step height for Imax?

J

junemom

Cathlete
Okay, I have to know...what step height do you all use for Imax? I have been feeling really proud of myself that I can get through that sucker, no modifications...but I NEVER use higher than 6" for any step workout....should I (gulp) be trying to do this on 8"??? Oh! Other than knee health, my excuse has been that I'm 5'1"...what does everyone else do?

Christine
 
Christine, I use the 8" step but boy oh boy do I feel it! By intervals 8/9 I;m begging for Cathe to stop. I suggest you slowly work your way up to an 8". Try doing the first 5 intervals with one height and then switch it for the last 5.Or switch heights from interval to interval. As we all know some intervals are real killers.
Good luck!
Patricia
 
Christine, I use a 6" step for Imax. I've used 8" before and I agree, the workout was killer but my knees didn't appreciate it. I'm only 5'1 too. I can get just as good a workout on the lower step, as evidenced by my HR monitor and my knees thank me for it. If I think my intensity needs to be kicked up some, I just use my arms more, make my moves bigger. That always works.

Sharon
 
Christine:

there's no place for "shoulds" here. If 6 inches kicks your butt, gets the heart racing, you are right where you need to be. There's no competition here, right?

I use 8 inches because I am 5, 8 tall and the person I bought my step from had nailed the risers to the platform, so there isn't a lot of choice here!!!

Do what works for you!

Clare
 
Yeah, I'm with Connie!

I use a 6" step and NEVER considered anything higher! Heck, I'm still just ducking the paramedics at 6", at 8" I'd be on life support!

Donna
Fitness~ it's a journey, not a race!
 
phew...6" does indeed kick my butt...but not on every interval. The hard ones are still hard (you know the ones...the airborne jumps, the plyo jacks, the power scissors and the last one still slay me), but some of the others actually feel semi-easy now. And the hard intervals are not even on the step; I wondered if I might just kick it up a notch raising the step, especially keeping my HR aerobic in the aerobic step portions. It is certainly true that if I really go for good form, and lots of intensity in jumps and arm movements, they're all hard. What made me think about 8" was I did the warmup for MIS a few times on 8" and was surprised just how much harder even simple stepping is at that height.

I think for Imax I will keep it at 6", but maybe try 8" on an easier one, like stepfit or something, to check it out.

Christine
 
I recall Cathe saying it didn't matter how tall you were for choosing step height, that it was all about what intensity you need. But it does seem to me that for a short person, or someone with short legs, 8" would be more difficult proportionately than for a tall person. I am relatively tall, so I almost always use 8" unless I feel so wimpy that the only way I can make myself workout is to promist myself "OK, if you'll do it, you can use 6""

It seems like it would also matter a lot for those step-ups in LL and PS Legs. I use 17" but that gets my leg at a 90 degree angle, whereas for Cathe she seems to be using 14" and getting the same result. I wear a 33" inseam.
 
I used 6" for the first 3 months I did Cathe. I now use 8" for everything. But I am 5'7". I figure, if Cathe, Cedie, and Brenda are all under 5'3" and have hot lights and cameras on them, then I should be able to do 8". IMAX is great with 8" because so many of the tougher moves are on the floor, so the step work isn't so bad. But with that said, I plan on using 6" for IMAX II since Cathe said most of it is on the step. And Rhonda (who is 5'6") uses 6" for this one too. Yikes!!!
 
Am I all alone or does anyone else out there use a 10" step? I use it on IMAX (and all my Cathe tapes) as well as Intense Moves. I just feel like I get a more intense workout. I'm 5'7", 47 years old and have been using my Reebok Step on the 10" level regularly for about 3 years - no joint problems at all...anyone else???

Robin
 
I use 4". Always have. Still kills me. AND I have never done it without any mods. AND I'm 6' tall. I think I'm in decent shape??? Maybe not. I get too bored to do it once a week though. Gotta throw a different interval workout in there.

Andrea
 
Robin,
I am interested in developing the type of ligament strength you have. I am not in a big hurry. I have no joint pain either, but I use 6" about exclusively now. I am 42 and I step probably more than I should, and cross-training more might benefit me. I love stepping right now.

Do you do other cardio activities? How about your form- are you always careful to land toe-ball-heel? Give me some hints. I would like to have an intensity goal that includes a higher step.

I have tried Rhythmic Step on an 8" step and it was tougher, but still fun. Then I went back to 6". I work out at 5 a.m. Maybe I was scared I'd trip.

If there's anything you can advise me on, let me know.
 
Don't be afraid of the 8" step. It doesn't do much too the intensity of IMAX atleast, since much of the intense moves are on the floor. JMHO....

Janice
 
I use a 10", too, for all Cathe's tapes! I'm only 5'1". I started out using FIRM tapes and the 10" was used a lot and then I transitioned into all Cathe (have since sold the FIRMS), and still don't have a nice big step, so I do everything on the 10". Dh did just order me a brand new club step this morning for Christmas in Black. I'll use it at 8" for a while and see what it's like and if I think I need to go back to 10" I'll buy extra risers.

As long as my shoes are good, I don't have any problems with joints, etc. My quads complain a little, but they'll just have to toughen up a little more!
 
Hi Connie!
I really don't do anything different than most of us Cathe fans - a six day rotation of all Cathe tapes (mixing cardio with the emphasis on step and throwing in a PowerStrike or Cristy Hi/Lo for a change of pace). As I said, sometimes I substitute Intense Moves for IMAX (I try to get in an interval workout once a week). I also work with weights (of course!) and use PS, MIS, CTX, S&H to get in all body parts at least twice per week.
As for the strength of my ligaments, I don't have a clue :) I was a ballet dancer for many years (I retired when I was about your age) and I trained very hard. I discovered workout videos around that time because I needed to continue to have a physical challenge. I've been doing yoga for about 25 years (before it was popular!) so that combined with my ballet background give me unusual flexbility for someone my age...maybe that's the key???
That and genetics...I was blessed with a really long and flexible achillies tendon...
Thats about it! Hope this helps! If I feel like it's okay for my body to keep going on the 10", I will...I love the extra intensity!

Robin
 
Robin and Kotacam,

Thanks for the insights! Robin, good for you for finding Cathe! She's the best thing out there. I "took" ballet for a few years as a kid, went on toe at age 8, a little too early IMO, got bunions (maybe related, maybe not). Bunion surgery kept me inactive for 3 months in high school in summer- note to self- next time do it in the winter!

Side note: my mom danced for years until G. Balanchine (NYC Ballet) accepted her as a dancer after an audition, when reality bit and she decided to go to nursing school instead. It would have required further investment which she and her family did not have. I am grateful to her for encouragement and dance classes- in those times there were few feminine athletic outlets for young girls. Even fewer "masculine" ones!

Then "modern dance" for a few years but nothing more than once a week. But just the experience of those classes and the moves, lots of Pilates (we didn't know that's what it was called!) set me up well for today.

I want to be able to increase my cardio capacity and my ability to take impact. I guess I'll keep it as a long term goal and be not afraid to raise the step height more, first with Step Fit and the like, and later with all or part of IMax.

Kotacam-
You are gonna love your new step! Additional risers are available at good prices at www.spriproducts.com.

When a 43 year old has a fitness goal people start fearing injury. Thanks to this forum we don't have to "closet" work out, like that 90-year-old grandmother in the news recently who dead lifted 135 pounds.

She had a "secret workout program" which included 30 push-ups a day. No one would have let her if they had known! In her spare time she "Helps the elderly" in her neighborhood by mowing lawns etc.: that's the kind of goal setting I'm into!
 
I never use anything higher than a 6-inch step for any of Cathe's step workouts. I'm courting disaster otherwise! LOL!
An 8-inch step would hurt my back and knees. I can use an 8-inch step for Fonda, Firm, Kathy Smith & Kelli Roberts step workouts, but NEVER with Cathe. :-tired
 
I'm with you. I have been using the 10 inch step for over a year with no problems. I am 5 5" and I use it at that height on Intense Moves, Imax etc.. Actually, I just posted a question to Cathe yesterday asking if I could raise my step to 12 inches for the less intense tapes. So far, everybody else who responded thinks I'm ridiculous for wanting to raise it.

Sincerely,
Dee
 
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