generic rotation for weight loss?

LadyLep

Cathlete
Hi!

I'm trying to come up with a generic rotation that I can tweak as my time allows. I homeschool my 4 boys: 12, almost 10, 7 and almost 3. I did XTrain 90 undulating last Jan, it took me about 4 months to complete. And I have 25 Cathe workouts plus LIS and XTrain (no Ride, wish I had a spin bike...). I have just under 20# to lose. I keep thinking about Hiit/tabata, metabolic training, weight training, steady state (would that be like Rhythmic step?). So I don't know if that would be 2 Hiit/tabata, 2 wts, 1/2 metabolic and 1/2 legs?? Also, I'm not sure what would be considered metabolic of the workouts besides Afterburn. For Hiit would it just be: Tabatcise, X10, AOLIH, Hiit, Crossfire, To the Max, LIS Supersets, Imax 2 and Imax 3. I have all those except for Imax 3. But I have Hardcore Extreme. What category would Hardcore Extreme fall into?

My eating has been great so far this year. To break my bread/carb (mostly whole wheat but too much of it) and sugar (mostly chocolate, cookies and cakes), I've been (refined) sugar free (small amounts of honey and maple syrup) and wheat free since Jan. 1 and I've lost 5 pounds! But still have more to go. At 5'9" my BMI is 25 and I'm 42. But I do miss my chocolate! I figure I will try to add it back in slowly once I reach my goal weight.

And I don't want to get bored or burn out (Though I love XTRain, I got really tired of if by spring of last year, but my arms looked great!). So any advice would be appreciated. If possible the generic rotation with approx. times to see results. Should short Hiit/Tabata workouts only be twice a week? Sometimes I can only get in 15 min in. Other times, an hour. But I aim for 30 min. daily.

My other Cathe workouts are: Party Rockin' Step #1&2, Body Max 2, Muscle Max, Core Max, Timesaver (did all these for the first time 2 weeks ago), Step Blast, Ab Circuits, Pyramid Upper and Lower Body, Gym Styles:Legs, Butt and Guts, Intensity, STS Total Body, Travel Fit, Drill Max, Low Impact Circuit. I think that's all of them!

I would love to see a category to click on on shop cathe for metabolic.

Thanks!
 
OK, so I did some research on metabolic workouts and weight loss and other workout related stuff. And this is what I found: Metabolic, Hiit, Interval Training: they might be all the same thing, good for weight loss, good for blasting through plateaus.

What is a metabolic workout:

"High-intensity interval training, a type of training that alternates period of maximal work with recovery periods, is a form of metabolic training... "
Cathe Friedrich - What Exactly Is a Metabolic Workout?

Then I also realized that this month's rotation is focusing on metabolic workouts! Duh! I should have read her description more closely! But I only own 11 of the workouts listed in the rotation. That seems to me like a lot of swapping I'd half to do.

I really like this interview she did last year: I'm going to try to do the 6 things she recommends:
1) A stricter diet that limits processed foods and carbohydrate/fat intake
2) A minimum of 10 eight ounce glasses of water a day to flush out waste & toxins & improve digestion & circulation.
3) A solid night of 7 to 8 hours of sleep per night. (this may be the hardest for me!)
These three things play a very important role in your metabolism and how your body processes foods/cravings.

3 tips for amplifying results:
1) The first is to change your workout every day. Never do the same workout two days in a row EVER!
2) The second is to do at least one high intensity interval workout per week in addition to a range of moderate to high intensity the other days of the week.
3) Ideally try to do one high intensity interval workout every 5 days.
The third is to lift heavy weights for every body part every other week (but change your exercise order around each time you do it).

These are from the interview:

Cathe Friedrich on Diet, Workouts & the Most Overlooked Aspect of Health (Interview!)

I think I've also realized that all the cardio workouts in XTrain are Hiit/metabolic. I was just reading in the beginning of the user guide...so that means that all are hiit except for Burn Sets, Bis and Tris, CBS and Legs. But (and this was surprising to me) CLB and Hard Strikes are. So I feel like maybe all her latest workouts are Hiit, but maybe not Party Rockin' Step #1&2? I'm not sure. Thoughts? Please set me straight if this isn't correct.

So my generic rotation could look like this, with possible choices, and repeat:
I realized I don't necessarily have much ab work here, I guess 2-3 times a week?

Wk1
M-Hiit/Metabolic-Afterburn
T-heavy wts upper or lower-Pyramid Lower Body
W-Hiit/Metabolic-Intensity
Th-heavy wts lower or upper-Pyramid Upper Body
F-Legs-Turbo Barre
S-circuit-Drill Max
S-off or yoga

Wk2
M-light wts-To The Max
T-Hiit-Imax 2
W-light wts-Super Cuts (although I think this is considered Hiit/Metabolic as well)
Th-Hiit-Hiit 20/40
F-circuit-Low Impact Circuit
S-Cardio-Party Rockin' Step #2
S-off or yoga

Wk3
M-Hiit-X10
T-heavy wts-all-Muscle Max
W-Hiit-Crossfire
Th-heavy wts-all-STS Total Body
F-Legs-Butt and Guts
S-Circuit-Drill Max
S-yoga or off

Did I classify those correctly? I still think it might also be helpful to be able to click on Hiit/Metabolic/Interval Training (if they are indeed the same thing) and see a list of DVDs. Also, maybe break the wts/toning section into light wts and heavy wts. That is if I read her interview correctly that every other week should be heavy wts alternating with light wts.
 
Hi momto4!

I'd love to hear the gets of your kiddos and when/how often you fit in exercise. Also, about if and how you feed your family. My boys are 12, 9, 7, 3 next month and we just switched this school year from Sonlight (for 10 yrs!) to Tapestry of Grace for homeschooling, since it was designed for bigger families. :)

I fit in my exercise best at 6am on weekdays for 30-45 min and occasionally 60 min. Weekends it just depends, I try to get my longer workouts in then but it doesn't always work that way will kids' sports and stuff. As for eating, I make a lot from scratch, serve a lot of veggies and use mostly whole grain/whole wheat products, but since I've been wheat free refined sugar free, I've been making a few different (simple) meals for me, like last night I just had a poached chicken breast over a green salad while the rest of the family had papa johns, since we were out all afternoon and it was 7pm before we got home, it was the easiest thing to do and I had just bought chicken breasts and had salad left over from the day before. But it's not always easy like that... I'd love to hear how you do it all! I should just say getting in quality meals and exercise while still doing the normal stuff of homeschooling, laundry, house cleaning/pick up and kids' activities! Sometimes exercise takes the back seat to the rest of that!
 
Hi momto4!

I'd love to hear the gets of your kiddos and when/how often you fit in exercise. Also, about if and how you feed your family. My boys are 12, 9, 7, 3 next month and we just switched this school year from Sonlight (for 10 yrs!) to Tapestry of Grace for homeschooling, since it was designed for bigger families. :)

I fit in my exercise best at 6am on weekdays for 30-45 min and occasionally 60 min. Weekends it just depends, I try to get my longer workouts in then but it doesn't always work that way will kids' sports and stuff. As for eating, I make a lot from scratch, serve a lot of veggies and use mostly whole grain/whole wheat products, but since I've been wheat free refined sugar free, I've been making a few different (simple) meals for me, like last night I just had a poached chicken breast over a green salad while the rest of the family had papa johns, since we were out all afternoon and it was 7pm before we got home, it was the easiest thing to do and I had just bought chicken breasts and had salad left over from the day before. But it's not always easy like that... I'd love to hear how you do it all! I should just say getting in quality meals and exercise while still doing the normal stuff of homeschooling, laundry, house cleaning/pick up and kids' activities! Sometimes exercise takes the back seat to the rest of that!


My kids are 9, 8, 6, and 3. We use a mix up of programs. Horizons for math, Road and Staff for English and spelling and phonics for my 8 year old, BJU for reading, Apologia for science and SOTW for history. My oldest also has a writing program but that's really falling thru the cracks right now.
As for meals, I cook everything from scratch, mostly because it's so much cheaper. The key for me is planning ahead. I try to do one big grocery trip every two weeks because that's when dh gets paid. We don't follow a particular way of eating, just try to be more healthy than not. Last night we had flank steak, sweet potatoes and brussels sprouts followed by girls scout cookie for dessert.
I almost always work out early in the mornings, however my work out space is not heated because it's our 3 seasons room. That said this winter my morning workouts have been moved to the afternoon frequently while my youngest naps. I live in Michigan and lately the early morning have been really cold!
I know what you mean about everything else kind of falling by the wayside. I feel like the laundry is never done, the dogs don't get brushed enough, and my house seems to never be completely picked up. Oh well.
 

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