Cathe Live: Low Impact Bootcamp

#183 Low Impact Bootcamp is made up of 6 circuits. Each circuit has 4 exercises: a low impact cardio move, followed by a lower body strength move, a metabolic move (usually a compound move using both the upper and lower body) and ends with an upper body strength move. This is an excellent and intense workout–totally metabolic. I really enjoyed it. My heart rate was elevated throughout the entire workout and I feel like the metabolic moves worked me more intensely (cardio-wise) than the actual cardio move! In addition this is total body conditioning. Since today was supposed to be a cardio day, I didn’t try to lift heavier but if you want to make this much more strength focused, you can increase the weight of your dumbbells. There were several exercises I could have (and will when I return to this workout) lifted heavier weight but there were also quite a few that the weight Cathe used challenged me plenty. BTW–I don’t actually recommend working out the way I have been the past few weeks. I like to put a day or two between strength workouts but tomorrow is my last day of Cathe Live. So after I post the blog for tomorrow’s workout, I am canceling my Live subscription for a while. As I have mentioned in other places, I have been trying to cram in as many of Cathe’s live workouts that look appealing to me as possible in the 2 months I subscribed. And that 2 months has come to an end. You can do Cathe’s live workouts by subscribing to her streaming site or purchasing the individual downloads. Here is a video clip of this workout.

Low Impact Bootcamp is 52 minutes; 5 minute warm up and 2:30 minute stretch. Equipment: step with 3 risers (10 inches), dumbbells and gliding devices.

Circuit 1:

1. Windmills (3 pendulum squat hop-steps then step into squat tap=1 rep)
2. Drop squats off side of step (Cathe is using one 15# DB)
3. Deadlift; changes to stationary lunges; back to deadlifts; changes to stationary lunge on other leg (Cathe is using 10# DBs)
4. Repeat #3 with heavier DBs (Cathe is using 15# DBs)
5. Push ups with hands on step to tempo pattern: one rep to a down 2/up 2 count + 2 singles; pattern changes to 2 singles then alternate tapping feet up by step; changes to 1 slow push up + alternating taps

Circuit 2:

1. Mountain climbers with hands on step; changes to toes angling toward the opposite side during the mountain climbers
2. Sumo squats (holding a DB in each hand, squat and place one DB on floor, squat again and place the other DB on floor, squat again and pick up the first DB, squat again and pick up the second DB–keep repeating this sequence); changes to pulsing sumo squats with DBs resting on thighs (Cathe is using 15# DBs)
3. Facing the side and holding one DB in arm furthest away, sumo squat with DB held at shoulder and when raising out of squat, pivot to face front while doing a single arm overhead press (Cathe is using one 10# DB)
4. W (wide) curls; changes to hammer curls (Cathe is using 12# DBs)

Circuit 3:

1. Split lifts (in stationary lunge, do small lift/lower hops while also opening arms out to side to overhead then pulling them down)
2. Side slide lunges to a pattern: one slow + 2 faster (Cathe using one 15# DB)
3. Slide back lunge with sweeper/supination curls (Cathe is using 10# DBs)
4. Straight arm front raise holding one DB in both hands (Cathe is using one 15# DB)
5. Repeat #4 with a lighter DB (Cathe is using one 12# DB)
6. Repeat #5 with a lighter DB (Cathe is using one 10# DB)

Circuit 4:

1. Dynamic squat abductions  (with legs wide, do a sumo squat pushing hands down to floor then hop/lift up while raising one leg to side, alternate sides with a sumo squat in between)
2. Elevated lunges, singles and pulses (remove topper from step, do stationary lunges with back foot elevated on step behind you) (Cathe is using 12# DBs)
3. Jump out into sumo squat lowering DBs down between thighs while in squat, jump feet in to standing, hammer curl into overhead press into 2 overhead tricep extensions (Cathe is using 10# DBs)
4. Bent over read delt flys, 3 sets of 10 reps (Cathe is using 10# DBs)

Circuit 5:

1. Squat digs (hops with legs together, reaching arms overhead and pulling them down)
2. Sliding cross-back/curtsy lunges, pulse 7x then 3x then singles (Cathe is using 10# DBs)
3. Step squat off step into side leg lift with one arm upright row (one foot remains on the step the entire time while the other leg lifts out to the side) (Cathe is using one 10# DB)
4. Tricep dips off step with alternating leg kickouts; changes to tricep dips with one leg extended

Circuit 6:

1. Line taps (sumo squat hop side to side reaching one hand toward ground between legs)
2. Pulsing sumo squats (holding one DB in one hand pulse twice in sumo squats then hop to side while also passing DB to other hand, continue alternating sides)
3. Keeping one foot on step at all times, do a narrow reverse lunge off step (Cathe is using 12# DBs)
4. Front swing into a double lat pull down (stand with legs wide, do a sumo squat while swinging DBs down between legs and when you stand, swing DBs overhead then open arms out to side into goal post (Cathe is using 10# DBs)
5. Pullovers to slow 4/4 count (Cathe is using 15# DBs)