Cathe ICE series updates, shipping, reviews

[eyefit]

Today I did To the Mat plus the Glute Bridge chapter of Linda Wooldridge's newest dvd (Mat Fusion). (caveat: I'll keep the review to just Cathe's since that is what this thread is about but the glute bridge chapter on Linda's was amazing! )

I enjoyed most of TTM, although the band section was defintely my favorite. I wish it would have been longer!! I can think of so many variations she could have done to make it longer. In fact, I kept the band on for parts of the floor section to increase the challenge. It wasn't always possible to do that, of course, but when it was I did it. There were a few exercises she threw in there that I couldn't understand what the benefit was supposed to be. The very last one was called pivoting child pose or something like that. I just couldn't figure out what the purpose of that one was. Also, I really dislike straight up inner thigh raises. Not because I don't feel it, but I find them SOOO boring. Overall, I liked it though. The very first move on the ball was WAY more challenging than I expected it to be on preview. She has you go up in bridge on the ball and just hold it while bring your arms straight back and up again. You have to use your core for balance and I ended up being a total weeble wobble. lol

This was a definite intermediate workout but could be made more challenging if you want by either adding ankle weight to the floor part or keeping the band on for some of the exercises like I did. Thumbs up on this one! So far I'm liking but not going over the top crazy in love with these workouts. Keep in mind, though, that I'm an intensity junkie so I pretty much knew this would be the case.

One thing that I'm noticing that may bother others more than it bothers me is her inconsistent use of Amanda as a modifier. She mentions several modifications in many of the workouts but then Amanda doesn't actually DO the modification mentioned. Or when she does the camera doesn't always keep her in the frame the whole time. I feel like if Amanda was supposed to be modifying the workout that she should have been doing it the entire time. That includes doing the Bootcamp workout with 1 riser instead of 2, which bugged me for some reason. Cathe mentions you can do it on 1 riser if you want but then Amanda stays on with 2 risers. This isn't the case with me, but I know lots of people just can't bring themselves to do a modification like that if they don't SEE someone in the workout doing it. It's like they need that permission to make them feel better about doing it. I wish Cathe had made better use of the modifier in these. Of course, this is her first rodeo with using a modifier so maybe she will get better and use them more in future series...

[athompson10]

You VFers who can do floorwork without whining impress me. I did To the Mat this morning and it was hard. "Intermediate" my glutes! Granted, I'm a floorwork wimp but some of those exercises were tough. I agree with Colleen/Eyefit, I couldn't understand the point of the child's pose slalom move. Cathe said at one point that we should feel it in our quads?? That's the one move I'll change when I do this workout again (and I want to, before I post at the Reviews Forum). One of my quibbles is that Cathe didn't give great form pointers on a lot of moves. "Lie back on the ball" means....head on? tops of shoulders? shoulder blades? "Put your legs in an L" - OK, dead right angle with torso? resting on hip, top of thigh, or rolling back slightly onto butt? I got a crick in my neck from how many times I had to crane to see how she was positioned.

[Aquajock]

Originally Posted by Jennifer P.

I have done both Icy Core 1 & 2. Icy Core 1 is killer & great. Icy Core 2 starts out good but then it kind of peters out when she goes to the plank work--I might do my own plank work from now on when she does her stuff.

I have also done one of the premixes from Chiseled Upper Body--the standing only premix. it was pretty good, but there was no chest work, so I added pushups on to the end. I could feel my biceps & triceps from all the reps or isometric holds. She does a lot of back work. She also does upright rows, which I haven't done in a long time, so they were hard for me & I did not enjoy them. I started subbing shrugs at one point for them--the actual combo Cathe does is back rows, upright rows, & shoulder shrugs, she just does more of the rows then the shrugs.

Thanks, Jennifer!

A-jock

[clerkin11]

I just finished Metabolic Total Body and it's another winner for me.
I actually thought this was a better (more metabolic) workout than FlexTrain (but maybe I just pushed myself harder with the weights on this one?). She gave little breaks between exercises, but moved right along and I definitely felt challenged. I love the level of these workouts so much. They're not beginner, but they're not extreme. I kind of liked the music in this one too.

[eyefit]

Originally Posted by athompson10

You VFers who can do floorwork without whining impress me. I did To the Mat this morning and it was hard. "Intermediate" my glutes! Granted, I'm a floorwork wimp but some of those exercises were tough. I agree with Colleen/Eyefit, I couldn't understand the point of the child's pose slalom move. Cathe said at one point that we should feel it in our quads?? That's the one move I'll change when I do this workout again (and I want to, before I post at the Reviews Forum). One of my quibbles is that Cathe didn't give great form pointers on a lot of moves. "Lie back on the ball" means....head on? tops of shoulders? shoulder blades? "Put your legs in an L" - OK, dead right angle with torso? resting on hip, top of thigh, or rolling back slightly onto butt? I got a crick in my neck from how many times I had to crane to see how she was positioned.

LMAO Allison! Too funny! I have to admit, it was only this past year that I started giving floor work a chance. I used to hate it with the fire of a thousand suns! I appreciate the effectiveness of it now, but I still have to make myself do it versus standing work!

[Hilary]

Originally Posted by athompson10

You VFers who can do floorwork without whining impress me. I did To the Mat this morning and it was hard. "Intermediate" my glutes! Granted, I'm a floorwork wimp but some of those exercises were tough.

I do ALOT of floorwork ... several times a week and almost always Cathe ... and I agree -- I thought some sections of TTM were really tough. Especially the hamstring work on the ball. For some reason, I was expecting Cathe would make this easier than her usual stuff. It didn't feel so to me. Most of the count sequences were four to six sets of eight ... that's high. The breaks were minimal. I'm not complaining ... but I wasn't expecting this to be so challenging.

[AnMrsDe]

Originally Posted by eyefit

Today I did To the Mat

I enjoyed most of TTM, although the band section was defintely my favorite. I wish it would have been longer!! I can think of so many variations she could have done to make it longer. In fact, I kept the band on for parts of the floor section to increase the challenge. It wasn't always possible to do that, of course, but when it was I did it. There were a few exercises she threw in there that I couldn't understand what the benefit was supposed to be. The very last one was called pivoting child pose or something like that. I just couldn't figure out what the purpose of that one was. Also, I really dislike straight up inner thigh raises. Not because I don't feel it, but I find them SOOO boring. Overall, I liked it though. The very first move on the ball was WAY more challenging than I expected it to be on preview. She has you go up in bridge on the ball and just hold it while bring your arms straight back and up again. You have to use your core for balance and I ended up being a total weeble wobble. lol

This was a definite intermediate workout but could be made more challenging if you want by either adding ankle weight to the floor part or keeping the band on for some of the exercises like I did. Thumbs up on this one! So far I'm liking but not going over the top crazy in love with these workouts. Keep in mind, though, that I'm an intensity junkie so I pretty much knew this would be the case.

One thing that I'm noticing that may bother others more than it bothers me is her inconsistent use of Amanda as a modifier. She mentions several modifications in many of the workouts but then Amanda doesn't actually DO the modification mentioned. Or when she does the camera doesn't always keep her in the frame the whole time. I feel like if Amanda was supposed to be modifying the workout that she should have been doing it the entire time. That includes doing the Bootcamp workout with 1 riser instead of 2, which bugged me for some reason. Cathe mentions you can do it on 1 riser if you want but then Amanda stays on with 2 risers. This isn't the case with me, but I know lots of people just can't bring themselves to do a modification like that if they don't SEE someone in the workout doing it. It's like they need that permission to make them feel better about doing it. I wish Cathe had made better use of the modifier in these. Of course, this is her first rodeo with using a modifier so maybe she will get better and use them more in future series...

Too funny! While doing that workout yesterday and coming to that pivoting child pose exercise, I went "huh?" and had to look at the screen a few times to see what I was supposed to be doing! I agree, not sure where the focus was directed with that one. Overall, though, I think I'll get lots of use out of this w/o since it'll be a great one for lower energy days.

P.S. I'm hoping Linda has some freebie Glute Bridge stuff online...

So far:
To the Mat - thumbs up!
Metabolic Total Body - thumbs up!

[dela]

Originally Posted by Hilary

I do ALOT of floorwork ... several times a week and almost always Cathe ... and I agree -- I thought some sections of TTM were really tough. Especially the hamstring work on the ball. For some reason, I was expecting Cathe would make this easier than her usual stuff. It didn't feel so to me. Most of the count sequences were four to six sets of eight ... that's high. The breaks were minimal. I'm not complaining ... but I wasn't expecting this to be so challenging.

I agree with all of this, I figured it was just me because I hate floor work and was hoping for a nice mild intro into the world of floor work, but this wasn't it. I barely made it past a few exercises, I wish she had started with something easier than those ball rolls, my hamstrings were on fire in about a minute. I highly doubt I will be doing this one.

I did bootcamp today, and that one is a winner for me. So far of the 4ish I did, that's my favorite. I was a little too spent and didn't do the bicep meltdown today, my triceps are still hurting from Monday's meltdown.

[athompson10]

PHEW, so glad it's not just me and my weak floorwork muscles (though it is some of that for sure). I really liked Chiseled Upper and Low Impact Sweat, challenging but not killer, and I thought To the Mat would be the same. Two minutes in, my hamstrings were crying. And that move where you have one heel elevated on a dumbbell and the other leg up in the air? I think I was four reps in and I started going "ow, ow, ow" to the beat.

[DRD0]

Originally Posted by jordan

Since my DVDs were stuck at the Post Office, I was actually thinking about doing a beginner rotation because I have been out of commission for a while. But, my DVDs showed up yesterday . I decided to do the level one rotation.

I would not have chosen to start with Rock'm Sock'm because as much as I like Cathe's early KB inspired workouts I haven't been able to fall in [lasting] luv with her recent KB workouts.

This was the first workout in the rotation so I started with it and it was a really good start for me. The thrill is back and my first impression is this is my favorite since KPC . The workout felt neither beginner nor advanced to me; I felt it was a solid intermediate workout. For my current level of fitness, I got a good workout. I did modify a couple of the jumping jack moves. I didn't love or hate the music and the production was good. Can't wait to try the premixes. I can see where I can grow with this series of workouts (and hopefully get back to my previous level of fitness).

jordan

I wrote a review on this workout and agree that it is my favorite next to KPC. I still like KPC but loved the way this one moved from upper to lower body work.

And you CAN get back in shape. I had double hip replacement in the last 18 months! It takes work, but you can do it!