Cathe Live: Breathless Legs

#283 Breathless Legs is a tough cardio + strength workout from Cathe Live. It is made up of 2 circuits and each circuit is repeated. Each circuit alternates 2-4 lower body exercises with one cardio blast. I was working very hard in this workout. This is not a low impact workout but there are also no plyometrics. High impact moves but nothing crazy. I got an excellent and intense lower body workout. I wanted to like this workout more than I did and I would have loved it pre-pandemic. But I have become so accustomed to doing Cathe‘s one-on-one live workouts that I was a little put off by the class format. For one, the lighter dumbbells that are used in the class format by necessity, but also I think Cathe only did about half the workout. She spent the other half walking around the class. None of this would have bothered me before but now that I’ve had a taste of the live workouts she is forced to do now–just you and Cathe, working out–I have kind of lost interest in the live workouts with a class. But I will still do them since some of my favorite workouts are Cathe Live workouts–especially her Fit Tower workouts.

Anyway, I went off topic. This is an excellent, very metabolic lower body cardio + strength workout. According to my FitBit I burned 446 calories and I was in my peak heart rate zone 56% of the workout! I was in my cardio zone the remainder of the workout except for 5 minutes–part of the warm up and the stretch. So an excellent and intense workout that worked me hard! About the dumbbell choices. This workout is done to a brisk pace so for some of the exercises the lighter weights that Cathe uses are appropriate but some of the other exercises needed heavier weights and I think Cathe would have used heavier dumbbells if this workout had been filmed without the class behind her.

Breathless Legs is 52 minutes; 5 minute warm up and 2 minute stretch. Equipment: dumbbells, fitness mat and step platform only (no risers). The platform is setting on top of the fitness mat. I used the same dumbbells as Cathe did unless otherwise noted below.

Circuit 1:

1. Lateral wide plie walks to side, 4 steps to each side (12# DBs)
2. Forward to rear lunge on same leg (step onto the platform when doing forward lunge) (10# DBs)
3. Squat Crossover Lunge (stand on platform holding one DB in both hands, with one foot remaining on the platform, squat to side then with same foot that stepped off the platform into a squat, do a crossback/curtsy lunge by bringing leg over to the other side of the platform behind you) (one 15# DB)
4. Triple step + knee lift across the step
5. Push Dips (in stationary lunge with back foot on platform behind you, hinge torso forward and do partial reps–DBs will lower to ankles and only raise to knee height) (12# DBs)
6. Hop Squat Rear Lunge (3 small hop squats + one reverse lunge, alternate legs for the lunges with hop squats between each lunge–also, you are never raising out the a squat position throughout the entire set) (one 10# DB)
7. Wide sumo squats (Cathe is using 15# DBs; I used 25# DBs)
8. Deadlifts (Cathe is using 15# DBs; I used 25# DBs)
9. Squats in a box (with one foot always on the platform, start at the back of the platform, squat jump forward to front of platform, squat jump to other side of platform, squat jump backward to back of platform, squat jump over platform back to start)
10. Repeat #1-9

Circuit 2:

1. Pick up lunges (holding one DB, do a side lunge and place DB on floor near foot then return to standing, do another side lunge and pick up DB then return to standing) (one 10# DB)
2. Elevated lunges (stationary lunges with back foot on the platform behind you) (15# DBs)
3. 2 jumping jacks + shuffle leap to side; jacks change to burpee; move shuffle leap to platform and do lateral steps over the long length of the platform (and you are now doing a burpee on each end of the platform)
4. Stand on end of platform and do rear curtsy lunges, singles and pulses (12# DBs)
5. Pulsing stationary lunge (Cathe is using one 15# DB; I used one 20# DB)
6. Box jumps (remain in squat and hop on and off platform)
7. Repeat #11-16 (when you repeat #13 you go straight into the burpee version on the platform)