Cathe Live Review: Metabolic Upper Body (#316)
Metabolic Upper Body is an excellent and fun upper body strength workout with a good cardio effect. I loved this routine and was pretty soaked by the end. This workout is quite deceptive though, as with the right weights it is a pretty challenging routine.
The workout consists of eight rounds of different exercises that are each repeated before moving onto the next round. The rounds are all set up in trisets except one, which only has two exercises. Each round focuses on one or two muscle groups, to really work each one before moving onto the next grouping. Each muscle group is hit at least three times and as you also get some core work too, everything is worked pretty well. I loved this format, as it provided lots of variety and the time just flew by.
The exercises are a mix of compound and isolation moves, and this combined with the shorter rest breaks and faster pace, means the whole routine is very metabolic. My heart rate stayed pretty elevated throughout and I felt really nicely worked by the end. The moves are a combination of more familiar moves with some new ones or traditional moves with new twists. I particularly liked the “Bird Dog Slides”, as Cathe called them, as they worked the core in a slightly different way and challenged my balance a little more. Cathe used a combination of lighter and moderate weights. Given the pace, I only increased on a few but would probably do so on a few more of the exercises, next time, as I didn’t feel too rushed on most of them. The second set of narrow grip chest press were very fast though and the bench press is single tempo so just be aware of this when selecting your weights. The rep range is generally between 8 and 16 reps so the second time around, with the right weights, you will start to feel some of the moves.
For the lying moves, such as, bench press and pullovers, Cathe did these lying on the floor. However, I find I can’t get a good range of motion when I do this, particularly with heavier weights, and so I used a step bench for those moves. The final triset is core on the mat and this rounded out the routine nicely.
Overall, a fantastic and highly metabolic upper body strength challenge that will get that heart pumping and those muscles working.
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The Workout
Metabolic Upper Body is a pure strength upper body workout that consists of 8 rounds of two or three upper body moves, which are then repeated before moving onto the next round.
What You Need to Know
(Rating scale – 1= lowest & 5 = highest).
The Moves
Metabolic Upper Body is 47 minutes long and originally aired on 1st October 2020 (#316). The workout starts with a 4:30 minute warm-up, using 5 pound dumbbells, before a quick water break and then moving into the first round.
Round 1
Front swing & double arm lat pull down – two 8# Dbs (I used 10’s) – 8 reps
1 Arm row – Cathe used one 12 & one 15# Db in one hand (I used 1x30) – 12 reps each side
Alternating 1 arm back fly – one 10# Db (I used 1x12) – 8 reps each side
Repeat above moves one more time
Round 2
Step out Arnold press – two 10# dbs – 16 reps
Step out bicep curls – two 10# Dbs – 12 reps
Bicep curls (1 count up & 3 counts down) – two 12# Dbs – 8 reps
Repeat above moves one more time
Round 3
Standing overhead tricep extensions – two 12# Dbs – 10 reps
Push-ups – mat – 10 reps
Crab kicks – mat – 16 reps
Repeat above moves one more time
Round 4
Step out W curls – two 10# Dbs – 16 reps (Cathe mistakenly does bicep curls for 2nd set not W’s)
1 Arm tricep kickbacks in plank – one 10# Db – 12 reps each side
Step out lat press (W press) – two 5# Dbs – 16 reps
Repeat above moves one more time
Round 5
Pullovers – two 15# Dbs & mat (I used a step bench) – 6x 1.5’s (1st set) & 8x 1.5’s (2nd set)
Rear delt flys – two 10# Dbs – 12 reps
Upright rows – two 15# Dbs – 12 reps
Repeat above moves one more time
Round 6
Front & side lateral raises – two 5# Dbs – 8x singles & 4x doubles (1st set). 12x singles & 4x doubles (2nd set)
Scarecrows – two 5# Dbs – 12 reps
Repeat above moves one more time
Round 7
Bench press (knees bent & feet off floor) – two 15# Dbs & mat (I used 20’s & step) – 16 reps
Narrow grip chest press (knees bent & feet off floor) – two 15# Dbs & mat (I used a step) – 16 reps
Sit-up & serve (lying on back; bring dbs around in a circle to meet under 1 leg as you sit-up & lift leg) – two 5# Dbs & mat – 10 reps
Repeat above moves one more time
Round 8
Walking plank (in straight arm plank; walk hands forward & back) – mat – 10 reps (1st set) & 11 reps (2nd set)
Tap side swings (leaning back; bring feet towards backside on 1 side then other) – mat – 16 reps (1st set) & 29 reps (2nd set)
Bird dog slides (in table-top position on all fours; bring 1 arm & opposite leg out then tuck them in under body; then out & swing out to side & back) – mat – 7 reps each side
Repeat above moves one more time
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: Touch Up Training: Upper Body (#296) – HERE.
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