Cathe Live Review: Cardio Muscle Confusion (#311)
Cardio Muscle Confusion is a really fun, metabolic strength, workout with a little bit of cardio. I loved this routine, it was so enjoyable and packed with variety. This certainly isn’t a very intense or tough workout but if you are looking for more of a feel-good workout this is perfect.
The workout reminded me very much of Cathe’s LITE Metabolic Blast DVD (review HERE), which is also a really nice routine that works the whole body without exhausting you. Some of the moves are lifted directly from the DVD and so will definitely look familiar, if you have done that one.
The routine consists of six rounds and each round includes four exercises, which are a mix of cardio and metabolic strength moves. Cathe uses a combination of different equipment to keep things interesting and work the body in different ways. This includes a stability ball, dumbbells and gliding devices. I really liked the variety and the fact that none of the moves are repeated, means the workout flew by. I was rather disappointed that it was so short again though, as I would have loved another couple of rounds to challenge the body a little more.
The cardio moves are all straight forward intervals using a different piece of equipment, such as, pendulum jogs with the ball or jacks with the gliding devices. They are not done for very long but just enough to get the heart rate up a little. Overall, this was definitely much more of an intermediate routine as the pace, even for the cardio, was often a little slower, such as with the plank jacks / mogul jumps. The one exception to this was the sit-outs, as for some reason they seemed insanely fast and I really struggled to keep Cathe’s pace and maintain good form. On the whole though, the cardio is definitely more steady state rather that high intensity / plyometrics so they are not Hiit drills in this routine.
The metabolic strength exercises are mostly compound moves using both upper and lower body together. I enjoyed the different moves as there were lots of fun combinations. There is no set pattern for the exercises, it is just a nice mix of different moves that target the whole body nicely. Cathe generally used lighter weights, than she sometimes does, with the exception of the double arm rows, deadlifts and sumo squats, as she used 20# dumbbells for all of those moves. The rep count varies wildly, as Cathe’s counting was sometimes a little all over the place and she kept adding on “bonuses” everywhere. Therefore, sometimes the lighter weight was a good thing, particularly on the lying tricep extensions, as I was thinking about using 12’s but was glad I didn’t as we ended up doing 35 reps! For some moves, I did increase my weights and would probably do so more in future. The fact that the pace is a little slower means you could heavy up a little more, if you want to, but I would suggest just checking the reps below so you know how many you will have to do with the heavier weight! However, Cathe does say this one is not about pure strength training but is more metabolic and keeping the heart rate up.
Interestingly, Cathe mentions that she is feeling very dehydrated and fatigued the day she filmed this but you really couldn’t tell as she seemed so genuinely happy and bouncy. I guess she just knows how to compensate very effectively and she did have me smiling multiple times, as she added on her bonuses and made funny comments. She even asked the viewers to send their energy, through the screen, when she explained how she was feeling and that was very cute.
(My only complaint about this workout is the stretch again. This time it was ridiculously short – less than 2 minutes and didn’t really stretch out anything very well. So again I added on extra stretching at the end. Now fortunately this is never that much of an issue, as you can always use one of Cathe’s excellent stretches from one of her other workouts or use an extended stretch from LITE or STEP Boss, which is what I did).
Overall, a highly enjoyable, more intermediate level, metabolic strength routine that works a little bit of everything.
(For more information about Cathe Live, how to sign up & to see all of my Cathe Live reviews, click HERE).
The Workout
Cardio Muscle Confusion is a metabolic strength workout with a little bit of cardio mixed in. The routine consists of six rounds of a mix of cardio and metabolic strength moves.
What You Need to Know
(Rating scale – 1= lowest & 5 = highest).
The Moves
Cardio Muscle Confusion is 41 minutes long and originally aired on 27th August 2020 (#311). The workout starts with a 5:30 minute warm-up, before a quick water break and the starting the first round. Cathe picks up 5 pound dumbbells towards the end of the warm-up to mimic some of the moves to come. You will need to ensure that you have your equipment handy, as some of the transitions are quite quick. Cardio moves shown in bold italics below.
Round 1
Pendulum jogs / jogs bouncing the ball – ball
3 Walking lunges (pulsing x4) & plie pulse squats – two 10# Dbs – 6 sets
Ball slams – ball – 4 sets of 10 reps
Decline push-ups – ball (shins on ball) – 6 sets (1x 2/2 count & 2x singles)
Round 2
Step-out Arnold press – two 10# Dbs – 16 reps
Side slide lunges – one 10# Db (I used 1x15) & one gliding device – 8 sets each side (1x 2/2 count & 2x singles)
Bent over double arm rows – two 20# Dbs – 16 reps
Plank jacks & mogul hops (jumping feet in towards shoulder & back out) – 8 sets (1 of each is 1 set)
Round 3
Disc jacks – two gliding devices – 80 reps
Rear slide lunge & hammer curl – two 8# Dbs (I used 10’s) & two gliding devices – 16 reps
Incline bicep curls – two 12# Dbs & ball – 21 reps
Forward leaning rowing lunges – ball – 24 reps
Round 4
Sumo squat jacks with 1 arm snatch (picking up & putting down the dumbbell in between) – one 8# db (I used 1x10) – 12 reps
Deadlifts – two 20# Dbs – 12 reps (2/2 count)
Front sumo squat (Dbs between legs) – two 20# Dbs – 16 reps
Half circle gliding mountain climbers – two gliding devices – 48 reps
Round 5
Scissor, scissor, wide jump & 2 jump ropes – 6 sets each side
Alternating crossback lunges – two 15# Dbs – 25 reps
Front to side lateral raises w/ calf raise – two 5# Dbs – 28 reps
See saw push-ups – ball (shins on ball) – 10 reps
Round 6
Ball jacks (sitting on ball) – ball – 50 reps
Hamstring roll-ins – ball & mat – 26 reps
Sit-outs (alternating straight leg out across under the body) – mat – 10 reps (fast)
Lying tricep extensions w/ hip bridge – two 10# Dbs – 35 reps
The workout ends with an extremely short 1:30 minute cool down and stretch. I added on some extra stretching at the end.
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