Kick Punch & Crunch hits the spot!

[lounsbury]

Cathe, I'm really enjoying the Body Blast series so far. I did Kick Punch & Crunch yesterday, and it's exactly what I like in a kickboxing workout -- lots of drills, lots of punch/kick combos, with the hi-lo kept to a bare minimum. I felt pretty fierce during the hammer punch/knee smash segment (the cat was looking at me very strangely!). ;-)

I did Push Pull today, and I sure am amazed how much you packed into such a short time. I've had a short attention span for strength work lately, so this fits in nicely right now. Short and sweet, but still thorough.

I have Step Blast on the calendar for tomorrow, and from previewing it, I'm pretty sure I'm going to love it. There's a bunch of new and fresh-looking choreography in that one (although I don't have Rhythmic Step yet, so I wouldn't know if anything was lifted from that workout anyway), so I'm really looking forward to breaking it in.

I'm already thinking up a bunch of homemade premixes! :7

You really pulled in a bunch of new ideas on this series, and I certainly appreciate it! (Including the yoga-inspired stretches -- love those!)

 

[Cathe Friedrich]

Hi Lynne! So nice to hear from you. Thanks for sharing your feedback on the DVD's. We were going for a nice amount of variety to compliment the many straight forward strength workouts we already have. The fitness industry has also been promoting a lot more cross training/fusion type workouts so I was working the whole concept into my own philosophies too. So glad you are enjoying the new exercises/features. By the way, switching topics here, I must tell you that Eric still uses his homemade blanket that you made him EVERYDAY. It has really held up well and will be a keepsake for sure. Thank you

 

[lounsbury]

Cathe, someday Eric will have kids of his own and you'll still be talking about that blanket. LOL! ;-) I'm glad he likes it so much. Now, if I only had time to make more of them...

BTW, I did Step Blast this morning. I was a little tired today, so I only did the 3 combos and skipped the challenge and blasts. I really enjoyed the choreo! I do have one question, though -- when I do the "slam on the corners" move, I naturally want to step back with the foot that's on the step. Any tips on how to make sure I step with the foot that's on the floor, other than just practicing and trying to remember it?

 

[TarHeelMom]

Lynne!

I keep doing the exact same thing -- stepping with the foot that's leaving the step -- and it's driving me nuts because it throws the whole move off. I'm having more trouble with this than that blasted peg-leg pivot, which I was just certain would be my most challenging move. I can't wait to see what Fearless Wee Leader has to say to inspire improvement in our "slams"!

BTW, if you're doing the Step Blast Challenge on a non-tired day, you rock girl! I can't get thru it yet -- a major point of frustration because I love this tape and hate it when my rhythm comes to a grinding halt as I stumble through that fun fun fun last section. But I console myself by remembering the "AH HA!" moment when the Rhythmic Step Challenge fell into place for me, after many, many runs through that tape where I'd finish each combo confidently and think "Okay, today I've got it" and then I'd flub the challenge again. I think it just takes a while for my klutz-inclined body to retain the muscle memory of each combo -- right now I'm still having to concentrate pretty hard on each section, so by the time I finish, say, combo 2 I have completely forgotten combo 1.

http://www.click-smilies.de/sammlung0903/sport/sport-smiley-003.gif Kathy S. http://www.click-smilies.de/sammlung0903/spezial/spudniks/spudniklifter.gif

 

[lounsbury]

Kathy!

I just thought of something -- what about doing a shuffle to get to the other side of the step? Then we wouldn't have to remember to use the other leg. ;-)

I totally understand what you mean by rhythm coming to a grinding halt. I managed to learn the fast foot repeater in the 3rd combo while Cathe was teaching it, but once I tried to insert it into the combo I kept messing it up. I actually paused the DVD just before the challenge segment and ran through combo 3 several times on my own, without music and a tad bit slower, until I finally got it... then I skipped to the cooldown.

P.S. Love those little weightlifting guys in your signature line!

 

[pace1987]

I did the Step Blast today too, and was having the same problem with the slam. I kept going back and watching and once I knew what Cathe was doing I got it. I guess it really takes time once you have it pack down. I would just think of the grapevine when I do this. It would have been nice to call it the grapevine slam or slam grapevine, LOL.