Cathe Live: Touch Up Training Lower Body

Yesterday was Cathe’s Live Touch Up Training: Upper Body and this morning I did her #298 Touch Up Training: Lower Body. They are both excellent strength workouts. Later this week I will be doing her live Touch Up Training (Total Body). I really enjoyed this workout. It is so varied. Cathe hits your legs from every angle with a huge variety of exercises. No boredom here! She uses all kinds of equipment, too. So that is a negative if you are not a fan of Cathe’s workouts that use lots of equipment. I own all of the equipment needed so I loved it. Keeps the workout interesting. Plus, she put a new spin on familiar exercises. For instance–curtsy lunges on the step topper using dixie cups. I haven’t seen that variation before. But it was fun! This workout moves at a nice clip, too. Like all of Cathe’s lower body workouts, this is very metabolic. In 45 minutes I burned 350 calories. It is not an advanced workout. I say that because I am no longer an advanced exerciser. I’m more intermediate, maybe high intermediate, and I had no problems with any of the exercises. It challenged me but I never felt close to muscle failure. I was working hard though and my muscles were worked well and sometimes had a nice burn going. There is some small jumps in this workout, not a lot and they are easy to modify if you don’t want to jump at all. The stretch though–two minutes?!?!? Since this workout is only 45:30 minutes, I finished this workout with one of Cathe’s Extended Stretches from her LITE program. That stretched my legs out nicely.

Touch Up Training Lower Body is 45:30 minutes; 4:30 minute warm up and 2 minute stretch. Equipment: step topper (4 inches), fitness mat, various dumbbells, 2 dixie cups, sliding device and a resistance loop/booty band/firewalker loop. I used the same weights as Cathe for everything in this workout.

1. 3 small hop squats + one reverse lunge, alternate legs when lunging (one 10# DB)
2. (get dixie cups) Front lunge, lean forward and place dixie cups on floor on either side of front foot, stand and raise front knee while raising hands overhead, return to front lunge, pick up dixie cups and stand
3. Squat toss (pulse squats while passing one DB hand to hand, other arm extends straight in front of you when not holding DB) (one 10# DB)
4. Put loop around ankles, tap one leg in and out to side
5. (loop is still around ankles) Alternate lifting one leg out straight to side
6. (remove loop) Stationary pulse lunges (one 20# DB)
7. Alternating cross-back (curtsy) lunges (stand on step topper holding a dixie cup in each hand, do alternating curtsy lunges (lunging leg taps floor behind you), when lunging place dixie cup on step beside foot and when you lunge to that side again, pick the dixie cup up); changes to curtsy lunges on one leg (continue setting the dixie cup on step then picking it up); ends with pulses, arms are extended straight out to sides holding dixie cups
8. Close grip sumo squats (hold DBs close together in front of body/between thighs as you squat) (20# DBs)
9. Slide back rear lunges (stationary leg is on step topper, sliding leg is on floor with sliding device beneath foot) (one 12# DB)
10. Close stance stiff leg deadlifts (one 20# DB)
11. Side to side step out sumo squats; changes to pivoting sumo squats (step out sumo squat but you pivot to the side/back) (one 15# DB)
12. Elevated lunges (stationary lunges with back leg on step behind you) (15# DBs)
13. Wide stance deadlifts (20# DBs)
14. Side lunge into side leg raise (holding a dixie cup in each hand, set them both on floor by foot when you lunge, reach arms overhead when you do leg raise, lunge again and pick up dixie cups then stand)
15. Squat cross overs (stand on step topper, squat with one leg on floor beside step then same leg crosses over step behind you into a cross-back/curtsy lunge, continue alternating these two exercises) (one 15# DB)
16. Put resistance loop around ankles and step side to side; continue the side to side steps but travel forward and back; changes to double side steps; changes to 4 steps to each side; lower into partial squat while continuing the side steps
17. (remove loop) Squat jump + 2 pulse squats (one 10# DB)
18. Warrior slide back lunges (reverse lunge with sliding device under back leg, keep back leg relatively straight when lunging, hinge torso slightly forward, while also lifting straight arms in front of you when sliding back)
19. Sweeper lunges (place sliding device under one foot, lower into partial squat with genie arms, slide leg in and out)
20. Slide out side lunges (sliding device under one foot, slide leg out into side lunge then back in); remain lowered into single leg squat with stationary leg and slide other leg in and out to side fast
21. Calf raises (20# DBs)