Cathe Live Review: Long & Strong Legs (#35)
Long & Strong Legs is a pretty tough routine and you will definitely be feeling the work in your lower body.
What is now the new normal was a very different experience at the time, as it’s just Cathe on her own. This workout was filmed later in the day than usual, as apparently one of the camera men had a medical emergency and so they sent the live class home. Cathe then recorded this on her own afterwards. I love that it is just Cathe – it feels far more like one of her DVDs than a live class (a least as the time that it was filmed this was the case!) The only issue is that, as she is on her own, she has no one to help her count so the reps are not always the same from one side to the other. This is particularly apparent during the barre section.
The workout starts with a pretty cardio focused warm-up, as you are doing lots of jacks and jump ropes. However, the actual routine does not include cardio blasts but is still pretty metabolic, as you are move reasonably quickly, from one thing to the next, and there are lots of compound moves mixed in too. My heart rate stayed pretty elevated and I was nicely sweaty by the end. The main part of the workout starts with standing metabolic strength exercises, using light to moderate dumbbells. These challenge both the cardiovascular system and the lower body nicely, and I was definitely feeling it on the multiple sets of lunges.
The second part of the routine is barre based lower body moves. I used a chair, as I don’t have a barre, without any issues. This is all pretty high rep work and I was definitely feeling challenged by the end. As mentioned, Cathe’s counting is a little off so you do lots more reps on the second side, for some of the moves, so next time you do the workout you may wish to start on the other side.
Overall, this is an excellent metabolic, lower body, strength workout that includes both weighted and barre exercises to really toast those legs. This is one I will definitely return to.
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The Workout
Long & Strong Legs is a metabolic strength workout focused on the lower body.
What You Need to Know
(Rating scale – 1= lowest & 5 = highest).
The Moves
Long & Strong Legs is 49 minutes long and originally aired on 22nd January 2015 (#35). The workout starts with a 9:30 minute warm-up before moving into the first weighted lower body exercise.
Weighted Lower Body
Squats / squat & press / front swing / marching sumos - one 10# Db – 6x squat / 12x press / 16x swing / 32x march
Back lunges – two 10# Dbs – 4x 3 pulses & 8x singles
Rear lunge & front kick / static lunges / lunge, kick, lunge & pivot into sumo squat - one 10# Db – 6x 3 pulse/ kick, 8x lunge/kick (singles), 4x static lunge, 1x 7 pulses & 4x lunge/pivot each side
Step out squat & press - one 15# Db – 10x singles, 2x 3 press & 2x singles
Deadlifts / squats – two 15# Dbs (I used 20’s) – 8x D/L, 16x squat & 2 sets 4x D/L & 8x squat
Plie squats (putting down & picking up Dbs) / plie squat hold (no Dbs) – two 15# Dbs – 30 reps & hold (for a very long time!)
Side lunge to crossback lunge - one 10# Db – 10 reps each side
Step out squat & press – two 10# Dbs – 8x singles, 2x 3 presses & 4x singles
Plie squats (putting down & picking up Dbs) / plie squat hold (no Dbs) – two 15# Dbs – 22 reps & hold (for a very long time!)
Crossback lunges - one 15# Db – 4x 15 pulses, 2x 7 pulses, 4x 3 pulses & 2 sets (2x singles 7 1x 3 pulses)
Static lunges - one 15# Db – 4 sets (4x singles & 2x 1.5’s) each side
Wide stance deadlifts / squats – two 15# Dbs (I used 20’s) – 4 sets (4x D/L & 8x squat) & 4x D/L
Quick water break & get out barre or chair at 32:10 minutes
Barre at 32:30 minutes (I used a chair instead)
High hip pulses – barre – 32 reps
Side leg kicks (holding hip high in hydrant position; straighten & bend leg out in a kick) – barre – 2x slow, 16x fast, 2x slow, 4x bit faster & 16x fast
Side straight leg circles – barre – 16 reps
Side straight leg pulses (pointing & flexing toes) – barre – 32 reps
Quick stretch at 34:30 minutes then repeat on other side (although she adds an extra set of straight leg pulses on the 2nd side)
High hip pulses (other side) – barre – 32 reps
Side leg kicks (other side) – barre – 2x slow, 4x bit faster, 16x fast, 2x slow, 4x bit faster & 16x fast
Side straight leg pulses (other side) – barre – 31 reps
Side straight leg circles (other side) – barre – 17 reps
Side straight leg pulses (other side) – barre – 40 reps
Quick stretch at 38:05 minutes
High & tight (feet together) – barre - 40 pulses, 8 up & down & 16 pulses
Calf raises – barre – 16 reps, 16 reps (1 leg), 16 reps (other leg) & 88 pulses (various foot positions)
Straight leg raises / inner thigh lifts – barre – 32 reps (toe pointed), 32 reps (flex) & 32 reps (inner thigh) – 1st side. 48 reps (pt), 32 reps (flex) & 32 reps (inner thigh) – 2nd side.
The workout ends with a 2 minute cool down and stretch.
Take Action
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If you liked this workout, check out my review of Cathe Live: Mish Mosh Legs (#74) – HERE.
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