Customer Reviews

Cathe Friedrich's Intensity Series: Pyramid Upper & Pyramid Lower Body DVD

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
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This was one of the first Cathe DVD's I bought, and it was a great choice. The strength work is tough but doable and you can tailor the workout to your level. I really like the pyramid system, it might seem like a lots of reps, but the sets are fairly short (12 reps light weight, 10 reps medium weight, 8 reps heavy weight,10 reps medium weight, and 12 reps light weight) and you get a brief rest in between. The lower body workout includes leg presses, static lunges, traditional and plie squats, deadlifts and some calf work. There is also a section of lower body floor work using a stability ball which is challenging, if the standing work doesn't burn the floor work is bound to for sure.

The upper body workout uses the same format, exercises include bench presses and pec flies for chest (no pushups yay!), pullovers and double arms rows for back, front, side and rear deltoid lifts for shoulders, french presses and kickbacks for triceps, and traditional and hammer curls for biceps. There is also an abdominal section, again using the stability ball.

This DVD is well chaptered, you can mix and match different segments, plus there are premixes, each workout has an option to just go up the pyramid or just go down the pyramid. There is also a bonus combo which includes segments from both the upper and lower body workout.

Cathe is a tremendous instructor, she demonstrates excellent form, has a great personality and is fun to workout with. She is also very good at music selection, the music she has chosen for this workout is great and is among my favorite in all the workouts I have by her. All in all this is an excellent workout DVD, Cathe's best series in my opinion. Highly recommended.

There is something to be said to shaking up your workout routine and trying something different, but the pyramid lifting routine is a solid go-to workout that will increase your strength. You have 5 sets of exercises per body part , but if you are short on time there are the premix options of pyramid up or down only. Both the upperbody and lowerbody pyrmaids are solid workouts that will improve your fitness. Don't be afraid to try them out if you are new to lifting. Cathe gives good form pointers for the new, and you can choose your weights to work into your own level of fitness, but it will help to have a set of 3 dumbbells to pick from: light, medium, and heavy. Experienced lifters will appreciate Cathe's no-nonsense and down-to-business approach.

These pyramid workouts are a great way to change up your strength training routines. There are two workouts on this DVD, a lower body and an upper body. There are also several premixes.

For each set, you lift progressively heavier weights. You start with 12 reps, then 10 reps then 8 reps. You then go back down the pyramid and lift lighter weights with more reps, e.g. 10 reps and then 12 reps. I categorize this more as an endurance workout than a pure strength training one.

I love lifting heavy since this gives me the best results. But if I want to continue getting stronger and leaner, it's important to periodically change the routine. It's hard to switch things up though if you're enjoying what you do. This DVD has such fun exercises; it makes it easier to make that switch.

What I especially liked about these workouts:

**Cathe and crew change weights on screen, so you have enough time to do the same. My biggest pet peeve with other workout DVDs is that they don't allow you enough time to change weights, so you're having to constantly pause the DVD to do so.

**Cathe tells you what weights she's using. This is a helpful.

**Cathe is upbeat, encouraging and enthusiastic. I can't help but smile when watching her.

**You can easily substitute dumbbells for the barbell. I do this sometimes to further mix things up.

On those days that I'm feeling especially energetic, I will make the workouts more intense by adding a few sets to the pyramid, e.g. instead of doing 12 reps, 10 reps, 8 reps, 10 reps, 12 reps, I will do 12 reps, 10 reps, 8 reps, 6 reps, 8 reps, 10 reps, 12 reps. I will also increase my weights with each decrease in reps.

The Lower Body workout clocks in at about 50 minutes and the Upper Body one at about 57 minutes. If you're short on time, you can always try one of the premixes. Or, with the Lower Body workout, just do the pyramid section and save the floor leg exercises on the stability ball for another time.

I highly recommend this DVD to anyone wanting a new twist on their strength training.

Cathe Friedrich is the best trainer available. If you want a serious muscle burn and get toned, this is the way to do it. I've have gotten great results from using this DVD.

I love Cathe Friedrich. ADORE her!!!! I have a bunch of her strength training DVD's that I've been cycling through for the past year. I love them. I never get sick of her (sorry Jillian- I still love ya though.) Especially when you see Cathe working too. She's right there with you, sweating and getting through it just like the home viewer.
I love what her workouts do/ have done for me. I'm in my late 30's, and I'm stronger now than I've ever been my whole life!
BUY HER DVD'S! YOU WON'T BE SORRY!

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

Another good workout by this instructor. Good cues, her usual crew of non-annoying "backup dancers", music has a beat, camera work good.

Notably on this one, is the serious intensity of the weight workout. For upper body, I used free weights that were around 5 lbs lighter than what they were using and I was sweating a storm and could barely keep up. On some of the tougher rounds even Cathe was straining. Unbelivable.

I did the lower body circuit on a regular 2 rise step that was lower than the high rise and still got a good workout.

This is a great workout. I have all the Intensity and Body Blast series to do something different each day. The only thing I don't like about the pyramid lower body is that they change the barbell weights too fast. However, she is the best. I would reccomend this workout to anybody.

I am advanced exerciser and found this workout to be beneficial. I didn't particularly like all of the time spent on switching the weights, but the DVD allows you to skip to the beginning of each exercise. The exercises are thorough and can be challenging with the right weight. Although, I didn't find the workout extremely challenging (as I prefer), I did find the moves to be effective.

Great DVD. I have always work out with her she is a great instructor. This series works just about every muscle in your body.

This is a very tuff and thorough workout. It doesn't leave any part of your body, be it upper or lower, not completely exercised. You will see results from doing these workouts. I highly recommend it.