Cathe Live Review: Birthday Bash (#354)
Birthday Bash is another fun cardio and metabolic strength workout packed with variety. This routine is the third of four metabolic conditioning workouts that Cathe filmed in July and again it is a really enjoyable one. Cathe really does excel at these types of routines and this is no exception. The time past by so fast I was really surprised when she said we were done. This is also my favourite format in that it is a no repeat workout so once you have done the exercise once you are on to something else.
This workout was filmed to celebrate Cathe’s birthday so was actually recorded on a Tuesday rather than a Thursday. The gym is decked out with lots of balloons and Cathe, plus many of the class, are wearing celebration hats and outfits with “Birthday Boss” on them. Given the occasion, everyone seems quite hyped up and there is lots of energy in the class and I found this pumped me up too.
The routine consists of six rounds of one cardio interval followed by several metabolic strength exercises. The strength moves target the whole body and are all compound moves – incorporating both upper and lower body. This format, along with the short cardio intervals, really helps to keep the heart rate up throughout and I was nicely sweaty by the end.
The cardio moves are generally short intervals and most are not all out blasts. As Cathe says, this is not a Hiit workout so they are there more to get your heart rate up rather than to exhaust you. I rather liked the combinations, as they were not completely killer but did get me moving.
The metabolic strength exercises were a really fun mix of traditional Cathe compound moves with a few new combos and a few oldies I haven’t seen for a while, such as, plank with 1 arm snatch. The variety here was excellent and I enjoyed the new moves too, particularly the mountain climber with shoulder taps. This really nicely challenged the core, as well as getting the heart rate up a little too. Cathe used 5 to 15 pounds for this routine and as you are moving at a reasonable pace, from one thing to the next, this generally worked very well for me. The reps are also sometimes a little higher too so it may be difficult to go too much heavier.
The workout ends with a little core work on the mat, including the mountain climber move, crunch with up & over legs, sit-ups and plank hip dips. This was a great way to round out the program and to ensure we worked a little bit of everything.
Overall, a highly enjoyable and varied metabolic conditioning workout.
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The Workout
Birthday Bash is a metabolic strength conditioning workout with a little bit of cardio mixed in. The routine consists of six rounds of one cardio interval followed by several metabolic strength exercises.
What You Need to Know
(Rating scale – 1= lowest & 5 = highest).
The Moves
Birthday Bash is 46 minutes long and originally aired on 20th July 2021 (#354). The workout starts with a 6:30 minute warm-up, before moving into the first cardio interval. Cardio moves shown below in bold italics.
Round 1
Shuffle & punch – 26 reps
Squat & overhead press (1 side of head to other) – one 15# Db – 24 reps
Step out front raise – two 8# Dbs – 20 reps
3 Upright row / bicep curl (tapping one foot back at a time) – two 12# Dbs – 7 sets
Round 2
Snowboards / jacks – 16x snow, 12x jack, 16x snow & 16x jack
Static lunge & alternating simultaneous hammer curls – two 10# Dbs – 32 reps each side
Bicep curl & 1.5 sumo squat – two 15# Dbs – 10 reps
1 Arm crossover front raise (palm up) / bicep curl w/ calf raise – two 10# Dbs – 12 sets (2x 1 arm crossover & 2x bicep)
Round 3
Toe taps w/ different arm patterns – one 15# Db (on floor to tap toes on) – 56 reps
Rear delt flys – two 10# Dbs – 24 reps
Step out w/ overhead front swing – one 15# Db – 20 reps
Wide rows – two 15# Dbs – 3 sets of 8 reps
Round 4
Double hops / pendulums – lots of reps!
Push-ups – mat – 3 sets of 8 reps
Alternating forward lunge w/ lateral raise & knee raise – two 5# Dbs – 4x single, 4x 3’s, 4x 1/3 & 4x singles
Tricep push-ups (knees) – mat – 4 sets (1x 2/2 & 2x singles) & 3x 3/1
Round 5
Half circle shuffles – mat – 20 reps
Side plank 1 arm snatch – one 10# Db & mat – 12 reps each side
Lying tricep extension w/ hip bridge – one 15# Db & mat – 20 reps
One arm tricep kickback in plank – one 12# Db & mat – 10 reps (1st side) & 12 reps (2nd side)
Round 6
Jacks & lateral hops – 8 sets (4 of each)
Squat & twist – one 10# Db – 16 reps
3 Mountain climbers & 2 shoulder taps in plank (holding 1 knee in under body) – mat – 12 sets
Crunch up w/ up & over leg lift (lift & lower legs over Db) – one 12# Db (standing on floor) & mat – 8 reps each side
Sit-up w Db (bring Db back overhead & sit-up bringing Db between legs) – one 12# Db & mat – 9 reps
Elbow plank hip dips – mat – 34 reps
The workout ends with a 2:30 minute cool down and stretch.
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If you liked this workout, check out my review of Cathe Live: Circuit S-W-E-A-T (#97) – HERE.
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