Two left feet

[myu4ria]

Hi Cathe:

I have just started trying to workout to your step videos. I love to watch them. You are so energetic and the workout feels and seems like those I have experienced at fitness centers. I have placed it in my budget for next month to order Push and Pull. I can't wait!! In the meantime, I am using the videos that air on fittv.

I am not new to step aerobics. However, when I am working out with you, I get very confused when you turn around or go around the step. I feel really embarrassed asking, but how/where do you suggest I place my step in relation to the tv? One other question, when you are using your right leg, should I use my left? Any assistance you can give would be greatly appreciated. I want to get as much as possible out my workout.

Thanks for in advance for responding.

 

[LadyLwyr]

Hello! I'm obviously not Cathe, but I've been doing her workouts for a number of months now. So, I'll give you my two cents. If nothing else, this reply should bump your question up for Cathe.

I think Cathe's workouts are definitely designed to be "mirrored." That is, you'll use your left foot, etc. when she is using her right foot, etc., as if you were looking at yourself doing the movements in a mirror. Having used videos that don't use mirroring, I think this method is much easier to follow, especially when complex choreography is involved.

I place my step where I can see the TV and a little off-center (towards the front) of my workout space. I place it off-center b/c it seems like I rarely need very much space in front, but often need more space behind the step. Side-to-side movements are pretty balanced.

When I first started step (about a year ago w/ Mindy Mylrea's Awesome Intervals), turns were the bane of my existence, but after a few tries, I got them, and you will too. One of the great things about Cathe's DVDs is the chaptering, so you can do the same segment over and over until you get it (You may even have a "repeat" button on your DVD player). When I first started doing Rhythmic Step, for example, I would do one combination all three times instead of doing the three combinations. Eventually, I was able to do all three as well as the combinations in other workouts as well. Keep at it, and you'll get there!

Best of luck!

 

[Cathe Friedrich]

Hi Myu4ria! Welcome and thank you for your kind words. It can be quite an adjustment coming from a health club class environment to that of working out in front of a TV. At a fitness center you usually view the instructor from the back and on TV you view the instructor from the front. The best place to put your step is directly in front of the TV so that you mirror my movements. Use whatever leg I am saying that YOU are using. If I tell you to do a basic right, you should do that so that as you face the TV you are following me as if you are looking in a mirror. I cue the workout to YOUR lead leg so always use the leg that I cue you to.

It is also best if you watch the workout before you do it so you can study where the tricky spots are. You may even still have trouble with them after doing them, but it will get easier each time since you will have a better feel for where the movement takes you. Sometimes you will benefit from watching the workout before AND after you do it so that you can really study where a foot is landing, turning, etc. on areas that were giving you the most trouble.

Whatever you do, don't give up....it does get easier with practice, and practice exercise burns calories too