Want to increase my fitness level- not very coordinated...

[wendybdh]

Hi. I am new to the message board. Here is my fitness background and dilemma: I workout about 1 hour a day(cardio 3-4 days and strength training 2-3 days a week and the occasional yoga and pilates) and consider myself an intermediate exerciser who would like to work up to the advanced level. I have gotten comfortable with Denise Austin, Kathy Smith, Leslie Sansone, and Karen Voight and am ready for a change. Unfortunately, I am not that coordinated and some of the footwork in Cathe videos intimidates me - I tried All Step video about a year ago and gave up quickly. I have ordered the high step and the high step circuit DVD, and the Muscle Endurance VHS. I have also ordered the High Step Training but it is probably too choreographed for me. I plan on ordering the new Body Fusion in the future. Please help me figure out what workout VHS/or DVD's are appropriate for me. Thank you so much. Wendybdh

 

[pace1987]

Hi Wendy and welcome How about the new Basic Step. That is very simple. Let me tell you I got the All Step with my step and it was very intimidating to me. That is when I came here and purchase Classic Volume #1 on DVD, it has 3 of Cathes step video which is a little less complicated then All Step. Also since you were considering to increase your fitness level you can check out Imax 2 from the IS Series. The step is pretty much basic but you do a total of 10 interval or what I would do is make sure you buy any of Cathe's in DVD format because she has so many options like premixes, chapters, title, and mix&match menu which in Imax 2 you can do the premix of just doing a total of 5 intervals 1 through 5 or 6 through 10. Another premix is doing the blast only. Any of Cathe's strength videos are great. My favorite are the Pyramids from the IS series and Slow & Heavy. HTH

 

[fab40]

What about Bootcamp? It's pretty intense, but the choreography is simple. If I may add, 2 years ago I was soooo uncoordinated, that anything with choreography got put on the "no good" pile. I was doing Reebok videos, but bored with the same stuff. Then I got a Christi Taylor video, and said "No way!" Well after a month I took it out again. To make along story short, by the 4th time I really started to master the choreography. Now I crave complex choreography because I don't get bored so quickly. I've come along way, so I know how you feel. But try to give it a chance. It will come. Cathe really isn't that difficult to master. I always give the workout 4 times to catch on. Anything beyond that, forget it. My "no good" pile now is my basic choreography pile. Step Max is an older video, that has more basic to moderate choreography. That was my 1st Cathe and easy to master. Keep at it it will come.

When Step first came out at the health club, I tripped and fell so much, I was a disgrace and embarrassment. In fact the instructor came up to me after the class and asked if I was okay. :+ I didn't try step again until 5 years later. In my own home of course. And the rest is history.

 

[Aquajock]

Also consider I-Max The Original (simply titled "Interval Max"). The ultimate in simple choreography and advanced intensity. If I can master the choreography, anyone can, given that I am the Ranking Klutz of the Cathe Forums.

Never underestimate the ability of the Cathe Crowd to spend your money for you.

A-Jock

 

[AllysonR]

RE: Want to increase my fitness level- not very coordin...

I have two left feet and a brain that short circuits easily when doing complex choreography but by using a variety of techniques, I've been able to learn even Cathe's step tapes with complex choreography.

First, I bought the less complex cardio workouts:

Interval Max
Cardio Hits with Step Fit being one of the easiest to learn
Step Jam

The magic words in Cathe's catalog to describe Interval Max: "No tricky choreography" were the magic words which made me buy that workout. It's an advanced level workout and tough in intensity for an intermediate exerciser, but the catalog description is accurate.

The intensity of the Cardio Hits step cardio is hard for me to judge from an intermediate exerciser perspective because I was advanced when I started using the workouts on it.

Step Jam is more accessible in intensity for an intermediate exerciser.

Second, I chose her workouts that organized the step routines into 10-15 minute sections. I would only use one 10-15 minute section as a "warmup" for another workout. The point was to learn the choreography in small amounts while keeping my frustration at a minimum since I get extremely frustrated very easily. I kept repeating a section at a time until I'd mastered it and then I'd move on to another step section.

The good news is that Cathe uses many of the step routines in different step workouts, so the more of her step workouts you master the easier the future ones are to learn. For example, "flying angels" are done in several of her workouts.

Third, I graduated from 10-15 minute sections to trying 20-25 minute step sections, e.g., the 24 minute step section on Body Max. It's short and the choreography is simple. It's also LOADS of fun. I just love that one.

Fourth, I tried the longer step workouts with the understanding that some of the specific moves like "flying angels" I'd be able to do immediately because of past Cathe step experiences and some of the moves, I'd just have to modify or ignore in order to complete the workout the first few times through.

The more cognitively demanding a task, the longer you willl remember how to do that task once you've mastered it. (This is a principle I learned as an educator.) So once you've learned the complex step, you'll remember most of it if for some reason you have to set it aside for a while. I had to do that when I injured my knee by overdoing step workouts. After over 5 weeks I did a complex step workout: 10 Imax2 sections this week and had remembered 95% of it.

If we can learn Cathe's complex stuff, so can you. It just takes some of us more patience and time.

Allyson

 

[wendybdh]

RE: Want to increase my fitness level- not very coordin...

Thank you so much to everyone for your encouraging words. I can't wait to get started and believe it or not I am even psyched up about doing the more complex choreography now. I have a several Karen Voight tapes and she keeps adding on and the time goes by so fast since I'm not doing the same thing over and over and over so I know Cathe workouts are going to fly by. Thanks again to everyone for all your help and if anyone has more suggestions, I definitely appreciate them.