LOW MAX CRISIS-WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?

T

Tesla

Active Member
OK, this is probably premature, but I'm not too keen on Low Max. I attempted this workout this morning and had to turn it off after only 11 minutes. Not because I was in pain--because I couldn't get the moves down. I was getting so frustrated with the whole thing, my heart rate was rising because I wanted to fling the DVD out into the snow.
I really don't like a lot of moves in choreography (I STILL can't get through Body Max). I was reading all the posts about how your legs will get thoroughly worked in this video, which I would love, but not if I have to learn a ton of dancey moves which I suck at.
I suppose I'll view the whole workout...I hate it when I get off to a bad start about a workout:( ;( x(
 
I just had the same reaction to Kick Max

Don't get too freaked. View it. View it. View it. Then attempt it a few times.

Yeah, if only I could take my own advice. I just turned off Kick Max after 21 minutes. The problem was not that my heart rate was rising. In fact, I spent so much time STANDING there watching Cathe & crew that my heart rate didn't rise at all. Right now, I'm thinking of selling it.

Lets not be rash. Let's keep trying.
 
RE: I just had the same reaction to Kick Max

If you throw your step out in the snow, you can use it to go sledding and perhaps create a new type of step workout. LOL.

Seriously, just take the workout one or two segments at a time and repeat each one once or twice. You'll still get a workout and in the process, you'll be learning the patterns. Calm down...you won't learn the steps if you start freaking out. Patience. Post again in two weeks after you have taken our advice...otherwise I'll see out on the slopes and we can go sledding. :D
 
RE: I just had the same reaction to Kick Max

Learn a segment or two, BUT not as part of your workout. This way you are not relying on it for "true" workout and feel like you're fumbling around. Just practice at a totally different time or spend 10 minutes at the end of your workout to learn a segment.
 
RE: I just had the same reaction to Kick Max

Try it with only a 4" step. When I am stymied by choreography, I work at it with a lower step. It's not as confusing if you aren't working as hard to keep up.

Another thing I do: program the DVD player to play the same segment two or three times over. That way I learn it pretty thoroughly without experiencing the drop in heart rate.
 
I always preview workouts before doing them. For cardio, I watch the whole thing. For weights, I fast forward a lot, or just watch the first bit of each chapter, just to get an idea of what I'm in for. I've gotten pretty good at running through the choreography in my head as the workout is playing. If there is a spot that looks too tough, I count out the beats, and find a way to describe the move so that the move "feels" right to me. By the time I actually do the workout, I can usually get 85% of the choreography the first tme.

Maybe choreographed step, like Low Max, is not for you. You can always find someone who would like it on Ebay if you decide to get rid of it.

For now, set it aside, do some of the other workouts, and come back to it in a week or so. Or you could do a bit of it at a time.
 
Tesla,

I definitely know what you mean. I attempted this tonight, too. I don't EVER think I'll get those reverse mambos off the back of the step.....omg, are they going to be difficult. I only did the premix w/ segments 1-4 on it and I was sweating up a storm!!!

Don't give up......because you are not alone......do it in chunks. I'm going to hit this same premix tomorrow and hopefully it will be a little better.

~Stephanie~

"Happiness is knowing what you are doing next without me saying it!" - Cathe
 
Oh, I so desperately didn't want to hear anything bad about Low Max!!!! I don't have it yet :) :) I will get it tomorrow, but it was the first one I was planning to do because of all the positive things people have said about it!! I think I will definitely watch it through and practice like people have suggested, so that I don't get frustrated right off the bat.
 
Tesla,
I've watched it once, and then I went through and practiced it once, it wasn't a cardio day so I wasn't counting on a workout, but I was sweating anyway, and I was barely doing it, just trying to get the moves down. It's on the docket for tomorrow morning, so I'll let you know how it goes, but I agree with Stephanie, reverse mambos, and reverse V steps at first. I couldn't see what they were doing!:D
Good luck and keep plugging away at it!
Mattea
 
I must have watched Rhythmic Step 4 or 5 times before finally getting comfortable enough to try it. Oh, sure, I screwed up, but after having previewed it so many times, it wasn't long before I was getting through the whole thing.

Just be patient. Break it up into segments and do them as a supplement to a different cardio workout. For example, do the first two combos (& blasts) as a supplement to Step & Intervals (or some other cardio workout). Or just do the first two or three combos & blasts 3 times back-to-back and make that your cardio workout for the day. Doing it this way may take longer for you to get all the way through it, but it will be worth it when you finally are able to do the whole thing straight through.
 
RE: I just had the same reaction to Kick Max

Cathy--
Thanks for your encouragement--thanks to ALL of you. I will try this again AFTER I watch it (a few thousand times?)
I have so many of Cathe's strength training workouts that I need a cardio one that isn't high impact. I kind of wish there was a tutorial premix on the DVD where step challenged people like me can see the moves really broken down.
Back to the drawing board....
Lisa
 
I just did the pre-mix with the first 4 and it was easier to think of it in just a small section. There were a couple times I purposely just did basic step to watch what they were doing. I also concentrate on feet, feet, feet. What is Cathe's feet doing, and is she turning in or away, and I try to block everything else, and that has always worked.
 
It always, always, always takes me at least 3 times doing a Cathe step workout before I lose the fear of injuring myself by tripping over the step. I realize and accept the fact that I am choreographically challenged, so I decided with my new HC (especially Low Max and Imax3) that I am just going to break it into chunks until I feel comfortable. My first time through LM I just did the premix of intervals 1-4 and I am going to just keep doing that section until I have it down, then tackle the rest. It is not so psychologically overwhelming for me to only have 4 intervals to stumble through.

Good luck and don't give up!
Tracy
 
When I was first getting into step, I used to learn the moves on the floor (ie without the step). I found that much easier. I also had the remote control in one hand the whole time to pause, rewind etc.

Another tip is to take frequent breaks - ie, learn one section, then give your brain a break for a few minutes before moving onto the next. Obviously, you won't get such a good cardio workout, so you might want to add some other form of cardio during this learning process.

Once I got used to a couple of Cathe's step workouts, new ones have been much easier to learn. So, don't give up!:)
 
I use the slow motion feature on my DVD player when I am trying to get the choreography. My wife and I will somtimes just view the DVD one frame at a time and then breakdown what Cathe is doing. I often find that complex choreography is actually pretty simple once you see it in slow motion. Hope that helps :7
 
Nothing is wrong with you. Some of us are more challenged by choreography than others. I suspect the learning curve is much steeper for those familiar with Cathe's step moves & vocabulary.

The only tip not mentioned, is to put the DVD on slow motion & get on the same side of the step as Cathe so that you're using the same foot as her (rather than mirroring her steps). That's how I figured out the reverse mamba, not to mention which way to turn on all the pivots.

You'll have a blast once you can finally flow with the workout.

Debra
 
I do what a lot of people have suggested - preview so I know what's tricky; rewind rewind rewind; use a 4" step; stop when I get too fussy and frustrated; and learn a segment or two of new choreography after I've done my cardio workout for the day.

LowMax has a "step sections only" (no blasts) premix that is very helpful to learn the choreography.

Allison
 
I had the same opinion of "Step Blast" and even complained here about how it would "collect dust because I could not get the choreography down?" Then after a lot of attempts, it all came together. Now "Step Blast" is one of my favorite step workouts!

Low Max is really fun -- I had trouble with the 3rd routine, but played it over and over and over and suddenly I could do it.

Just give it a chance and some time -- I "feel your frustration" -- but I bet if you give it a chance, you will love it!
 
RE: I just had the same reaction to Kick Max

That is a great point -- I took Low Max down to 6 inches to learn the choregraphy and "Step Blast" down to 4 inches while learning.....

And again, just as everybody says -- view it over and over and over!

You will feel so accomplished when you can say "I did it!"
 
I agree that you should not be trying to get your cardio workout in while trying to "learn" the new choreography. I learned this lesson with CTX and just pretty much gave up doing the workouts all together. Then after about a year of them sitting on the shelf, I decided to watch the tapes while riding my Lifecycle. I did this for weeks. I would watch a small section while on my Lifecycle and then try it (making sure to keep my heart rate up). I would get on the Lifecycle then try the next section or re-do the first section depending on how I did.

I am choreography challenged and unfortunatly this is the only I could actually learn the workouts and get a workout at the same time. Otherwise I would give up because I felt my cardio workouts were suffering.

I plan on learning each of the new workouts one section at a time at my own pace. It really feels like such an accomplishment when they finally all come together and no matter how complicated a workout is they always seem to come together.

Tracy
 
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