My "To the Max" review

jdimascio

jdimascio

Cathlete
Since I refuse to wait for the UPS delivery person to arrive with my DVDs, I always get the downlaods too. I also like to play around with the Workout Blender, so I am a big download fan. Anyway, I downloaded the new workouts last night, previewed breifly and decided to try "To the Max" this morning after hitting STS #8...I only wanted to do 30-40 minutes of cardio, and that is easy to do with either of these workouts.

I basically did the first 3 segments. The first segment is all step, easy choreography, but it moves. 2 times through the step portion...I forget how long this segment is, but I believe the point of it is to get your heart rate ready for what's to come, because it's mainly steady state....however, it's high intensity. Second segment is step tabata. I am a huge fan of tabata and I love how Cathe inserts it right after the step portion. You have to be ready for this part, because it moves quickly and you need to grab weights for 2 of the 4 moves. 4 moves repeated 2 times through. 3rd segment is 30/20...I loved this part. You do 2 exercises 30 seconds of work, 20 seconds rest, then repeat. There are 4 groups of 2...so 16 30/20 hiit exercises. That took me to 35 minutes, with the stretch at the end, I hit about 40 minutes. It was perfect, my pony tail was dripping. While stretching the sweat was dripping into my eyes, so I had to close them (clearly needed an extra towel) and just listen to Cathe cue. In addition, the music was fabulous, it definitely pumps you up...I recognized all of the songs (who cares that the words were changed).

I can't wait to try Crossfire tomorrow....because of the different segments on both of these workout, there is a nice variety, and no excuses if you don't have a lot of time. FUN FUN FUN!!!
 
Thank you for your review. I have a question. Do you think that you could easily modify the workout to low impact?

Thanks!
 
JonStephMom said:
Thank you for your review. I have a question. Do you think that you could easily modify the workout to low impact?

Thanks!
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I would say that the step portion should be easy to modify to low impact. The hitt stuff might be hard to modify because sometimes you are jumping up onto your step. So what I would do, is maybe do a different cardio exercise in place of the jumping...as long as you still follow the 30 seconds of work and 20 seconds of rest format. Or when Cathe uses weights for the tabata, go heavier on the weights and keep everything grounded.
 
Thanks for the review, Jenn. I downloaded the files this morning and hope to try out one of them tonight....probably CrossFire. I'm glad to hear it's easy to create a 30-40 minute session.

Michelle
 
I'm so excited I just can't hide it :D :p

This was the only time I opted to get DVD's instead of downloads...so I'll have to patiently wait for Mr.Postman.

Thanks for the review :)

Natasha
 
laketime said:
Thanks for the review, Jenn. I downloaded the files this morning and hope to try out one of them tonight....probably CrossFire. I'm glad to hear it's easy to create a 30-40 minute session.

Michelle
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Surprisingly, no....at least not for the first 35 minutes. I don't recall my hands touching the ground until the stretch.

I know in crossfire you will be doing push ups and plank work. So, what's really great about these is that you can even use segments as an add on to Cathe's other workout. I love adding a tabata finisher...and she has created some fun ones.

Have fun with these....I am going to do Crossfire tomorrow.
 
I agree with everything you said Jenn! Here is what I posted in another thread...also, there are no planks or mountain climbers! :)

It was amazing! I'll admit, there were a couple times I had to quit before finishing the last 1 or 2 reps because I was gasping for air! But, I think after a couple/few more tries, I'll prob be able to do them all.

One major point....for anyone who has trouble with choreo...you won't have any trouble with this workout! I am usually very choreo-challenged when it comes to NEW workouts till I've done them a couple times. This workout is very easy to follow!

To The Max = A+ FOR: FUN FACTOR, GREAT MUSIC & and INTENSITY!

Jonstephmom, I think it could easliy be modified even if it means you just do another completely diff move. Such as when she does hops along the side of the board/step, you could just do air squats in place. It is such a fun workout!
 
Not sure if I am going to do this one tomorrow or Monday. Did Cross Fire today. Not sure I want to do these workouts back to back.
 
I got my DVDs yesterday and did To The Max last night. It's super fun and crazy hard! Cathe, thank you so much for all you do. The music has a great beat and I loved it even though I didn't recognize any of the songs. My favorite move is the firewalker jumping jacks - so fun! I loved that the main workout does not have any mountain climbers or burpees, although the bonus tabata has mountain climbers in it. There is tons of variety in the moves and the time flies by. It was just so fun! The length, at 54 minutes, was perfect for me and the amount and variety of premixes is really impressive. This workout is fantastic!

Kim
 
I received my videos last night in the mail and did To The Max this morning. LOVED IT!! The step tabata was a ton of fun; agree with a pp in that I really like the firewalker jumping jacks. I subbed in the athletic tabata for the leg conditioning and thought that section was great. I was just dripping with sweat by the time it was done. I really like the captions on-screen that tell you what is coming, what equipment you need and then how long each of the drill/rest periods are. For me, maybe because I am type A, those captions really help me enjoy and pace the workout.

Thanks, Cathe and Crew, for another fantastic workout!
 
Just did To the Max for the first time today. I agree with DebbieH, the choreography is very easy to follow. I've never done tabata and really enjoyed the 4 minutes that Cathe incorporates after the step portion in the beginning. The HIITs were super intense. And the music is GREAT! Looking forward to trying Crossfire, but I'm going to give my body a couple of days to "recover." Have to see what Cathe has on the rotation with these workouts this month.

Cathe and crew continue to amaze and challenge.
Thank you CATHE!
~michelle
 
I did TTM for the first time today and wow, it's hard but so much fun...I love it! This workout was actually harder for me than CF. that may be because I don't do much step, so I don't have much accumulated step conditioning. I do often do plyo, though, so maybe that's why CF was ever so slightly easier. Hmmm, easier doesn't seem appropriate in the context of these workouts...let's say slightly more doable. :)

I don't have much to add to what's already even said (great music, how great Cathe and crew look - which could be from doing these very workouts!, etc). Also, I LOVE the update to the set. I used to think I was unaffected by sets, music, outfits, etc, but now I realize that yes, I'll do any workout if it's good, but I enjoy it so much more when thought has even put into how it will appear and sound, and nobody, NOBODY, does this better than Cathe. Thank you Cathe!

Special note for Natasha (Mininatty) if you're reading this thread. You are going to be SO glad that you got the DVDs even though it's been hard for you to wait, because there are some awesome premixes. Both CF and TTM have a "triple tabata" premix, which even includes some material not in the main workout. With warm up and stretch, it's just up under 30 mins. It dawned on me that we've basically gotten two more HiiT workouts (yes, that intense) in addition to cf and ttm, and I can't wait to try them! I love HiiT! They're going to be great on their own or as an add on to an STS day. One of the things I love most about the HiiTs, other than their great cardio conditioning benefits and that there's lots of plyo, is their length. Awesome cardio in 30 minutes Anyway, I know you're bummed out that you still don't have your DVDs,, but just wanted to let you know that I think in the long run you're going to be thrilled that you went with them. Hang in there!
 
I did TTM for the second time today and it was even more fun today! It truly was! I was able to enjoy the music even more this go round And, I made it thru all the reps this time! I paused 2 or 3x to towel down. Okay, if I'm totally HONEST, I had to catch my breath. Ohmygosh, it is sooo intense but fun intensity! My towel and clothes were soaked TO THE MAX!!!!! I can't wait to do CF again, hopefully tomorrow! Have fun every one and WORK IT!!!

Sent from my iPad using CatheForum
 
I just completed To the Max for the first time - decided I would do the To the Max Extreme premix instead of doing the original workout for the first time. Now I don't know if it's because I just ended an Insanity rotation last week and I was just worn out but, I'm thinking doing the longest premix before trying the main workout first may have been a mistake: that was HARD! I have to admit that I arrogantly thought, "I survived the so-called 'hardest cardio program ever produced" so how difficult could THIS be?" Famous last words - I actually took more mini-breaks during this workout than I ever did in Insanity. Talk about a humbling experience. My heart rate at one point even soared to 185, which is 98% of my maximum heart rate of 189!! Much higher than it ever got during Insanity, which had my highest heart rate at around 175 or so.

I must say that the workout had great variety, awesome music (please continue to make music like this in the future!), and more importantly for me a big fun-factor, which is something Insanity definitely didn't have. I think this one was more difficult than Crossfire (thanks to the use of THREE risers during the HiiT section), although both are quite challenging. I think I like To the Max the most, though: hey, it has a Madonna song in it so it HAS to be my favorite!
 
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Trixoo said:
Special note for Natasha (Mininatty) if you're reading this thread. You are going to be SO glad that you got the DVDs even though it's been hard for you to wait, because there are some awesome premixes. Both CF and TTM have a "triple tabata" premix, which even includes some material not in the main workout. With warm up and stretch, it's just up under 30 mins. It dawned on me that we've basically gotten two more HiiT workouts (yes, that intense) in addition to cf and ttm, and I can't wait to try them! I love HiiT! They're going to be great on their own or as an add on to an STS day. One of the things I love most about the HiiTs, other than their great cardio conditioning benefits and that there's lots of plyo, is their length. Awesome cardio in 30 minutes Anyway, I know you're bummed out that you still don't have your DVDs,, but just wanted to let you know that I think in the long run you're going to be thrilled that you went with them. Hang in there!
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Thank you so much for writing this to me! I'm VERY HAPPY with my DVD's and it was definitely worth the wait :D.

I rushed home yesterday after picking up the workouts at the post office, and did TTM :eek:. LOVED IT, LOVED IT!!!! I'm a step junkie and very accustomed to hiit/plyo on my step, so this workout was right up my alley. No modifications either :D. I was proud of me :D.

Great job on Crossfire too! Plyo is SO MUCH FUN :eek:. I'm doing that one today :eek: :eek:
 
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