February 9, 2017
Total Body Hiit is going to make you so freaking happy that you signed up for that Cathe on Demand membership.
Here’s a little taste of this workout:
This routine gets deep in all the right places and makes you feel all strong and sexy. Seriously, when you’re done you’ll want to put on some tight clothes and do whatever it is you do when you feel like a hot badass.
News flash—you were awesome before the workout, but this routine will enhance your awesome sauce.
Now I’m going to tell you what equipment you’ll need to get out of the broom closet and what exercises you’re going to be doing in Total Body Hiit with Cathe Live.
You’re welcome…
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Instructor-Cathe Friedrich
Category-Cardio + Strength
Equipment–
5, 8, 10, 12, and 15 lb. dumbbells (Cathe also holds a 5 and 15 in one hand for one of the exercises, so if you have a 20 I’d get that out, too—or you can hold two DB’s like she does)
mat
a sliding disc (Cathe uses a rag)
Tip-Use the link to buy the same dumbbells I have. They’re the best style. If you want more information about dumbbells you can read, A Women’s Guide to Buying Dumbbells.
Length-60 minutes
HRM-506* calories
*There are still a few Cathe Live workouts I haven’t done, but this is the highest calorie burn I’ve had with any of the Live workouts, so far.
Choreography-Simple
Read more about my choreography ratings here. (‘Simple’ refers to the complexity of the moves–not the intensity of this routine.)
My rating- A
Attention-I’d give this an A+ if it had a core segment
You’ll find Cathe Live workouts in a membership to Cathe Live or Cathe on Demand + Live (that’s the one I have).
You can read this to find out how to sign up for Cathe on Demand and what you get for your money. (Tip-Try it for a month and see what you think. You can cancel anytime.)
Total Body Hiit Live has 7 rounds of exercises. Cathe does a random cardio interval and then follows that up with a lower body/upper body sculpting move.
There are a lot of compound exercises in the strength-training intervals so your heart rate stays elevated.
There are generous water breaks in this one. Yay!
Cathe uses her mat as a place marker for a lot of the exercises in this program. My mat is wider than hers and I do my workouts on carpet so my mat won’t stay flat on the ground. So, I don’t get my mat out for this routine. (I’m a rebel like that, sometimes.) But if you’re doing this routine on a hard surface and/or it’s your first time trying Total Body Hiit Live, then I’d recommend you pull out your mat.
There’s not an ab segment in this Live workout. You engage your core to do practically every exercise but I still wish there was an ab section. I’m working on my 6 pack. (*said the girl who had a donut for breakfast*)
Here’s some sad news—you’re going to arrive at the 7th round and be so elated that Cathe somehow forgot to do push-ups—but she didn’t. The last exercise in the routine is a drop set of push-ups. So. Hard.
I love Cathe Live workouts because they aren’t perfect. These are normal people in a gym doing their daily workout. No makeup, fancy studio or perfect bodies. It’s awesome. And just like real life Cathe often has choreography and/or technical issues. This workout is no exception. I love it.
Cathe does a phenomenal job of letting you know what dumbbells she’s using in this routine (she doesn’t always do that on the Live workouts). But here’s a cheat sheet that’ll come in handy when you’re doing her Live workouts.
Remember to read to the end of this post for advice on mastering each exercise.
The warm-up is pretty long (about 8 minutes). You won’t need any equipment for this section. Get ready for a crap-ton of squats/lunges, though.
You’ll need your 5’s, one 10 and both 12 lb. DB’s in this round
Cardio
Power hops straddling the mat with four jumping jacks. You’ll travel across the mat and turn around when you do your jumping jacks so you can travel back.
Strength
You’ll hold one 10 lb. DB and do a sumo squat into an overhead press.
16 reps
Lateral walks with your 12’s
Iron cross with 5 lb. DB’s (these are hard, keep your core tight)
Get your 12’s, one 15 lb. DB and your disc (or rag) for round two
Cardio
You’ll do four high jacks, four low jacks, four (more) high jacks, and then 2 plyo jacks (repeat this series 6 times)
Strength
Sumo with an upright row holding 12 lb. DB’s (16 reps, then 8 reps)
Get one rag (or a disc) and one 15 lb. DB for single leg squats (you’ll be sliding the foot on the mat out to the side). She changes tempo while you’re cranking these reps out so pay attention.
Overhead tricep extensions with 12 lb. DB’s are next. (There are 2 sets. 10 reps and then 8 in set 2)
You’ll use your 12 lb. DB’s and one 15 lb. DB in round 3
Cardio
Traveling lateral skates over the narrow part of your mat.
Strength
Get one 15 lb. DB for wide walking sumo squats. These are fun. Cathe travels over her mat. If you don’t use your mat make sure your legs stay wide to get the most out of it. There are 2 sets. Your thighs will be screaming.
Hold your 12 lb. DB’s for forward diagonal lunges and bicep curls.
Cathe runs into some choreography problems here. She doesn’t like the way the reps are aligned with the music. Just hang in there. It all works out. Do standing bicep curls if you get confused.
You’ll need 5, 8 and 10 lb. DB’s and a disc (or rag)
Cardio
High reaching turning pop squats. There are THREE sets of 10. Yes, ugh!
*This is the hardest cardio interval for me
Strength
Rear sliding lunges with 10 lb. DB’s and a disc (or rag). There are 16 on each leg.
Lateral raises with 5 lb. DB’s. Those high end pulses kind of make me want to cry. Love that neck stretch she throws in here.
Get your 10 and 15 lb. DB’s to do round five
Cardio
The cardio exercise is a heel tap shuffle around your mat. These are fun (and will feel really easy if you’ve been doing her programs where you do these around a step).
Strength
Static lunges with 15 lb. DB’s. This is a long set. There are 16 on each side with a set of 8 dead lifts in between. Then she does TWO more sets of 7 static lunges on each leg back to back.
Next you’ll do tricep kickbacks and rear flys with 10 lb. DB’s. (You’ll think she’s just demonstrating the pattern for the tricep extensions but she’s actually started the set without you so make sure you add in all the reps you miss.)
You need your 10, 12’s and one 15 lb. DB
Cardio
Three forward hops with a turn at the end (keep repeating that pattern). There are a crap ton of these. At one point she jogs around the mat so you can get a little baby break for a second. Then she goes back in for some more forward hop/turns.
Strength
Hold your 10’s for side to side lunges.
Grab one 15 lb. DB for the side to side lunges again (only slower)
Bicep curls and an overhead press with 10 lb. DB’s (pay attention to the changing pattern as they work the kinks out of it)
Get your 12 lb. DB’s for another set of bicep curls and overhead presses
Get ready for the grand finale. This round as a whole is the hardest one.
You’ll use discs, 8 lb. DB’s and a 20 lb. DB (or hold a 15 and a 5 in the same hand like Cathe) in the last round
Cardio
Snowboard turning squats are the cardio exercise. This exercise was in the running as the hardest for me but I decided the turning pop squats are harder. There are 3 SETS of these things. Really go for it! This is your last cardio interval.
Strength
Cross back lunges with a disc (or rag). There are 8 singles then 4 sets of triple pulses, then 8 more singles followed by a pulse of 15 (on each leg). Good luck.
Grab 8 lb. DB’s for alternating rear lunges with a wide lateral raise.
One arm lateral raise with 20 lbs
You’ve arrived at those push-ups that I warned you about. The drop set is 12, 10 and 8 reps. Try to stay on your toes.
Don’t skip this section. The final stretch is about 3 minutes long and you need it. Not every stretch segment is thorough but this one is good.
Total Body Hiit is my new favorite Cathe Live workout. I love routines that combine strength training with cardio because I burn a lot more calories and feel incredible when it’s done.
You can find this routine on Cathe Live.
Remember to access Cathe Live workouts you’ll need a membership to Cathe Live or Cathe on Demand + Live.
If you like this routine then I recommend you try Afterburn from the Cathe Friedrich Low Impact series.
Thanks for reading!
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