Cathe Friedrich - or just Cathe - has been a giant in the home-fitness world for years and years. As an at-home fitness addict, I've known about her for a long time but her videos always seemed to require way too much equipment. Even her cardio almost always requires a step.
Several years ago, I bought two of her DVDs - Intensity and Cardio Core Circuit. Both are very good workouts but they're so intense, I dread doing them. And neither has much fun-factor.
Fast forward to late last year when I learned that Cathe streams her live workouts from her gym in New Jersey. She posts about one a week and, with a $10/month subscription, you can watch any of them at any time. There are over a hundred.
Cathe is more fun in her Live workouts - in my opinion. You begin to recognize the regulars in her classes as you keep doing the videos and that's always fun. It makes you feel like you're in the room with them. One of the biggest pluses is that she gives you water breaks in her Live workouts, unlike in her DVDs - because she needs them. This is a big deal.
The sheer breadth of workout types in these Live videos is incredible - strength training, cardio endurance, kickboxing, HIIT, metabolic circuits (cardio + weights), cycling, barre, abs.... Many of the workouts take on the same format as her DVDs - for example, there's a Cardio Core Circuit Live.
Other advantages to Cathe Live is just exploring the website. There's a great forum in which you can ask Cathe lovers any question about any workout or any fitness/health problem you have. Cathe's blog is great. She is so smart and intelligent about all things fitness- you can tell she does her research. This makes me respect her more and more. Also, she provides you with rotations for her DVDs. This is really good if you're not inspired and need direction for your at-home workouts.
If I have a complaint about Cathe Live it's Cathe's workout style. Most of her cardio is predictable - she draws upon the same moves over and over. And it's not at all dance-y. That's a plus for most people, but I like dance - and the style of Michelle Dozois more. However, I see the advantages to Cathe's dynamic style - results, especially in the legs. Her workouts sculpt your body. This is something to consider.
Bottom Line: Cathe Live is a great resource for any home exerciser or any Cathe lover. There's also an option on her site to subscripe to Cathe On Demand, with which you have access to every DVD she's ever recorded (for $20/month - which also includes access to the Cathe Live workouts).
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