Cathe Friedrich Reviews

A Review of X10 with Cathe Friedrich

May 1, 2019

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Hello!

X10 is a total body home workout for women. There’s a lot to this program. Let me break it down for you.

Repeat after me:  I love push-ups.

There.

Now you’re ready for X10.

Here’s a preview of the X10 program:

X10 is a total body workout.  Intense cardio.  Compound sculpting moves.  SO. HARD.

You’re going to love this program.

Let me explain everything you’re going to see and what equipment you’ll need for X10…

This post may contain Amazon (or other) affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission. You can get more information about that here.

3 girls in a gym doing an overhead stretch with black text overlay that says X10 A Complete Advanced Workout

Instructor-Cathe Friedrich

Category-Cardio + Strength

Equipment:

aerobic step with up to 4 risers on each side

8, 10 & 15 lb. dumbbells

sliding discs

a mat (for the stretch only)

*There’s only one section that uses a step.  Cathe uses 2 risers (per side) for most of the cycle and then adds additional risers for a few more compound exercises.  You’ll get an effective workout using whatever number of risers you have for this cycle.

Need an aerobic step? Here you go! (This style is exactly like the ones Cathe uses in her routines.)

Length-77 minutes

HRM-728 calories (that’s a TON of calories!!)

Choreography-Simple*

*Follow the link to understand my choreography ratings.  The rating doesn’t refer to how intense the program is, but rather how complex the steps are.

My rating– A

✔ Learn more about buying and using an aerobic step in this post: Your Expert Guide to Buying and Using an Aerobic Step

Important Stuff about X10

The X10 program features several workout cycles (approximately ten-minutes each) of different exercise styles (step, high/lo, cardio, low impact, fat burning, etc).

There are 12 premix workouts (a reconfiguration of the main routine into additional workouts) on this video which makes this a great bargain.  This post is a summary and review of the X77 premix, which is the longest program on the X10 video, and longer than the main workout.

There are a LOT of compound moves in this workout.  Your heart rate never comes down.  I wouldn’t recommend you do a workout this intense every day but this is a great choice to do once a week (I’m talking about the 77 minute premix.  If you do a shorter premix then you can do it more often).

As I mentioned already, almost every section has a push-up of some kind.  I like to know if I’m going to have to do push-ups and air jacks before I start a workout.  It’s a psychological thing.  We all have an exercise we dread.  For me it’s push-ups and air jacks.

There’s no countdown clock in this video.  I wish there was.

You’ll probably need two drinks to get through X77.  Look at my calorie burn (at the top of this post–728 calories according to my heart rate monitor)!  This is no joke, people.

This premix (X77) has five sections: Step, Low-Impact, Hi/Lo, Cardio, and Fat-Burning.  I’ll tell you what equipment you need for each part.

Remember to read to the end for helpful tips on every cycle of this routine as well as links to a few places you can compare prices for the X10 video.

Warm-Up

The warm-up is a short aerobics segment with some dynamic stretching.

Main Workout (The Exercises in X10)

Step

This is the only section where you’ll need an aerobic step.

Get out 2 risers (per side) to start with and have a 2 more sets of risers ready to add before this segment ends.

If you don’t have additional risers don’t worry about it, you can complete the cycle on 2 risers just fine. 

You also need one 15 lb. dumbbell, and two 8 lb. dumbbells for this part.

Cathe does a circuit routine using the step first.  The choreography is easy but the exercises are hard. 

Make sure you do a big jump on the straddle-jump-burpee combo.  The step is high.  You’ll trip if you don’t go for it. 

There are a few exercises where you have to travel over the step.  Same advice.  Go for it so you don’t kill yourself.

After the circuit step routine you add those additional risers (if you have them) to do resistance training. 

The first exercise is a one-leg squat off the side of your step with the 15 lb. DB (dumbbell).  The pace is fast so your heart rate stays high.  There are a lot of reps and you do a set of push-ups in between.

Now get your 8’s for the last few exercises.  First it’s back lunges with hammer curls.  Again, there are a lot of reps. 

These compound moves are so hard.  Try to keep pace with Cathe.  Go down in weight if you need to so you can keep up.  I really struggle with the last few reps of the traditional curls.

The last resistance move is a side lateral raise with bent arms and a lunge up on to the step.

You survived the first segment!  Go you!  Hard, ain’t it?

Low-Impact

For this section you need your discs and a pair of 8 lb. dumbbells.

You do the cardio circuits with no equipment.  Cathe tells you what to do.  Your job is to keep up.  Make the moves big.  (At least there’s no more step.)

 There are a few combinations that require balance.  You may stumble around some.  It’s no big deal.  No one’s watching you.  Keep going.

The first move with the discs is a burpee with 2 straddle push-ups.

Then you get your 8’s for one-leg side lunge with a double-arm row.  You can put a disc under just the leg that’s moving if you feel unsteady (that’s what I do).  There are squat lunges in between sets.  You know the pace is fast by now.

Back lunges on the discs with hammer curls is next.  You keep your 8’s.  As before, I put the disc under the moving leg.  Keep your discs for the next move as well.

The staggered push-ups are crazy-town.  I’m usually thinking, What The Hell Have My Legs Been Eating?  Dragging your legs forward feels like you’re dragging a bag of bricks. 

So hard.  Don’t give up.  You’re getting strong and sexy.  No one said it was easy.

The last exercise is a bent over tricep extension.  The tempo is fast but that’s no reason to have bad form.  Make each one count.

Hi/Lo

The only equipment in this section are a pair of 8 lb. dumbbells.  I use the same weights as Cathe for all of these.

You’ll do a high-impact exercise followed by a low(er)-impact exercise.  You never get a break, but you knew that.

I think this is the hardest section of X77.

There are air jacks, push-ups and compound resistance training (and a lot more) that will really challenge your muscular and cardio endurance.  This is a great total body segment.  Remember that form counts. 

Don’t waste your time doing lazy reps.  Give 100%.

Cardio Blast

This section is just good ‘ol fashioned cardio circuit blasts.  You don’t need any equipment.  You can do all of these moves. 

And guess what? 

No push-ups in this cycle.  There, you have no excuses.

Fat-Burning

You’ll need your 8 and 10 lb. dumbbells for this last section.

In this section you’ll do a cardio blast followed by a resistance move.

A few tips for this part:

Keep your feet apart and your core tight on the shoulder-tap push-ups. There are 2 sets of 16.

Switch the hand you have on top on the second set of tree pose/front swings. I’m always surprised at how much I struggle on this exercise.  They’re harder than you might think.

When you get to the exercise that has one arm doing a curl while the other arm does an overhead press (with 10 lb. dumbbells) Cathe says there are 24 in the set. DO NOT FALL FOR THAT. You’ll think, “I got this,” and then she decides there are 32 in the set.  Not cool, Cathe, not cool.  Now you’re prepared.  You’re welcome.

Cool Down/Stretch

You need to stretch and drink lots of water (stretch first).  I know you’re tired but don’t lie on the floor and skip the stretch.  You need it.

You should feel completely amazing.  You have permission to treat yourself today! 

I usually treat myself with pasta and bread on days I do this workout.  Find what you love and indulge.

Now What?

Whew!  The X10 workout has everything.

The only thing that’s not on this X10 routine is an ab workout but as you all know, all those push-ups and plyo moves engage your core so you’ve done it all. 

It doesn’t get much more thorough than this.

You can buy X10 in a few places:

Cathe.com

Amazon

Collage Video

And remember you can access all of Cathe Friedrich’s workouts (there are hundreds) with a membership to Cathe on Demand. (I love it!)  

Do you have questions about a Cathe on Demand membership?  Of course, you do.  

Get the answers here, Everything You Need to Know About Cathe Live and Cathe on Demand.

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  1. Debby Dedecko says:

    would you consider this workout a HIIT workout? Thanks for your great review!

    • Hi Debby! Yes! X10 qualifies as a workout with HiiT intervals. HiiT workouts specialize in quick, intense bursts of exercise followed by short rests so that your heart rate stays elevated. X10 will keep your heart pumping. It’s a GREAT workout. You’ll feel amazing every time you do it. Thank you for the great question!

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