It has been over a month since I first started working out with Cathe Fendrich, and what an experience is was!
Cathe is a certified Group Fitness Instructor, and has taught thousands of classes at her New Jersey health club. She is known as an innovator in home fitness videos, has been teaching fitness and aerobics for over thirty years, and was just recently inducted into the Fitness Hall of Fame!
Currently forty-seven years old and stronger than ever, I would say that the woman knows what kind of fitness programs work to get optimal results.
Back in February, I received Cathe’s newest workout series in the mail. As an ambassador for FitFluential, I was selected to review the home workout series and share my experience. I had never heard of Cathe or her DVDs before, but was anxious to get started and (hopefully) enjoy a few new types of workouts during the process.
On my own, I committed myself to the 30 Day Cardio + Strength Training Program that is part of her new XTrain workout series. I tracked every step of the way, and shared my thoughts and struggles through weekly recaps.
Weekly Check-Ins
It has been over a week since I completed my last Cathe workout, and I have to admit that I am already set back into my old workout ways. After signing up for her program that required six workout days a week, I went all in and made it my only kind of training for thirty days.
No running, no Pilates, no trips to the gym, nada.
For four weeks, it was just me and this set of XTrain DVDs.
I do not always have the biggest success stories with home workout programs. I like to be able to decide what kind of workout I am in the mood for that day and do it. I know what types of workouts give me the best results for the kind of body type I like to maintain, and it is certainly a challenge for me to stray away from that.
I guess you could say I was up for something to spice things up, and that is exactly what Cathe did!
It is no secret that I am a lover of most things fitness. I love to hop around the gym and stop into almost any kind of group fitness class to see if I like it.
Once I saw the words HIIT, Tabata and Hard Strikes on my training schedule, I was fully on board and ready to give it my all.
There was one little problem though… equipment. Before this video series, I did not have any gym equipment at home besides a stretching wedge (which at times turned into my bench), and a few resistance bands.
After reaching out to a few fellow bloggers who were also reviewing the DVDs, I found encouragement to give it a go anyways with whatever I could find. Enter my ghetto step and paper plate sliders!
Hey, whatever gets the job done folks.
After finishing the program I went to for a five mile run the very next day and back to the gym two days after that. Out of pure curiosity, I weighed myself and was a bit surprised to find out I gained five pounds. For me, five pounds is a lot.
I did admit to having one skip day every week during training, but I am almost positive most of the weight gain I acquired was muscle. I loved the cardio incorporated into my workouts, but if I am being completely honest, I missed running. For years, that is what has kept my tummy trim and prevented my legs from becoming bulky.
So, maybe a specific workout program just is not the way to go for me.
I can say, however, that I truly did enjoy Cathe’s workouts! She without a doubt kicked my booty, and I loved that she was right there with me motivating me every step of the way.
Video Review
As usual, I figured I could express my overall thoughts best through a video review. Ready… set… XTrain!
Like I talked about above, I plan to keep her workouts close at home. If there is a day where I do not have time or motivation to make it to the gym, I now have a great hour cardio/strength class waiting for me to complete at home! Thank you Cathe (and FitFluential) for pushing me out of my comfort zone and giving me the challenge of trying something new.
I feel stronger, and am excited to say I survived my first TABATA and Cathe whooping!
Curious to see what one of her XTrain videos is like? You can find a preview of all of them here.
Have a great weekend!
*Disclaimer: The XTrain Workout Series DVDs were provided to me, free of charge, from cathe.com through my ambassadorship with FitFluential. I was not compensated in any way for this review, and simply exchanged sharing my workout experience for product. As always, all thoughts and opinions in this series of reviews are my own. Please see my full dislaimer before starting any kind of new workout routine.
Questions
• Have you ever heard of or trained with Cathe before?
• What was your experience like?

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