cherrypie10
Active Member
Well, this is the first one out of the gate for me in the Fit/Split series. I consider myself an "advanced" exerciser so when I heard this was marketed as "advanced" I was excited. I own many, many Cathe DVDs and series. I did not purchase the ICE series because it was marketed to the intermediate exerciser (although I do understand that you can always modify to ramp things up). With that said, I have done every single Cathe Live class (except the senior fitness and the bike ones (no bike)) and she does have some Live classes that are based off of the ICE series so I think that I am *somewhat* familiar with the intensity of that series. And I do find myself doing some of those classes on days when I may not feel all there or just need to take it down a notch every now and then. I have even found some of those "intermediate" classes somewhat challenging. I am going somewhere with this... 
Okay, so with all that said I start Low Impact Cardio. The warm up is the same as usual. I have heard Cathe say that her warm ups are familiar moves that work. I understand that -- but can there not be other moves that work too? The warm ups are always basically the same but no big deal really I guess. They are over soon enough. So then I start the main 17 minute cardio section. Now, generally when Cathe combines these two factors: (1) an advanced workout and (2) a time-sensitive (i.e., short) workout, she really packs a punch in that time. So the program starts and I am thinking "ok, she will ramp it up soon" (even Plyo HIIT One starts out a little generous but BOY does that one get going! -- Plyo HIIT One is one hard 18 minute main workout!). However, Low Impact Cardio does not ever get too difficult. In fact, I would almost say that the ICE classes I have done in Cathe Live are even harder. I realize that this is not a HIIT workout but perhaps I was hoping it would be more *like* her low impact HIIT workouts (e.g., Afterburn, All Out Low Impact, Low Impact HIIT One and Two). I did choose to make some moves higher impact (e.g., woodchops, ice breakers, squat digs, dynamic lounges) but even then my heart rate was not that high. I did not find any of the exercises very challenging. And each exercise was also too short to raise the heart rate in my opinion.
Onto the metabolic conditioning section. I liked this section a bit better but I also did not find it to be an "advanced" program. The most challenging exercises are also the wrist killer ones. Hard to focus on the exercises when my wrists are starting to flame. The weight selection is also a bit on the lighter side for Cathe I think (she uses 8s for rear dealt flys but she almost always uses 10s -- even coming off of another exercise, she uses 8s for bicep curls with cross lounges which could easily be 10s). Yes, I realize that I can increase my weight selection but then I feel like I am modifying an intermediate program to advanced instead of having an advanced program that an intermediate exerciser has to modify down. I have done enough Cathe workouts to be able to make the modifications but I just feel that this was not an advanced program as was marketed/intended.
I also did the bonus ab routine -- WRIST KILLER (especially after the above two main workout sections above) -- see my thoughts in another post responding to someone else who found their wrists on fire!
Music. Meh. I really like when she uses familiar songs like in Party Rockin Step 1 and 2, X10. Not a fan of purely instrumental music. Perhaps Cathe thinks lyrical music is too distracting but I find that type of music more motivating (personal opinion of course).
I hope I grabbed the easiest of the four workouts and the others are harder. Now don't get me wrong -- this is NOT a bad program at all. Like I said, with Cathe, normally: Advanced + Time Sensitive = YOU'RE GONNA WORK. I just didn't get that from this program but an intermediate exerciser should really enjoy it!! You know what they say about opinions though...
Okay, so with all that said I start Low Impact Cardio. The warm up is the same as usual. I have heard Cathe say that her warm ups are familiar moves that work. I understand that -- but can there not be other moves that work too? The warm ups are always basically the same but no big deal really I guess. They are over soon enough. So then I start the main 17 minute cardio section. Now, generally when Cathe combines these two factors: (1) an advanced workout and (2) a time-sensitive (i.e., short) workout, she really packs a punch in that time. So the program starts and I am thinking "ok, she will ramp it up soon" (even Plyo HIIT One starts out a little generous but BOY does that one get going! -- Plyo HIIT One is one hard 18 minute main workout!). However, Low Impact Cardio does not ever get too difficult. In fact, I would almost say that the ICE classes I have done in Cathe Live are even harder. I realize that this is not a HIIT workout but perhaps I was hoping it would be more *like* her low impact HIIT workouts (e.g., Afterburn, All Out Low Impact, Low Impact HIIT One and Two). I did choose to make some moves higher impact (e.g., woodchops, ice breakers, squat digs, dynamic lounges) but even then my heart rate was not that high. I did not find any of the exercises very challenging. And each exercise was also too short to raise the heart rate in my opinion.
Onto the metabolic conditioning section. I liked this section a bit better but I also did not find it to be an "advanced" program. The most challenging exercises are also the wrist killer ones. Hard to focus on the exercises when my wrists are starting to flame. The weight selection is also a bit on the lighter side for Cathe I think (she uses 8s for rear dealt flys but she almost always uses 10s -- even coming off of another exercise, she uses 8s for bicep curls with cross lounges which could easily be 10s). Yes, I realize that I can increase my weight selection but then I feel like I am modifying an intermediate program to advanced instead of having an advanced program that an intermediate exerciser has to modify down. I have done enough Cathe workouts to be able to make the modifications but I just feel that this was not an advanced program as was marketed/intended.
I also did the bonus ab routine -- WRIST KILLER (especially after the above two main workout sections above) -- see my thoughts in another post responding to someone else who found their wrists on fire!
Music. Meh. I really like when she uses familiar songs like in Party Rockin Step 1 and 2, X10. Not a fan of purely instrumental music. Perhaps Cathe thinks lyrical music is too distracting but I find that type of music more motivating (personal opinion of course).
I hope I grabbed the easiest of the four workouts and the others are harder. Now don't get me wrong -- this is NOT a bad program at all. Like I said, with Cathe, normally: Advanced + Time Sensitive = YOU'RE GONNA WORK. I just didn't get that from this program but an intermediate exerciser should really enjoy it!! You know what they say about opinions though...
