All About Legs is another excellent lower body workout in the Cathe Live collection. It fried my legs (especially my inner thighs). Though different in many ways, it is similar in structure to Xtrain‘s Legs–especially when you do the premix that includes the bonus barre. The differences between this workout and Legs contains reasons that I liked it more than Legs, as well as reasons I liked it less, if that makes any sense (so both have their strengths–but this one could be the best I think if not for a few issues). One reason I liked it less than Legs is because there was no heavy lower body work. I do like the mix Cathe gives us in All About Legs–contrast training, metabolic strength training, firewalkers, dixie cup metabolic work, sliding disk work, barre work and stability ball mat work. It is a very nice mix that, like I said, burned my lower body out, but I would have liked some heavier work, too, like we get in Xtrain’s Legs. Not super heavy, but Cathe uses 10 pounds for everything in this workout. I guess she does in Legs, too, but I lift heavier than that in Legs (up to 25 pounds) and I didn’t really feel like that was possible in this workout. I could probably use 12 pounds, but not heavier than that.
Another thing that was a little annoying about this workout was longer than usual rest periods. I usually don’t mind the water breaks in Cathe Live but it seemed like there were a lot in this workout. This is already a 69 minute workout. I will note that two of the long rest periods really can’t be helped due to the fact this is a live class. They were due to equipment set up/tear down–the barres for barre work. The class had to move all of the equipment they had been using out of the way (dumbbells, firewalker loops, dixie cups, towels and water botttles) and set up the barres. Then after the barre work was done, they had to put them back where they found them then go fetch their mats and stability balls. This was a total of 4 minutes of the class. Cathe does instruct you to stretch while all of this is going on, so it is an opportunity to still make good use of my time I suppose. Cathe also had problems with the sliding disk segment. Cathe and class used dry wash clothes rather than disks and there was some humidity or sweat on the floor issue so the wash clothes were sometimes sticking when they were sliding. This caused minor hiccups in that portion of the workout.
I do plan to return to this workout. I did this on a Saturday and I had spent the previous week doing Hammer & Chisel (which hits the lower body hard) plus two Tracy Anderson workouts (on different days) for doubles (only her lower body work)–so my legs were already fried. The final part of All About Legs–the stability ball mat work is what really finished my legs off–big time. Especially my inner thighs. I was getting weird (unnatural and new-to-me) pains in my inner thigh muscles during the final exercise that had me gripping the outside of my legs to help me get through it! So, I would like to return to this workout when my legs aren’t already suffering from DOMS–and use 12 pound dumbbells.
Let me mention what I loved most about this workout–the contrast training at the beginning. I thought that was a great way to start the workout. In fact, it was a very well rounded and excellent workout. I just wish there was a little less rest time and a little more heavier weight work.
All About Legs is 69 minutes long; 10:30 minute warm up and 2:30 minute stretch. Equipment needed: 10 or 12 pound dumbbells, dixie cups, firewalker loop, slide n glide disks or paper plates, a chair, stability ball and a mat. It aired live on 5/22/14; here is the video clip. The warm up is very active and hits the legs from all directions–you are warming everything up. Also the very first exercise uses one dumbbell and Cathe even states it functions as an extension of the warm up. I’m not going to list dumbbell weights below since Cathe only uses 10 pound dumbbells and no other weight in the entire workout.
Exercises:
- Squats holding one DB
- Pop squats; 3 sets of 8 reps
- Squat w/ overhead DB press
- Squat jump forward, squat jump back, two jumps in place; 3 sets of 4 reps
- Lateral plie walks, 4 steps to each side w/ DBs under chin
- Plie jacks; 3 sets of 16 reps
- Static lunges w/ DBs: 6 reps 2/2 count, 8 singles, 4 reps of partial reps, 8 singles, pulse 15
- Side lunge to curtsy lunge w/ dixie cups
- Alternating forward leaning lunges w/ dixie cups; you will do 3 sets of these w/ different variations
- Jumping jacks w/ firewalker loop around ankles
- Walk 4 steps to each side, then 4 steps diagonal front and back w/ firewalker around ankles
- Repeat 10 & 11
- Angle step one foot out while punching to side; firewalker still around ankles
- Jump forward, jump back, 2 plie jacks; firewalker still around ankles
- Side slide lunges w/ disk
- Curtsy lunge/pulses w/ disk; pulse 15 2x, pulse 7 2x, pulse 3 4x, 8 singles
- Warrior lunges w/ disk; one 4/4 count, six 2/2 count, one 4/4 count, six 2/2 count
- Grab chair for barre work; kick 2x to side, raising leg higher w/ each kick; 3 kicks to side, same pattern (leg raises higher w/ each kick); keep leg raised to side and kick; repeat on other leg
- Face chair w/ feet/heels together and raise and lower heels (lots of different tempos)
- Put firewalker band around one ankle and around the bottom of the other foot; bend knee and push foot to back of room; then change to raising and lowering foot of bent leg; repeat on other leg
- Stand beside chair, hand on back of chair and raise outside leg; lift and lower straight leg, first pointed, then flexed, then toe turn out to side (foot still flexed), then point and flex; repeat on other leg
- Face chair, hands on back of chair, feet/heels/knees together, bend knees keeping back straight, heels raised; pulse up and down then squat up and down in this position, then end w/ pulses
- Get mat and stability ball; lean side of body on ball; raise and lower top leg; toe pointed, then flexed, then point and flex; repeat on other leg
- Lay on back, stability ball under heels; raise hips and roll ball in and out; 3 sets 16 reps
- Sit up and place stability ball between knees, hands on ground behind you; squeeze ball between knees/thighs
- Lay on back and raise legs straight to ceiling and open in a “V”; toss ball and catch between feet
- Holding ball in “caught” position of last exercise (#26), slowly rotate ball between feet
