Cathe Friedrich''s STS Shock Cardio: HiiT DVD

Cathe F. is one of my favorite video instructors, and these three HIIT workouts are among the hardest workouts she has put out. HIIT workouts are designed to give you an amazing cardio workout, without catabolizing (eating away) your muscle. Don''t let the shortness of these HIIT workouts (or of any HIIT workouts) fool you: these are VERY tough!

According to Cathe''s website, the 30/30 workout (30 seconds of work, 30 seconds of rest) is the easiest, the Double Wave Pyramid (interval lengths build up in time, and then build back down) is the middle one, and the 40/20 (40 seconds of work, 20 seconds of rest) workout is the hardest. I definitely agree! While the 30/30 and Double Pyramid weren''t crazy, I thought I was going to die when I did the 40/20 workout for the first time!

Two of the three workouts on this disk also require a step bench, along with extra risers (for a total of four on each side). While you can probably modify the workout if you don''t have a step bench, you''ll definitely get more out of the workouts if you have a step.

I have a tendency towards tendonitis in one of my knees, and, so far, these workouts have not aggravated it. If you have bad knees, though, you might want to preview the workouts on-line since they do require a lot of plyometric jumping.

Another nice feature is that there is a countdown clock for each workout, so you know exactly how much time is left in each work and rest segment. Somehow, it makes it more bearable if you know how many seconds are left in the work sections! Each workout comes in at just under 30 minutes, including a warm-up and cool down stretch.

In my opinion, these are the hardest workouts in Cathe''s new STS Cardio series. They are GREAT!

It is rare that I do an exercise DVD and run back to Amazon to review it immediately, but felt I had to share what I feel is the best DVD out there for intense cardio . I have been searching for a really good cardio routine that does not include weights (I already have several weight training DVDs) and came across Cathe''s HiiT. I know a bit about Hiit and was trying to do interval training using my Garmin watch on my own, but when I found this DVD I knew it would be a good investment. I was not wrong. I started out with the 30/30 Intervals, which is easiest of the three on the DVD. But, by no means easy. If anyone has done Jillian Michaels Banish Fatthis HiiT is that times 1000 as far as intensity, but is packed into a shorther amount of time. The workout flew by and my shirt was drenched in sweat. I would like to get to the point where I could do two of the workouts back to back but for now, just sticking with one at a time.

The only negatives I can think of:

1)I actually wish that the segments were just two or three exercises longer(I know crazy, right??)

2)Also-during the Pyramid Wave there is a funny "type-O"-the segments show a preview on the bottom of the screen for the next exercise, instead of "Mountain Climber" on the bottom it says "Moutain Climber" just chuckled at that a bit-Didn''t bother me or keep me from thinking this is one of the best DVD''s ever.

3)This DVD is NOT for beginners, and there are hardly any modifications given, but as another reviewer said you can kind of make up your own, but I suppose it would be nice for beginners to have visual modification.

If you are really serious about losing weight and not wasting time with DVDs that do not push you out of your comfort zone, or if you hit a plateau, this DVD is your best choice.

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I''m a big Jillian fan and have most of her videos but wanted something new and shorter. This Cathe video is awesome! This workout is harder than any Jillian workout I''ve done. I tracked my calorie burn via a heart rate monitor and during Jillian''s Banish Fat Boost Metabolism I burned 300 calories and that workout is 1 hour. During the Double Wave Pyramid on Cathe''s video, I burned 200 calories and that was exactly 30 minutes with warm up and cool down. I did the 40/20 workout today and did not track calories, but I''m almost positive I burned more than 200, as this workout seemed harder to me. I would highly recommend this workout to anyone looking to burn a lot of calories in a short period of time.

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Although this is not my first Amazon purchase, it is my first Review. I''m 34 and I''ve been working out to videos such as Karen Voight''s Step back in the mid ''90''s, Tae Bo since 1998, and Jillian Michaels the past few months (NMTZ and 30 Day Shred). While I''ve done Cathe workouts on FitTV, this is my first video purchase. I consider myself intermediate/advanced since I can handle Tae Bo chased with Level 3 of Shred and still have energy. I don''t want to spend over $100 for Intensity but wanted something similar. Not dancey, but hard-core.

HiiT is made up of 3 segments, each lasting 30 minutes or less, with a great warm-up, the actual workout, then a very nice cool down. I love the 30 second clock counting down which motivates me to finish each workout just a few more seconds of the grueling plyo jacks!

Cathe''s HiiT blows all the previous workouts to oblivion. Jillian''s Level 3 of 30 Day Shred is merely a warm up to the 30/30 segment of Cathe''s HiiT. This segment, while just under 30 minutes, is extremely challenging and had me reaching exhaustion about halfway I couldn''t believe it!

One thing I Detest is when the trainer stops to show you all the modifications (big Jillian problem) -I can see for myself, thank you -Cathe never stops. She''s right there with you doing every movement top to bottom.

I couldn''t tell from previous reviews if HiiT had a lot of plyo, which works great for me love them and the answer, happily, is Yes! I breathe faster and deeper than I ever have, and I Feel like I got the best workout, that I couldn''t have done more. And unlike other workouts, I don''t have any more in me to pop another DVD and go for another 30 minutes. That''s what I wanted and that''s what I''m getting!

I''m at my goal weight so I''m just looking for definition, but if what you want is to lose weight this DVD will get you there in no time. I burned over 300 cal (5''4, 126lbs) with the 30/30 and with the intense plyo your body will continue to burn calories long after you wipe the pouring sweat off your face.

The best workout DVD I''ve purchased, no question. Can''t wait to sweat and cry out in pain again tomorrow morning!

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Wow, this workout is no joke. The first time I tried the 30/30 I had to pause it for a few extra seconds in between the exercises to keep my passing out! What the heck? I am in good shape... or so I thought. I haven''t done much HIIT workouts though. I used to try it with running. I''d do about 1 minute of running full blast and then 1 minute of rest (walking). But this is far more intense. My heart rate was through the roof. Cathe is a good instructor who gives good explanations without talking too much. She is also a freckin beast! She hardly ever seems out of breath. The pyramid starts with 20 seconds of exercise, then 20 seconds of rest. It adds 5 seconds to each until you get up to 40. Then you work your way back down. They you get a one minute rest and do it all over again. Then there is the 40/20 which is definetely only for people in amazing cardiovascular shape! My hat goes off to you if you can get through it without taking additional breaks. As another reviewer mentioned, this one requires changing out your risers in your step throughout. The 30/30 keeps the step at the same height. The pyramid doesn''t require the step. I like that. I am not the biggest fan of using my step. I understand it adds intensity to workouts, but I find myself getting quite clumsy over it. I got confused with the foot work of the warm up for the 30/30 because it''s all off the step. I just make sure even if I''m not getting every step right,I''m moving enough to get myself warmed up.

This is a great, compact workout that I would recconmend to anyone trying to lose weight or just get in better cardiovascular health. Combine this with some weight training, and you should be dropping pounds in no time! Good luck!