Cathe Live Review: Drill Max Live (#64)
Drill Max Live is a wonderful total body cardio and strength circuit workout. This is based on Cathe’s Drill Max DVD and I really enjoyed it!
The workout consists of rounds of cardio and a mix of lower and upper body exercises, along with a few core moves at the end. The routine definitely has similarities to the DVD version and many of the cardio intervals and strength moves are familiar from that workout. However, the DVD version is a seriously intense workout and one that definitely has a little dread factor for me, even though I love it! This one though is both a little shorter and a little less intense. The cardio moves are not quite as tough or go on for as long as those in the DVD and obviously you get more breaks with the Live version too. However, I still got a great workout and had a lot of fun along the way. To increase the intensity of this one though, you could always raise the step height and use heavier weights. Cathe stayed with her step at 6” (one riser on each side) and used lighter dumbbells. I did increase my weights on quite a few of the exercises (shown below) and might be able to increase further in future.
Each round consists of one or two cardio intervals. Some of these are done on the step and some are done on the floor - either using the stability ball or a light hand weight. The cardio intervals are all very straight forward moves, including the step intervals, so there is no choreography to worry about here. They are just aiming to get that heart rate up and you breathing a little harder. Some of the intervals were tougher than others although most are not done for too long. For the step intervals, if there is a mini combo of moves, they are repeated four times before moving onto strength work.
The strength work is a mix of all different kinds of training – some use the stability ball, some dumbbells, some resistance bands and some just your own bodyweight. I love this kind of training as the time flies by and there is no chance to get bored because you are having so much fun! The strength work is not completely comprehensive although it does hit each body part at least once but there are not enough sets and reps to really target all muscle groups effectively. However, I did really feel the tricep and shoulder work - as I do in the actual Drill Max workout. The side plank with front arm raises and the see saw push-ups, after the tricep dips, I found particularly tough.
(One thing to note in this workout, Cathe’s dumbbells are all black in colour, for this workout, so you can’t immediately tell what weights she is using (as usually they are colour coded for the Live workouts – e.g. orange is 10 pounds, purple is 12 pounds etc). This confused me the first time I noticed it, as I thought she was using 8 pounds instead of 10’s, as the 8’s are usually the black smaller weights (15’s being the black bigger weights). So just in case you are wondering!)
Overall, this is a fun and effective total body cardio and strength workout that has lots of variety and the time just flies by. This is definitely one I will return to often.
(For more information about Cathe Live, how to sign up & to see all of my Cathe Live reviews, click HERE).
The Workout
Drill Max Live is cardio and strength circuit workout consisting of four rounds of cardio and a mix of strength exercises for lower, upper and core. Cathe used a full size step, with one riser on each side, a stability ball, medium tension resistance band and loop, and lighter dumbbells for this routine. If you don’t have a step, you could do the moves on the floor instead.
What You Need to Know
(Rating scale – 1= lowest & 5 = highest).
The Moves
Drill Max Live is 64 minutes long and originally aired on 13th August 2015 (#64). The workout starts with a 6 minute warm-up using the step. You then move into the first cardio interval using a 5 pound dumbbell. The step, with one riser on each side, is set up horizontally in front of you at the start of the workout. The step height does not change during the workout. You will need to ensure that you have space all around the step, as you will be moving around all sides during the cardio intervals. Cardio intervals shown in bold italics below.
Round 1
Cardio w 5# dumbbell
Explosive side lunges with overhead press & reach (holding db horizontally between hands) / pulsing sumo squats (hopping) / line taps – one 5# dumbbell – 24 reps / 16 reps / 31 reps
Step cardio
Jump onto step & step down x4 / ski hops (on floor) x4 / Power 7 / basic, hop turn, basic, hop turn – step – 4 sets
Front lunges (ball held in hands & twist over knee) / front lunges w figure of 8 arms – stability ball - 16 reps (twist) / 16 reps (figure 8) each side
Front lunge w overhead press & reach back side lunge (ball going towards foot) – stability ball – 8 reps (1st side) & 9 reps (2nd side)
Overhead press (siting on ball) – two 8# dumbbells (I used 10’s) & ball – 12 reps
Incline hammer curls (leaning back on ball) – two 8# dumbbells (I used 12’s) & ball – 7 reps
Overhead press (siting on ball) – two 8# dumbbells (I used 10’s) & ball – 14 reps
Incline hammer curls (leaning back on ball) – two 8# dumbbells (I used 12’s) & ball – 7 reps
Overhead press (siting on ball) – two 8# dumbbells (I used 10’s) & ball – 14 reps
Incline bicep curls (leaning back on ball) – two 8# dumbbells (I used 12’s) & ball – 7 reps
Round 2
Cardio w Stability Ball
Jog & toss ball on 8 count (8 sets) / pendulums (w ball low, mid & overhead) / ball slams (24 reps) – ball
Alternating crossback lunge off step (touching hand to inside of ankle) – step – 16x singles, 8x 3 pulses & 8x singles
Step Cardio
Up jack, rock back, double jump on step, 3 knee repeater, exit, alternating front kicks (on step) x4, knee off the side & over laterally x6, knee off the back – step – 4 sets
Lateral walks – two 10# dumbbells – 8 sets
Plie squats & 1 arm press (palms facing inwards) / plie squats & Arnold press (both arms) / plie squats & 1 arm Arnold press – two 10# dumbbells – 8x 1 arm press / 4x Arnold press / 4x 1 arm Arnold / 8x both arms / 4x 1 arm / 4x both arms
Put resistance loop around ankles & hold band between hands – underhand grip (the below band & loop moves are all one continuous section)
Band pulls (while marching) – resistance band & loop – 24 reps
Band pulls & 4 side steps – resistance band & loop – 4 sets
Firewalker side steps (4 to each side. No arm movement) – resistance band & loop – 8 sets
Posture pulls (while marching. Overhand grip) – resistance band & loop – 10 reps
Side squats w posture pulls (4 to each side) – resistance band & loop – 4 sets
Firewalker side steps (4 to each side. No arm movement) – resistance band & loop – 2 sets
Band pulls & 4 side steps – resistance band & loop – 6 sets
Side plank w front angle rear delt raise (lying on ball w knee on ground, hold db in one hand & raise & lower straight arm to the front) – one 5# dumbbell, ball & mat – 4 reps (3/1 count), 4 reps (2/2 count) & 4 sets of 2 partials & up 2, down 2
Round 3
Cardio w Step
Football runs around step (straddle runs to end of step then run backwards on one side) – step – 8 sets
8 Jacks / 4 knee lifts (jumping) / 32 fast feet – step - 3 sets
8 Rear lunge & 3 hammer curls / isolation holds (turning) / 2 slow bicep curls & 2 slow hammer curls – two 10# dumbbells (I used 12’s) – 2 sets
Cardio w Step
Straddle jumps – step – 4 sets of 8 reps
Tricep dips – step – 24 reps
See saw push-up – ball – 8 reps & 2x partials
Tricep dips – step – 40 reps
See saw push-ups – ball – 4 reps & 4x partials
Plie squat & upright row – two 10# dumbbells (I used 12’s) – 32 reps
Round 4
Cardio w Step
Squat pendulum x4, squat cha cha across the step x5, tap off & press down x8, jump & abduct (waving arms overhead) x7, 3 knee repeater x3 – step – 4 sets
Front swing & 1 arm lat pull down – one 10# dumbbell (I used 1x 12) – 4 reps (swing only) / 4 x 1 pull / 4x 3 pulls
Hamstring kickbacks (pushing foot back) / hamstring pull-ups (toe pointed) – resistance loop (under one foot) – 32 reps (kickback) & 32 reps (pull-ups) each side
Lateral raises (single & both arms) - two 5# dumbbells & ball – 12x single arms / 4x both arms / 3 sets - 1.5’s
Incline front raises (dbs held vertically) / incline arcs – two 5# dumbbells & ball – 2 sets of 3 reps (2/2 count) & 8 reps (arcs)
Lateral raises (single & both arms) - two 5# dumbbells & ball - 2 sets of 2x single arm & 2x both arms
Roll-outs on the ball (for core) – ball & mat – 11 reps
Ball knee squeeze – ball & mat – lots of reps slow & fast
T-band pulls (band around feet & crisscrossed in hands, pull out to the side) – resistance band & mat – 16 reps & 8x 3 pulses
Push-ups – mat – 16 reps
Banana holds (lying on back with ball held in straight arms overhead) – ball & mat
Sit-ups raising 1 leg at a time (lying on back as above – crunch up raising 1 leg towards the ball) – ball & mat
Russian twists (sitting up & twisting ball from one side to other) – ball & mat
The workout ends with a 2:30 minute cool down and stretch. Cathe doesn’t really stretch out the upper body, for some reason, during this stretch, so given the amount of upper body work in this routine I just added a few extra stretches of my own at the end.
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