I found it frustrating because I would have a problem with some move or another. (I had some kind of mental thing with the reverse up Mamba down move and it took me forever to get it.) Ii would have to rewind and do the move over and over again. I found it frustrating because my heart rate would go down as I watched and tried the move. It felt like my workout was being interrupted. So with the IMAX 2 what I've been doing is to do a workout I know how to do like Cardio and Weights or the Low Max one. Then, when I'm done with that I feel like I've done my workout, because I have. I will then, do one or two chapters of the Imax 2. I don't worry about learning the blasts because while they are challenging to your heart, the choreography is easy. I don't try to make a workout of the chapter(S) I'm trying to learn, I just try to learn the steps. If I have to rewind and watch it twice and try it four times before I get it, no big deal since I'm not trying to 'workout', I'm trying to learn. I'm up to chapter 6 of Imax 2 and so far it has been working great. Next I will do a premix of segments 1-5. Imax 2 has short cardio and blast segments compared to Low Max and Cardio and weights, so maybe it is easier to learn, I don't know. However, when I first watched it all the way through I didn't think I would ever get it.

Keep trying, you'll get it. If I can do it, anyone can.
 
For the moves you find really tricky...there is a button somewhere on the DVD remote control that shows the moves in ULTRA slow motion so you can see exactly what foot is going where. That helped me a lot and I would learn that segment and practice until I got it then move on to the next segment. Like someone else said, I did this after my "real" workouts and I used scheduled "rest" days to learn the new workouts also. You will get it, just keep at it and have fun!
Angela:)
 
Just do it and keep on doing it! I thought I'd never learn the step part to the 6th part of Low Max.

It was the same with "Step Blast", "Power Max" and "Rhythmic Step"

Then all of the sudden I could do it!

It took me almost one year to master the 360 move in "Power Max".

I just modified....until one day the light inside my dim head went off and I could do it!

Just please don't give up -- and until you learn, to quote Cathe: "Modify, Modify, Modify"!

Kind regards,

Amy
 
That is some really good advice....I never thought of using the slow frame button to learn complicated moves.....thanks for the input, Angela!

Kind regards,

Amy
 
I'm not good at choreography either. I bought The Wedding Tape and Mega Step Blast and can do those just fine. What other step tapes are similar as far as choreography complexity to those two? I don't mind buying VHS. I see Step Max and Step Works are on clearance. Do you think I can handle those, also?
Cheryl
 
Here's a simple suggestion that works for me. If a workout seems a little complicated, work on it every day until you feel you've got it more under control, instead of pulling it out every week or two. It's just like trying to master a complicated piano piece: if you only work on it once a week, it just never seems to come together. Your brain forgets the fingering patterns, etc. But if you go over it a few times day after day, it seems to become familiar a lot faster. Your brain & fingers are familiar with the moves and incorporate them faster. This strategy works for me with piano, and it seems to help with choreography also. Hope this helps you.
 
Keep at it, you will get it. The one that got me was Step Blast. I never thought I was going to get it down. The third combo with the fast footwork nearly killed me. I kept at it, because I LOVE the music on that tape, but it took me a good 2 months to master it.
 
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