Cathe Live: Cathe’s Birthday Blast (#159)
This Cathe Live is a real cardio challenge – as Cathe says during this routine “work, work!” and you definitely will be! This Cathe live was filmed on Cathe’s 53rd birthday – hence the title of the workout. The class all have on t-shirts with ‘Happy Birthday Boss!’ and they gave Cathe a t-shirt with ‘Birthday Boss’ written on it – all very cute! The class starts with everyone grouped together wearing party hats before they go back to their usual places and the class begins (see photo above).
I really enjoyed this workout and found it fun and very challenging. This is a really nice cardio workout for days when you have lots of energy! As Cathe says this is designed so she can have her cake and eat it!
This routine is pure cardio and is divided into 3 sections – kickboxing, Hiits and Hi-Lo. The workout starts immediately with punching and just keeps going. The rests are quite short, particularly during the Hiit section and you will be breathing hard throughout.
The kickboxing section is a mix of punching, kicking and cardio blasts, including snow angel jacks and front kicks, etc. It was difficult to tell where warm up ended and workout began as you are just continually moving from one thing to the next. Cathe does not always do exactly the same number of reps on each side or exactly in the same order but I didn’t find this an issue and it had no impact on the overall workout.
The Hiit section consists of 13 intervals. Each Hiit consists of straight forward plyometric moves that are repeated for the set number of reps. These are pretty tough, as the rest breaks are really short and you don’t have much time to catch your breath before launching into the next interval. Fortunately, the intervals are not repeated, unless you need to perform the move on the other side (only a few), so there is less dread factor as you know once you have completed the interval you won’t have to do it again. There is also a slightly longer break after the 9th interval, before you do jacks / air jacks, so you can get some water and breathe a little more.
The final section is old-school Hi-Lo, which is steady state cardio, and I found this really fun. This section is one combination straight into the next, with no rest, and is a great end to the workout. This also helps to keep your heart rate up nicely. The choreography wasn’t too difficult and if you have previously done any of Cathe’s Hi-Lo (in her Live workouts e.g. Hi-Lo Cardio & Core or Old School Cardio & Kickboxing or DVDs e.g. Max Intensity Cardio, Step Jump & Pump etc) then all the moves will be familiar.
Overall, this was an excellent, calorie burning workout that I really enjoyed and found both challenging and fun. There are definitely less water breaks than usual, for a live workout, and it really got my heart rate up. I will definitely be returning to this workout whenever I need a fun and challenging cardio routine.
(For more information about Cathe Live, how to sign up & to see all of my Cathe Live reviews, click HERE).
The Workout
Cathe’s Birthday Blast is a pure cardio workout divided into three sections – kickboxing with cardio blasts, Hiit & Hi-Lo. The workout starts with kickboxing using weighted gloves. The Hiits do not include any choreography they are just straight forward plyometric-type moves repeated for a set number of repetitions. The Hi-Lo is more choreographed and includes combinations of moves that are then repeated.
What You Need to Know
(Rating scale – 1= lowest & 5 = highest).
The Moves
Cathe’s Birthday Blast is 51 minutes long and originally aired on 20th July 2017 (#159). The workout starts with punching and other boxing warm up moves, which then just blends into the actual workout. My best guess would be about a 4:30 minute warm up.
The combos are often built up in layers so that you have a chance to learn the moves and they are often then repeated on the other side. The final combinations are shown below. In between the moves you are generally shuffling or jumping rope etc. The moves include:
Kickboxing (with gloves / wrist weights)
Jab, cross, hook, upper
Boxer shuffles
Marching forward and back with punches
Slow squat thrust (standing at the top) & 8 alternating punches at the top
2 Jabs & cross, slip, upper cut
Slip & upper cut
Boxer shuffles
Power scissors & single scissors (travelling)
Jack & jabs / jacks & knee pulls
Front kicks / back kicks
2 Front kicks & 2 back kicks
Travelling scissors
Jack & jabs / jack & knee pulls
Jab, cross, rock back, back knee, crescent knee & side kick
‘Attacks’ (jumping in squat position bringing clasped hands up & down)
4 Travelling punches forward
Jab, cross & little hops
Jab, cross, reach, knee pull – changes to all knee pulls
Upper cuts & flurry (fast upper cuts)
Snow angel jack & 2 front kicks
Hammer down & knee pull
At 22:30 minutes - Water break & remove gloves / wrists weights
Hiit Blasts
Squats in a box (1 side then other)
3 rope climbs & 1 elbow strike (1 side then other)
1 Arm burpees (10 reps) - I did two arm burpees as these are extremely fast
Shuffle, shuffle, drop
3 Lateral jumps & tuck
Lateral skates
Plyo jacks
Split leaps (1 side then other)
Explosive side lunges
Quick water break (40 seconds)
4 jacks / 4 air jacks
Long reach lunges
3 jumps forward & turn
Touch down jacks
Hi-Lo - this section starts out jogging. (At 36 minutes)
Kick forward 4x, kick side to side & push back hopping then 4 jacks
3 Side leaps & 1 jack / 2 Leaps 2 jacks / 1 Leap 1 jack
2 Knee raises, hopping (alternate sides)
Up & over
2 Knee raises with speed bag arms
Up & back
Grapevines
4 Scoops forward & glide back
Walk forward & knee lift, walk back & knee lift
Double hops forward & jog back
Pendulum the legs with hands waving up & down
High & low jogs
Pony / Pony forward & singles back
Shuffles with arm circles then corner to corner with arms
Jacks / quarter jacks / double up jacks / circle jacks
Insoles up – hopping
Hamstring curls – jumping
Elbow to knee – hopping - & straight leg kicks
The workout ends with a 5 minute cool down and stretch.
Take Action
Try it today! Find out more about how to subscribe and to check out all of my Cathe Live Reviews - click HERE.
If you enjoyed this workout, check out my review of Cathe Live: Hearts on Fire HERE.
If you enjoyed this review, please share it using the links below.