Cathe Friedrich's HiiT Fat Burner Workout DVD - Home High-Intensity Interval Training For Women and Men - Great For Aerobic Conditioning and Cardio Fitness

Although this is not my first Amazon purchase, it is my first Review. I'm 34 and I've been working out to videos such as Karen Voight's Step back in the mid '90's, Tae Bo since 1998, and Jillian Michaels the past few months (NMTZ and 30 Day Shred). While I've done Cathe workouts on FitTV, this is my first video purchase. I consider myself intermediate/advanced since I can handle Tae Bo chased with Level 3 of Shred and still have energy. I don't want to spend over $100 for Intensity but wanted something similar. Not dancey, but hard-core.HiiT is made up of 3 segments, each lasting 30 minutes or less, with a great warm-up, the actual workout, then a very nice cool down. I love the 30 second clock counting down which motivates me to finish each workout - just a few more seconds of the grueling plyo jacks!Cathe's HiiT blows all the previous workouts to oblivion. Jillian's Level 3 of 30 Day Shred is merely a warm up to the 30/30 segment of Cathe's HiiT. This segment, while just under 30 minutes, is extremely challenging and had me reaching exhaustion about halfway - I couldn't believe it!One thing I Detest is when the trainer stops to show you all the modifications (big Jillian problem) -- I can see for myself, thank you -- Cathe never stops. She's right there with you doing every movement top to bottom.I couldn't tell from previous reviews if HiiT had a lot of plyo, which works great for me - love them - and the answer, happily, is Yes! I breathe faster and deeper than I ever have, and I Feel like I got the best workout, that I couldn't have done more. And unlike other workouts, I don't have any more in me to pop another DVD and go for another 30 minutes. That's what I wanted and that's what I'm getting!I'm at my goal weight so I'm just looking for definition, but if what you want is to lose weight this DVD will get you there in no time. I burned over 300 cal (5'4, 126lbs) with the 30/30 and with the intense plyo your body will continue to burn calories long after you wipe the pouring sweat off your face.The best workout DVD I've purchased, no question. Can't wait to sweat and cry out in pain again tomorrow morning!

It is rare that I do an exercise DVD and run back to Amazon to review it immediately, but felt I had to share what I feel is the best DVD out there for intense cardio . I have been searching for a really good cardio routine that does not include weights (I already have several weight training DVDs) and came across Cathe's HiiT. I know a bit about Hiit and was trying to do interval training using my Garmin watch on my own, but when I found this DVD I knew it would be a good investment. I was not wrong. I started out with the 30/30 Intervals, which is easiest of the three on the DVD. But, by no means easy. If anyone has done Jillian Michaels Banish Fat- this HiiT is that times 1000 as far as intensity, but is packed into a shorther amount of time. The workout flew by and my shirt was drenched in sweat. I would like to get to the point where I could do two of the workouts back to back but for now, just sticking with one at a time.The only negatives I can think of:1)I actually wish that the segments were just two or three exercises longer(I know crazy, right??)2)Also-during the Pyramid Wave there is a funny "type-O"-the segments show a preview on the bottom of the screen for the next exercise, instead of "Mountain Climber" on the bottom it says "Moutain Climber" just chuckled at that a bit-Didn't bother me or keep me from thinking this is one of the best DVD's ever.3)This DVD is NOT for beginners, and there are hardly any modifications given, but as another reviewer said you can kind of make up your own, but I suppose it would be nice for beginners to have visual modification.If you are really serious about losing weight and not wasting time with DVDs that do not push you out of your comfort zone, or if you hit a plateau, this DVD is your best choice.

I have never seen a Cathe workout before. I decided to get this workout after seeing her mentioned in reviews of some of my other favorite workout DVDs like Amy Dixon breathless body and Jari Love extreme series. I really love this HiiT workout from Cathe. She is an excellent instructor with great energy. I am going to be looking at what other DVDs she has out.The workouts move fast so you never have time to think about how much longer you have. I like to workout longer than 30 minutes so I have been doing the Pyramid workout followed by the 30/30. It is still shorter than an hour workout but by the end I feel that I have worked harder than many of my longer but less intense workouts. I need to get additional step risers before I try the 40/20 but it looks great. The only negative I have is the step warmups. I like the high energy and that they start you right off with getting the heart rate up. However, they are a little complicated and I have not learned the warmup routine yet so I fall behind and don't get the moves totally right. Overall, I highly recommend this workout!

I am a huge Cathe fan...have been for years and I own many of her dvds/products. Let me say that I only gave this 4 stars, not 5 because it's so difficult and I miss her variety of other exercises. Yes, it describes it on the back but still, I do miss the variations with her other dvds...like weights, step and even ab work. There are 3 different workouts (2 use a step) and the music is pretty good. I'm an advanced excerciser and after one of these I'm pouring with sweat and I can 'feel' it the next day! Definitely not something to do multiple days in a row...your body will need to get a break from the tough plyometrics!