Cathe Live Review: Metabolic Lower Body (#317)

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Cathe Live Review: Metabolic Lower Body (#317)

Metabolic Lower Body is a pretty intense lower body workout that gets the heart rate up and the muscles working. Wow was this a fantastic workout, I really enjoyed it but it definitely wore me out and I was completely drenched by the end. It’s also one of Cathe’s longer workouts and I really like it when she uses nearly the full hour.

This is the second edition of this type of workout, as Cathe also has a Metabolic Upper Body (#316 – review HERE), which she filmed the week before this one. That is also an excellent workout and really got my heart rate up too.

The style of this routine is similar to the upper body version, in that you do rounds of exercises that are then repeated. This one has ten rounds of two exercises. Like with the upper body routine, the moves are a mix of those using heavier weights and those using lighter weights / bodyweight. This means there is lots of variety and you work the muscles from a variety of different angles. Cathe calls this a “breathy legs workout” and I found that my heart rate stayed pretty elevated throughout. The shorter rest breaks also mean that your muscles start to fatigue and I was definitely feeling the work towards the end. It also appeared Cathe was feeling the same, as some of the rest breaks got a little longer towards the end and she joked about “taking her bat and going home”! She also managed to double up on one side of an exercise (squat to crossback lunge), as she did the same side twice in a row (she had already done the other side though so it was a bonus!), however, I think that was also due to the fact that her music ran out and she was rather distracted by that.

The exercises are a mix of traditional moves, including some from Cathe’s STEP Boss series, and some new moves. Some of them also include little hops or are compound moves, incorporating the upper body too, such as, side lunge with knee lifts / overhead press. This gives the workout a pretty good cardio factor and the fact that the warm-up also includes a little cardio at the end (air squats / pull & pound) means that your heart rate is already starting to climb from the outset. The new moves also included a preview of one of the Perfect30 Low Impact Hiit exercises – a rear lunge into a forward hop squat. I actually found this a little awkward and rather tricky to execute properly. For some reason, I also felt it a little bit in my lower back, as you are slightly leaning forward through the moves (or maybe that’s just how I did it!) Unfortunately, I certainly didn’t love the new move, maybe with time and practice I will like it more – I hope so!

Cathe used 8 to 15 pound dumbbells and I also used 20’s for squats / deadlifts. I did increase on a few moves but due to the pace, nature of the exercises and the short rest breaks, the slightly lighter weights still worked very well for me. The rep range is generally between 8 and 16 but some are higher, such as, marching sumos. All of the exercises are standing moves so there is no floor work in this one.

Overall, an excellent and fairly challenging lower body strength workout.

(For more information about Cathe Live, how to sign up & to see all of my Cathe Live reviews, click HERE).

The Workout

Metabolic Lower Body is a metabolic strength workout that consists of ten rounds of two exercises. Each round is repeated before moving onto the next one.

What You Need to Know

(Rating scale – 1= lowest & 5 = highest).

The Moves

Metabolic Lower Body is 53 minutes long and originally aired on 8th October 2020 (#317). The workout starts with a very thorough 8 minute warm-up, before a quick water break and then moving into the first round of exercises. You will need to have your dumbbells handy, as you will be moving quickly from one thing to the next.

Round 1

• Alternating step out sumo squats – one 15# Db – 16 reps

• Static lunges – one 15# Db – 15 pulses each side

Repeat above moves

Round 2

• Squat & twist w/ knee lift – one 10# Db – 16 reps

• Alternating rear lunge & overhead press – two 10# Dbs – 8 reps

Repeat above moves

Round 3

• Squats / deadlifts – two 15# Dbs (I used 20’s) – 8 sets of 2x squat & 1x deadlift (1st set). 4 sets of 4x squat & 2x deadlift (2nd set)

• Hop squat & rear lunge (3 squats hopping & 1 rear lunge) – one 10# dumbbell (I used 1x 15) – 10 sets

Repeat above moves

Round 4

• Touch down lunge & knee lift (or toe tap) – one 10# Db (Cathe used one 15# Db on 2nd set) – 12 reps each side

• Explosive side to side lunges – one 10# Db – 11 reps (1st set). 10 reps (2nd set)

Repeat above moves

Round 5

• Crossback lunges – two 12# Dbs – 16x alternating (1st set) & 8x 3 pulses & 2x 15 pulses

• Wide sumo squat hops – one 8# Db (I used 1x10). Cathe used one 12# Db for 2nd set – 24 reps (1st set). 32 reps - no hop (2nd set)

Repeat above moves

Round 6

• Side lunge & knee lift w/ 1 arm overhead press – one 12# Db – 10 sets each side

• Squat toss – one 10# Db – 32 reps

Repeat above moves

Round 7

• Front lunges – one 12# Db (I used 1x15) – 12 reps each side

• Step out squats (3 steps to each side) – 4x alternating & 4 sets each side (1st set). 6 sets each side (2nd set)

Repeat above moves

Round 8

• Alternating side lunges (touching Db down towards floor) – two 10# Dbs (I used 12’s) – 12 reps

• Rear lunge into forward hop squat – 16 reps each side

Repeat above moves

Round 9

• Sumo squat & crossback lunge combo (passing Db from 1 hand to other) – one 12# Db – 10 reps each side (1st set). 10 reps each side plus extra 10 reps on 2nd side (2nd set)

• Marching sumos – one 15# Db – 32 reps

Repeat above moves

Round 10

• Calf raises – two 15# Dbs – 24 reps (1st side). 44 reps (2nd side)

• Single leg deadlifts – two 15# Dbs – 5 reps each side (1st set). 6 reps each side (2nd set)

Repeat above moves

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: We’re Talkin’ Legs Live (#225) – HERE.

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