Reflections on the 4 Day Split

Hi Rhonda,

I'm having a little trouble too with the choreography and don't have time to practice a little every day. I think a "tutorial" add-on would be extremely helpful!!!! I also appreciate your honesty and I think Cathe does too. Any business person NEEDS feedback!!! I think a lot of people may be hesitant to post their honest (perhaps sometimes negative feedback) because of other people's reactions. I love Cathe and her workouts, but she doesn't always need to be "defended" every time someone posts a less than positive viewpoint.
 
Hi Rhonda,
I can totally relate. the first time I was SO mad. I just wanted to go. I watched thru once and then I bombed big time. So i put in IMAX2 and put 4ds away. I really prefer less dancey moves and enjoy the drill/bootcamp stuff cause it reminds me of sports conditioning.

then on my off day I decided to allow myself the time to learn it bit by bit. I would try then rewind, try again. stop and watch rewind, try. rinse lather and repeat over again,. I used the double cardio premix and took about 2 1/2 hours- 3hrs. (my kids were circling like vultures) I felt like a dancer learning a new routine. when I didn't have the pressure of it being my workout for the day I wasn't as frustrated.
I still make some mistakes but oh well.
 
I am so glad to hear I'm not the only one challenged by these step moves. Breaking them down as a tag on has really helped me get some of the moves on other dvds of Cathes. It can be so frustrating. What a dream it would be to be Cathe and move so fluidly. It probably came natural to her at birth. I so want to be Cathe.
 
I don't think that disagreeing with the original poster's post is "defending" Cathe. I personally like the variety Cathe offers and I want to make sure that as a customer my viewpoint is heard as well.

Maggie:)
 
I have trouble with the dancie moves also. I have always done Gin Miller and when I try to do Cathe my feet get all tangled up. I have mastered the warm up in LIS and am now working on the rest of it, don't think I will ever learn the HIS. It is fun if I could just learn it. I do so want to do a Cathe step but maybe at 63 it is just to much for me. Darn, growing old is it not fun. I find that going in slo mo is just to time consuming. I do love the other workouts on 4DS. So I must agree that for us older steppers a learning chapter would be great.

Susan
 
I think the biggest problem I have with HIS is that everything comes so fast. For example, I kind of lose the blast because I have to watch the first one to remember what to do. Because this is a do once a week type of routine, I don't remember from week to week(OK I am in my upper 40's memory issues:+ ). Today I did it after a break from it for 3 weeks, and it went smoothly except the blasts, so there is hope.

I do love,love,love the weight work. My kind of wieght work, circuits are just OK for me, I love piling on the heavy work.
 
Hi Rhonda!

I totally agree with you. I've been reading everybody's post on nearly a daily basis just to see if anybody was as frustrated as I am with the new workouts. I'm specifically speaking about the Higher Intensity Step/Lower Intensity Step portions. The Kickbox DVD was no problem. I haven't tried the Bootcamp one yet. I've been doing Cathe workouts almost exclusively for 9 years so her choreography is not new to me. I always expect there to be a learning curve with any new workout, but these were way more dancy than I like. Having said all that, yesterday I finally got it!!! What did the trick for me was actually putting on the premix Double Cardio and forcing myself to learn both the LIS and HIS at the same time. I'd been practicing both since I got them in the mail but to no avail. Doing this Double Cardio DVD was what finally did it for me. You may have to rewind some but it's certainly very satisfying when you at last can yell "I got it!!" Good luck and hang in there Rhonda.;-)

Sharon
 
I've given up with the step in this series for now too. I can get all other Cathe cardio workouts except for Rhythmic Step. The frustration isn't worth it. I also don't do the cardio in the hardcore series because I can barely hear the music. So, overall I have wasted a lot of money, and will definitely be waiting for reviews before buying any more Cathe cardio.

That said, I like Cathe's weights workouts.
 
I love Cathe - she's the best - but I don't enjoy overly dancy step choreography. I have finally ended up substituting Gin Miller step routines prior to doing the weights on these DVDs. I absolutely love the kickbox and the bootcamp cardio on here though.

~ Ann ~
Aim for nothing, and you'll hit it every time!
 
I love the step cardio in the 4 day split. I did not have any trouble learning the moves.

However, I have done your step cardio for years, so perhaps that is why I am used to your more intricate choreography.

I hope you do an all step video like Rhythmic step in the future!

After all, you pretty much invented step workouts!
 
I am severely choreography challenged. It took me several tries at LIS to get most of it down but now it’s a blast. What helped me was to do it with the step top alone (no risers) until I felt comfortable then add them back in. Now I can start working on HIS the same way.

I kid you not when I say it took me a solid month of doing the Cardio & Weights step premix several times a week to master it! Now it’s one of my all time favorites and I can “go back to it” anytime and get it the first time. Sometimes challenge is good, it keeps you on your toes and learning different things. ;)

Kathy G

P.S. On the road trip I was up front during Cathe’s Friday step class and totally baffled one of her regulars that had the misfortune of being right behind me. I had to modify some moves due to knee issues (plus I just plain didn’t get some of them…lol) and she approached me after the class and asked me if I could “hear” Cathe…LOL! Yup, I can hear but I can’t always “do” I told her. :D But it didn't hinder my enjoyment one bit!
 
I wanted to chime in here. I was so looking forward to these dvd's. I really wanted to do LIS as I loved all the other lower impact workouts. I was "scared" from the get go of the High impact one. Did I get these two dvd's, nope. I was struggling. I was rewinding, hugging and puffing, calling Cathe all kinds of crazy names. Then one day it clicked. I knew I could do bootcamp and the kicboxing, got those on the first try. However, the step took me a minute. I was a firm person before cathe and we all know how easy that is, and I have stayed away from any of Cathe's dancy workouts like step blast. However I am glad I did not give up and when you do the cardio's together, what a great workout.

Don't give up!
 
Hi Rhonda,

Don't give up. I did HIS yesterday (I do it often because I love it) and it is so much fun. I think I had a smile on my face the whole time. The music is great too.

Joanne
 
I'm sorry to hear some people are frustrated, but I wanted to add my feedback that I actually appreciate the more complex choreography. Yes, it took me a couple tries (OK maybe about 4 or 5) to learn, but I love the new step moves. I concentrate on what step comes next and I never even look up at the clock. Next thing you know, I finished, sweating and proud of myself.

I felt a little frustrated when I first did Step Blast, with moves that come at you fast, and also Low Max, especially the backwards mambo that I thought I would never get, but now that I have these moves down I LOVE these workouts. The more complex moves, to me, make the workout go faster and once you learn them, they really energize you.

I just wanted to add my two cents, as I want Cathe to know not everyone was disappointed. I really love this new series. I recently did the classic Step Max, just to mix up my cardio a bit. I found myself constantly looking at the clock, as I found it a little too simple for my liking.

I guess everyone has different tastes and likes.

Thanks,
Dawn
 
I have been a Cathe fanatic since Step 'n Motion I in the late eighties, buying every one of her products - 4DS has been a big disappointment for me - I found the step workouts extremely frustrating, and the quick steps and turnarounds easily can cause me to injure myself. I absolutely loved her last series, BM2 and LIC, but 4DS just frustrated me. I hope Cathe puts out more workouts similar to Body Max. I miss the days of PowerMax, Step Fit, Step Works, Step Max - those were the good old days. maryann
 
I understand your frustration-I hate when I can't get the choreography--It took me like 6 tries to learn one step dvd (not one of Cathe's); I came close to throwing it out the window. I just love the 4DS step choreo, though. It's just so much fun, and I haven't even mastered HIS yet! I like that it isn't broken down too much, so I won't be bored with it once I learn it. I like the choreo so much I've considered posting to ask what other step programs are most like it (I have Low Max and love it too). Anyway, I urge you to keep trying, maybe separate from your work out time. I find that the more I try to learn complex step, I get better at learning how to do them, I pick up each new one a little faster..
 
>I love the new step moves. I concentrate
>on what step comes next and I never even look up at the clock.

Me, too!! I have done LIS 3 times and HIS 4 times. I get better with each time I do it. I love concentrating on what comes next. The time just flies by. I did the Double Cardio premix this weekend with both LIS and HIS and had a great time.

The first couple of times viewing each, I did a lot of rewinding, but it was totally worth the effort. These workouts are so much fun!

One thing that really helped me with HIS Combo 3 (with the hitch kick) was the count breakdown of the step that Cathe posted awhile back. More of those would be very helpful, I think. I count during the moves and that helps me stay on track, too.

April
 
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