talk me in or out of 4 day split

J

jazz

Cathlete
I didn't pre-order because I wanted to see reviews.

I love Cathe weight work. My fav. of all time is the entire intensity series. I think it is her best. I have MIS, P/s the Bodyblast series,the Hardcore series and slow and heavy (I haven't done that one yet - got in a trade).

I did not care for drill max at all - but liked LIC.

I like splits and love love love Cathe kickbox.

Should I get this set? I'm intermediate/low advanced. Imax2 is my fav. interval workout of all time.

I don't like complex choreography so I'd probably not do the high impact step but I like cardio under an hour.

P.s.- I know I don't really need it but the holidays are coming and people always ask what you want.
 
I haven't messed w/ LIS or HIS much as I am fairly new to stepping and will need some time to build up to it, but the overall series is absolutely worth it for the weight work, KB, and BC workouts alone.

[font face="heather" font color=black size=+2]~Cathy[/font]
[font face="comic sans ms"]http://s228.photobucket.com/albums/ee296/runninteach/th_sunshine.gif
 
If you love Kickbox, I feel confident that you will love this one. The step in HIS can be a little complex and hard to learn, but super fun once you've got it down.

I don't have any of those weight workouts that you mentioned, so I can't compare. However, I LOVE the weight work in the 4DS and have seen definite gains with it.

I think it is well, well worth the money. GET IT!
 
Cardio:

I really like the kickboxing in this series. I imagine you would too. It has a couple minutes of standing oblique work at the end that I really enjoy.

I personally did not have a problem with the choreography of these workouts, but I would imagine that some might think it is complex. However, since they are so short there is not much to learn. I think it is easy to modify the high impact step into low impact. But again, I don't have choreography issues and can easily modify things. I love love love the low impact step music and feel. Two of the three blasts in low impact have the same feel as the blasts in LIC.

I don't have drill max so it is hard for me to say if you'd like the 4DS drill max. My observation of 4DS drill max is that it feels like more jumping with your feet closer together and more lateral moves than say jump squats (there are a few) or power lunges.

Weights:

Here for me are the real questions. Do you like push ups? Because the chest work involves a lot of push ups.

Do you have plenty of heavy dumbbells? I do not and feel compromised, like I am not getting enough of a challenge in certain exercises.

Do you have an exercise band still? Again, mine snapped and I can't do those exercises either.

I really like the shoulder weights in this series.

But overall, I am sorry to say bc I know Cathe worked really hard on this series, the weights are not my favorites for some of the above reasons.

OVERALL: I love the cardio of this series, like the weights enough, will do them, but I prefer her other weight workouts.
 
I'm really enjoying the series so far. I'm not a stepper and haven't looked at either of those workouts. I have done both the kickbox and boot camp workouts and loved them. Actually I have only done premixes. I did the kickbox and boot camp premix and it was a good workout together. I love, love, love the weight workout. I feel that I am really challenged and am pushing myself to use heavier weights. I love the shoulder section the best.

Even though I don't use the step workouts I still feel that I am using the series that is best for me and seeing great results because of it.
 
So, you are saying that even if you don't use the step workouts the series is worth it?

I'm beginning to think I'd like to try it.
 
Yes. The heavy weight work is fabulous!! The kickbox and boot camp sections are fun!! I don't regret buying it. It's great!!!
 
Hmmmm....if you don't like complex choreography you may not like HIS or LIS. I find the cardio, especially the step cardio, in this series is not quite as intense as I would like it to be. Then again, I'm using Cathe's 4DS in conjunction with Amy's Challenge series and I'm loving the two series together as I think it's sometimes nice to not go all out on the cardio, each and every week. I also like that the cardio doesn't wipe you out and you have plenty of energy left over to lift heavy afterwards!
The pro's and benefits of 4DS to me are:
1. You can hit every major muscle group and get it ALL done within the four days or add in extra cardio, functional fitness, total body weight work, yoga, or extra rest days.
2. You can easily pair the 4DS weight work with another short cardio of choice.
3. You can easily pair the shorter, less intense cardio from 4DS with other weight workouts.
4. Fresh, fun, somewhat more complex choreography for step.
5. I like the push pull method used for most of the body parts for weight work.
6. I like how quickly the weight work goes by with just enough rest but she keeps the weight work moving right along and often weight work for me is the workout that never ends, just going on and on my friend....
7. The option for weights first in the premixes and of course, many, many premix options abound!

The cons:
Not the best music ever but not the worst I've heard (kickbox and bc gets quite repeticious and just isn't that motivating to me...of course, this is a personal preference).

If you want intense cardio this is less intense than any previous Cathe cardio workouts produced.

Good luck with your decision!
Angela:7
Edited to come back and ask do you like Boot Camp from the Intensity Series? If you don't like Drill Max you may not care for the BC cardio from 4DS. It may still be worth it to you to get 4DS for the weight work BUT there is nothing really unique or different to the weight work in 4DS if you own all of Cathe's previous workouts.
 
I've been using 4 Day Split for about three weeks and personally enjoy it quite well. In my opinion, it's well-structured.

There's enough variety in cardio (with both style and intensity), which experts suggest is important. Kickbox is very energetic and I liked this one right off the bat. The step workouts are a little complex. I am, by no means, a step expert but I believe if you can handle Cathe's other choreography, these aren't impossible. They took me a few tries but I have them down pretty well now. Boot Camp reminds me of Drill Max, but in a drills-only format. There's not much dynamic, explosive plyometrics involved--ie, no plyo jumping jacks, air jacks, etc.

For me, the weight workout feels like shorter versions of the Gym Style series in a push/pull method. There's a mix of heavy weights and "defining" bonus burns.

By the way, I'm also high intermediate/low advanced. This is my first rotation after coming back from a few weeks' break. I'm already noticing improvements. Even Boot Camp seems a little less lethal!

That's about all I can think of right now. Hope this helps some in your decision.

Christine
 
IMO, yes, it is. What I love most about this series is that it is so time-efficient, which becomes critical for me this time of year.

>So, you are saying that even if you don't use the step
>workouts the series is worth it?
>
>I'm beginning to think I'd like to try it.


[font face="heather" font color=black size=+2]~Cathy[/font]
[font face="comic sans ms"]http://s228.photobucket.com/albums/ee296/runninteach/th_sunshine.gif
 
It's been worth it for me and I bought it solely for the weight segments. I don't use the cardio portions at all. I'm following the November rotation, substituting the cardio with walking or elliptical workouts, and I'm seeing great results in the form of lost inches and increased strength.
 
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