Cathe Friedrich''s Low Impact Series: Low Impact Challenge Step Aerobics

This is definitely high intensity step, in spite of being low impact. I''ve been doing this workout with a pulled chest muscle so I can''t really use my arms. I also seem to always do it the day after an intense leg workout, so I do the repeaters on the floor. In spite of these modifications, my heart rate is always in the high end of my aerobic zone. I''m an advanced exerciser who does lots of intense cardio, so I was very pleasantly surprised that I could get such a good workout with no impact.

This is a 50 minute step workout. You have the option of adding on the 21 minute bonus step/weight routine for a 71 minute workout. Shorter premixes are also available.

Why I love this workout:

**It''s intense without being a killer. After finishing, I feel energized, not exhausted.

**Appropriate length of warm-up and cool-down. In Cathe''s STS Cardio series, the warm-ups were way too long and the cool downs were non-existent.

**The routines make me think. Cathe doesn''t spend much time breaking down the moves which I love because it keeps the workout interesting for me. I didn''t get many of her moves the first few times I did this DVD, but eventually I did. The choreography is more complex than most of Cathe''s other step workouts, which was a particular challenge for me since I workout very early in the morning and I''m not quite awake yet.

**I didn''t even notice the music because I was enjoying the workout so much. I usually don''t care for Cathe''s taste in music, but in this case I didn''t notice the music at all.

There are some things to note about this workout. I don''t consider these to be big negatives since I really enjoyed this workout.

The things to consider:

**Some of the moves could really tweak your knees and hips. There are several pivot moves; I workout on carpet so I have to be extra careful.

**You are stepping across the step in several moves and I''m always afraid that my legs will get tangled up and I will fall.

If you want a fun, challenging and low impact step workout, this may be just the thing for you. I would suggest checking out clips to see if you''ll enjoy the choreography. Happy stepping!

I have been working out with Cathe for awhile and have been waiting for her new Low Impact step DVDs. This is exactly what I wanted it works you HARD but is easy on the joints. If you are used to Cathe''s other DVDs, you should be able to catch on fairly quickly, although there are a few parts I haven''t nailed down yet and I have most of her step workouts. If you are new to Cathe, you may be lost; this is not a ''teaching'' DVD and I would call it quite advanced for people that have never done step. It packs a great workout into only 50 minutes! The only ''con'' for me is the music, once again we have muzak-style throughout, I prefer the music on her older workouts that were actual songs by original artists.

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It''s Cathe, so the standard of excellence is there. I have many of her tapes and it was time for some new ones. For me the choreography was rolling along, easy enough to understand until about midway through when I started bumping into walls so to speak. She seemed to take more time with the earlier portions... or maybe I was tired and started to lose the ability to follow. It''s a little complicated towards the end and after 4 times I still don''t totally have it. But I have run into this before with her tapes. It''s like life, which is why I love it: you just have to keep trying-you''ll get it. Her tapes aren''t just excellent workouts, they''re also life lessons. Also like with her other tapes, you''re stronger after just a couple of times through them, even if you can''t do all the pushups or all the lunges. Each move has a purpose so you will notice results pretty early in the game. As with most of her tapes there are also premixes and a 21 minute bonus step routine. You get so much for your money with her tapes, they''re always worth it and the quality never slumps. She''s been at this for a couple of decades so that''s saying a lot.

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I bought this DVD for my mom, who is an intermediate/advanced stepper. After surgery she was looking for a good low impact step workout without the fancy jumps or turns. I have enjoyed Cathe workouts in the past so I purchased this one after reading reviews. She opened it at Christmas and we did it together for the first time. I was actually surprised at how much of a workout it still was despite being low impact. I will admit that I prefer my step to have more jumps and fancy footwork, but this still got me sweating. There were a couple of weird moves though, like doing a burpee on the step in the middle of a routine, but other than that it''s great.

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I was disappointed with this DVD! I was looking for something low impact, but the way they jump around is not "true low impact" in my book. I started with the warm up, but it was more like a full-on work out. The twists and turns, along with the fast pace are a little too much for me. There isn''t enough repetition to learn one movement before they add a new movement. I have been doing step aerobics since the 80''s, and it seems that each time a new steep aerobic video comes out, it tries to outdo the last one in intensity, and difficult moves. So unnecessary for a good work-out! I would not recommend this video to my friends who are looking for something low impact.