Cathe Live Review: Express Plyo Legs & Core (#256)
Express Plyo Legs & Core is fast paced, higher intensity Hiit and lower body workout, using light weights. The routine ends with a short and effective core section.
This is a really fun, high energy workout that I thoroughly enjoyed. The routine consists of rounds of cardio Hiit drills and lower body exercises. You alternate between these eight times, doing different moves each time. There is no repetition in this workout and so the time just flew by.
The cardio intervals are all straight forward drills, repeating one or two moves for a set number of reps. Some of these were quite different from Cathe’s usual drills so it was nice to see some variety. None of the moves are done for too long but are just long enough to get that heart rate up and you breathing a little harder. I am not sure that all of the intervals are really Hiit level - as some are done at a slightly slower pace than usual. Therefore this definitely isn’t a really tough Hiit workout but it did get my heart rate up nicely. Also the workout is only 33 minutes long, which is just too short to get a really good workout from this format - as the cardio section is only 22 minutes, including the warm-up. For me, this is definitely more of an add-on workout and that is how I used it. I did this after Cathe Live: Kickboxing Plus Core (#255 – a full review of this workout will be coming soon) and that worked perfectly for me.
The lower body moves are done using 5 pound dumbbells so it is not true strength training for the legs but more metabolic and to keep the heart rate a little higher. The moves also aren’t very high rep so you never get to the point of fatigue on any of the moves. You are also moving quickly from one thing to the next and this also keeps it more metabolic throughout. I would definitely use this more as a cardio workout than anything else.
The workout ends with a core section on the floor. I enjoyed this section, as you are moving quickly from one move to the next, without repping you out too much, so there is lots of variety here.
Overall, this was an express, fast paced and fun cardio / metabolic workout focusing on the lower body and core. This is one I will return to often but as an add-on to another workout rather than a standalone routine.
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The Workout
Express Plyo Legs & Core is an express cardio / metabolic workout consisting of eight rounds of cardio and lower body moves, followed by a core section on the floor. Cathe used 5 pound dumbbells for the lower body moves.
What You Need to Know
(Rating scale – 1= lowest & 5 = highest).
The Moves
Express Plyo Legs & Core is 33 minutes long and originally aired on 18th July 2019 (#256). The workout starts with a pretty active 4:30 minute warm-up before a quick water break and then moving into the first cardio Hiit. Cardio moves shown in bold italics below.
2 Lateral hops / jump up / air jack – 12 sets
Alternating side lunges – two 5# dumbbells – 24 reps
Burpees with mogul jumps (jump back to plank, jump both feet in to one shoulder then out, in to other shoulder, out then jump feet in to stand & jump up) – 8 sets (after 4 sets add an optional air jack rather than a jump up)
Lunge, kick, lunge, stand – two 5# dumbbells – 12 sets each side
Jump forward & back / plyo jack – 2 sets of 6 reps
Side lunge & abduct – two 5# dumbbells – 10 reps each side
Side leap to 1 leg jump up – 24 reps
Forward lunge & lateral raise / add knee raise – two 5# dumbbells – 4x lat raise / 8x w knee / 2x 3 knees / 2x w knee / 2x lat raise
Lifted abductions (I did vertical mountain climbers as I find abductions awkward) – 40 reps
Side sumo squat & 1 arm overhead press – two 5# dumbbells (in one hand) – 14 reps each side
Squat jump & cross (slow squat jump & do one cross jump) – 16 reps
Rowing forward lunge – one 5# dumbbell – 12 reps
Squat toss – one 5# dumbbell – 32 reps
180 Turning jump lunges – 24 reps
Explosive side lunges – one 5# dumbbell – 24 reps
Scissors (2x fast & 1x slow) / power scissors – 16 sets / 8x power scissors
Back lunge with knee lift & 1 arm overhead press (these are fast) – one 5# dumbbell – 14 reps each side
Quick stretch at 22:35 minutes
Get mat out & move to floor for core
High pulse crunches
Crunches (crunch up / half way down / up & all the way down)
Rope climbs
Ankle grabber sit-ups
L-position crunches
Reverse crunches
Repeat the above but for 1st two exercises – knees bent off the floor this time
1 arm V-ups
The workout ends with a 2 minute cool down and stretch.
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