Cathe Live Review: Timesaver Step Grooves (#126)

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Cathe Live Review: Timesaver Step Grooves (#126)

Timesaver Step Grooves is an express cardio step workout. This is a pretty intermediate intensity routine but one that got me moving.

The workout consists of a step warm-up followed by three step combos. All of the combos are fairly long and include a number of different moves strung together in a sequence. As usual, Cathe is great at cueing and breaks down all of the moves into short segment, which you repeat a number of times, before practicing the next few moves and adding them together. This gives you a chance to learn all of the different moves before putting them together in the final combination.

The choreography in this routine is fairly complex and more dancey than some of Cathe’s step workouts. However, if you are familiar with her other step workouts then this shouldn’t be too challenging, as they are all moves she has used before. Some of the combos reminded me of Cathe’s DVD Party Rockin’ Step with the ‘Elvis’ move, which always makes me smile! Combo two is definitely the most challenging – mainly because there is so much turning in this one and at quite a fast pace. I did find I got a little dizzy on this one and Cathe does advise finding a spot on the floor to focus on, when you are turning so much, to help with the dizziness. However, because of this, I didn’t enjoy this one quite so much, as you do a lot of the turning moves and there are three different turning moves, in a row, which also doesn’t help!

Each combo is built up until you have the final combination, which you then repeat a number of times, before a quick water break and moving onto the next. There are also a few cardio blasts, in between the combos, to help keep the heart rate up but definitely not as many as Cathe often does so this kept it a little lower intensity. Also most of the step moves were low impact – more ‘stepping’ than jumping type moves - so this also helped keep it more intermediate. In addition, you do not string all the combos together but instead go into a step cool down straight after the final repetition of Combo 3. This seemed rather a shame as the whole workout is only 36 minutes so it would have been nice to include at least one run through of all the combos together. The cool down incorporates step moves from the warm-up and then you move into stretching to finish the workout.

Overall, this is a lighter day, more choreographed cardio workout for when you want a really quick routine to get you moving a little but don’t have lots of energy for a more full-on session. I enjoyed it but would only use it as an add-on workout in future.

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The Workout

Timesaver Step Grooves is cardio step workout consisting of three combinations. Cathe and class used a full size step with one riser on each side. You could obviously increase the step height, if you wish to increase the intensity of the routine a little further.

What You Need to Know

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

The Moves

Timesaver Step Grooves is 36 minutes long and originally aired on 17th November 2016 (#126). The workout starts with a 5 minute warm-up before moving into the first combo. The step, with one riser on each side, is set up horizontally in front of you at the start of the workout. You will need to ensure that you are space all around your step for this one. The final combos are shown below but note that Cathe builds up each one slowly giving you a chance to learn the moves more slowly.

Combo 1

• Diagonal basic (on step), back it up, triple, peg leg pivot, peg leg back

• Mambo, triples around the corner of step, 2 knee repeater, straddle, cross back (over step)

• Figure 8 (on step) & figure 8 (on floor)

• Hamstring curl (on step), grapevine, knee lift, side kick & knee lift (on step), 2 A-steps

Quick water break at 14:10 minutes

• Jacks

Combo 2

• Step sweep around the step, step sweep around other side

• Reverse turn (on step), step touch behind (arms up)

• Knee off side (of step), step, tap, Elvis turn (on step), turn, tap, Elvis turn (other way), box step

• Figure 8 (on step) & figure 8 (on floor)

• 2 Knee repeater (on step), tap & walk around the step, hip hop repeater (off step)

Quick water break at 25:20 minutes

Combo 3

• Up jack, rock back, double jump, repeater knee, exit

• 4 alternating front kicks (on step), knee off the side, over laterally across step & turn, over & turn back, over & turn front, face step & lunge on end, switch feet & 3 alternating lunges, jump front, box step

• Mambo on floor x2 & full pivot turn

• V-step (on step), back it up & V-step (on floor), shuffle forward

The workout ends with a 3:30 minute cool down and stretch.

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If you liked this workout, check out my review of Cathe Live: Get Steppin’ – HERE.

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