Today is a very different kind of Saturday for me because I do not have a single plan in store. Zero. Normally, I would embrace it by grabbing my husband and favorite movies to snuggle up with, but I feel like I have already been there earlier this week when I was not feeling very well.
Today I am ready to move!
This feeling happened at just the right time because yesterday was the start of a new video workout series program I will be on for the next thirty days.
I received the X-Train workout videos by Cathe in the mail a few weeks ago, and finally have gathered enough home equipment to get it goin’!
(Hooray for bargain fitness equipment shopping at Five Below!)
For just around $60, I acquired everything you see below (besides the stretching wedge) to be able to train at home.
What I am doing does not require a weighted jump rope or stretching band, but at $5 each I could not help but to quickly throw those items into my cart anyways. Steal!
Cathe X-Train 30 Day Cardio + Strength Program
Yesterday marked the first day of thirty of me getting to know Cathe Friedrich.
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!
I guess you could say the woman knows what she is doing.
I planned to actually start her new X-Train workouts about a week and ago, until I took a look at my schedule. I knew that with a few friends coming into town and a lot of events going on, that it would be better to wait until I could commit to doing it every day. When Monday rolled around, I started feeling sick and it was not until yesterday that I felt strong enough to pump some iron. <-ha.
So, yesterday was the day! March 1st started Day One of the X-Train 30 Day Cardio + Strength Program.
After reading the user guide last week, I decided on the thirty day program of cardio + strengthening because my goal is not to lose weight, but simply to maintain where I am and tone up.
Cathe’s workouts require minimal equipment, but considering I did not have a single piece at home, I decided to invest in the staples and improve the rest. Enter my version of the step bench, or straight up cardboard box with a plastic bin topper on top of it. How ghetto is this?
It seemed to work for most of the exercises, until we got to the chest burn part of the workout that had us lay on it. I ended up doing all of my chest and arm reps on the floor or on my stability ball.
Since weights are not generally cheap, I chose to come home with the two main dumbbell weights I normally work with at the gym: a set of fives and a set of tens.
If I could go back and get another, I would also add fifteens.
The last thing I needed for this workout were the Slide N Glide discs. I am familiar with what these do for you, and have used them before while doing mountain climbers. Basically, they require you to keep your feet down on ground while forcing you to use your leg muscles to do all of the work of moving your body.
Keeping that in mind, I found the next best thing by slipping off my tennis shoes and completing that part of the video with just my socks on.
I put an extra focus on gluing them to the floor to make sure to got the same feeling I would have gotten from using the sliders. It actually worked pretty well!
Since it had been almost a week since I had completed any workout, I decided on my own to finish the sweat fest off jumping with 10 sets of 1 minute on-30 seconds off the weighted jump rope, all totaling fifteen minutes.
Great day at the home gym!
Day 1 Thoughts
I was not sure exactly what to expect when starting this workout program, and to be honest I was a little intimidated by the photos and workouts listed in the user’s guide.
At first glance, the program looked a little confusing to me and I had to take some time to sit down and really figure out what they wanted me to do. Once I realized each day of my program is all built into the push of one chapter on one DVD, I was golden.
With minimal equipment by my side, I popped Disc 7 into my computer and completed the first :53 workout cardio + strength workout that targeted my lower body, then biceps and chest.
Initially, I thought I might have to also incorporate cardio on the side of this program, but that was before I realized this specific one already does it for me. Cathe does a good number of HIIT workouts – which is short for high intensity interval training. This type of training includes a constant movement at different levels like jumps to squats, and is what I was used to doing back in Orlando when I was working with a professional trainer while dancing for the Orlando Magic. They always got my heart rate up and my clothes sweaty.
I love knowing I am working more than one thing at a time and become quickly bored when going from machine to machine at the gym to lift weights. Once I was introduced to HIIT workouts, and then HIIT that also incorporates light weights, I was sold. I love them!
I woke up this morning (the day after) feeling sore in my hips, glutes, and thighs which is just what I was hoping for. I am feeling great about this workout series so far, and am looking forward to see what the future workouts are like.
Post-Workout Meal
Realizing I never had a true lunch, I built up quite the appetite after yesterday’s workout session. Even before hitting the shower, I went right to the fridge and knew exactly what was going to consume my plate: a barbeque salad!
I had a good amount of pulled barbeque left over from our afternoon in downtown Detroit, and while heating the meat up, I put everything else together:
• romaine lettuce + spinach
• diced tomatoes
• sliced cucumbers
• diced yellow peppers
• pulled pork and pulled chicken barbeque
• sweet apple barbeque sauce, straight from Slows.
When I started eating, I thought it was huge, but did not take more than a few minutes to consume every little bite. It was so, so good!
With that, I think I am now ready to get my Saturday started. It is time for Day 2 of Cathe, followed by what I have a feeling will be a repeat to yesterday’s post-workout meal. Ohhhh yeah.
Have a great weekend everyone!

Haha, I love your version of the step! I don’t have one at home either, so I was trying to figure out a way to improvise. I might have to try that!
It worked for the most part, and I was surprised at how sturdy it was! 😉