Cathe Friedrich''s Low Impact Series: Total Body Tri-Sets

This versatile DVD is part of Cathe''s Low Impact Series. The focus here is more on strength training, unlike most of the other DVDs in this series, which are cardio-focused. That being said, your heart rate will be elevated since you''re moving quickly from one exercise to the next. I would categorize these workouts as more metabolic training than pure strength workouts.

There is an upper body workout(60 minutes) and a Lower Body Workout(40 minutes), plus various premixes.

UPPER BODY

Here you also do 3 sets of exercises, one for each body part. The workout it split between sets for chest, shoulders and triceps and sets for back, biceps and core. This is also one tough workout! I couldn''t come close to matching Cathe on the weights, even though I consider myself to be an advanced exerciser. Oh well, it''s something to work towards.

What I enjoyed about this workout:

**It''s tough! My heart rate was up there for the entire workout.

**The unique exercises. Even though I normally don''t like pushups, I enjoyed the one foot cross-over pushups. Of course, I didn''t look very elegant doing these, but they were fun.

Some things to note about this workout:

**The `screaming guitar'' music may not be for everyone. I kind of liked it because it reminded me of the music in the Beachbody P90X and P90X2 workouts. I love P90X and am always inspired to give it my all. I felt the same with these workouts.

**Cathe spends an inordinate amount of time talking about form. This is a good thing, but she''s doing it just as we have picked up a heavy weight, in preparation for the next exercise. Perhaps she does this on purpose, so we can build up endurance. I just found it annoying and usually started the exercise.

LOWER BODY

You do three rounds of exercises. Each round is 3 different exercises, done two times through. Even though this workout is only 40 minutes, it''s tough!

What I loved about Lower Body:

**The unique and fun exercises. There are lunges with Dixie cups (picking them up and placing them down). My favorite is the one-legged cross lunges, where you''re standing on one leg, holding 2 dumb bells and alternatively putting down and picking up the dumb bells. I quickly discovered that my balance is not as good as I thought it was.

**The compound exercises that also get your heart rate up. The static lunges with the Dixie cups are one such example.

**I felt energized and really worked out after finishing, but I wasn''t exhausted.

I prefer to do heavy weight training using splits, e.g. I like doing only one or two body parts per day. That way I can lift really heavy. I''m not sure how this DVD will fit into my rotations, but I still enjoyed it. There are premixes for these types of splits too.

If you''re looking for a fun and versatile workout, you may enjoy this one.

I am addicted Cathe''s workouts. She will whip you into fantastic shape! I do all of her heavy weighted workouts, so I was a tad skeptical of the lower body portion of this workout. I mean really, bending down and picking up dixie cups as a workout?! YUP!! It will kick your butt! I can hardly move one day later! My hamstrings are so sore! After completing the upper body portion I felt like I was in a car accident! lol! Most of the upper body is done while on the ball. What a challenge that is! I have nothing bad to say about this workout. I workout with weights on a regular basis, so for me to have that soreness in new places is awesome! Well worth adding to your collection!

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It is a good workout, consists of two repetitions of circuits of three exercises, and then you move on to a next circuit. There are different premixes which is excellent, and the workout is sufficiently challenging. Not one of my most favorite ones (that would be High Reps, Butts&guts and Slow&Heavy series), but still an excellent workout.

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Having never done any workout tapes before, I bought Cathe''s Total Body Tri-Sets and Cardio Super-Sets. I really enjoy them. She keeps your heart rate up and you feel great when you''re done. Not difficult to learn either. This tape requires dumbbells, a stability ball, and steps. I don''t have steps, I skip that part, and it''s still a good workout. I''d say it''s great for beginners.

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I''m a Cathe fan. Overall, it''s a solid workout. What I don''t like about it is that the pre-mixes (to get a total body workout vs. doing just upper body or just lower body) jump around from one set to the next, so it''s quite choppy. Also, she spends quite a bit of time explaining modifications or how to do the exercise or what to do with the ball. I prefer this to be in an Intro section because while it''s fine the first few times you do the dvd, it quickly becomes tiresome and interrupts the flow of the workout. The workout could be 10 minutes shorter if you could cut out those parts, and for a weekday workout that''s valuable time. Also, I am not a big fan of electric guitar music for working out. Good workout but not one I''ll readily reach for.