Opinions for STS cardio DVD selection

Silvercat

Silvercat

Member
In reading Cathe's suggestions for cardio with STS I see there are plenty of DVD's to choose from. Obviously I cannot afford to buy them all, but I would like to have a few just to have variety. I would appreciate some suggestions from those of you who have any of these workouts to let me know which ones you really like and think may be the most beneficial. I already have Kick, Punch and Crunch so I don't need that one. It seems like 4 Day Split Boot Camp is mentioned a few times so I thought about that one. Here are the others mentioned:

Drill Max
Low Max
Cardio Kicks
Maximum Intensity Cardio
Imax Original, 2 & 3
Kick Max
Rhythmic Step
Body Max 2
Step Blast
Step, Jump & Pump
Cross Train Express
Original Boot Camp
Cardio Fusion
Step Heat
Low Impact Circuit
Power Max

Any suggestions/opinions are greatly appreciated. I would love to order some soon to have them when I start on the 16th. Thanks, Gwen
 
Drill Max is a lot of "fun"! It has a lot of variety that I enjoy. Kick Max is good too and different than KPC; I really like the leg drills at the end of that one. It's the main reason I got it. Low Max is good and not too much on the knees nor it is too dancy and technical. Of the ones mentioned, those would be my three choices, personally. If I had to choose one, it would be Drill Max, I think. 4DS is great but you would get a lot of weight workouts too - on the plus side, you could use those after STS and you would have 4 good cardio choices for during and after STS.
 
I am kind of in the same boat. I do not have many of Cathe's DVD's because I started with her on fit TV. But am now addicted.
I do have KickMax, Drillmax, Body max2 and low impact step.
I think that drillMax and Kick Max are a great addition to any cardio rotation.
But I must warn that they are really challenging. Esp. the blast premixes. You can really push yourself which is what I like.
I need to get on the ball and order some more cardio so I can get some more variety. So I will check back to see what others say too.
Thanks for the post.
Rachel
 
If you get Fit TV, don't forget Cathe is on there, I think 3 times a day, and then you'd have Step Blast, Rhythmic Step, and IMAX 2. I agree with Shana Drill Max is fun. I like Body Max 2 and 4 Day Split. They both have premixes, so if you are doing STS you can play a premix and only do cardio. Someday I hope to own every one of them, I've yet to be disappointed in any of the DVD's I've bought.
 
I'll be the renegade here and suggest the following:

Cardio Fusion;
Step Jump Pump;
Cross Train Express

The reason I suggested Cardio Fusion is that it is a really nice salad of cardio footage from Cathe's untitled series, and incorporates Body Max 2, Low Impact Circuit, AND all of the cardio drills from Drill Max. CF also has premixes of the footage from the original "salad"; thus you get a good selection of floor and cardio drills in many different drill sequences.

The reason I suggested Step Jump Pump (which also includes Step Blast) is that it too incorporates two very effective formats - step and floor hi/lo - and includes a dizzying array of premixes. You obviously can skip the resistance cycles found in Step Jump Pump; in fact, this disc has a premix that includes all four floor hi/lo sequences in a string as an "add-on".

The reason I suggested Cross Train Express is that it has a wonderful array of cardio formats - steady-state step, interval step, step with power circuits, step-kickbox, traditional floor kickbox, and my beloved hi/lo - so you can really never be bored, and the discs are formatted such that you can do a brief cardio, or scoot among the workouts on the discs doing two or more cardio routines in a string for a longer workout.

HTH -

A-Jock
 
Cardio options

I use Timesaver and the 4DS now. I'm planning on alternating the cardio portions of them (about 30min each, give or take) with the STS. I work 10hr days so it's tough to fit longer workouts into that schedule. Easy to just do the cardio portions of each day's workout

Timesaver: 5 days workout but one is legs without cardio. The others are mostly step with some hi/lo thrown in and one day with a KPC premix
4DS: different cardio options. 2 step (high and low intensity), kickbox and boot camp.
 
Dvds Recs

I would recommend these dvds: One of the imaxs 2 or 3 ( if you get the original imax, it also has rhytmic step and max intensity cardio which is hi/lo, very intense and step).
Drill max, my all time favorite.
4Ds has a great mix of cardio & weights, you have 2 step workouts, kickbox and bootcamp.
Cross train also has so much great cardio options and some weights.

Good Luck with your choices.

Mary
 
People have made great suggestions and here's my two cents:

  • Drill Max: Is an awesome circuit/interval workout that has alot of versatility because of the awesome premixes so you can make it all cardio, all legs, cardio and legs, etc.
  • Body Max 2: Is another versatile DVD that includes step, interval, and weights and also has amazing premixes so you can make it all cardio, bootcamp, weights, etc.
  • Imax 2: Is a great FUN interval step workout which I think is the best one to start with when starting out with the Imaxes AND it also comes with Cardio & Weights which is a great step circuit workout
  • Step Blast/Step, Jump & Pump: Great step and interval workout and comes with Step, Jump & Pump. And comes with ooodles of premixes which mixes both of the workouts up for awesome versatility.
  • And of course 4DS which has HIS step, LIS step, Boot Camp, Kickbox and the awesome weights. And of course comes with ooodles of awesome premixes. You just can't go wrong with this one. And it really gives great hypertrophy.
  • And last but not least the awesome classic Cross Train Express.​
These are all fun, amazing and versatile dvd choices. You just can't go wrong with Cathe! They all have great music in them too and really drives you to keep going. I hope this helps with making your choices and also try previewing them at www.Cathe.com and click "Video Clips", the clips are about 10min long each. I'm such an enabler!;) And remember you can always substitute. If it calls for a certain kickboxing workout sub the one you have or an Imax workout just sub the one you have. Good luck!:D

​
 
Aquajock said:
I'll be the renegade here and suggest the following:

Cardio Fusion;
Step Jump Pump;
Cross Train Express

The reason I suggested Cardio Fusion is that it is a really nice salad of cardio footage from Cathe's untitled series, and incorporates Body Max 2, Low Impact Circuit, AND all of the cardio drills from Drill Max. CF also has premixes of the footage from the original "salad"; thus you get a good selection of floor and cardio drills in many different drill sequences.

The reason I suggested Step Jump Pump (which also includes Step Blast) is that it too incorporates two very effective formats - step and floor hi/lo - and includes a dizzying array of premixes. You obviously can skip the resistance cycles found in Step Jump Pump; in fact, this disc has a premix that includes all four floor hi/lo sequences in a string as an "add-on".

The reason I suggested Cross Train Express is that it has a wonderful array of cardio formats - steady-state step, interval step, step with power circuits, step-kickbox, traditional floor kickbox, and my beloved hi/lo - so you can really never be bored, and the discs are formatted such that you can do a brief cardio, or scoot among the workouts on the discs doing two or more cardio routines in a string for a longer workout.

HTH -

A-Jock
Click to expand...


I have to agree with A-Jock's suggestions of Cardio Fusion and SJP/SB and the reasoning behind them. I'm not a huge fan of CTX (great program just not a favorite of mine) and would probably get the disk with Imax/RS/MIC as a 3rd choice. I don't think you can go wrong with any of Cathe's DVDs. Good luck and enjoy your new workouts!
 
Hi Gwen -- You can't go wrong with any of Cathe's DVDs. I have all of the ones on your list, and they are great. That said, if you're looking for new cardio to integrate with STS, I think you'll get more bang for your buck if you stick with those that are mainly cardio, especially interval cardio, as Cathe recommends not doing any additional weight training outside of STS.

With that in mind, I'd recommend (in this order):

Cardio Fusion -- it's a compilation of the cardio portions of DM, BM2, and LIC. I think it's about 73 (?) minutes but it also has some great premixes. Sometimes I do the Step Only premix, which is 48 minutes, and still feel like I get a great workout.

IMAX2 -- it's a fabulous interval workout. I like it better than IMAX3 because the recovery time between intervals is longer and the choreography is a little easier (or a lot easier) to learn. Plus, it's a classic that should be in every Catheite's library!

Step Blast -- it's more of a steady state step workout, until the blasts at the end. I think it's one of Cathe's funnest (is that a word??) workouts.

4DS -- I love the double cardio premix, and I do it on "light" days (where I want a good workout, but I don't want to work so hard I think I'm going to die). These DVDs have a lot of variety, although as someone mentioned, half of the time is devoted to weights. But if you have the budget for it, you should love it!

Hope that helps! Have fun deciding which new DVDs you'll order. Seriously, it's hard to go wrong with any of them! :)
 
Hi:

Thanks for posting this thread it was very helpful. I actually made an investment of appx. $300 to get many of the DVD's in Cathe's Cardio DVD selections for STS. My reasoning was that this investment, coupled with my investment in STS, was less than hiring a personal trainer for the 6 months that I'll be doing STS, and more convenient. I will WAIT until next month to purchase Cross Train Express, and will do substitutions for the remaining videos I do not have.

These are the videos/DVD's I ALREADY had:

Bodymax 2 (I found the step/cardio on here are quite challenging, EXCELLENT!)
Mega Step Blast (I'll substitute this for Step Blast)

[I also have Step Jam, Butts & Guts, Slow/Heavy, High-step Training, Power Max and Bodymax 1 (my favorite as a full body weight workout); but these aren't being used in the STS Cardio recommendations]

These are the DVD's I purchased:

Imax 2
Kick, Punch & Crunch
Drill Max
4-Day Split
Rhythmic Step Plus (contains Rhythmic Step, Interval Max and Maximum Intensity Cardio)
Hardcore Extreme (contains Imax 3, Low Max, Kick Max, and High Step Challenge)
Cardio Fusion
Low-Impact Circuit
Original Boot Camp

Whatever I don't have I'll substitute. I am a TaeBo fanatic so if there is a DVD of Cathe's I don't have I'll probably go jogging, use another of Cathe's videos that I do have, or do TaeBo instead.
 
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Thanks so much for all of your opinions. Those of you who responded have given me some great suggestions. Thanks again for taking the time to do so. With that said, I plan on doing quite a few of your suggestions, starting off with viewing previews and considering spending more to get more since the purchases really will be an investment and can be used long-term, even after STS.
 
I don't have a lot of the older DVD's either. I looked at the first month of cardio suggestions and was able to come up with a comparable sub (intensity and style of cardio) with what I have:

4 Day Split
Imax 2,3
Low Max
Drill Max
Cardio Fusion
Kick, Punch and Crunch
Kick Max

I think I did add in her "Cardio Quick Fix" once or twice. Hope that helps!
 
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