Customer Reviews

Cathe Friedrich's Basic Step + Body Fusion DVD

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is such a good workout. There are actually two full step routines here. The first is only step and the second is interval step. Then, after both of those, there are some targeted toning workouts. This will make you sweat, huff and puff and tone your body and lose weight. Cathe is a good instructor. She knows her stuff and she is tough. All the workouts are really well cued and the choreography is good. The combinations are easy to follow and she uses easy transitions to get you into the next step pattern. You need dumbells and a stability ball and also an X-ertube for the toning workout.
This is very do-able and fun. It will get your heart pumping and it's challenging. It's everything you could want in a workout. Who needs to go to the gym when you can do this so easily at anytime you choose?

I am intermediate to advanced. I found the basic step easy and too short, although with the DVD if I play one or two of the sections twice, it is OK in length and good for an easy day. I have not done the body fusion, but the 20 minute upper and lower workouts are AWESOME! Cathe uses 3 lbs, I use 5 and 8 lbs plus two different resistance bands, and I get quite a workout. Half the lower body workout is on the floor, but it is tough and work a lot of muscles you don't normally work. The upper body work is heavy on the back and shoulders, but there is adequate arm work. The ten minute stability ball abs section is fun and flies by. I frequently add it on to other workouts.

I've done this DVD twice; the 30 minute step aerobic section and the strengh training and abs sections. (I'm not up to the 50 minute interval step section yet.) It's great. The step section is interesting and fun. Not too dancy, but still some moves I haven't see before. The m/t sections are tough. I've been working out 3 days a week for over a year and I was a bit sore after doing the workout the first time.

I highly recommend this DVD to beginners ready for the next level.

Occasionally I'll try small sections of Cathe's workouts on FitTV. But I'm never able to do one from start to finish. But based on the reviews here, I thought I'd give this set a try. The step moves are a lot more basic than Cathe's usual routines, but the even better news is that I definitely get that complete Cathe Friedrich workout that I've been wanting. I mean, seriously, have you seen Cathe and those women who work out with her? Give me their bodies any day. Even though I've been stepping for more than a year and added strength training in the last six months, when I challenged myself to do the entire two hours and ten minutes of routines on this DVD, I wasn't sore the next day, I was sore within a FEW HOURS of completing it. For me, that meant I'd worked unused areas harder than I had in a long time and so I felt I definitely got my money's worth with this DVD.

Although the 30-minute Basic Step routine is almost too easy to give you much of a workout, you can easily combine it with the 50-minute Body Fusion circuit workout (three step routines, three weight routines) and/or the bonus routines - a 20-minute upper body, a 20-minute lower body and a 10-minute abs routine. The 50-minute Body Fusion workout is plenty on its own. I always go for the gusto and do them all and feel the thrill of victory when I'm done.

Cathe Friedrich's videos potentially offer the greatest and quickest results of any exercise video instructor you'll find and this one is no exception. It is a complete total-body workout which includes a 30-minute cardio-step aerobics routine, another 50-minute step aerobics with resistance training intervals routine, and three addition add-ons - a 20-minute upper body, 20-minute lower body, and 10-minute abdominal routine on the stability ball. Equipment required includes a step, sets of light to medium dumbbells, an X-ertube or resistance band, stability ball and a mat. Fitness level is described as beginner/intermediate but this will certainly challenge a true beginner and will prove to be anything but an easy workout. Step aerobic impact can be modified low to high, and the choreography is fun and intense yet fairly easy to learn after a few times, thought not entirely basic. In fact, for those who are completely new to step aerobics altogether, Kari Anderson's "Go: Step for Beginners" would probably be a better place to start, while this should follow next.

The upper body segment works the chest, biceps, triceps, shoulders and back while the lower body segment incorporates squats, lunges and a series of leg exercises done on the floor. The abdominals portion is fun yet challenging, hitting every part of the abs without placing a lot of stress on the lower back due to the support of the stability ball.

Cathe is personable and outgoing, her cuing is superb and I found this easy to follow along to from the start. This is one of my favorite workouts and I highly recommend it.

Rating: Excellent

I am a 51 year old woman use to working out in a club setting 5 days a week doing high intensity aerobics and weight training. Since moving to rural Montana I'm now confined to exercising in my house during the winter months. This video has been the answer!! The aerobics while not being super intense still get the heart pumping at a good rate and Cathe's cues are very easy to follow. She gives practice on each move and then gradually works the routine together. I also love the included aerobics/weights workout. A full body workout that encompasses every muscle group. I would highly recommend this to anyone looking for a great workout! I would also recommend purchasing the club style step with risers also available at Amazon.

Just discovered Cathe Friedrich's dvds. Originally bought a more advanced dvd, but realized I needed to start with something more basic. Her workouts are thorough and no non-sense. This dvd is great and I love that she has a variety of options within her workouts. I'll be buying more.

As an avid "come back artist" I am once again coming back from not being nearly as active as I was a few years ago-running marathons, cycling double centuries- or maybe that was more than a few years ago, how time flies. I found Cathe online and I believe she has by far the best exercise dvd series available. She is a true expert in fitness and it shows.
As far as her step dvds are concerned she is fairly dancy and at times very hard to follow. I started out with one of her more advanced dvds and decided to back track and get her basic step in order to find out if this would make it easier for me to follow her more advanced step dvds. This basic step dvd with the body fusion is in itself a great workout, and yes, it has made it somewhat easier for me to follow her more advanced moves.
I highly recommend any of Cathe's fitness dvds and her Basic Step and Body Fusion is ideal for the beginner, and a good workout for any level of fitness.Cathe Friedrich : Basic Step

This workout has several options to choose from. There are several different cardio segments, upper body segments, lower body segments, and an ab workout using the stability ball (or not--your choice).

Cathe always delivers, She is motivating and easy to follow, once you get used to her style. She cue's smoothly from move to move. I would recommend beginners start with this DVD to introduce yourself to her step workout.