Sub for Hard Strikes

[TLHMN]

Hello!
After reading so many accolades for the Xtrain series, I started the 90 day Xtrain Undulating rotation today. Did Chest Back and Shoulders and loved every minute! I did not purchase Hard Strikes because I'm not a big fan of kickboxing-type workouts. For those who have (or haven't) done the 90 day rotation, any suggestions on what I could substitute for Hard Strikes? I've got a lot of Cathe's dvds, from IMAX 2 through ICE and some newer including RwH upper body. TIA!!!
Terri

 

[poohpeggy]

Do you have STS MMA Boxing? That would be a good substitute. I do the Bonus Bag workout also. I do not have a bag, I just follow the moves anyway. Otherwise, the Ice Rock'm Sock'm would be good. Rockout Knockout is also good. I did that yesterday, I am sore today. Really, any Boxing workout would be good.

 

[maddiesmum]

Rockem Sockem from ICE: it's a better workout than Hard Strikes anyway. If you don't own HS, I wouldn't buy it separately. I personally rank it as the least interesting of Cathe's kickbox workouts. I find it to be a workout that does not really know what it wants to be: the main 30 odd mins are the cardio/striking/kb section and that is worth doing, but my criticism of this section is that the huge pink gloves Cathe and crew wear make it tough to see exact execution of the moves. Then follows a 12 min conditioning section that is just out of place to my mind: it's not enough for you to call it your weight training for the day, and it is not strictly kb related moves, so what is it doing there? I would rather have continued the kickbox with some combos to learn and kept the cardio and striking going. Then there is a bonus heavy bag section that I have no interest in, personally, where the punching doesn't move to the music and without that music, I lose steam at that point and interest. I think, all in all, it is a workout in search of an identity, but I am sure others love it and will rave to you about and totally contradict my opinion!

On the other hand: Rockem Sockem and KPC are dynamite kb workouts and I even like Kick Max because while the drills/cardio section may not fit the flow of a kb workout in any traditional sense, it is a fab cardio add-on section that I find use for.

Clare

 

[Zenara25]

I did not purchase Hard Strikes because I'm not a big fan of kickboxing-type workouts. ...any suggestions on what I could substitute for Hard Strikes?

I'd say any cardio workout that you enjoy If the rotation includes the complete Hard Strikes workout maybe Slide & Glide.... I only mention it because it starts with cardio and then ends with some light strength training like Hard Strikes.

 

[dmerz]

HS is cardio including lots of JJ and a few non-hitt level "blasts". I might say Intensity Step if you prefer step for your cardio instead of kickboxing. It has lots of jacks and athletic cardio moves on the step. I would suggest ICE LI Sweat or S&S Cardio Slam too you are just looking for non-hiit cardio. I would rank Intensity as a harder sub than HS and ICE LI and an easier sub for HS - just my personal ranking on those workouts.

 

[Tahitia]

I hate any form of kickboxing or boxing or MMA, etc. I always substitute these exercises for another day of legs. So when I did XTrain I did one of the legs DVD again. You could also substitute it for a total body workout. Cathe has many to choose from. Schedule it at the end of the week when a day or two has past since doing the upper body or do a strict cardio. It all depends on your goal, whether building more muscle or improve endurance.

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

 

[FireLight]

Hello THLMN,

I've done the 90 day Undulating Rotation and I can't express how much I loved it! The energy, the music, the exercises, the results, it all makes for a well rounded and result-driven rotation.

I also favor Hard Strikes and I truly hold kickboxing in high regards, so I may be a bit on the bias side, none the less, I'll tell you why I think you should try it. It's a "gentle" break from working with weights. If you are using the appropriate weights and challenging yourself on the weight bearing days, the kickboxing days are a welcome relief, where all your energy is focused on cardio through boxing punches. Those boxing combos are sweat producing and intense.

My only gripe with Hard Strikes is that it's too short. Yup! I've got a bone to pick with Cathe. I wish it was an hour long workout and then add the bonus heavy bag segment - 30 minutes of cardio boxing and kickboxing goes by F-A-S-T. Just when you want more it ends.

However, as I recall, Hard Strikes in this rotation worked it's purpose (it's mainly the Premix #16 that is utilized in this rotation) - it's effective and I did get some serious upper body DOMS the next day after each HS workout, which surprised me.....I didn't think 30 mins could have that chain reaction but it did. That's something that stuck out in my memory, the DOMS from HS in this rotation (& I am a huge fan of DOMS)

As to what you can sub if you don't like kickboxing, the above referenced workouts are just as good, Slide and Glide. Any step workout from LIS series: Athletic Training, Low Impact Challenge. Whatever you decide, I'm sure it will be a good choice.

Good luck with the rotation and "strike hard"!