Choice of DVD advice please!!

[yiota]

Hi Cathy, I was wondering if you could recommend one or more good dvds to try your workouts. I am overwhelmed by choice!

I am 39 years, had a baby 7 months ago, heavily pear shaped with saddlebacks, need to lose about 6-7 kgs, poor muscle tone (could not do a single push-up) and I sometimes get sore knees from too many lunges etc. I have been working out 3-4 weekly with Christi Taylor's dancefit for about a month now (interval mix of cardio and weights 65 mins) and definitely feeling fitter and stronger but I'm not sure what my classification is, beginner or intermediate. Resting heart rate is 57 which I'm told indicates reasonably good cardio level. I am following a good eating plan as well.

My goals are to shape up my rear end and legs and build up the back and arms a bit to even up the pear shape. I also want to maintain good cardio fitness but not aiming to become an athlete. My priority is to shape up the lower body. What would be the best bet for me? I'd like to avoid plateaus so thinking I'll need more than one dvd. What would your recommendations be?


Many thanks

Yiota

[mrsyancy]

hi yiota,

i see this is ur first post in the cathe forums....and i think this question will get a lot more answers if u put in the ask cathe forum or open discussions forum....b/c there are lots of people who have been working out with cathe for a very long time that could help u with this question...and also cathe will be more likely to answer this question in one of those forums....just go to one of those (or both) of those forums and re-submit ur question.......i really hope i have helped u

[missyt]

Yiota--- You may want to repost this under Open Discussion... If you go to the Rotations section---there is a Beginner Rotation that may benefit you. Also, the LIS series--- is a wonderful series to transform your lower body. Many, many members have had excellant results with it. I hope this helps. and best of luck!!!

[Jenniferlove]

The choices are so great and can be overwhelming, I know!
Another thin to consider when buying a dvd is what equipment you have and what you are willing to buy. It sounds like you already have weights so that's good. Also, do you like bootcamp or circuit workouts, or workouts with less equipment - something to consider.

Consider checking out Turbo Barre is fantastic, minimal equipment or space is needed, and if you don't have the Turbo Barre you can use a chair (with no wheels on it! LOL) to hold on to. Cathe uses the loop bands with it.

Another one you may want to check out Kick Punch Crunch; another fantastic one. Again, minimal equipment. Cathe uses the 1lb weighted gloves - personally I like the ones that loop around the hands and thumb rather than the actual gloves.

As the others said, the Open Discussion or Ask Cathe is a good place for this question - you will get more insight - but I hope I helped. Good luck!

[mini-natty]

Hi Yiota,

Jennifer gave some excellent suggestions.

Speaking from one pear-shaped gal to another, I can tell you by my own results, the Low Impact Series was extremely effective for my lower body. I have never seen dramatic results in such a short period of time. This whole series it seems was designed to target problems area's (such as the saddlebags, butt, core) very efficiently and effectively. There is a lot of toning too for the upper body. Nothing gets neglected. You do need some equipment however, so keep that in mind. A step, firewalker's, dumbells, tubing, discs, all get the job done. I believe this series to be a wonderful investment for a pear shaped woman wanting to transform their body.

Good luck!

Natasha

[yiota]

Hi girls, wow thank you so much for all the advice! I'll post the question on the other forums you suggested but I like the suggestion for LIS. I've got weights, a step, a tube, a ball, and bands so I think I need the discs. Which DVDs in particular from that series or all of them Natasha? And what is a good one to build up the upper body? Thanks so much again!

[mini-natty]

Originally Posted by yiota

Hi girls, wow thank you so much for all the advice! I'll post the question on the other forums you suggested but I like the suggestion for LIS. I've got weights, a step, a tube, a ball, and bands so I think I need the discs. Which DVDs in particular from that series or all of them Natasha? And what is a good one to build up the upper body? Thanks so much again!

Hi Viota,

Can you invest in 6 DVD's? These are what I would suggest:

Afterburn
Athletic Training
Cardio Super Sets
Slide&Glide
Total Body Tri-Sets
Turbo Barre

If you love complex step:
Low Impact Challenge

If you want an introductory Yoga:
Yoga Max & Relax

These are all part of the Low Impact Series.

A wonderful investment if you choose.

If you can only get a few, I've highlighted the ones I feel will give you the best results and are the most effective for lower body shaping.

Good luck!

Natasha

[mrsprincess07]

Here's my response from another thread you posted:

"Not Cathe, but here's what I recommend:

Lower Body Blast, Turbo Barre, and Butts n Guts for the lower body

Gym Styles Chest/Triceps and GS Back/Biceps/Shoulders for upper body

STS Total Body for a good, solid overall total body workout that will keep the heart up and fat burning high while challenging all of the muscles- it has some great remixes too!

I am a Meso (hour glass) but I have heard a lot of women that have pear shapes do better with higher reps and lower weight for the bottom half. To build the upper body you'll need to heavy up, especially bc Pears tend to have more ectomorph fibers on the top halves of their bodies which makes it harder to increase muscle sizes.

I'd also recommend continuing Step Aerobics. It's a great lower body workout that uses body weight to strengthen and tone the muscles. It burns major calories too!"

And I do think an LIS Rotation would be beneficial as it provides high calorie burn along with strength both with props and with body weight. It's a perfect combo for a slimming effect.