Cathe Live Review: Low Impact Cardio Leg Blast & Ball Upper Body (#106)
Low Impact Cardio Leg Blast & Ball Upper Body is a fun and different, low impact, cardio and strength workout for the whole body.
I really loved this routine as it is so different to many of the other Live workouts and it is one I have now made my own editions of, using Cathe’s Workout Blender. The workout starts with low impact cardio blasts alternated with lower body strength moves. The cardio blasts are just one move repeated for a set number of reps and often then repeated for another set. They are all done low impact but you could easily modify to higher impact, if you preferred. This was a really nice way to get the heart rate up, a little more, and I liked this combination as it reminded me a little of Cathe’s Lift It Hiit It Legs but low impact!
The lower body strength moves are traditional weighted exercises using moderate dumbbells. I did increase on a few and could probably increase a little more next time. This generally isn’t heavy weight work though but they are quite high rep so you do start to feel the different moves.
The second part of the routine is upper body strength work, using dumbbells and a stability ball. Cathe does manage to hit every muscle group, at least once, so although it is not the most comprehensive training it does get the job done and I felt nicely worked. The ball is used for every exercise so you get a good balance challenge too. I did increase my weights on several of the exercises and this helped me get a better workout. For this section, you generally take two exercises for different muscle groups and then repeat them before moving onto the next pairing.
The workout ends with a short core section using the stability ball. There are only four exercises but it was still a nice way to finish out the workout and provide a quick core challenge.
Overall, this is an excellent and effective, lower impact cardio and strength workout that provides a nice total body challenge. This is definitely one I will return to frequently.
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The Workout
Low Impact Cardio Leg Blast & Ball Upper Body is a cardio and strength total body workout. The routine starts with low impact cardio alternated with lower body strength moves. You then move into upper body strength, on the ball, and finish with a short core section.
What You Need to Know
(Rating scale – 1= lowest & 5 = highest).
The Moves
Low Impact Cardio Leg Blast & Ball Upper Body is 53 minutes long and originally aired on 16th June 2016 (#106). The workout starts with a 6:30 minute warm-up before moving into the first cardio blast. Cardio moves shown in bold italics below.
Low Impact Cardio Leg Blast
Squat digs – 32 reps
Air squats – 32 reps
Squat & front kick / squat & press – two 8# Dbs – 12x kick, 8x press, 8x kick, 8x press, 8x kick, 8x press & 8x kick
Hammer punch lunges – 16 reps each side
Walking lunges & plie pulses – two 10# Dbs – 6 sets
Side to side sumo squats – 32 reps & 16 reps
Reverse lunges – two 12# Dbs – 2x 15 pulses, 2x 7 pulses, 4x 3 pulses, 4x 3.5’s & 4x 1.5’s
3 Rope climbs & 1 elbow strike – 8 sets each side
Alternating diagonal forward lunges – two 12# Dbs – 24 reps
Pull & pound – 16 reps each side
4 Squats & 2 single leg deadlifts – two 15# Dbs (I used 20’s) – 8 sets
Line taps – 40 reps & 16 reps
Crossback lunges – two 12# Dbs – 6x 7 pulses, 4x 3.5’s & 4x 1.5’s
Stability Ball Upper Body (all exercises are done on ball) at 26:45 minutes
Biceps & Shoulders
Incline hammer curls – two 10 Dbs (I used 15’s) & ball - 16 reps
Seated lateral raises – two 8# Dbs & ball – 10 sets (1x both & 1x 1 arm)
Incline bicep curls – two 10# Dbs (I used 12’s) & ball - 14 reps
Seated lateral raises – two 5# Dbs & ball – 4 sets (3 partials) & 8x singles (1 arm)
Incline 1 arm front raise / incline arcs (both arms) – two 8# Dbs (I used 10’s) & ball – 8 reps / 8 reps (arc)
Seated overhead presses – two 10# Dbs (I used 12’s) & ball - 16 reps
Incline 1 arm front raise / incline arcs (both arms) – two 5# Dbs (I used 8’s) & ball – 16 reps / 8 reps (arc)
Seated alternating 1 arm overhead press – two 12# Dbs & ball – 16 reps
Back & Triceps
Seated rear delt flys – two 10# Dbs & ball - 10 reps
Seated overhead tricep extensions – two 12# Dbs & ball - 9 reps (2/2 count)
Seated rear delt flys – two 10# Dbs & ball - 10 reps
Seated overhead tricep extensions – two 12# Dbs & ball - 8 reps (2/2 count)
Pullovers / narrow grip chest press – two 12# Dbs (I used 15’s) & ball – 10 reps (pullover) & 10 reps (narrow grip)
Pullovers / bench press – two 12# Dbs (I used 15’s) & ball – 10 reps (pullover) & 10 reps (bench)
Chest & Triceps
Chest flys – two 15# Dbs (I used 20’s) & ball - 12 reps
Seesaw push-ups – ball & mat - 12 reps
Chest flys – two 15# Dbs (I used 20’s) & ball - 12 reps
Seesaw push-ups – ball & mat - 6 reps & 3 sets of 3 partials
Core (all core work is done using the stability ball) at 45:45 minutes
1 Leg sit-ups (holding ball overhead, sit-up while raising 1 leg to tap ball at top) – ball & mat
Reverse crunches (with ball resting on shins) – ball & mat
Ball exchange – ball & mat
Russian twists w leg raised (side to side & then slowly overhead from side to side) – ball & mat
The workout ends with a 2:30 minute cool down and stretch.
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If you liked this workout, check out my review of Cathe Live: Low Impact Bootcamp (#183) – HERE.
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