Step N Motion I

Have not long finished doing this and it wass surprisingly challenging.

the step included some leg work like power 15s & sculpting knee lifts, and some balance work also included. The weights used quite light weights - they had just 5lb & 10lb, but the rep count was high enough that it was plenty (for me). First did it in 2019 on a 10" step (I'm 4'10") but don't have a note about weights. Then in 2021, went 6" due to knee injury & matched the weights for 5lb (2.5kg) but went to 5kg (11lb) for the heavier. They're on an 8" in the video. I'd call this somewhere between intermediate to advanced. The time went by rather quickly, which is always a good sign. Didn't notice the music - rarely do unless it's particularly fun, until some heavy rock guitar started wailing.

Breakdown:

(55:41) Total Duration

(8:59) Warmup

(42:34) Workout

_____(26:26) Step Aerobics

_____(9:54) Weights

_____(6:14) Abs

(4:08) Stretch

Stands the test of time pretty well (g-tards were they 'thing' then).

Type: Step and strength

Length: approx 45-50 minutes

Set: modern with squared of cheddar stuck to the walls

Outfits: Hideous old white leotards with the thong back. YUCK

Background exercisers: 4 - 3 women and 1 man

Music: very nice vocal contemporary music.

I like to think of this workout as a BodyMax Lite. Its very similar in many ways: the first section is step aerobics, the second section is plyo drills, then there is a balance section followed by upper body weights and abs.

This was Cathe’s first video, so she is very young and looks substantially different than she does today. There is the “whoop factor” in this workout, tho to a lesser degree than in her other earlier workouts, so whoopophobes beware. The step section is very basic, and she introduces moves that are considered standard, such as horseshoe, tap change, knee ups, etc. This would be a good video for those new to step. She does a few silly arm things that remind me of a cheerleader, and so I just do side to sides while she is acting like that. The routine is rather bland and uninspired, but not undoable. Thankfully, it is short. .The ply section is more interesting, but made my knee hurt. She introduces the Starburst and has us do 20 on each side. Lots of plyo variations in this short section and then it time to balance on one leg. I FF’d thru this section as I don’t like all that flamingo stuff.

The last section is weights and she only uses five pounds! Monster woman that I am, I grabbed 8’s. YAY! I am using bigger weights than Cathe! Well, by the 18th rep I was down to 5’s also. She supersets the whole upper body with light weights and 20 reps. It’s a nice upper body routine. The thing that confuses me is that when she introduces it, she says she is going to use 5’s and move up to 10’s later but will let us know. I don’t recall the 10’s ever making an appearance. Also, she never works back, unless its after the ab work and the stretching. I didn’t stay tuned for that part.

The ab work is GREAT! I am almost considering keeping the tape for the ab routine alone, but I already have so many great ab routines…. Hm.

All in all a great little tape for an easy day - a little of everything. I don’t think I will keep it , tho because it is so dated and not tat much fun. I have better tapes that combine step and weights. All in all I give this workout a B.

I purchased this tape a number of years ago and was surprised at its intensity. It starts out with 10 minutes warm-up/low impact, followed by 16 minutes of Step, 12 minutes of Interval Training/Balance, 12 minutes upper body, 5 minutes abs, 5 minutes stretch. All you Cathe Frederich fans out there should purchase some of her earlier tapes. This is one of my favorite tapes (I own all her tapes). She does some very high impact moves on the step in an "energy sprint" way. For example, she will do 20 Starbursts on each side (in Step Max she does only 8). A starburst is the move she does in "plypower" with one foot on the floor and the other foot on the step while you jump up on the foot on the step continuously for twenty times. This is very intense. She also does off the step plyo moves, lunge push backs, squats in a straddle position. Her upper body section is used with 5 lb. dumbbells (I use 8 lbs and rewind each section and redo with 6 lbs). She does military press, upright rows,lateral moves, bicep curls, hammer curls (with pulsing moves), triceps(dips on the bench), a 10 lb. segment on the bench doing chest flies, 16 pushups. The ab section is only five minutes but very good (I rewind and do it again). This is a very good tape and all her fans should get it.The music is the best of all her tapes. Don't pass this one up. I would like to hear someone else's opinion of this tape (of course, a true Cathefan). The box says this tape burns 30% more fat and calories in 1/2 the amount of time of traditional aerobics class. It is created by Creative Instructors Aerobics (Greg Twomby). Have a blast!

I cannot tell you how much I like this video. I just got it today so have only done it once but I think I will do it often. It is pretty intense, but the cardio portion is shorter than most of her other tapes at only 28 minutes but I definitely felt thoroughly worked out when it was over. It says on her website that this is her most unique tape in the series and that is one of the things I really like. It is different than most of what you see done today but only dated in the sense that she spends more time explaining what are now considered fairly basic step moves. Other than that, it is different from current tapes and from any I had in years past. I like the fact that she combines a little bit of floor aerobics (minimal) as well as plyo power and lower body toning that still keeps your heart rate up there. The music is great (if you spent a lot of time in dance clubs in the '80s like I did you'll see what I mean) and I will definitely reach for this tape whenever I want to relive my youth or just have a blast. I skipped most of the upper body toning because I do more of the heavy weight, low rep thing but it looked good if you like the lighter weight, high rep format. The ab section was good too and I really felt it. Okay, call me a dork but I think this will be one of my favorite tapes. Makes me want to pull out my old Madonna albums (albums?), rent About Last Night, and catch some re-runs of Family Ties!