Cathe, Would you still recommend your older rotation?

[KC5689]

Hi Cathe,
I was just reminiscing on a older rotation you created; January 06' Let's Work. Do you remember it? It had 90 min workouts, 6 days a week. I did it when I was trying to lose those last 10lbs. and it worked. I followed it with the Feb 06' Keep It Going rotation. By far, those were the toughest rotations I've done! When I completed them, I'd greatly improved my cardiovascular endurance. I sooo appreciate you for that (and everything else you do ). But, knowing what you know now about steady-state cardio (referring to your recent article in Newsletter) would you recommend this rotation? I don't think I would -or could- attempt it now, as I've fallen off the exercise wagon as of late and am now trying to rebuild my fitness level. But, I was interested in your thoughts about it.
KC

[KC5689]

Just bumping

[elsie3]

Great post! I would like to know Cathe's thoughts as well.

[ReneePruitt]

Good question! I need to know this for losing weight. I heard a mixture like two of what your saying in a week and maybe two steady state I get confused. And intensity is it supposed to be hard at all workouts? Confused

[Cathe Friedrich]

Hi KC! To answer your question directly, yes, I would still recommend this rotation to anyone who feels that it suits their fitness level, time schedule and desire to do it. Main reason being: CHANGE! Your body adapts to exercise that it is used to doing so therefore any new rotation, whether it be Steady State or HIIT, that you have not done in a while will produce effective results.
Now to address HIIT training verses Steady State training ….Yes my article definitely shows the advantages of HIIT training but that doesn’t mean Steady State no longer has a purpose. In fact I’m a strong believer in doing both…here is why:

• As I mentioned above, your body needs constant change or else it will adapt to the same type of workout resulting eventual diminished effectiveness. As a matter of fact the more fit you become, the quicker your body adapts and the more frequently you will have to change your routines. So all types of workouts are needed to support this change.
• You can’t do HIIT 5-6 days a week because it is very hard and aggressive on the body and therefore can interfere with your body’s ability to recover from your weight training workouts.
• Many people have specific and legitimate limitations due to injuries, illness, or other conditions that keep them from participating in HIIT. Steady State is a more acceptable and recommended way for them to keep fit.
• HIIT could lead to injury if not used right or used at a frequency/intensity that is beyond the participants ability.

So as you can see, while HIIT is very popular and highly effective for improvement in body composition it is not the “only” way to get the job done. Steady State might take longer to see the same results, but its also gentler on the mind and body on those days that we need or want to be gentler…I’m a firm believer that both HIIT and Steady State cardio have unique benefits unto themselves. I feel they both should be incorporated into your routines to provide a well rounded, ever changing workout experience.

Originally Posted by KC5689

Hi Cathe,
I was just reminiscing on a older rotation you created; January 06' Let's Work. Do you remember it? It had 90 min workouts, 6 days a week. I did it when I was trying to lose those last 10lbs. and it worked. I followed it with the Feb 06' Keep It Going rotation. By far, those were the toughest rotations I've done! When I completed them, I'd greatly improved my cardiovascular endurance. I sooo appreciate you for that (and everything else you do ). But, knowing what you know now about steady-state cardio (referring to your recent article in Newsletter) would you recommend this rotation? I don't think I would -or could- attempt it now, as I've fallen off the exercise wagon as of late and am now trying to rebuild my fitness level. But, I was interested in your thoughts about it.
KC