Tracey Staehle

JenL13

JenL13

Cathlete
I know this post has been asked before but I was hoping for someone to tell me how easy her w/o are to learn... i like basic moves. Drill Max & KPC are 2 of my favorite Cathe w/o. Like RS, yeah won't even go there... way too difficult for me to figure out.

So, compared to Cathe easy to learn video's how does Tracey compare and are her workouts as challenging as Cathe? I am considering buying her new w/o on the preorder but not sure if i'll regret it.

Thanks!
 
Tracey's cueing is really far behind Cathe's, IMO. As a result, I don't get nearly as good of a workout with her as I do with Cathe. I'm not a fan!
 
I have Tracey's High Intensity Step DVD and I like it very much. I find it similar to Cathe's IMAX-3 workouts. I would say the choreography is somewhat complex and there is a learning curve. If you like basic moves, you may not enjoy this one. I find her cueing to be very good, but she does not break moves down very much. Some people find this confusing, but I prefer it that way so that I don't get bored too quickly.

I think I read somewhere that her newer offerings are going to be more basic in terms of choreography. Maybe it is mentioned on her website?

Hope this is helpful.
 
I have her first 3 offerings.....and like her as an instructor. I think she's a good addition to the other advanced instructors like Amy Bento. She's professional and not annoying. However, with both Amy and Tracey....I have a very difficult time learning their step. The way they teach is just not good for me. They don't break down and all and they use really complex moves. The only complex step I can learn is Seasun or Rebecca Small, as she uses the layering system.

That being said - I still am able to get a great cardio workout (step) with Amy and Tracey. I've gotten myself used to doing my own version of the step they are doing, or a lot of times I can follow, but I'm never on the correct leg or side of the step....but I don't fuss too much about it as long as my HR is up. The intervals in Tracey's step are athletic and easy to pick up. I think her interval offering is slightly less intense than Cathe's....but I can always make it harder if I want. I don't think her impact is quite as high as Cathe's Imax's.

As far as her initial scuplting....it was just so/so in my book. It is more functional fitness based and I only do FF every so often if I decide to do a FF/Recovery type of week.

Her last Kickbox is fun and easy to learn....but I think it lacks a bit of intensity. I usually add some jumps and other intensity to it to make it a better workout.

She filmed her first series in one day and received a great deal of constructive critisicm from her customers and she is very attentive to what we want and I'm sure the new offerings will be much better, as she corrected all of the problems with the first ones and like Amy Bento, made her new series 90 Minutes each for a good price!

I think her forte is working the Core. Her Core DVD is excellent. I usually never do the entire thing at once (but it's doable) cuz I usually do it in 10-15 segments. She uses a lot of very unique moves and a lot of isometric holds which always seem to get my abs sore when NOTHING else does any more....not even Cathe...using weights! So, I think that says a lot for the uniqueness and effectiveness of her core work.

You might want to check out the clips on her site. www.FitbyTracey.com.
 
Hi Jen! I did try her first 3 dvds. For the life of me I just can't pick up the choreography on her High Intensity Step Mix. I couldn't do combo #2 & there are 9 combos. I'm just like you that I need the moves broken down b/c I have no idea what the instructor wants me to do. So with that in mind, I opted NOT to buy her step workout. Her Sweatfest step is only 2 workouts 30 min. each. I figured I could probably get the first workout which is more broken down & easier but for the price of $15.99 for only a 20 min. workout (excluding the warmup & cooldown), it wasn't worth it. However, I do recommend the Sculpt which I hear is TOUGH + her Kickboxing one (90 min.). If I were you, I would buy sculpt & kickboxing. Her cueing is excellent btw.

I also highly recommend you buy the Core Conditioning & Strength dvd. Tracey's a pilates instructor. I've seen a difference in my abs from doing this dvd opposed to Cathe's ab work. Just a suggestion.

HTH, Kathy:D
 
I like Tracey's "Core Strength & Conditioning" workout. I think she really did a great job incorporating back & abs in this workout. Usually core workouts leave out the back or they do very little exercises for the back. In this workout she dosen't neglect the back. Your back and abs do get a good workout.
 
Thanks everyone... maybe I'll just wait then and see what the reviews are for the new kickboxing w/o. I own so many good w/o and don't really NEED any new ones but I love kickboxing so that is the one I'm most interested in. My core I never really have to focus on since I do so much kickboxing & cardio w/o that require you to keep your core strong & flexed so I never do a w/o that is just core focused. I am going to keep an eye on this thread though, I think someone on this forum is actually in one of her new w/o, if I'm not mistaken...
 
>She filmed her first series in one day and received a great
>deal of constructive critisicm from her customers and she is
>very attentive to what we want and I'm sure the new offerings
>will be much better, as she corrected all of the problems with
>the first ones and like Amy Bento, made her new series 90
>Minutes each for a good price!

Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned with filming, because of time constraints, and only the cardio/kickbox workout is 90 minutes. The sculpting and step workouts have been cut to 60 minutes (and in the step workout, she kept the more complex section, and ditched one of the more straight-forward, athletic segments--great for lovers of complex cardio, but I'm not one of them, so that rules this DVD out for me).

One problem she didn't correct was being overly-ambitious about what she could get done in one day of shooting.
 
Kathryn - Will you be getting the kickbox one? I am thinking of just getting it & not the others. Do you think it is pretty simple to pick up from what you've seen? Thanks!
 
Kathryn - Thanks -- I didn't know the workouts had been cut to 60 min. I'm not real good at picking her complex step up either. Geez.....I wish she would have made them as planned. I'm sure I'll get use out of it anyway.
 
Hmm, this is too bad. I personally think trying to do that many workouts in one day is just a bad idea. If you can only afford one day of studio time, it's probably best to do only 1 or 2 workouts max, don't you think?

As far as the complexity of the step goes, I think new instructors seem to make the mistake that complicated = intense, which is unfortunate and not true.

Very disappointing. I'm definitely waiting for reviews.

Marie
 
>Kathryn - Will you be getting the kickbox one? I am thinking
>of just getting it & not the others. Do you think it is pretty
>simple to pick up from what you've seen? Thanks!

I just preordered the kickbox and sculpting ones. From what it sounds like, the KB is very space-friendly, form is good, and it's intense. I didn't like her first one, but mostly because it was very short on kb (only about 30 minutes total), some combos used a lot of space (especially forward-and-back,, which I don't have) and even though the workout was short, one combo seemed to go on forever.

I like the fact that she's including pre-hab/re-hab type moves in the sculpt workout. Sounds like something useful.

I'm willing to take a chance on these two workouts, but the step workout is no longer of interest to me.
 
>As far as the complexity of the step goes, I think new
>instructors seem to make the mistake that complicated =
>intense, which is unfortunate and not true.

I agree. In fact, it's usually the contrary: complex means you have to use a lower step, and more energy is spent on learning the choreo than on range of motion or power.
 
I disagree. People complain about wanting something different from the same old, same old. Well, HISM is not the same old and it is a TON of fun! I think it's too bad that Tracey is leaving what she excels at and is trying to please everyone, first of all, b/c HISM is so well done and so much fun and secondly, b/c SOME people will be rude no matter what the girl does (I'm not talking about people who constructively say what they like or dislike about a workout). I'm not even sure I'm ordering Sweatfest so please don't accuse me of being a fan who likes whatever she puts out, I just think new instructors make the mistake of trying to change what they shine at to please impossible people. I think Tracey's complex choreography in HISM (whish isn't THAT complex since I was able to get it) is what set her apart from the rest of the crowd to ME anyway. Edited to come back and say, now that I've learned the workout (I don't mind a learning curve...it keeps my workouts interesting), I work up a great sweat and get a great workout from HISM!
Angela
 
I agree with gogigi.

Imagine if Imax 3 was one of the first Cathe workouts you'd ever done. I bet you'd consider it complex. If you didn't know what a figure 8 or hesitation repeater or ricochet was, you'd be frustrated. Yet that workout gives you TONS of intensity.

I, too, had trouble learning some of the combos from Tracey's HISM, but the intervals were straightforward and intense and I simply did knee ups or power 7s when confused, until I finally did learn the choreography. Again, it's like Angela said - you can't please everybody all the time, I just wanted to chime in and say that I do believe it's possible to create a somewhat choreographically complex workout while achieving notable intensity.

And as with any workout, once you take the time (if you care to invest it) to learn the workout, you can really give each move your all and the intensity can only increase from there.
 
Jillybean-is it you that is in one her new w/o?

I hope nobody thinks that I think having complex choreography is a bad thing or makes a w/o less intense, I just know that I am not good at picking up w/o like that so instead of getting them & complaining about it, I just like to avoid them & stick to that instructors more basic things, even w/ Cathe I do that. I have never done one of Tracy's w/o so I don't have a clue what she is like!!! But w/ all this talk now, I think I will have to purchase her new kickbox one just to see what it's like!!!

:)
 
>Jillybean-is it you that is in one her new w/o?
>
>I hope nobody thinks that I think having complex choreography
>is a bad thing or makes a w/o less intense, I just know that I
>am not good at picking up w/o like that so instead of getting
>them & complaining about it, I just like to avoid them & stick
>to that instructors more basic things, even w/ Cathe I do
>that. I have never done one of Tracy's w/o so I don't have a
>clue what she is like!!! But w/ all this talk now, I think I
>will have to purchase her new kickbox one just to see what
>it's like!!!
>
>:)

JenL13,
Let me clarify...my post talking about pleasing impossible people was in NO WAY referring to you at all. Some people like basic moves and I understand that. Some people like to complain about every workout known to man. I will admit my reponse was a little bit of a rant but the rant was NOT directed at you!!! You may not want to purchase Tracey's step workout if you like more basic choreography.
Angela:7
 
Hey Anglea- No, I didn't really think that was directed at me but I know what you are talking about, some people like to complain to complain! I am not one of them so like to do research before ordering w/o, normally collage video does a good job of judging the difficulty of a w/o & I stick to their basic, sometimes moderate levels and usually it doesn't steer me wrong! However, during pre-sales like Tracey's collage doesn't have them yet so I can't go to that website to see what they rate it, ugh! I value the judgement of the people on Cathe's forums so figured I would try to figure it out before they come out! Thanks for clearing it up though, I do appreciate it & do appreciate your feedback!
 
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