Cathe Live Review: Power Legs (#274)
Power Legs is a cardio and strength workout focused on the lower body. Wow was this a wonderful and fun routine - I loved it. I think this might be my new all-time favourite leg workout - it was that good!
The workout is set up in rounds of a cardio interval blast and then a few strength exercises for the lower body. There is absolutely no repetition, which is probably one of the reasons I loved it so much, as once you have done an exercise you know you won’t have to do it again.
Many of the cardio moves also focus on the legs so you are getting double duty for most rounds. The cardio moves are very straight forward but often string a few sets of different moves together, such as, twist travels & jacks, touch down jacks & quarter turn jumps. Many of these moves also use the resistance loop, around the ankles, just to get a little more focus on the legs. These got my heart rate up nicely and it stayed pretty elevated throughout the entire workout.
The lower body strength moves are a mix of exercises using your own bodyweight, dumbbells or the resistance loop. Many of the exercises also incorporate a few different moves in one, such as, side lunge, crossback lunge & side lunge or walking lunges & plie squat pulses. Cathe used moderate weights so I increased on a few and would probably do so further in future. It wasn’t as brutal as I was expecting and the rep counts varies from generally 16 to 48 reps. This routine was a little sneaky though – it definitely increased in intensity as it went on. I think the compound effect as your legs start to fatigue means that the final few exercises were really quite challenging. I particularly found the pulsing static lunges, near the end, very difficult and just had to push through to complete all the reps. This workout really worked my legs well and the variety was fantastic for muscle confusion and getting the most out of your workout time.
Overall, this is a high energy, fun and challenging, cardio and strength routine focused on the lower body, which is packed full of variety. If you want to feel the burn, while getting some great cardio in the mix, then give this workout a try!
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The Workout
Power Legs is cardio and strength workout focused on the lower body. The routine consists of six rounds of cardio blasts and a number of lower body strength exercises. Cathe used moderate weight dumbbells and a medium tension resistance loop for this workout.
What You Need to Know
(Rating scale – 1= lowest & 5 = highest).
The Moves
Power Legs is 47 minutes long and originally aired on 21st November 2019 (#274). The workout starts with a 5:30 minute warm-up before moving into the first cardio blast, using the resistance loop. You will need to have your dumbbells handy, as you move quickly from one thing to the next. Cardio moves shown in bold italics below.
Round 1
32 Jacks (turning) / 4 shuffle punches / 32 jacks (turning) /4 shuffle punches / 8 Jacks / 8 fast scissors / 8 double heels (hopping) / 8 Jacks – resistance loop
Power marches / squat jumps – 3 sets
Static lunges – two 15# dumbbells – 16 reps each side
Pick-up side lunges – one 10# dumbbell – 16 reps each side
Round 2
Dynamic squat abductions (I did vertical mountain climbers as I find these awkward) – 40 reps
Alternating side to side step out sumo squats – one 15# dumbbell – 20 reps, 4x 3 pulses & 4x 1.5’s
Firewalkers (side steps) – resistance loop – 20 sets (4 reps to each side) both standing straight & crouched low
Alternating crossback lunges – two 15# dumbbells – 4 sets (of 2x 3 pulses & 4x singles) & 8x singles
Round 3
Alternating sumo squat jacks – 32 reps
Alternating back lunges – two 12# dumbbells – 8 sets (of 2x 3 pulses & 2x singles)
Deadlifts – two 15# dumbbells (I used 20’s) – 16 reps (2/2 & 3/1 count)
Walking lunges & plie squat pulses – two 10# dumbbells – 6 sets
Round 4
Jacks – 24 reps
Double pulse lunges – 16 reps each side
Warrior lunges – 16 reps & 12 reps each side
Squat toss – one 10# dumbbell – 32 reps, 16 reps & 16 reps
4 Alternating forward Lunges / 4 alternating diagonal lunges – two 10# dumbbells (I used 12’s) – 4 sets
Round 5
16 Jacks / Twist travel & 4 jacks (4 sets) – resistance loop
8 Touch down jacks / 8 quarter turn jumps / 4 jacks & jump rope (2 sets) / 8 touch down jacks / 8 quarter turn jumps – resistance loop
Lateral walks – two 10# dumbbells (I used 12’s) – 8 sets (4 walks to each side)
Side lunge / crossback lunge / side lunge combo – one 15# dumbbell – 16 reps each side
Calf raises – two 15# dumbbells – 48 reps & 24 reps
Round 6
Squat & lunge combo (jumping & punching arm out across the body) – 28 reps
Pulsing static lunges – one 15# dumbbell – 31 reps, 15 reps & 7 reps on each side
Tap outs (with various arm movements) – resistance loop – 3 sets of 16 reps & 80 reps alternating
Marching sumos – one 15# dumbbell – 2 sets of 40 reps
The workout ends with a 3 minute cool down and stretch.
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If you liked this workout, check out my review of Cathe Live: Cardio Leg Party – HERE.
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LB workouts are my most dreaded workouts-- but I have to say 274 isn't that bad. It moves really fast and the weight work is reasonable in rep count and dumbbell size.
The cardio was challenging in places, though I modified.
My modifications: I didn't wear the resistance loop during the cardio. I didn't want to be that out of breath during a leg workout.