Customer Reviews

Cathe Friedrich's Imax 3 DVD

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

 

 

Cathe is one tough cookie. As I've said in other reviews of her workouts, she doesn't stop from start to finish. She's tough and efficient and yet still makes the workouts fun. She has a pleasant manner and isn't too over-the-top.
This workout is non stop and very, very challenging. Don't think for a minute that this will be a walk in the park. It really is geared for advanced exercisers and there is complex choreography. There are ten cycles of aerobic and non-aerobic segments. Each of them begin with cool and unique step routines and then you go into active recovery. I like the music in here (it motivates you) and I also like the fact that if you aren't in the mood for a cardio blast, you can pre-program the dvd not to include them.
Believe me; this is tough but it is doable if you try and stick to it a little. You do need to be somewhat fit to begin with, because obviously that's an advantage. Stick to it, and you'll see results in your body and your fitness. This is great.

I was looking for a good workout video for the days when work keeps you from making the gym, and I was so encouraged by the high ratings for Cathe Friedrich, I gave 3 of her dvds a try.

This workout is MERCILESSLY hard core...I am recovering from a back injury, hence I modify it a bit (especially parts which involve standing jumps or travelling standing jumps with a turn!) but still, it is one heckuva workout. Definitely one you want to do when you have slept well, have had your coffee, and have not done a high-impact exercise the day before. Nice long full workout. Every interval seems doable no matter how insane it is because of the fun breaks you get in the medium-complex choreography in the step routine segments. (No breakdown. Those who don't like choreography will probably find this hard--I have been taking step for years and am a dancer and found I needed a good 3-4 tries to get it right. I love complicated choreography! Keeps me from thinking about how hard I'm working out! ;))

I give it 4/5 since it is a bit too high impact for my tastes (I prefer Imax 2 a bit more, it felt ~70% as intense without being as jarring to the back and knees). However, those without a back injury would probably be fine.

Imax 3 is part of Cathe's "Hardcore" series and it well deserves that moniker. After a warm-up, Cathe alternates relatively simple step combos with intensity blasts to press your heart rate sky-high. Ten of these intervals are followed by a well-deserved cool-down and stretch.

One of the best benefits of Cathe DVDs are the premixes which take the workout and rearrange it into shorter, different combinations. I use the premixes on this DVD extensively.

Interval training has been shown to be one of the best ways to burn calories. After you complete this KILLER workout, you will know this is true. It actually would kill me, probably, if I didn't take extra rest during this intense workout. I recommend this workout to advanced exercisers looking for a challenge.

I absolutely love the 10 Blasts that are in this workout. I REALLY worked up a sweat! However, I found the step aerobics way too intricate for my tastes. I prefer a Bootcamp style workout and am not interested in learning complicated dance steps.

After reading the benefits of high intensity interval training (bursts of anaerobic intervals mixed with aerobic training), I sought out to find quality interval training videos. Cathe offers a series of 3 IMAX (interval max) videos.

IMAX 3 delivers....BIG TIME!!!!

While sometimes merciless on your joints due to a high volume of plyometric moves like plie jacks and tuck jumps (modify as necessary), the workout is one killer intensity drill after the other. Even with my modifications I receieved one of the toughest workouts of my life!!! And I own several Cathe's!! Though it is very tough, it is doable....something to certainly work up to.

The music is absolutely wonderful...motivating you when necessary and providing a boost when you think you cannot do one more tuck jump! And in keeping with traditional Cathe videos, the premixes on this are great. You can break up with workout in several ways; ALL interval blasts, ALL aerobic drills, or just the first or second half of the workout.

I have all of Cathe's workouts and this is by far the toughest cardio one! You do 10 step routines. Each step routine is followed by a high intensity, high impact aerobic interval. There is very little recovery time between each routine/interval.

Why I love this DVD:

**it's tough! I love intense workouts and this fits the bill perfectly. I normally use 2 step risers on each side, but not with this workout. I'm gasping for air by the fourth routine.

**the 80's music. I love this music. There's something about the tunes that make me want to work out harder.

**no breakdown of step routines, so I don't get bored. I am very used to Cathe's choreography and I pick up new routines pretty easily, so this approach is perfect for me.

**my heart rate is at the high end of my aerobic zone, even though I'm not doing much impact.

**the warm-up and cool down are just the right length. I mention this because in the STS Cardio series, the warm-ups in are way too long and there are no cool downs.

Some things to note about this workout:

**Cathe doesn't show or mention many modifications. You may need to watch the DVD a few times to figure out what you'll do if you don't want low impact.

**there is no breakdown of step routines. If you're familiar with Cathe's choreography, this may not be a problem. If you like detailed breakdowns, you may not like this approach.

I highly recommend this DVD to anyone wanting a very challenging and fun cardio workout.

I consider myself at an intermediate-advanced level of fitness.

Instructor great, as always. Good camera work, music ok, "backup dancers" non-annoying.

Choreography (I actually call it that instead of "moves") too dance-y and complex for my taste. I prefer to either dance or do workout moves (jumping jacks, repeater knees, kicks) and not mix the two. Not worth it to me to learn this level of complexity for the calories burned when I do not even like to mix in dance-y moves in the first place. Also, with the added complexity of the step involved (which I am new to), the likelihood of eating it trying to keep up and learn the moves is, even more, totally not worth it for me.

I am keeping it for the blast only premix which is approximately 24 minutes to use as an add on to other workouts for maximum calorie burn in minimum time.

For readers not familiar with Cathe Friedrich's work, I must start by commenting on the excellent production, superb cuing, fantastic soundtrack and professional quality of this workout. Cathe is, as usual, unflappable and motivating without being too chipper. You cannot go wrong with a Cathe DVD!

That said, while this workout is high-quality and certainly has the intensity that the other reviewers have talked about, it's not one that I'll be doing very often. Yes, the choreography is frustrating, and the blasts are really excruciating. But I am an advanced exerciser and found it torturous to get through until the end primarily because it's just not that much fun, and I didn't feel that I was obtaining the results I was looking for considering the effort I had to put in.

My main complaint is this: although I know that this workout is intended to be an interval and step workout, I was disappointed that despite how hard I felt I was working, the focus was on my lower body only. For the same net results, full-body workouts can be much lower impact or shorter than those that are purely lower body. The difference is certainly a matter of taste, so people who are looking for aerobic workouts with no upper body/abdominal component may disagree with my preference. I just think it's a shame to spend a blood-pumping, sweat-dripping hour without doing anything that taxes my abs, chest or arms. This is probably why I liked Body Max 2 so much more.

In the end, I am not giving this workout a low rating because my only complaints are matters of taste. If step aerobics is your thing and you want a truly intense challenge, this is an excellent one to try.

If you are not an expert at step, this is a hardcore work out. But once you get it, it is an awesome workout!

This is the third, and by far the hardest of Cathe's I-Max workouts - beginners are encouraged to start with the first Interval Max and work up from there. If you're familiar with Cathe's workouts generally and these in particular, you will not be surprised by the level of intensity on the blasts, however, the recovery times are much shorter, and the blast segments - there are ten - start out challenging and escalate from there. How hard is it really, you ask? I thought it was my imagination, but the Ultimate Guide on Cathe's Web site - a survey completed by users - ranks the intensity of this workout at 9.5 (on a 10-point scale), the highest intensity score for any of the workouts ranked. Complexity is ranked at 7.8, and Enjoyment 8, which is one point less than the 9 awarded to I-Max 2. I can't argue with either of those numbers; Cathe herself admits her team found this one very challenging. As always, you will feel a huge sense of accomplishment, and this is one instance where you will be very grateful for the pre-mixes, which allow you to separate the workout into two manageable 5-blast segments. Enjoy!