Cathe Live Review: Breathless Legs (#283)
Breathless Legs is a fun and interesting cardio and lower body strength workout using the step platform.
This workout is a little sneaky, as it starts out much less intense than many of Cathe’s lower body workouts. However, in the second half it really starts to ramp up the intensity a bit more and with so many lunges I was really starting to feel my legs. Also the cardio is a little more advanced, than in the first half, overall though this is not a tough routine, which was perfect for today as I wasn’t feeling that great and wanted something a little lighter.
The workout is structured into two rounds of exercises that are then repeated before moving onto the next round. The first round has nine exercises and the second has six exercises. In each round there are two cardio moves using the step platform. These are not high rep or very intense but they do get your heart rate up a little more and make the overall workout more metabolic. Some of these moves are lifted directly from STEP BOSS: IMAX 4 (review), including the Heisman (Agility run) and the over the top burpees.
The lower body strength work is also very reminiscent of some of the moves in the new STEP BOSS: PHA3 (review). This is more of a metabolic strength workout than a heavy weight routine and Cathe’s weights are fairly light. That combined with just using the step platform, with no risers, means it is much less advanced than it could be. You can obviously increase the step height, if you prefer, however, some of the moves are done at a fast pace so just to be aware of that. The reps are not too high - generally up to 16 reps for any one exercise. So you can go heavier, on some of them, if you want to.
Two other things to mention here, Nate is in this workout again and as usual he has great form. I love that he really seems to put his all into every move and he was getting seriously low on those wide box jumps – very inspirational. The second is that there is also a Breathless Upper Body workout in the Live archive already - #226. That one is a much more intense workout and is really excellent for burning out the upper body, while getting some great cardio. For a detailed review of that one, click HERE.
Overall, this is a fast paced metabolic lower body workout that has lots of variety to work the muscles in different ways.
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The Workout
Breathless Legs is a cardio and lower body strength workout. Cathe used a full size step platform, moderate dumbbells and a mat (to secure the step platform) for this routine.
What You Need to Know
(Rating scale – 1= lowest & 5 = highest).
The Moves
Breathless Legs is 52 minutes long and originally aired on 6thFebruary 2020 (#282). The workout starts with a 5 minute warm-up, before a quick water break and then moving into the first exercise. The step platform is set up horizontally, in front of you, at the start of the workout. You will need space behind, in front and to the sides for this routine. (Note: in the first round you will be doing pendulum lunges – lunging onto the step & then doing a reverse lunge behind you so you will need to make sure you have sufficient space to do this without hitting any furniture etc!) Cardio moves shown in bold italics below.
Round 1a
Lateral plie walks – two 12# Dbs – 8 sets
Front to back lunges (pendulum lunges onto & off step) – two 10# Dbs & step – 10 reps each side
Squat & cross back lunge - one 15# Db & step – 12 reps each side (fast)
Agility run (similar to Heisman movement across the step - one side & then the other) – step – 40 reps
Push dips – two 12# Dbs & step – 16 reps each side
Hop squat & rear lunge (3 squats hopping & 1 rear lunge) – one 10# Db (I used 1x 15) – 13 reps
Front sumo squat (sumo squat with dbs held in hands between legs) – two 15# Dbs – 16 reps
Deadlifts – two 15# Dbs (I used 20’s) – 10 reps (3/1 count)
Squat in a box – step – 2 sets of 6 reps
Round 1b
Lateral plie walks – two 12# Dbs – 8 sets
Front to back lunges (pendulum lunges onto & off step) – two 10# Dbs & step – 10 reps each side
Squat & cross back lunge - one 15# Db & step – 12 reps each side (fast)
Agility run (similar to Heisman movement across the step - one side & then the other) – step – 54 reps
Push dips – two 12# Dbs & step – 16 reps each side
Hop squat & rear lunge (3 squats hopping & 1 rear lunge) – one 10# Db (I used 1x 15) – 12 reps
Front sumo squat (sumo squat with dbs held in hands between legs) – two 15# Dbs – 16 reps
Deadlifts – two 15# Dbs (I used 20’s) – 12 reps (2/2 count)
Squat in a box – step – 2 sets of 6 reps
Round 2a
Side pick-up lunge – one 10# Db (I used 1x 12) – 20 reps each side
Elevated lunges – two 15# Dbs & step – 16 reps each side
Circle shuffle & 2 jacks / circle shuffle & 1 burpee / over the top burpees (shoot over step laterally then squat thrust on floor) – 4 sets (w jacks), 4 sets (burpee on floor) & 7 sets (on step)
Crossback lunges – two 12# Dbs & step – 16x singles, 2x 3 pulses, 1x 7 pulses each side
Static pulsing lunges – one 15# Db – 2x 31 pulses, 2x 15 pulses
Wide box jumps (staying low in a squat) – step – 16 reps
Round 2b
Side pick-up lunge – one 10# Db (I used 1x 12) – 20 reps each side
Elevated lunges – two 15# Dbs & step – 16 reps each side
Over the top burpees (shoot over step laterally then squat thrust on floor) – 10 sets
Crossback lunges – two 12# Dbs & step – 12x singles, 2x 3 pulses, 1x 7 pulses (1st side). 16x singles, 2x 3 pulses, 1x 7 pulses (2nd side)
Static pulsing lunges – one 15# Db – 2x 31 pulses, 2x 15 pulses
Wide box jumps (staying low in a squat) – step – 16 reps
The workout ends with a 2 minute cool down and stretch.
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If you liked this workout, check out my review of Cathe Live: Plyo Leg Blast (#270) – HERE.
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