CatheFriedrich's Power Hour + MIS & Body Max DVD

This is one of the best workouts I own. Power Hour is a high rep muscle endurance workout that is chaptered into body parts: Legs (squats), Shoulders, Chest, Back, Biceps, & Triceps. There is also an extra leg segment for lunges. The warm up (5 minutes) is also weight work- lighter weights and not as many reps. The workout itself is 40 minutes with a 6 minute ab segment and 3 minute stretch. An all around good workout.Body Max is a combination of cardio and weights. There is a light cardio warm-up (8 min.), a 24 minute step aerobic segment with fairly complex choreography, a 19 minute power circuit interval segment (this is tough!), and a 34 minute upper body muscle conditioning segment (warning- she inserts push-ups in the middle of the chest segment when your muscles are already exhausted). The ab segment is 10 minutes! which I think is a bit too long but that's because I hate ab work. There is a cooldown in the middle and a stretch at the end. I really have never done this work out all the way through because it is long and it is a difficult workout to do all at once. I use the muscle conditioning segment as an add-on to some of my shorter cardio workouts and I do the power circuit intervals segment on days when I really want to be challenged and tack on some weight work to round it out. I attempted the step segment once and the choreography was too complex for me to follow and it was really fast paced so I haven't tried it since. If you are already familiar with Cathe's style of step, then you should not have a problem with the step workout.Maximum Intensity Strength is another total body workout. I have never done this workout all the way through either but I break up the chapters into push-pull type combinations and add them on to my longer cardio workouts. There is a 6 min warm-up w/ step, 18 minutes of leg/butt work, 8 min. of chest, 7 min. of back, 7 min. of shoulders, 6 min. of biceps, 7 min. of triceps, another marathon 10 min. of abs, and a 3 min stretch.

I ordered this to replace an old vhs recording of Cathe Freidrich's Power Hour I recorded from TV years ago. Power hour is a nice quick workout (40 min) It has two additional workouts, "Maximum Intensity Strength" and "Body Max." Although I only intended to use the "Power Hour" that I was accustomed to, I use the Maximum Intensity Strength workout now. It's very good, I especially like the buttocks/leg workout. According to the DVD case, this workout was awarded best advanced video of the year by Fitness magazine. (It doesn't say what year) The music isn't annoying, so that's a bonus. I've tried the "Body Max" workout twice, but can't make it through the step routine, it's quite complicated. I'll have to try it again, skipping the step aerobics and go straight to the power circuit interval and upper body muscle conditioning. I didn't know there was more until just now writing this review! :-0From the case:Power Hour- warm-up 5-1/2 min, strength training exercises 40 min, abs 6 min, stretch 3 min(it doesn't say on the case but strength training is buttocks/legs, chest, back, biceps, abs)Maximum Intensity Strength - warm up with step 6-1/2 min, buttocks/legs 18.5 min, chest 8 min, back 7.5 min shoulders 7 min, biceps 6 min, triceps 7.5 min abs 10 min, stretch 3 minBody Max - warm-up 8 min step aerobics 24 min power circuit intervals 19 min cool down 2 min upper-body muscle conditioning 24 min, stretch 4 min

This video isn't something that can be done without equipment...equipment I do not own. I wish it had listed everything I'd need at the TOP of the page at the time I bought it. I was annoyed that I couldn't do it without these accoutrements. I, then, looked in the lower section--the complete product description--where I read it required it--and felt sheepish. Stupid. Okay, so I need to do a few mental exercises on top of physical.Back to the physical...Cathe Friedrich is a powerhouse without an annoying voice. I worked through Jillian's 30 day shred (and loved it) and felt ready to move on to something able to tackle those last 25 pounds. After four (yes, four) months, I completed her 30 day shred but was sick to death of Jillian's annoying voice. I needed something fresh. Cathe was it. Her workouts are painful. Agonizing. Impossible. Effective. They are NOT something I can do every day, though. Maybe after four YEARS I might make it through the whole gamut. Until then, I'll sissify it to my best ability and let you Adonis-types best me. Hey. I'm 51!

I love Cathe!!! This is an oldie but so good - 3 workouts in one, and exactly the workouts I was looking for. If you love "Body Pump" style workouts and step aerobics, this one is for you. Her cuing is excellent as always, the step workout is typical cathe - choreography that might be considered difficult but she breaks it down and makes it super easy to follow from the first try. Weight training is intense and varied. Just upset I didn't find/purchase this one sooner! As a side note, I'm a personal trainer and Beachbody coach with an advanced level of fitness and have a library of home fitness programs. These workouts are intermediate to advanced in my opinion, but can be made easier using lighter weights and/or lower step rise.

I bought this DVD after using it on my DVR for several years. It is just like the professionally taught gym club class called "Group Power" which I paid $58/month for with club membership for 2 years. I've been using the DVR/DVD at home to save $$$ on club membership. All I had to do was buy the bar and weights set at Sears. I think it was about $130. It targets all muscle groups for about 5 minutes each and you can challenge yourself with heavier weights or by pausing the DVD and adding more reps. You can also personalize your workout by breaking the muscle groups up in half or thirds or whatever depending on how much time you have. Start out with light weights and work your way up until exhaustion occurs towards the end of reps for maximum benefit. Really great, challenging, flexible workout. Cathe is a super fitness instructor and not annoying like alot of other fitness gurus. Love it, love it, love it.