Cathe Live Review: Fit Tower Live – Roadtrip (#160)
Fit Tower Live – Roadtrip is a cardio and strength workout using the Fit Tower. This workout was filmed during the 2017 Glassboro Roadtrip so the class is packed with 106 participants!
The routine consists of rounds of cardio followed by a mix of lower body and upper body exercises, using the Fit Tower. All of the strength work is done using your own body weight or a resistance band or loop so this is a very different cardio and strength workout than Cathe’s usual ones. I really loved this workout – it is so full of variety and even though it is fairly challenging in places (for the strength work) the time just flew by.
If you don’t have a Fit Tower – don’t worry - you can still do this workout. I don’t have one and so in the breakdown below I show how I modified with a chair, two 15# dumbbells and a step.
The cardio drills are barre-based cardio moves that will be familiar to anyone who has done Cathe’s other barre cardio workouts. They are not too high rep but do get the heart rate up nicely and you breathing a bit harder. They also give some respite from the strength exercises!
The strength moves are mainly barre moves for the lower body, along with a few using the resistance loop. Cathe used the loop that comes with the Fit Tower, I used a slightly heavier resistance loop (blue) and this worked well for me. The upper body exercises are a mix of bodyweight moves, like push-ups, and those using the resistance band. All of the strength moves are high rep and you will definitely be feeling these. However, for the barre lower body exercises, although I got a nice workout, they were not quite so extremely high rep as some of Cathe’s similar workouts - so there is no dread factor here. I guess she didn’t want to scare the Roadtrippers too badly!
The workout ends with a core section using the Fit Tower. I modified all of these moves to do them on the floor and had no issues. I just mimicked the same moves either with a dumbbell, where the band is over the top of the Fit Tower, or just in the air instead.
Overall, this is a fantastic and fun cardio barre, total body strength workout. You will definitely be feeling the work with this one! I will definitely be returning to this one whenever I want a good total body challenge without using heavy weights.
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The Workout
Fit Tower Live – Roadtrip is a cardio and strength total body workout using the Fit Tower, resistance band and resistance loop. The routine consists of rounds of cardio and strength exercises and ends with a core section on the floor. (I modified this workout using a chair, dumbbells, resistance band / loop and a step).
What You Need to Know
(Rating scale – 1= lowest & 5 = highest).
The Moves
Fit Tower Live – Roadtrip is 61 minutes long and originally aired on 28th July 2017 (#160). The workout starts with a 6 minute barre-based warm-up before a quick water break and then starting the main workout. Cathe has her Fit Tower set at a number 8 to start the workout. In the breakdown below, I only mention additional equipment, if I needed something to modify the move, if not whenever it mentions the Fit Tower I just used a chair. All of the moves shown below are high rep and varying tempos.
Cardio moves are shown in bold italics below.
Plie jacks – resistance loop around the ankles – 3 sets of 16 reps
High & tight pulses with loop – resistance loop around thighs & Fit Tower
Incline Push-ups – Fit Tower (at hole No. 3 then 2 then 1) – 3 sets of 12 reps
Jumping jacks – resistance loop – 32 reps
Crisscross jumps – Fit Tower at No. 8 – 16 & 12 reps each side
Crossback high & tight – Fit Tower
Air squats – Fit Tower at No. 2
Tricep dips – Fit Tower at No. 5 (Cathe says 4 but its 5. I used the seat of the chair)
Band kickbacks – resistance band over top of Fit Tower (I stood on band & did tricep kickbacks)
Power scissors – Fit Tower at No. 8 – 3 sets of 16 reps
High & tight (second position – heels together) – Fit tower
Bicep curls & 1 leg raise – resistance band & Fit Tower
Chin-ups (underhand grip) – Fit Tower at No. 9 or 10 (I did bicep curls using two 15# dumbbells)
Plie pulls (jumping) – Fit Tower at No. 8 – 32 reps each side
Straight leg raises – Fit Tower
Vertical pull-ups (slanted & straight up) – Fit Tower at No. 7 or 8 (I did deadrows using two 15# dumbbells) – 3 sets
Straight arm kickbacks (band under foot on bar of Fit Tower) – resistance band & Fit Tower at No. 1 (I stood on the band on my step & did the same move)
Squat & lunge jumps – Fit Tower at No. 8 - 16 reps each side
Front raises / front raise & open – resistance band
Firewalkers (side steps) – resistance loop
Hamstring press – resistance loop & Fit Tower at No. 8
Mountain climbers – Fit Tower at No. 3 (I did these with hands on the step – you could also just do these on the floor) – 32 reps
Glute bridges – Fit Tower at No. 1 (I put my feet on a step with 2 risers)
1 Leg hamstring raises – resistance band (across the hips) & Fit tower (I put my feet on a step with 2 risers)
Core - at 50 mins.
Russian twists (band over top of FT & held in each hand) – resistance band & Fit Tower at No. 4 (I just used a 10# dumbbell held horizontally between the hands & twisted side to side)
Sit-ups raising 1 leg at a time (band over top of FT & held in each hand) – resistance band & Fit Tower (I used a 10# dumbbell & did sit-ups raising the db to foot each time)
Crunches with leg shooters (shoot legs over & under bar of FT) – Fit Tower at No. 3 (I just mimicked the same move without the FT)
1 Leg raises (lie on back with 1 leg resting on the bar of FT then crunch up raising other leg to meet it) – Fit Tower (I just held my top leg in the air & did the same move)
Sit-ups & crisscross legs at the top (sit-up & take hold of FT bar then crisscross legs in the air) – Fit Tower (I did the same move without the FT just holding myself up with my core)
The workout ends with a 3 minute cool down and stretch using the Fit Tower (set at hole No. 8) / chair.
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I always enjoy using my Fit Tower and this workout makes full use of it. It's altogether doable and the workout doesn't feel like 62 minutes. The only set of exercises I couldnt complete was the first lower body set. Other than that, it was all good.
My Modifications: I also substituted 15 pound dumbbells for a couple of the moves. I did most of the cardio away from the tower because I'm not used to having equipment around me during cardio. I used the green firewalker loop in lieu of the fit tower loop, though I grabbed the pink one for the hamstring presses.
Overall an excellent workout