Hello:
I, too, don't like spinning, twirling, dancing type step aerobics. I've watched some of the Christi Taylor exercise DVD's and haven't bought any of them because of what she calles her "flipper" moves.
I am seconding the recommmendatioin for Low Max. It is really good and will get your heart rate up there. Cathe does a really good job of introducing the moves little bits at a time and then, she puts them all together. For example, You'll do two moves several times and then, two different moves, and after you've learned all the moves, Cathe will put them together and repeat the combo four times or so. Each combo is different by the way so you won't be doing the moves from combo 1 in combo 2 or 3, etc. If you prefer some impact, you can add some hopp's. I was able to do the Low Max with just a little bit of rewinding. It is around 70 minutes long.
Another one that I recommend is IMax 2. Both of these are interval step aerobics by the way. IMax 2 is higher impact and a harder workout. It is harder to learn too. The first time I watched it, I thought I'd never be able to do it. I didn't have nearly as much trouble as I thought I would. It is 54 minutes long. Cathe doesn't teach the individual steps like she does in Low Max, she just goes into them. IMAX 2 has 10 intervals. You'll do 10 short mini step combos and ten blasts--the format is step combo, blast,recovery which is done 10 times (10 different step routines and blasts, of course). The blasts and the recovery's are not hard to follow or complicated. They are very easy to follow but hard to do if you know what I mean. In the step combo's she does not do any of the teaching of the moves. She just does what I will call the finished product which repeats 6 times. I did have a little bit more trouble with the moves on this one but it was well worth the effort. I had some kind of mental block with combo # 9 and it took me FOREVER to get it. If you don't like higher impact stuff, you can make it low-impact. Someone from this web site gave me low impact alternative moves, so let me know if you want them.
The only other DVD's I have of Cathe's are her Step Basics, Low Impact Step (which is a different step DVD than Low Max by the way.), Cardio and Weights, and the Classics one. The Cardio part of Cardio and Weights is very good. It is not interval step, so you're heart rate will stay at a more even, if elevated, level. It is only around 30 minutes though. The DVD does have premixes so you can do just the cardio part if you want. The Cardio and Weights workout comes on the same DVD as the IMAX 2, so that saves some money. I have found that the Step Basics, Low Impact Step, and the Classics (There are three different, but older, workouts on this DVD.) are good for teaching some moves. When I say teach, I mean she has you do them repeatedly so you DO learn them. For example: In IMAX 2 Cathe does this shuffle repeater. She just goes into it. However, in one of the three on the Classics DVD she teaches you the shuffle repeater. She counts if off and you do it over and over again.
I would recommend the Step Basics and Low Impact Step DVD's only for teaching the moves, or to a beginner exerciser. They will not get the heart rate up enough for anybody that has been exercing very much, at least in my opinion. All 3 of the workouts on The Classics DVD are some of Cathe's first ones. The outfits are all outdated and I don't think it would take very long to get bored of the routines. I would recommend them only for learning some of the moves, like the Shuffle Repeater but they will keep your heart rate higher than the Basic Step and Low Impact Step. I would recommend the Cardio part of Cardio and Weights only if you want a short 30 minute cardio. It is a very good workout and did a good job of elivating my heart, but it is way too short.
I actually do most of my exercing at a gym and do tons of weights there. So, I can't say anything about any of Cathe's weight training DVD's.
BOTTOM LINE:
Cathe is a great, perfect, instructor. You won't go wrong with any of her DVD's. She cues perfectly. If you're familiar with step aerobics at all, start with Low Max and go from there. There are premixs on the DVD so you can do just the warm up, combo's, and stretch, just the warm up and intervals 1-4 (which means the step combo and the blast)and stretch or the warm up, intervals 4-7, and stretch. Each of these premixes is around 45 minutes. You'll be able to learn the moves and you can always modify. For example, on one of her workout's Cathe does a power squat where she is facing parrallel to her step with one leg on the step and the other on the floor. You do a squat and them a jump and somehow land facing the other way with the other leg on the step. You do this fast too. I can't do it at all so I just do a squat and a little jump but don't try to turn around. When she repeats this move, I just make sure I do the other leg so I'm even.
Here is what helped me learn the moves. I started with her Step Basics which is very easy to learn. Then, when I wanted to learn another step DVD, I did the Step Basics one and then, did the first combo from the next step DVD I wanted to learn. When I was learning a combo, I had to do some rewinding some times to learn the moves. On a couple of them I had to do lots of rewinding and doing some move or another over and over until I got it. (I must have done the reverse up mombo down from Low Max six or more times before I got it-and it is an easy move.) When you have to keep rewinding and doing the same thing over and over again, it kind of messes up your workout because your heart rate goes down. That is why I do my workout first and then I learn a combo, so I won't feel like my routine is messed up. Does that make sense? On any of Cathe's interval DVD's don't worry about learning the blasts. The blasts are very easy to do.
Sorry to go on forever and ever.
Sherri
