I have been doing Cathe's weight workouts for quite sometime and I absoultely love them. The only problem I feel like I am missing out on her step aerobics videos. Imax 2 looks like so much fun but when I tried to do it I could not keep up with her and ended up lost and didn't know the moves. I am new to step aerobics and have NEVER tried it in my life. Is there any easier to follow cathe step aerobics videos or one by someone else so that I can learn the moves. I run and jog on my treadmill, so it's not that I CAN"T keep up with her, I just don't know what she is talking about and the moves.
learning step aerobics
- Thread starter angela123
- Start date
PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE...:7 :7 !! Step is challenging to learn, and I have to tell ya you picked a hard one for your introduction. The Imax's have very little in regards to choreography "break down". Because her step segments and cardio segments are so short she doesn't have the opportunity to break down the step segments for someone who is trying to familiarize themselves with choreography. I would highly recommend her Basic Step routine and maybe the two older DVD's, Cardio Hits and The Classics. From what I can remember the step workouts on the CTX DVD aren't as high on the difficulty factor.
Having said all of that what it all comes down to is practice. I wasn't new to step when I started Cathe, but I WAS new to HER choreography. I just kept plugging in her DVD's and doing them on a regular basis. After a while you realize you are doing it and not having much trouble following her cueing. The hardest part for me was figuring out which direction I was supposed to be going in especially when she would do moves that took you to the other side of the step facing away from the tv.
You'll get there you just have to keep practicing. And it has been suggested here that a good idea is to get your cardio workout in for the day and then plug in one of her step tapes and just focus on learning the choreography without having to worry about it also being your cardio for the day. This takes away alot of the stress of learning it.
But again I would definately suggest her Basic Step DVD. I'm sure others here will have some suggestions and maybe even some more instructors tapes that do a good job of breaking down the basic components, minus all of the trickier choreography.
Keep it up and good luck!!!
Deni
Having said all of that what it all comes down to is practice. I wasn't new to step when I started Cathe, but I WAS new to HER choreography. I just kept plugging in her DVD's and doing them on a regular basis. After a while you realize you are doing it and not having much trouble following her cueing. The hardest part for me was figuring out which direction I was supposed to be going in especially when she would do moves that took you to the other side of the step facing away from the tv.
You'll get there you just have to keep practicing. And it has been suggested here that a good idea is to get your cardio workout in for the day and then plug in one of her step tapes and just focus on learning the choreography without having to worry about it also being your cardio for the day. This takes away alot of the stress of learning it.
But again I would definately suggest her Basic Step DVD. I'm sure others here will have some suggestions and maybe even some more instructors tapes that do a good job of breaking down the basic components, minus all of the trickier choreography.
Keep it up and good luck!!!
Deni
Redeye
Cathlete
I agree with Deni. It takes practice. It took me a whole month to learn IMAX2, and I did it every other day! It was worth it.
I did the warmup + section 1. The next time, I did the warmup + section 1 and section 2. I added a section when I felt comfortable with the choreography. It wasn't so overwhelming that way.
Also, try doing it without a step. You can spend more time looking at the screen without worrying about falling over the step. Once you learn the choreography, you can begin with a 4" step and work your way up.
The good news is, once you learn 1 of her step workouts, it's not near that hard to learn the next. I learned Low Max after only 3 times.
I did the warmup + section 1. The next time, I did the warmup + section 1 and section 2. I added a section when I felt comfortable with the choreography. It wasn't so overwhelming that way.
Also, try doing it without a step. You can spend more time looking at the screen without worrying about falling over the step. Once you learn the choreography, you can begin with a 4" step and work your way up.
The good news is, once you learn 1 of her step workouts, it's not near that hard to learn the next. I learned Low Max after only 3 times.
Actually, if you're new to step aerobics and Cathe step in particular, you really want to start with her Basic Step and Cardio Hits DVDs. I was exactly where you are - IMAX2 sat on my shelf for months because I was overwhelmed with what I thought was its complexity and my own general clumsiness. It didn't matter how many times I tried to practice, I could never get past the warmup.
But Basic Step REALLY helped, even though I probably only did it all of two times (that's all that was necessary!). It walks you through all of the common moves (so you learn the names and the movements at a manageable pace). Then I started with Cardio Hits because Cathe's style used to be much different - she used to break the work down far more granularly than she does today. CH is a bit dated but the workouts are fab and much easier to learn.
Good luck!
Marie
But Basic Step REALLY helped, even though I probably only did it all of two times (that's all that was necessary!). It walks you through all of the common moves (so you learn the names and the movements at a manageable pace). Then I started with Cardio Hits because Cathe's style used to be much different - she used to break the work down far more granularly than she does today. CH is a bit dated but the workouts are fab and much easier to learn.
Good luck!
Marie
melodygirl
Cathlete
Don't give up! Take the advice above and get some of Cathe's earlier or more basic step workouts and practice, practice. I promise you'll be so glad you did.
And welcome.
And welcome.
Luv2WorkHard
Cathlete
"And it has been suggested here that a good idea is to get your cardio workout in for the day and then plug in one of her step tapes and just focus on learning the choreography without having to worry about it also being your cardio for the day. This takes away alot of the stress of learning it."
Deni - that is SUCH a good idea! I'd like to think I am pretty smart (LOL), but why the heck didn't I think of this before?? That is the main reason I have shied away from some of the more complex step videos. They DO look like so much fun, but I am so hungry for that cardio rush I find myself getting frustrated and giving up, then loading in one of my other non-step DVDs. I am not a *complete* idiot when it comes to step, but I am not exactly advanced at the tricky choreography. But I really like the idea of getting my workout out of the way, then practicing the step choreography. This WOULD really take the stress factor out. Thanks!
Deni - that is SUCH a good idea! I'd like to think I am pretty smart (LOL), but why the heck didn't I think of this before?? That is the main reason I have shied away from some of the more complex step videos. They DO look like so much fun, but I am so hungry for that cardio rush I find myself getting frustrated and giving up, then loading in one of my other non-step DVDs. I am not a *complete* idiot when it comes to step, but I am not exactly advanced at the tricky choreography. But I really like the idea of getting my workout out of the way, then practicing the step choreography. This WOULD really take the stress factor out. Thanks!
I have found the Classics dvd breaks down Cathe's moves quite well especially Step Heat - but it does assume a basic knowledge of things like repeaters, round the world etc. However if you want to get to really basic step I would suggest Gin Miller to start with (one of the basic Reebok videos) and you could move on to the Keli Roberts video "Real Fitness" - that's a bit more challenging but not as hard as Cathe's choreography - I don't know if it's still for sale but you should be able to get it second hand on ebay. They won't cover all Cathe's moves but would introduce you to the basics such as A steps, horseshoes, repeaters etc. If you know all these already I would suggest skipping Gin Miller which can be a bit boring once you know the moves. Like everyone else has said, Imax-2 is really hard - I'm still struggling with the choreography on this one. Imax-1 is not so bad in terms of choreography - I find it uses a lot of moves in Step Heat so if you learned that one you could maybe try Imax-1.
Hope that helps
Ruth
Hope that helps
Ruth
Low Max isn't as hard to pick up as the other "max" type videos...but that's not to say that I wasn't challenged with the choreography the first few times I did it, because I was. Her step/blast segments in Low Max are longer so she breaks them down a little bit more.
I would probably first recommend her Classics DVD or her Cardio Hits DVD...these get you a little more involved in her choreography and allow you to become familiar with her cueing and terminology for the different moves. I credit these two dvd's for helping me to become more comfortable and effective with her other more advanced step routines. The CTX series also has some good step workouts that have helped me learn the choreo as well.
But if you really want to have one of her more interval based routines (ie the "blast" and "imax's" than Low Max would be the better one to get...like I said it's broken down a little bit more than the others. I hope this helps .
Deni
I would probably first recommend her Classics DVD or her Cardio Hits DVD...these get you a little more involved in her choreography and allow you to become familiar with her cueing and terminology for the different moves. I credit these two dvd's for helping me to become more comfortable and effective with her other more advanced step routines. The CTX series also has some good step workouts that have helped me learn the choreo as well.
But if you really want to have one of her more interval based routines (ie the "blast" and "imax's" than Low Max would be the better one to get...like I said it's broken down a little bit more than the others. I hope this helps
.Deni