Cathe Live Review: Metabolic Med Ball Blast (#308)
Metabolic Med Ball Blast is a really fun, cardio and metabolic strength workout. This isn’t the most intense routine but I really enjoyed it. As Cathe states, this is not on heavy strength workout but instead a “cardio muscle” one. So you are using lighter weights and moving at a faster pace to keep the heart rate a little higher, fire up the metabolism and get sweaty!
This routine reminded me of Cathe and Nate’s Boxing & Lower Body Blast that Cathe filmed during the initial weeks of the lockdown. It is posted on Cathe’s Facebook page and she also used a med ball for her section of the routine too. As much as I found the boxing section rather lacklustre, I really enjoyed Cathe’s part.
This workout consists of ten rounds of two exercises. Each round has one med ball blast and one metabolic strength move. None of the exercises are repeated so there is lots of variety and the reps are also not too high. Also Cathe includes some different variations and combinations of moves, than usual, which really keeps it interesting and the workout just flew by. However, I was a little disappointed that it ended so soon, as the workout is only 37 minutes and only 29 minutes of that is the actual routine (without the cool down and stretch).
The med ball blasts are a mix of higher and low impact moves. Some are more cardio focused combinations and some include more of a strength component too – giving you a little extra lower body work. I particularly found the in-out halo squats were starting to burn. However, they all generally keep your heart rate up a little higher. I was never really pushing it though, except for the last med ball blast where I was breathing harder. For that one, Cathe has you do four sets of 3 frog jumps forward & turn with only short breaks in between. For the blasts, Cathe used a four pound ball and I used a 6 pound one. I could probably use slightly heavier next time, if I wanted to, as there is not that much tossing of the ball.
The metabolic strength exercises are a little faster paced that usual for some moves, so Cathe is using lighter weights than she sometimes does. I generally stuck with the same weights, only increasing on a few moves but next time I might increase on a few more too. However, I do find the moves where you combine squats and overhead moves that I need to stay a little lighter, as it feels a little awkward sometimes. Again this section was a nice combination of different moves, including a few new ones. The reps are generally not too high but just enough to start feeling the work.
Cathe as always is full of energy and seemed to really enjoy this one. She even finished with three rocket or air jacks at the end to celebrate, which did make me smile.
(One thing to note, for some reason Cathe doesn’t really stretch out the upper body so I added a few extra stretches on the end).
Overall, a highly enjoyable and varied cardio / metabolic workout that will get you moving.
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The Workout
Metabolic Med Ball Blast is a cardio and metabolic strength workout using a medicine ball and dumbbells. The routine consists of ten rounds, each incorporating one med ball cardio blast and one metabolic strength move.
What You Need to Know
(Rating scale – 1= lowest & 5 = highest).
The Moves
Metabolic Med Ball Blast is 37 minutes long and originally aired on 6th August 2020 (#308). The workout starts with a 3:30 minute warm-up without any equipment. You then move into the first med ball blast. Med Ball Blasts shown in bold italics below.
Jacks (pushing ball overhead) – ball – 40 reps
Side lunge w/ front swing & overhead tricep extension – one 10# Db – 16 reps
Hop squat & rear lunge (2 squats hopping & 1 rear lunge) – ball – 16 reps
Deadlift, curl & press (palms face in) – two 10# Dbs – 11 reps
Squat ball toss & quarter turn jump – ball – 16 sets
2 Alternating rear lunges & 2 sweeper curls (or hammer curls) – two 10# Dbs – 9 reps
Puddle jumper (or lateral leap) & jump up – ball – 24 reps
Lateral raise & front arc w/ calf raise – two 5# Dbs – 16 sets
Side lunge, crescent knee w/ bicep curl – ball – 10 sets (of 3 reps)
Front swing & double arm lat pull down – two 8# Dbs (I used 10’s) – 18 sets
Back lunge pass through (passing ball under leg) – ball – 4 sets of 8 reps
Sumo squat & bicep curl – two 10# Dbs – 8 sets (1x 2/2 & 2x singles)
Cross body chops w/ little hop (bringing ball down & up on diagonal) – ball – 16 reps each side
Rear lunge / hip hinge w/ 1 arm rear delt fly – one 10# Db (I used 1x12) – 16 reps
Alternating crossback lunge w/ circle arms – ball – 24 reps
Squat press – two 10# Dbs – 4 sets (2x 1 arm & 2x both) & 8 reps both arms
In-out halo squats (jump in & out then hold in squat & halo ball around head) – ball – 16 reps (alternating directions each time)
Forward lunge & torso rotation – one 12# Db (held horizontally) – 16 reps
3 Frog jumps forward & turn – ball – 8 sets, 6 sets, 4 sets & 4 sets
Alternating step out sumo squats w/ overhead tricep extension – one 10# Db – 30 reps
3 Rocket jumps / air jacks to celebrate!
The workout ends with a 3 minute cool down and stretch. I added a few extra stretches for the upper body on the end.
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If you liked this workout, check out my review of Cathe Live: Cardio Hiit Metabolic (#161) – HERE.
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