Cathe Friedrich fans - recommendations?

[CompassRose]

I've decided... I'm going to order me one of her videos. (My gym is closing down its convenient, walking-distance location and moving to very inconvenient but fancy new digs up in Big Box Wasteland, which means my attendance will probably drop sharply.)

It's gonna cost me a mint, what with the exchange, so I wanna be sure I get the right one! :D

I'm looking for cardio emphasis rather than strength, and not TOO much fancy choreography, being as I am not the World's Most Coordinated Person® and I can't be sweating if I'm standing around staring at my feet in confusion wondering where the extra left one came from...

I looked up some reviews, and they lead me to think that Power Max might fill the bill. What do you think? Other suggestions?

thanks,
k.

[Valerie226]

no comments here, just looking in to see who cathe freidrich is....

[CompassRose]

Apparently, THE woman (http://www.cathe.com/) to go for if you want to sweat
blood (http://www.videofitness.com/instructors/friedric.php) in your very own living room.

[Valerie226]

I always think I will be able to do those videos, but I'm happier on the treadmill and now my new elliptical. my coordination ceases at anything more confusing that alternating feet!

[CompassRose]

:D I hear you... alas, my house is too small for anything remotely resembling a cardio machine! Anywhere.

A. was surfing the other night looking for prices on a gym-quality rowing machine, since that's the only cardio he likes. He found some, and showed me, all excited.

"Where are we going to put it?" I said. "On the porch?"

"Of course not... in the room in the basement." (our pseudo-gym)

"It won't fit," I said dampeningly.

"It will so!" (Repeat a few times, in different wording. Exeunt to basement, accompanied by tape measure.)

Well, we were both right. It WOULD fit. Barely. Leaving about six inches of floor clearance next to the squat rack and bench. In short, it would FIT, but not work.

"Besides," I said, "if you're going to spend six hundred dollars on something, I'd rather it was the bloody bathroom. If we finish the bathroom and the kitchen, we can SELL this dump, and buy a new house with FOUR bedrooms and space for a proper workout room." I'm so glad I'm not married to me. Sigh.

In short, we - barely - have space for me to do step aerobics in the living room. Or I can run. And running near every day is starting to make my knee whine warningly.

[Gilgamesh37]

Let me disclose at the start that I am NOT a Cathe fan. There's something about her manner I find annoying, I do find her choreography--not hard exactly, more like counter-intuitive. I used to teach dance so I generally pick up pretty quickly, but man, something about her and the way she calls, it seems like I'm always ending up on teh wrong foot with my back to the tv. PLus some of her tapes assume familiarity with step patterns from prior tapes. And she does a lot of TIFTT, which some folks like and some folks don't.
Also I find her step/cardio to be too high impact for my aging, degenerating joints. Told you I wasn't a fan. :p

So.....that said, can I ask why you decided on Cathe? Because so many folks swear by her? Or have you actually seen a tape and/or watched some of the downloads at Cathe.com?

I hear fabulous things about the new pyramid series, FWIW. Fabulous enough that I'm probably going to break down and get one myself, despite all of the above. ANYWAY--that said Rose, if by chance you want to just try out a Cathe, I have copies of the Wedding tape and (either Step Heat or Step Jam, I honestly can't remember which) which I'd be happy to let you try out if you wanted. Just PM me.

[seathyme]

I switched from videos to running outside plus gym membership about four years ago, so I know nothing about her stuff post-1999 or so. That said, if you want killer cardio at home, Interval Max is an awesome workout. The choreography changes with each of the ten intervals, so as I recall, it was not tedious. But it was tough!! Major sweat-fest in front of the TV. Good luck.

[Leslie w]

I have all of Cathe's workouts and my favorites are her more recent ones. Less TIFT'ing. I think she's the most intense instructor out there. In fact, I get a better workout from her than I ever did at the gym. She does use complicated choreo esp. in her newer vids but I agree that Interval Max is a good video if you like intensity. The nice thing about this workout is she repeats each step segment 5 or 6 times, so even if you're new to her stepping it's easier to catch on. I love her strength videos too. But, they require a lot of equipment; various dumbbells, a barbell, a tall box and a stability ball, so unless you want to set up a home gym you should stick with her cardio.

[CompassRose]

TIFTing?:confused:

No, I haven't watched any of the downloads (although perhaps I should!) I'm just going by recommendations. If I'm gonna do cardio, I wanna SWEAT, durnit, and I found even the Advanced Tae Bo (from, granted, the first series) doesn't do much for me unless I do jumping jacks in the jogging intervals.

I do need a cardio alternative to running; right now I'm running nearly every day, and it's too much for the old joints. Even high-impact something else is a change and a rest.

So you're saying Interval Max rather than Power Max, Leslie?

[Leslie w]

I'm sorry I wasn't clear! TIFT'ing means taking it from the top. In her earlier videos she would do that to the point of overkill. It was a great way to learn her moves, but after doing the video a couple of times I was bored.

To be honest, I only did Power Max once and I don't remember much of it. A lot of die-hard Cathe fans love this video. I do think Interval Max is one of her most intense videos. Another good one is MIC. It has both hi/lo and step. You do 30 min of hi/lo and then if you survive that (and that section leaves me sucking air!) you move on to the step for 30 min. I used to run too, and that video I found more difficult than a 5 mile run.