Questions re: S&H legs

[Amysue]

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON Aug-01-01 AT 10:53AM (Est)[/font][p][font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON Aug-01-01 AT 10:52 AM (Est)[/font]

Dear Cathe,
My sister and I started S&H weight training about two weeks ago. We do three sets of each exercise, starting with 12 reps, then 10 and 8 with the 8-set being the heaviest. With that in mind, I have found your S&H tapes to be extremely effective (I'm sore), especially for the upper body. Right now for legs, I'm squatting 65, 75 and 95 pounds for my sets. Our count may not be as slow as yours, but it's not fast by any means. With lunges I max out at 65 pounds and for deadlifts, 100 pounds. I find these weights acceptable for now. Can I use this heavy of weights for your leg sets? Or do you think this is just way to much at such a slow count? We plan to do your S&H leg/shoulders tape on Thursday. I'm getting verbose now as my mind starts going a mile a minute, but, I'm thinking that maybe we should continue to do our leg workouts for another week or so and then switch to S&H?
Thanks for any help you can give me. This gym-like workout stuff is new to me!
Amy
PS. I had so much fun doing Rhythmic Step yesterday! Cedie is such a dancer...so graceful! And then we did S&H Back & Chest. I thought it was really a great tape. We actually smiled and laughed a few times through the pain! Great job!

 

[Cathe Friedrich]

Hi Amysue! I'm so glad you are enjoying the slow/heavy approach to weight training. It does take a little getting used to but once you get the hang of it (and the results kick in ) it is amazing how other forms of weight training almost feel too fast. This slow and heavy approach makes you so much more aware of your form. You will find that when you go on to your traditional weight lifting pace, you will hold your body with improved posture and a greater sense of what exact muscles are being recruited during each exercise.

As for your direct question, I would go with your lightest squat weight, or even lighter, and see how you do with the Slow Heavy leg workout(in your case, try using 55 to 65 pounds). You may be able to withstand a heavier weight on your back for the duration of the slow sets, but is better to start out cautiously first. The correct weight for you to use for this workout is the weight that allows you to complete each set effectively, safely, and with good form.

Now is a good time to point out that of all of the slow heavy body parts, LEGS was the one body part that could not follow the specific slow and heavy format because of the lack of an available spotter. Many women can squat well over 50 pounds once it is placed on their backs, but GETTING it onto their backs themselves is the problem. And the liklihood of having somebody at home to put this weight on their back probably does not exist in most cases. Therefore I had to deviate from the format a bit to pre-exhaust the muscle before you used it (as you will see).

Being that you have your sister there to spot you, you may find that you will enjoy continuing to train with your current LEG routine since you are able to push up heavier weight. But do not let that keep you from using the Slow and Heavy Workouts as a switch up, since all muscles respond better when they are shocked with a new workout. Not only that but the slower pace of these reps will help TOTALLY focus on and improve your form while you strengthen these muscles. It will eliminate the ability for you to potentially "cheat" as you do your reps from throwing the weight up or rushing through the set. In other words it will be very valuable and beneficial time spent under tension. Good Luck!

 

[Amysue]

Cathe,
Thank you so much for your response! I plan to start with 50 pounds for squats...half of what I am squatting now. I previewed the video and I think this weight will work just fine!
Thanks for your great workouts, your fabulous fitness advice and inspiration. Oh, and by the way, I really liked the forearm exercises in Bis/Tris S&H. Great for my upcoming rock climbing adventure in Italy and Germany! I'm also looking forward to the rotator cuff exercises as I have some trouble periodically. It's a great way to "make" myself do those exercises!
Have a great weekend!
Amy